LibreOffice, a Free Alternative to Office, Is New and Improved

I understand that some people need Microsoft Office – that for the sake of compatibility, familiarity and features, nothing else will do.

But anyone who doesn’t feel that way should consider trying LibreOffice, a free, open-source alternative. The new version, LibreOffice 4, offers better compatibility and more features than the previous version, along with lots of under the hood improvements.

I’ve been a happy LibreOffice 3 user for about a year, and I wouldn’t say the new version is a drastic change — at least not on its face. Perhaps the most significant new feature is the ability to attach comments to a range of text, not just a single point, which will help improve compatibility with Office documents.

But the lack of flashy changes is okay, I think. While Microsoft seems to make a point of shaking up the look and feel of each new version of its Office suite, part of LibreOffice’s allure is how it stays the same. (In fact, if you hated the Ribbon layout of Office 2007 and beyond, I’d argue that LibreOffice is just the respite you’re looking for.)

Like I said, not everyone will be able to work with LibreOffice. But in my experience it handles basic compatibility very well. It supports all Office file formats, has all the major features you might expect, and gets the job done for typical document and spreadsheet editing. Give it a shot if your office software needs don’t justify Microsoft’s $ 140-and-up asking price.

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American Idol: It's a Guys' Night in Hollywood

TV Watch

American Idol

By Jamie Bufalino

02/06/2013 at 11:00 PM EST

From left: Randy Jackson, Mariah Carey, Ryan Seacrest, Nicki Minaj and Keith Urban

George Holz/FOX

Caution: Contains spoilers!

"It does feel a bit like The Hunger Games," said Keith Urban, ramping up the drama as American Idol kicked off the first day of Hollywood Week. Although producers didn't unleash any tracker jackers on the contestants, they did throw in a couple unexpected twists: This season the week started off as a guys-only competition (the girls arrive in Hollywood next week), and after surviving a round of sudden death solo sing-offs, contestants would then be put into groups from which they couldn't escape.

During the solo round, the standouts included two memorable contestants from the nationwide auditions. First up, Navy man Micah Johnson, who developed a speech impediment after suffering through a botched surgery to remove his tonsils. After a rousing rendition of Elton John's "Bennie and the Jets," Johnson was the first to get the green light to the next round.

Joining him soon after was Cuban-American Lazaro Arbos, a 21-year-old ice cream scooper from Naples, Fla., who speaks with a severe stutter but sings with ease. Although Arbos admitted to being both "scared" and "petrified," he quickly won the judges over – Nicki Minaj made her fingers into a heart-shape while he sang – with his take on the Robbie Williams hit, "Angels."

When it came time to form groups of four, the Idol producers threw a few more curveballs – such as pairing a couple of country crooners with two flamboyant (think glitter and faux fur) dudes Ryan Seacrest described as the show's "resident divas."

The result: a quartet that dubbed themselves Country Queen, which delivered a train wreck of a performance. Still, somehow three of the four made it through.

Meanwhile, Arbos's group experience also proved to be a bit of a disaster – which some of his cohorts blamed on his inability to quickly learn the lyrics and melody to the Beach Boys hit "Wouldn't It Be Nice." Although his main nemesis got the boot, a tearful Arbos got the chance to sing another day.

The day of auditions came to a close with what was possibly the most heartbreaking Idol exit ever. New York City subway singer Frankie Ford got a case of the jitters before going on stage, then proceeded to screw up the lyrics and sing off key – leaving the judges no choice but to pull the plug on his dreams. Before walking off into the night, a sobbing Ford stared into the camera and said, "I swear to God I'm coming back next year and I'm going to win."

There will be more solos Thursday (8 p.m. ET), as the judges have to whittle the 43 men left in the competition down to 20 lucky fellas.

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New whooping cough strain in US raises questions

NEW YORK (AP) — Researchers have discovered the first U.S. cases of whooping cough caused by a germ that may be resistant to the vaccine.

