International rescuers abandoned their search today for survivors among the rubble of wrecked homes in the main city of the Indonesian island that bore the brunt of a powerful earthquake four days ago.

Minor earthquakes have shaken New Jersey, Los Angeles and Hawaii, but there were no reports of injuries or serious damage.

Tens of thousands of Ethiopian children have died from acute malnutrition compounded by a severe drought, a top United Nations official said today.

France has introduced a resolution seeking United Nations authorisation to deploy an international force to lawless north-eastern Congo.

WIDESPREAD food shortages and rampant AIDS have put nearly 13 million southern Africans "on the very edge of survival," the United Nations has warned, appealing for an urgent $611 million in aid.