A round-up of today's other world news in brief
Series of earthquakes shakes Papua
INDONESIA - A series of powerful earthquakes shook remote eastern Indonesia yesterday, toppling or badly damaging more than 100 buildings and leaving at least four people dead and dozens injured.
One of the quakes - a 7.3-magnitude tremor - was felt as far away as Australia and sent small tsunamis into Japan's southeastern coast.
The first 7.6-magnitude quake struck at 4:43am local time about 140km from Manokwari, the main city in Papua province, at a depth of 35km, the US Geological Survey said. It was followed by dozens of aftershocks.
At least four people died in Papua, and the airport runway nearest the epicentre was cracked. - (Reuters)
Obama nominee withdraws
CHICAGO - New Mexico governor Bill Richardson has withdrawn as President-elect Barack Obama's nominee for commerce secretary, becoming the first casualty among Obama's picks for his cabinet.
One of the countrys most prominent Hispanic politicians, Mr Richardson said yesterday he was dropping out because of an investigation into a company which had done business with New Mexico's state government. - (Reuters)
French warship captures pirates
PARIS - A French warship captured 19 Somali pirates yesterday when it came to the rescue of two cargo ships threatened in the Gulf of Aden.
The French naval vessel Jean de Vienne was on patrol off the Somali coast as part of an EU anti-piracy force when it came to the rescue of a Croatian cargo vessel and a Panamanian ship crossing the Gulf of Aden. - (Reuters)
Governor's pick 'can be blocked'
WASHINGTON - US Senate majority leader Harry Reid has said that "legal authority" exists under the constitution to bar embattled Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich's pick to fill Barack Obamas vacant Senate seat, but has added there is also room to negotiate.
Under the constitution, Mr Reid said, "We determine who sits in the Senate and the House [of Representatives] determines who sits in the House. So there's clearly legal authority for us to do whatever we want to do. This goes back for generations." - (Guardian service)
Scramble over minister's baby
PARIS - Paparazzi were camped outside an exclusive Paris maternity clinic yesterday after the French justice minister Rachida Dati gave birth to a girl and speculation intensified over the identity of the father, in what celebrity magazines are calling "the soap opera of the new year".
Zohra, her first child, was born two weeks early on Friday, sparking a scramble for the first pictures and any hint of the father. Ms Dati (43), who is single, has refused to name him, saying her private life is "complicated". - (Guardian service)
Old bombs force city evacuation
OSNABÜCK: Experts have disposed of four unexploded second World War bombs in a western German city in an operation that led to the evacuation of 15,000 residents. A city spokesman said the bombs were found near empty houses in Osnabrück. - (PA)
Vote of approval for Jeb Bush
WASHINGTON - Former president George HW Bush said yesterday he would like to see his second son Jeb become president of the United States some day.
Bush said his second son, a former governor of Florida, had all the qualifications to serve in the White House. Jeb Bush (55) is considering running for a US Senate seat in 2010. - (Reuters)