Health officials are looking into whether cases like the dozen found in Philadelphia might be one reason the nation just had its worst year for whooping cough in six decades. The new bug was previously reported in Japan, France and Finland.

"It's quite intriguing. It's the first time we've seen this here," said Dr. Tom Clark of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The U.S. cases are detailed in a brief report from the CDC and other researchers in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine.

Whooping cough is a highly contagious disease that can strike people of any age but is most dangerous to children. It was once common, but cases in the U.S. dropped after a vaccine was introduced in the 1940s.

An increase in illnesses in recent years has been partially blamed on a version of the vaccine used since the 1990s, which doesn't last as long. Last year, the CDC received reports of 41,880 cases, according to a preliminary count. That included 18 deaths.

The new study suggests that the new whooping cough strain may be why more people have been getting sick. Experts don't think it's more deadly, but the shots may not work as well against it.

In a small, soon-to-be published study, French researchers found the vaccine seemed to lower the risk of severe disease from the new strain in infants. But it didn't prevent illness completely, said Nicole Guiso of the Pasteur Institute, one of the researchers.

The new germ was first identified in France, where more extensive testing is routinely done for whooping cough. The strain now accounts for 14 percent of cases there, Guiso said.

In the United States, doctors usually rely on a rapid test to help make a diagnosis. The extra lab work isn't done often enough to give health officials a good idea how common the new type is here, experts said.

"We definitely need some more information about this before we can draw any conclusions," the CDC's Clark said.

The U.S. cases were found in the past two years in patients at St. Christopher's Hospital for Children in Philadelphia. One of the study's researchers works for a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, which makes a version of the old whooping cough vaccine that is sold in other countries.

___

JournaL: http://www.nejm.org

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Asian shares pause, caution before ECB

TOKYO (Reuters) - Asian shares and the euro paused on Thursday, with investors seeking clues from European Central Bank President Mario Draghi on growth prospects for the euro zone economy at a policy meeting later in the day, amid optimism that the worst may be over.

Japanese equities underperformed Asian bourses as a break in the yen selling pulled them from Wednesday's four-year peak. But shorter-dated Japanese government debt rallied, sending two-year JGB yields to their lowest since September 2002 at 0.030 percent, on expectations that the central bank will cut interest rates to zero.

The yen's broad weakness has been driven by expectations for radical reflationary policy from the Bank of Japan, under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's push for a mix of anti-deflation policies.

"Hopes for 'Abenomics' are supporting the mood, but investors are also sensitive to the currency moves, so right now, even small uncertainty on Europe can be a reason to pull back," said Hiroichi Nishi, an assistant general manager at SMBC Nikko Securities.

Japan's Nikkei stock average <.n225> fell 0.8 percent, as investors took profits on export-driven firms. The benchmark closed at its highest level since October 2008 the day before when the yen slipped to fresh lows. <.t/>

The MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan <.miapj0000pus> was down 0.1 percent near a one-week low, after reaching a 18-month high on Monday. Asia tracked overnight lackluster U.S. stocks, with Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.spx> ending nearly flat after a five-year high earlier in the week.

Australian shares gained 0.3 percent, outperforming their Asian peers, on a rise in iron ore prices supporting the top miners and on higher earnings from National Australia Bank and Telstra Corp. Australian jobs data for January beat market expectations.

Recent data suggesting a moderate global economic recovery, even if it lacked strong momentum, underpinned industrial metals, keeping London copper prices near four-month highs and platinum and palladium near their highest level in 17 months on hopes of a better demand.

Data from deflation-swamped Japan was also positive, with the country's core machinery orders surging unexpectedly in December for a third straight month of increases and firms expect more improvement in the first quarter.

But analysts said Asian economies were still relying on exports to power their way to growth.

"One of the pillars of our bullish view on Asian currencies at the start of the year was the theme of global rebalancing, in which Asian economies would move away from export-dependent growth models towards a more domestic demand-driven model, allowing their currencies to appreciate to dampen their export competitiveness in favor of stronger terms of trade," said Morgan Stanley in a research note.

