Hopes faded of finding more survivors Thursday in the collapsed downtown towers of New Zealand's quake-shattered Christchurch, as officials said the death toll rose to 98 with grave fears for many of the 226 missing.

Governments and private companies around the world scrambled on Thursday to evacuate citizens and workers from violence-hit Libya, as Italy braced for a "biblical" exodus of up to 300,000 migrants.

A few minutes and a few bullets were enough to turn Abdullah from an 11th grade student with dreams of becoming a translator to the despairing head of a family of more than a dozen.

Hundreds of people remain missing as search efforts in New Zealand continue in the aftermath of Tuesday's powerful earthquake in Christchurch.

A UN Security Council committee has agreed to look into recommendations by experts on tightening sanctions against the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) even though China is blocking their formal release, diplomats said on February 23.

President Barack Obama said on February 23 that the United States strongly condemns the use of violence on protesters in Libya and said a unified international response was forming.

US crude jumped to a 28-month high of US$100 a barrel on February 23, as investors weighed the risk of Middle East unrest spreading from Libya to bigger exporters including Saudi Arabia.

Egypt's key portfolios of defense interior, foreign, finance and justice were unchanged in a cabinet reshuffle, state television confirmed on February 22 when it broadcast the swearing in ceremony for the new ministers.

Thailand and Cambodia agreed on February 22 to accept Indonesian observers and avoid further clashes over a border dispute.  

In a statement on February 22, the UN Security Council said it "condemned the violence and use of force against civilians, deplored the repression against peaceful demonstrators and expressed deep regret at the deaths of hundreds of civilians" in Libya.