EARTHQUAKE

Shares in Australian banks and insurers fell between 1.4 and over 2.7 percent after a strong quake hit New Zealand's second-biggest city of Christchurch on Tuesday for the second time in five months.

An earthquake measuring 6.3-magnitude hit New Zealand at 12:51 pm (2351 GMT) on Monday at a depth of 4 km, about 175 km northeast of Noumea, New Caledonia, said the U.S. Geological Survey.

Haiti on Thursday heeded foreign pressure and amended the results of its November first-round elections, setting up a presidential run-off excluding a government-backed candidate hit by fraud allegations.

While the much ado about UFOs is giving birth to “UFO travel destinations”, unprecedented number of sightings across the globe get people skeptic about extraterrestrial life. Security concerns from the United Nations could cover-up WikiLeaks yet-to-be-released secret UFO files.

Supporters in Haiti of exiled former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide demonstrated for his return on Wednesday as the country nervously waited to hear who would contest the presidency in a March run-off election.

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Haiti's electoral authorities will release results next week from the country's disputed presidential election and set a date for a runoff vote in signs a protracted electoral impasse may be easing.

A 5.3-magnitude earthquake struck North Island near Rotorua in New Zealand, said the US Geological Survey Thursday.

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US citizens are urged to avoid any “unessential” travel to the Caribbean country Haiti because of the high crime rate and recent cholera outbreak, the US state department warned in a travel advisory.

A powerful earthquake rattled Pakistan early Wednesday with enough energy that that it was felt as far away as the Gulf of India.

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 centres.

A major earthquake (magnitude 7.4) has struck southwestern Pakistan, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).

The so-called super storm scenario prepared by the U.S. Geological Survey says such super storm has potential to move water of almost 50 Mississippi rivers into the Gulf of Mexico, causing massive floods and devastation in California.

Rights groups on Monday demanded Haiti arrest former dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier for crimes against humanity after his surprise return from 25 years in exile, which strained an edgy political atmosphere in the volatile Caribbean state.

For the first time since overthrown by a popular uprising in 1986, expatriated former dictator of Haiti, Jean-Claude Duvalier, on Sunday unexpectedly returned to his Caribbean homeland. Duvalier's stunning arrival was as mysterious as it was unexpected.

Internet search giant Google Inc. has joined India's celebration of Pongal or Makar Sankranti festival with new Doodle, which has painted kites and flying balloons on its homepage. Makar Sankranti is a major harvest festival celebrated in various parts of India.

Rescue workers dug desperately for survivors on Thursday and struggled to reach areas cut off by raging floods and landslides that have killed at least 388 people in one of Brazil's worst natural disasters in decades.

More than 375 people have been killed in Floods and landslides in the in the mountainous area near Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Haitians, many dressed in white in mourning, honoured victims of the devastating 2010 earthquake on Wednesday in a sombre anniversary clouded by pessimism over slow reconstruction and political uncertainty.

Tennis ace Roger Federer, who is in Melbourne, Australia, preparing for the Australian open, is expected to organize a charity exhibition match on Sunday, while other sports stars donated in their own ways.