"However, Asian economies have been slower in the rebalancing process than we had envisioned, as seen by the heavy physical and verbal FX intervention this year."

FATE OF DRAGHI MAGIC

Growing optimism that the euro zone economy may be nearing a bottom has propelled the euro to a 14-1/2-month high against the dollar, a 34-month peak against the yen and 15-month top on sterling.

The ECB is expected to keep interest rates at a record low 0.75 percent at later on Thursday. Traders will focus on any comments about the euro's recent strength as well as the bank's view on the euro zone economy.

Vassili Serebriakov, strategist at BNP Paribas, said the ECB will likely reason that the euro's strength is due to real improvement in the financial markets and economic outlook, and thus does not warrant immediate action.

"That said, our economists suggest that Mr. Draghi will probably soften the overall tone at the press conference, signaling that easing options are still available if needed," Serebriakov wrote in a client note.

Draghi's strong verbal commitment to defend the euro and the ECB's new bond-buying scheme to help ease funding strains in highly indebted euro zone members had significantly reduced risks of the region crumbling under the weight of its debt woes.

But a corruption scandal in Spain and uncertainty over the outcome of an Italian election later this month brought market focus back to the region's potential political instability.

Later on Thursday, Spain will test investor appetite by offering up to 4.5 billion euros of bonds.

The euro eased 0.1 percent to $1.3505. It hit a 14-1/2-month high against the dollar of $1.3711 last week and a 34-month peak against the yen of 127.71 on Thursday.

The dollar eased 0.2 percent to 93.45 yen after touching 94.075 yen, its highest since May 2010 on Wednesday. The euro fell 0.3 percent at 126.17 yen, off Wednesday's 127.71 yen, its strongest since April 2010.

U.S. crude rose 0.2 percent to $96.81 a barrel.

(Additional reporting by Ian Chua in Sydney and Ayai Tomisawa in Tokyo; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani)

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India Ink: Sri Lanka Shakes Up Women's Cricket World Cup

There is nothing like a little unpredictability to give life to a world championship tournament in any sport, but do not tell that to the Indian hosts of the Women’s Cricket World Cup.

Sri Lanka, widely expected to be the weakest among the eight competitors, knocked India’s highly rated team out of the tournament Tuesday with a comprehensive 138-run victory in Mumbai. That means Sri Lanka will take part in the Super Six playoffs starting Friday, while India has to settle for playing for seventh place against Pakistan on Thursday.

The victory over India was not even the first time that Sri Lanka had turned the tournament upside down.

Sri Lanka won only four matches in its previous four World Cups, and none of them against the major powers in women’s cricket. But it began its 2013 campaign last Friday with its first-ever defeat of England, which has won the tournament three times and is the defending champion.

“I can’t think of a bigger upset in 40 years of Women’s World Cup cricket,” wrote Alison Mitchell, a journalist with the BBC.

When Sri Lanka was crushed by 209 runs in its next match, by West Indies, it looked as if it was following the pattern of so many giant-killers, unable to follow up after a single brilliant performance.

It had, after all, never beaten India, and Sri Lanka could only save itself from elimination by beating the host. But batting first, it dominated from the start Tuesday.

Deepika Rasangika, promoted up the order in spite of a previous batting average of 12 runs per innings, struck a brilliant 84. A ferocious late assault brought 92 from the final 10 overs, and Sri Lanka totaled a formidable 282 for 5 from its 50 six-ball overs.

India needed a good start, but instead it lost wickets and was struggling once its captain, Mithali Raj, was dismissed for 20. It could still have qualified ahead of West Indies on the net run rate tiebreaker if it had reached 251, but it never looked likely to achieve even that. India was eventually all out for 144.

“I can’t believe it, actually,” said Sri Lanka’s captain, Shashikala Siriwardene. “It is a dream come true for me. We finished last in 2009 under my captaincy. So I am really relaxed and relieved.

“I am seriously super happy. This could be my last World Cup, and I wanted to do something special for my team.”

