A powerful earthquake of magnitude 7.2 shook southwestern Pakistan early on Wednesday, jolting residents of cities as far apart as Delhi and Dubai, but the epicentre was far from major population centers.

Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev on Tuesday reaffirmed Moscow's support for an independent Palestinian state, and said there would be no peace progress without a move on settlements.

A suicide bomber wearing a vest filled with explosives attacked Iraqi police recruits on Tuesday in Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit, killing at least 42 and wounding over 100, officials said.

The death toll from storms in Rio de Janeiro state has reached 661 as rescue works enter the sixth day Monday, local authorities said.

Australia's government is reportedly considering a taxpayer levy to help pay for massive flood rebuilding, while preserving the budget's path back to surplus in 2012-13, as one major bank warned on January 18 the damage bill could reach AU$20 billion.

As much as 8 feet of snow has fallen in parts of Japan since January 16, slowing train travel and forcing automaker Toyota to close down 12 factories.

Tunisia has formed a national unity government, the country's prime minister has announced, days after a popular revolt ousted the president.

An explosion that killed at least 11 people on a bus in the militant haven of north-western Pakistan was caused by a bomb, police say.

Iran unveiled on Saturday domestically-produced deuterated compounds at Arak heavy water plant and called on the five permanent members of UN Security Council plus Germany (G5+1) to seize the time in the forthcoming nuclear talks in Istanbul.

Ten ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asia Nations) foreign ministers and representatives from the Philippines and Vietnam discussed issues of Myanmar and Korean Peninsula on January 16.