A quake with magnitude of 7.1 struck off Java island of Indonesia on the early morning of April 4, with no immediate report of damage or casualty.

Gold firmed on April 6 and held near a lifetime high hit in the previous session as inflation fears lingered after crude and corn rallied to new peaks, while silver edged down, having risen to its strongest level in more than three decades.

Forces loyal to Ivory Coast's UN-recognised president say they have captured the besieged incumbent's residence in the main city of Abidjan.

One person survived the crash of a UN plane that killed 32 others in the Congo on Monday, UN spokesman Farhan Haq said.

An earthquake of 5.7 Richter scale was recorded in far-western region of Nepal on Monday at around 1132 GMT on April 4, no casualties have been reported so far.

President Barack Obama declared himself a candidate for re-election in 2012 on Monday, jumping ahead of a slow-starting Republican field and hoping an economic recovery will boost his case for a new term.

Two American NATO-led troops were killed by an Afghan Border Police officer on April 4, a local official said.

French and UN helicopters have fired on military camps operated by Ivory Coast incumbent leader Laurent Gbagbo, in an effort to halt attacks on civilians.

A Libyan government envoy has begun a trip to Europe to discuss an end to fighting, but gave no sign of any major climbdown in a war that has ground to a stalemate between rebels and forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi.

A Turkish humanitarian ship carrying more than 250 injured people from the Libyan city of Misrata has arrived in the rebel stronghold of Benghazi.