Sri Lanka only started offering modest contracts and paying small match fees — $100 in the one-day international format used in the World Cup — for female players in 2011, but success has followed.

Raj, visibly devastated, said that she had not believed Sri Lanka was likely to score so many runs against India’s bowlers. “All the bowlers were off-color today. I guess we can expect one or two to be off-color, but not all of them.”

For India, the loss to its neighbor completes a miserable tournament as host. It began under the shadow of a furious denunciation by Diana Edulji, one of its most respected former players, over the way Indian women’s cricket is run by the Board of Control for Cricket in India.

“I would say it was an insult to women’s cricket to be treated this way,” Edulji said. “There is no cricket. Domestic cricket comprises only one Twenty20 tournament and one 50-over tournament. There are no longer-format matches and no tests.”

She was not alone in being angered, calling it “an absolute disgrace” when the World Cup was ejected on short notice from the Wankhede Stadium, the main venue in Mumbai and the site of the 2011 Men’s World Cup final, so the final of the Ranji Trophy, the main men’s domestic competition, could be played there.

India won its first match against West Indies, but Raj made the mistake of criticizing England’s bowlers before its next match. “Mithali’s comments fired us up, to be honest,” England fast bowler Katherine Brunt said after taking four wickets, including Raj, in a 32-run victory over the host.

Sri Lanka, England and West Indies join Australia, New Zealand and South Africa in the Super Six stage. Each team carries forward the points from its matches against the other qualifiers from its own preliminary pool, and each will now play the three teams that advanced from the other pool. Australia starts with the biggest edge, with four points from victories over New Zealand and South Africa, while South Africa has no points. The other four have two apiece. The top two meet in the final on Feb. 17.

Sri Lanka will start the next stage facing two foes it has never beaten: New Zealand on Friday, then Australia, the five-time champion, on Sunday. If it stays true to its current form it will topple those giants, then stumble against the less-formidable South Africans next Wednesday. But even if it loses all three, Sri Lanka will already have left an indelible mark on this World Cup.

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Timothy Geithner’s new book: Twitter’s funniest title suggestions

From Crime and No Punishment to The Stock Market Corrections

Former Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner plans to write a book about his time in government, with a focus on “how to fight global financial crises,” according to Zachary Goldfarb at The Washington Post. Geithner was at the front line of the government’s response to the financial crisis, first as the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York under President Bush, then as head of the Treasury under President Obama. His legacy has been hotly debated, with some crediting Geithner with rescuing the financial system, and others accusing him of coddling the big banks. And nowhere was that divide so succinctly reflected, with some snark thrown into the mix, than on Twitter today, as analysts and journalists suggested book titles under the hashtag #Geithnerbooktitles. Here, some of the best:

Portrait of the TARPist as a Young Man #geithnerbooktitles

SEE ALSO: Making money: House hunting 101, and more

— NickBaumann (@NickBaumann) February 6, 2013

The AIG of Innocence #geithnerbooktitles

— Jim Aley (@jimaley) February 6, 2013

No Country for Old Mortgages #geithnerbooktitles

SEE ALSO: Is there a future for Apple’s iTunes store?

— Michael Roston (@michaelroston) February 6, 2013

The World According to TARP #geithnerbooktitles

— Ben White (@morningmoneyben) February 6, 2013

Too Big To Fail AND ZOMBIES #geithnerbooktitles

SEE ALSO: The middling January unemployment report: When will Congress focus on jobs?

— John Carney (@carney) February 6, 2013

Crime and No Punishment #geithnerbooktitles

— Matt Yglesias (@mattyglesias) February 6, 2013

A Tale of Two Citis #GeithnerBookTitles

SEE ALSO: Today in business: 5 things you need to know

— Stefan Becket (@stefanjbecket) February 6, 2013

The Stock Market Corrections #geithnerbooktitles

— Paul R. La Monica (@LaMonicaBuzz) February 6, 2013

Honorary mention: Charles Gasparino at Fox Business Network, for going on an alternately hilarious and ridiculous anti-Geithner rant:

#Geithnerbooktitles: how i wasted 4 years of my life; whats its like to take orders from a community activist; why didnt i go to law school

SEE ALSO: Dell goes private in $ 24 billion deal: Smart move?

