Wellington  - The flood-stricken Pacific island state of Fiji braced Tuesday for more torrential rains as another tropical depression was forecast to arrive later in the day, according to reports from the capital Suva.

A state of emergency has already been declared over wide areas of the main island Viti Levu, where three towns, including Nadi, site of the country's international airport, are under water and a night-time curfew is in place to prevent looting.

The official death toll has been updated to three, with four people listed as missing.

New York  - United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Monday issued his strongest call yet to Israel and Hamas to stop the fighting and abide by a UN Security Council resolution that would ensure that relief supplies reach people in the Gaza Strip.

"All sides must stop now," Ban told a press conference at UN headquarters. He is to leave Tuesday on a visit to seven Middle East nations and Palestinian territories, ending the trip in Kuwait, where he will attend a previously scheduled Arab economic forum.

Zurich  - Four days ago, Cristiano Ronaldo miraculously walked away unscathed from the mangled wreckage of his Ferrari after writing off the expensive car on the way to training.

On Monday the Manchester United striker was named the FIFA World Footballer of the Year 2008, beating Argentinean Lionel Messi and Spaniard Fernando Torres into second and third place.

For the 23-year-old Portuguese international striker, who made history by becoming the first Premier League player to win the award, the accolade is just the latest in a string of awards and honours that he has won in his career.

Detroit  - General Motors Corp cannot rule out the possibility that it will need another cash injection from the US government, which threw ailing automakers a lifeline late last year, GM's chief executive Rick Wagoner said at the Detroit auto show on Monday.

Wagoner also suggested he was open to raising petrol taxes in the United States, which are far lower than in Europe, if it could help the US car industry complete the shift to fuel-efficient vehicles that are more common in other countries.

Gaza City  - Israeli ground troops fought heavy battles with Palestinian militants on Gaza City's outskirts Monday, as Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said only Israel would decide when it would stop its offensive in Gaza and Hamas leader Ismail Haniya said the movement's fighters had an "appointment with victory."

Zurich  - Manchester United's Portuguese winger Cristiano Ronaldo, who last month won the European Footballer of the Year, was on Monday named FIFA World Footballer of the Year 2008.

Ronaldo, 23, who made history by becoming the first Premier League-based player to win the award, convincingly beat Argentine striker Lionel Messi in second place.

Third place in the voting conducted by national team coaches and captains went to Liverpool's Spanish striker Fernando Torres.