RESCUERS were searching for any signs of life today after an earthquake devastated one of New Zealand’s largest cities as Prime Minister John Key declared it a national disaster and analysts estimated its cost at up to 12 billion Australian dollars (€8.7bn).

NO one knows how many people are trapped in the rubble left by a powerful earthquake that struck one of New Zealand’s largest cities, but rescuers know they are there.

New Zealand’s prime minister has said at least 65 people have been killed in the earthquake that hit the city of Christchurch.

A powerful new 5.1-magnitude aftershock rattled terrified residents of New Zealand's earthquake-stricken city of Christchurch today, as officials doubled their estimate for repairing the damage from nearly 300 aftershocks in five days.

Troops took control of a New Zealand city centre today, two days after a powerful 7.1-magnitude earthquake smashed buildings and homes and destroyed roads and railway lines.

New Zealand’s powerful earthquake that smashed buildings, cracked roads and twisted railway lines around Christchurch ripped a new 11ft wide fault line in the earth’s surface, a geologist said today.

Chimneys and walls crumbled to the ground, roads cracked in half and residents were knocked off their feet as a powerful magnitude-7.1 earthquake rocked New Zealand’s South Island early today.

New Zealand’s South Island was under a state of emergency today and rocked by aftershocks after a 7.1-magnitude earthquake caused widespread damage.

A powerful 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck much of New Zealand’s South Island early on Saturday.

Billionaire Philip Green still isn’t offering enough to gain control of Marks & Spencer, even after increasing the value of his takeover proposal to €12.5 billion, some investors such as Bob Parker said.

VODAFONE’S share price has come under renewed pressure amid rumours of an intended bid for AT&T’s mobile giant AT&T Wireless in the United States.