— Charles Gasparino (@CGasparino) February 6, 2013

#Geithnerbooktitles @cgasparino: how to screw up a perfectly good bailout; unemployment never felt so good; i hate @cgasparino

— Charles Gasparino (@CGasparino) February 6, 2013

@cgasparino #Geithnerbooktitles: how i threw tony james resume in the garbage; why cnbc is always the last to find out stuff

SEE ALSO: Beer-opoly: Should the Justice Department scuttle the Budweiser-Corona deal?

— Charles Gasparino (@CGasparino) February 6, 2013

#geithnerbooktitles cgasparino @thestalwart what i saw at the (socialist) revolution; how did i get myself in this mess;

— Charles Gasparino (@CGasparino) February 6, 2013

#geithnerbooktitles 50 shades of Vomit; how to foolreporters to think high unemployment is great and get ur guy re elected

SEE ALSO: Barnes & Noble and the end of the mega-bookstore

— Charles Gasparino (@CGasparino) February 6, 2013

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Kim Kardashian's Pregnancy Is No Reason to Speed Divorce, says Kris Humphries

By Mike Fleeman

02/05/2013 at 09:20 PM EST

Kris Humphries and Kim Kardashian

Seth Browarnik/StarTraks

Kim Kardashian's baby is not even born yet and already is being drawn into mama's divorce.

Kardashian, carrying boyfriend Kanye West's child, has bristled at what she sees as stall tactics by estranged husband Kris Humphries to close the legal books on their 72-day marriage.

But Humphries's lawyer Marshall W. Waller writes that "what is really going on here is that an 'urgency' in the form of an apparently unplanned pregnancy" is being used by Kardashian as "an opportunity to gain a litigation advantage (to) prematurely set this matter for trial."

He adds parenthetically that the pregnancy is "something (Humphries) had nothing to do with."

Waller explains his reasoning for calling the pregnancy as unplanned: "Indeed, why would (she) plan to get pregnant in the midst of divorce proceedings?"

Kardashian, herself, recently addressed the timing.

"God brings you things at a time when you least expect it," she said last month. "I'm such a planner and this was just meant to be. What am I going to? Wait years to get a divorce? I'd love one. It's a process."

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Critics seek to delay NYC sugary drinks size limit

NEW YORK (AP) — Opponents are pressing to delay enforcement of the city's novel plan to crack down on supersized, sugary drinks, saying businesses shouldn't have to spend millions of dollars to comply until a court rules on whether the measure is legal.

With the rule set to take effect March 12, beverage industry, restaurant and other business groups have asked a judge to put it on hold at least until there's a ruling on their lawsuit seeking to block it altogether. The measure would bar many eateries from selling high-sugar drinks in cups or containers bigger than 16 ounces.

"It would be a tremendous waste of expense, time, and effort for our members to incur all of the harm and costs associated with the ban if this court decides that the ban is illegal," Chong Sik Le, president of the New York Korean-American Grocers Association, said in court papers filed Friday.

City lawyers are fighting the lawsuit and oppose postponing the restriction, which the city Board of Health approved in September. They said Tuesday they expect to prevail.

"The obesity epidemic kills nearly 6,000 New Yorkers each year. We see no reason to delay the Board of Health's reasonable and legal actions to combat this major, growing problem," Mark Muschenheim, a city attorney, said in a statement.

Another city lawyer, Thomas Merrill, has said officials believe businesses have had enough time to get ready for the new rule. He has noted that the city doesn't plan to seek fines until June.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg and other city officials see the first-of-its-kind limit as a coup for public health. The city's obesity rate is rising, and studies have linked sugary drinks to weight gain, they note.

"This is the biggest step a city has taken to curb obesity," Bloomberg said when the measure passed.

