55 killed in northern India's earthquake

The death toll of the 6.9 magnitude earthquake that hit northeastern India, Nepal and Tibet, has now hit a total of 55.

Over 100-thousand homes have so far been damaged in the quake.

However, bad weather is now hampering the rescue efforts along India's border with China, following Sunday night's massive earthquake in Sikkim.

R.K. Singh is India's Home Secretary.

"There can still be villages where people may be trapped under collapsed houses which we probably have not been... which has not been reported, or where we have not been able to reach. So, I mean, we cannot really rule out right now whether there are any more sort of persons who may be dead."

7 people are dead, and 24 others injured in Yadong County in Tibet.

Local authorities in Xigaze Prefecture, southern Tibet, are using heavy machinery to clear debris from the major roads to allow passage for relief supplies.

In the village of Galingang, one of the worst hit by the quake, all 156 homes have been damaged -- leaving many people homeless.

Worst Floods in History Hit Southern Pakistan

Pakistan's Prime Minister is now under increasing fire for his government's handling of the devastating flooding that is still gripping the southern part of the country.

Yousef Gilani has toured two communities hit hardest by this year's monsoon flooding that have seen the provinces of Sindh and Baluchistan baring the brunt of the flooding.

200 people have been killed so far in Sindh, with 665-thousand homes being damaged or destroyed.

Over 1.8 million people have been forced from their homes because of the flooding.

The United Nations has put out an appeal for $365 million US dollars to help the flood victims.

Seminar on the Six Party Talks on North Korea nuclear ambitions

China's foreign minister has put out a new call for the resumption of the long-stalled six-party talks.

Delegates from China, North Korea, Japan, South Korea, Russia, and the United States have been meeting to discuss how to restart the talks to try to diffuse the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula.

A South Korean official says the envoys plan to meet again in Beijing to try to create an environment for the negotiations to resume.

Tensions on the peninsula remain heightened following the shelling of a South Korean island last year and the sinking of a South Korean naval vessel.

Japanset to reduce nuclear reliance: minister

Delegates to the International Atomic Energy Agency's general conference in Vienna have been discussing the decontamination of the stricken Fukushima nuclear power plant.

Speaking just hours after over 60-thousand people marched in Tokyo as part of an anti-nuclear rally, Japan's environment minister Goshi Hosono says he is aware that many in Japan are critical of nuclear power.

He says his government is going to be very mindful of the protesters' demands while deciding their future energy policy.

Abbas met with Ban Ki-moon at UN

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has told United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon that he will push ahead with plans to seek full U.N. membership for a Palestinian state, despite the certainty of a U.S. veto.

Ban, through whom any application must be made, has told Abbas he will "perform his duties under the U.N. charter," and is also calling for the Israelis and the Palestinians to resume negotiations.

Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon is warning that a Palestinian unilateral declaration of statehood will hurt the peace process.

The U.S. side is expected to veto the Palestinian bid at the Security Council, arguing the only way the Israelis and Palestinian can achieve a two-state solution is through direct negotiations.

Latest situation in Libya

Fighting is raging around the Libyan town of Sirte, as pro-and anti-Gadhafi forces trade gunfire.

Amid the fighting, people living in Sirte are either taking shelter or trying to escape the city.

"The situation in Sirte is very precarious. There is no gas, there is no petrol, there is no food, there is nothing to drink. All the shops are closed. The army doesn't let anyone go out of the city. "

Meanwhile, in Tripoli, the National Transitional Council has failed to form a new cabinet, whilst it also reaffirms that it has no new information about the whereabouts of ousted leader Muammar Gaddafi.

Solar panel plant partially closed in east China over pollution concerns

A solar panel plant in east China's Zhejiang Province has been partially shut down amid protests by hundreds of people over environmental concerns.

Several of the production lines in a factory belonging to Jingko Solar in Haining have been shut down.

3 of the plant's employees have been detained by local police after harassing two TV reporters who came to the plant to investigate the pollution.

500-meter-high skyscraper to become tallest building in Beijing

A groundbreaking ceremony has been held for a massive new skyscraper to be built in Beijing.

The design of the China Zun building is inspired by an ancient Chinese wine vessel.

The building is designed to serve as both an office building and a tourist destination.

When finished, the China Zun will dwarf the nearby China World Trade Center Tower 3, a 330-meter-tall building that is currently the tallest in the city.