The Dutch government has decided to return some 478 highly valuable and culturally significant artworks, which had been looted during the Dutch colonial era.

The earthquake, initially measured at 6.5 magnitude, struck Nicaragua, Guatemala and other countries on the Pacific coast. It has not yet triggered a tsunami warning.

The European Union's attempts to bolster free speech in parts of Asia have taken another setback following protests from Muslim-majority countries in response to Quran burnings across northern Europe this year.

Residents of Marrakech, the nearest major city to the epicentre, said some buildings had collapsed in the old city, a UNESCO World Heritage site, and local television showed pictures of a fallen mosque minaret with rubble lying on smashed cars.

The psychological impact of the destruction starts to weigh heavily on Moroccans as the death toll from the country’s devastating earthquake tops 2,800. Also, Libya calls for international help after authorities say that extreme flooding around the city of Derna has cost at least 2000 lives. And the African Union kicks off the week as the newest member of the G20.

Search and rescue operations are underway after a deadly earthquake tore through western Morocco killing more than 1000 people. It was the strongest to hit the region in more than a century.

Apple launched its latest iPhone on Tuesday during an event at its California headquarters, highlighting the device’s new features such as a USB charging port and a titanium lining. The company is diversifying its supply chain away from China by increasing the number of smartphones made in India. Also in this edition, a traffic jam is forming at the entrance of the Panama Canal as passage has been restricted to conserve water.

While rescue teams continue to look for missing people in the aftermath of Morocco's devastating earthquake, many survivors face an uncertain future.

Did strange flying objects or a mysterious laser weapon trigger the devastating earthquake in Morocco? This absurd theory is circulating through social networks — and is, of course, wrong.

Rescue workers in Derna, where the Red Crescent says 11,000 have died, are racing to find thousands of missing people. An inquiry is set to be launched, but anger is mounting at the government's response to the disaster.

Quakes kill relatively few, but the resulting building collapse kills many more. How do we keep people safe in their own homes?

It's been one week since an earthquake struck Morocco, killing nearly 3000 people...The hardest-hit areas were those south of Marrakesh, where many mountain villages were completely destroyed. Morocco is rolling out a new aid program to re-house survivors... Around 50,000 buildings are damaged and some experts say it will take "weeks, months, years to be able to rebuild hundreds of villages.