Soda makers and other critics view the rule as an unwarranted intrusion into people's dietary choices and an unfair, uneven burden on business. The restriction won't apply at supermarkets and many convenience stores because the city doesn't regulate them.

While the dispute plays out in court, "the impacted businesses would like some more certainty on when and how they might need to adjust operations," American Beverage Industry spokesman Christopher Gindlesperger said Tuesday.

Those adjustments are expected to cost the association's members about $600,000 in labeling and other expenses for bottles, Vice President Mike Redman said in court papers. Reconfiguring "16-ounce" cups that are actually made slightly bigger, to leave room at the top, is expected to take cup manufacturers three months to a year and cost them anywhere from more than $100,000 to several millions of dollars, Foodservice Packaging Institute President Lynn Dyer said in court documents.

Movie theaters, meanwhile, are concerned because beverages account for more than 20 percent of their overall profits and about 98 percent of soda sales are in containers greater than 16 ounces, according to Robert Sunshine, executive director of the National Association of Theatre Owners of New York State.

___

Follow Jennifer Peltz at http://twitter.com/jennpeltz

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Asian shares recover on firm euro zone data, yen slips

TOKYO (Reuters) - Asian shares recovered on Wednesday as solid euro zone data calmed nerves jarred by potential political turmoil in Spain and Italy, while the prospect of a dovish new governor for the Bank of Japan dragged the yen to a new low.

Sentiment for other risk assets also improved, pushing London copper up 0.4 percent to $8,302.75 a tonne to a near four-month high, while Brent crude hovered near a 20-week high. Signs of recovery taking root in Europe, the United States and China have helped improve the demand outlook.

The MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan <.miapj0000pus> added 0.3 percent, tracking an overnight gain in global equities on data showing the U.S. services sector extended a three-year expansion in January and business activity in the euro zone climbed to a 10-month high last month.

The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.spx> and the Nasdaq Composite Index <.ixic> gained over 1 percent.

In Asia, investors have been quick to book profits as prices approached their highs, but analysts and traders say any dip was likely to be seen as a chance to buy back into the market.

The pan-Asian index scaled a 18-month high on Monday, and was up about 2.3 percent so far this year, considerably modest compared to the S&P's nearly 6 percent gain in the same period.

Australian shares <.axjo> jumped 0.9 percent, leading the regional peers.

"We're following on from a pretty good lead from global markets last night," said Steve Daghlian, market analyst at Commonwealth Securities, of Australian equities.

Brent crude was up 0.2 percent to $116.72 a barrel while U.S. crude was barely changed at $96.64.

Japanese equities and government bonds rose while the yen touched fresh lows on expectations for stronger reflationary policies from the BOJ.

The dollar touched 93.91 yen to its highest since May 2010, while the euro also rose to 127.65 yen, its loftiest since April 2010. The Aussie reached a 4-1/2 year peak around 97.42 yen. The pound touched a 3-year high near 147.25 yen.

Yen selling resumed after Bank of Japan Governor Masaaki Shirakawa said he would step down on March 19, three weeks earlier than the official end of his five-year term, leaving at the same time as his two deputies, and raising the prospect that the next BOJ governor will more readily adopt the expansionist monetary policy demanded by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

"The Bank of Japan is about to get a lot more dovish, and sooner than previously thought," said Christopher Vecchio, a currency analyst at DailyFX.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei stock average <.n225> soared 3.1 percent to a 33-month high. <.t/>

"I think the market could yet rise when they announce the new governor's name, particularly if it makes an asset purchase budget of 50 trillion yen ($535 billion) from the BOJ more likely," said Norihiro Fujito, senior investment strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley.

The 10-year JGB yield fell 1.5 basis points to 0.775 percent after opening higher, at 0.800 percent.

The euro drew support from growing confidence in the region's economy and improving funding conditions for deeply-indebted euro zone members.

