Violent storms in southern China have killed at least 18 people and injured more than 150, state media report.

Energy ministers from Asian oil producing and consuming countries on Monday meet in Kuwait City to discuss the latest energy market as oil prices soared around 20 percent amid the unrest in the Middle East and North African region.

The EU will announce a pledge of EUR110 million to improve safety work at the Chernobyl site, said European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso on Monday.

Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan appealed for unity on Monday after deadly riots erupted in largely Muslim opposition strongholds over his election victory.

Nine people were killed and another seven injured on April 17 in a landslide in Indonesia's East Java province, police said.

Forces loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi kept up an offensive on the rebels' eastern frontline outpost of Ajdabiyah, while the West again ruled out sending ground troops to help the rebel cause.

Dozens of protesters were injured on April 17 by Yemeni security forces as thousands packed into anti-government demonstrations, witnesses and medical personnel said.

The operator of Japan's crippled nuclear plant laid out a blueprint on Sunday for stopping radiation leaks and stabilizing damaged reactors within the next six to nine months as a first step toward allowing some of the tens of thousands of evacuees to return to the area.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Sunday urged Japan to remain active on the world stage and pledged support for Washington's key ally in East Asia as the operator of a stricken nuclear plant finally set out a timeline to shut it down.

Holding out under a rain of shelling and sniper fire, Libyan rebels fought Muammar gaddafi's forces on Sunday in close-quarters battles in the city center of Misrata, the last major rebel foothold in western Libya. Seventeen people were killed, an NGO worker and an opposition activist said.