China provides assistance to Indonesia's flood-hit Sumatra

China will provide assistance within its capabilities to Indonesia's Sumatra island, which has been devastated by deadly floods and landslides, said Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun at a press conference on Tuesday.

Guo's remarks came after the cyclone-driven floods and landslides across three Indonesian provinces on Sumatra claimed 961 lives and left 293 people still missing, according to Indonesia's National Disaster Management Agency on Monday. "China is deeply concerned about the torrential rains and severe floods that have struck Sumatra, Indonesia. Chinese leaders have expressed their condolences to heads of the Indonesian government and the People's Consultative Assembly," Guo said.

"China has provided and will continue to provide assistance within its capabilities to the affected areas in Indonesia in light of the needs of the Indonesian government. We believe that under the leadership of the Indonesian government, the people there will surely overcome the disaster and rebuild their homes at an early date," he added.

The U.S. dollar strengthened in late trading on Tuesday.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, added 0.13 percent to 99.220 at 3 p.m. (2000 GMT).

In late New York trading, the euro was down to 1.1628 dollars from 1.1640 dollars in the previous session, and the British pound decreased to 1.3302 dollars from 1.3327 dollars in the previous session.