News the European Central Bank's balance sheet fell to an 11-month low of 2.8 trillion euros ($3.8 trillion) as markets unwound some of the ECB's crisis funding measures underpinned the euro, coming in stark contrast to the U.S. Federal Reserve and the BOJ which keep expanding asset buying.

"Flows matter more than stock in currency markets when comparing central bank balance sheets ... highlighting the euro's outperformance over the last few months," said Ashraf Laidi, chief global strategist at City Index, in a note to clients.

The euro was steady at $1.3578, above a key technical support of its 14-day moving average at $1.34653.

The ECB is expected to keep interest rates unchanged at its policy meeting on Thursday, but its president may face a grilling over an Italian banking scandal.

Spanish and Italian yields fell on Tuesday after jumping on worries over a corruption scandal in Spain and polls showing Italy's former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi regaining ground before elections this month.

The yen's fall lifted benchmark Tokyo gold futures to a record high of 5,067 yen per gram on Wednesday.

(Additional reporting by Ian Chua and Thuy Ong in Sydney and Ayai Tomisawa and Sophie Knight in Tokyo; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani)

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Tsunami Fear After Quake Off Solomons

AUCKLAND, New Zealand — Residents of the South Pacific from island chains to Australia were alerted to the possibility of a damaging tsunami on Wednesday after an 8.0-magnitude earthquake off the Solomon Islands, according to scientists and news reports from the area, but the warnings were called off a few hours later.

Ednal Palmer, the chief reporter of the newspaper The Solomon Star in Honiara, the capital of the Solomon Islands, said in a telephone interview that reports from Lata, the capital of Temotu Province, were sketchy but indicated that a wave had apparently struck three villages.

“We have heard that a wave 103 centimeters high” — nearly three and a half feet — “has hit Lata, swamping the town, and five people are still missing at the moment,” Mr. Palmer said.

Lata, where the quake struck, is in Temotu Province, where the population is around 30,000. It is a three-hour flight from Honiara, which was not damaged by the earthquake or the tsunami.

Mr. Palmer said Honiara residents were not concerned about the tsunami. “Most of us are getting ready for tonight’s UB40 concert,” he said.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said on its Web site, “Sea level readings indicate a tsunami was generated.” The earthquake struck around 11 a.m. local time in the Santa Cruz Islands, part of the Solomon chain. There were conflicting reports as to the depth of the quake.

The center said the tsunami warning was limited to the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Tuvalu, New Caledonia, Kosrae, Fiji, Kiribati, and Wallis and Futuna.

A lesser alert, a tsunami watch, was declared for American Samoa, Australia, Guam, the Northern Marianas, New Zealand and eastern Indonesia.

The earthquake was not only powerful but also shallow, giving it significant potential to cause damage, said Barry Hirshorn, a geophysicist with the National Weather Service in Hawaii. Moreover, it was a thrust earthquake, he said, meaning that the sea floor moved up or down, not sideways, contributing to the potential for a dangerous tsunami.

But after the earthquake, as scientists watched to see how far a tsunami might spread, there were few early indications of a major threat beyond the immediate area, Mr. Hirshorn said. A water rise of about three feet had been observed close to the quake, he said, still high enough to be potentially damaging but probably not big enough to threaten distant shores.

In New Zealand, thousands of people were at the beach, swimming in the sea on a glorious summer afternoon on Waitangi Day, a national holiday — quite oblivious to the potential for a tsunami. Tsunami sirens were set off late in the afternoon there, and people in coastal areas were being told to stay off beaches and out of the sea, rivers and estuaries.

The New Zealand Herald reported Wednesday afternoon on its Web site that tsunami sirens in Suva, the capital of Fiji, had been warning people to stay inside or go to higher ground.

The Sydney Morning Herald reported on its Web site on Wednesday that the Solomon Islands’ National Disaster Management Office had advised those living in low-lying areas, especially on Makira and Malaita, to move to higher ground.

This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:

Correction: February 6, 2013

An earlier version of this article misspelled the given name of the chief reporter of The Solomon Star. He is Ednal Palmer, not Edmal.

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