Jakarta summit - Newfound co-operation very positive

YESTERDAY’S long overdue decision to establish a tsunami early-warning system in the Indian Ocean, similar to one already in operation in the Pacific, is welcome because it will save lives when earthquakes occur there in future.

Had one existed in a region where tidal waves go with the territory, tens of thousands of deaths could have been averted after the St Stephen’s Day quake which has so far claimed more than 140,000 lives.

Doubtless, the decision by world leaders attending the emergency summit in Indonesia will reassure millions of displaced people when some semblance of normal life returns. In view of the tsunami threat posed by a live volcano in the Canary Islands, a similar system is called for the in the Atlantic.