Indonesia's meteorology and geophysics agency (BMKG) has lifted the tsunami alert issued after a 7.1-magnitude earthquake south of the island of Java.

French peacekeepers in war-torn Ivory Coast were in control of the airport in the main city of Abidjan, the French Ministry of Defense said on April 3, as a battle for the city seemed to be looming.

Suicide attackers have killed at least 41 people and wounded many more at a shrine in Pakistan, police say.

NATO has carried out 74 air strikes on Libya on the first day since taking full command of military operations from the US.

Devastating floods could cost Australia up to US$8.3 billion in lost coal production, new estimates show - a sharp increase on earlier projected losses.

A first attempt to plug a cracked concrete shaft that is leaking highly radioactive water into the ocean off Japan failed Saturday, so officials are now exploring alternatives, spokesmen for Tokyo Electric Power Company said.

Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has affirmed that the general elections slated for mid-year will be a step forward to helping stabilise the political situation and strengthen the rule of law in the country.

Gunmen have kidnapped at least 16 teachers from a public school in the restive southern Philippines, an official said on April 2.

Japan’s Prime Minister Naoto Kan made his first visit to the country's tsunami-devastated region on April 2 and entered the nuclear exclusion zone to meet workers struggling to end the worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl.

At least 800 people have been killed this week in the western Ivory Coast city of Duekoue, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).