TOKYO, Sept 30, 2007 (AFP) - An earthquake measuring 7.1 on the Richter scale hit the Pacific island of Guam and its vicinity on Sunday, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

The epicentre of the undersea quake, which occurred at around 11:09 am (0209 GMT), was in the southern part of the Mariana Islands, the agency said in a statement.

'There is a possibility of a destructive local tsunami near the epicentre,' the English version of the statement said.

MOSCOW, Aug 11, 2007 (AFP) - Russia's air force chief Alexander Zelin said Saturday that Russian bombers will continue their 'scheduled' flights over neutral waters, days after such planes flew near a US Pacific naval base.

'Long-range bombers will continue their flights,' he told journalists according to the Interfax-AVN news agency, adding that the flight paths were decided in advance.

WASHINGTON, Aug 9, 2007 (AFP) - Two Russian TU-95 Bear strategic bombers approached a major US naval exercise near Guam but never came close enough to warrant an air-to-air interception, Pentagon officials said Thursday.

They denied a Russian claim that a long-range Russian bomber flew over a US military base on Guam in the Pacific.

'US forces detected two Russian TU-95 Bear aircraft midday on August 8 as they were flying south toward Guam,' said Lieutenant Commander Chito Peppler, a Pentagon spokesman.