Israeli ground troops, tanks and armoured vehicles advanced into two Gaza Strip towns today in pursuit of Palestinian rocket squads, even as the Red Cross - in a major blow to aid efforts – suspended activities in the impoverished territory after two of its workers were briefly kidnapped.

A two-metre-high tsunami crashed into beach resorts and fishing villages on Indonesia’s Java island today, killing at least 86 people, leaving scores more missing and sending thousands fleeing to higher ground, witnesses, officials, and media reports said.

A powerful earthquake flattened buildings in central Indonesia early today, killing up to 1,325 people and leaving overwhelmed doctors begging for help, a government official said.

The Red Cross has appointed a former Irish journalist as the head of its operations in Ukraine.