Brussels - The European Union said Wednesday it was ready to provide humanitarian help to Pakistan following an earthquake in the south-west of the country that has killed at least 160 people and has left thousands more homeless.

"I was shocked to hear the news about the earthquake which struck south-western Balochistan earlier today," EU external affairs commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner said.

"The EU stands ready to assist Pakistan with humanitarian assistance if requested," the commissioner said in a statement.

According to officials in Pakistan, a strong earthquake measuring 6.4 on the Richter scale rattled the province of Balochistan during the early hours of the morning, destroying scores of homes.

New Delhi - Floods and landslides caused by heavy rains killed seven people and displaced tens of thousands of villagers in India's north-eastern states since the weekend, officials and reports said Wednesday.

The rains inundated hundreds of villages in Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya states forcing thousands of people to take shelter on higher ground, embankments, canals and roofs of buildings.

In Assam, an estimated 150,000 people in 100 villages across the four districts of Lakhimpur, Rangiya, Sonitpur and Baksa were affected by the floods.

Beijing - China on Wednesday admitted for the first time that its emissions of greenhouse gases have caught up with the world's longtime top producer, the United States, and said its reliance on coal would make emissions reductions difficult.

"According to our data, China's current total emissions are almost as the same as that of the United States," Xie Zhenhua, a top government economic planner, told reporters.

"Whether or not we have surpassed the US in emissions is in itself not important," he argued in presenting a key policy paper on climate change to the media. "We should look at the issue fairly and from a historic view."

Tokyo - Fujitsu Ltd on Wednesday revised down its earnings forecast for the year because of the yen's rise against other major currencies and sluggish demand for computers as its second-quarter profit dropped 21 per cent.

The Japanese company estimated a net profit of 60 billion yen (634.14 million dollars) for the full business year, which ends March 31, up 25 per cent from the previous year but down from an initial projection of 100 billion yen.

Operating profit was projected at 150 billion yen, down from an earlier forecast of 220 billion yen, and sales were revised down to 5.05 trillion yen from 5.35 trillion yen, owing to an expected fall in consumer electronics demand amid the slowing global economy.

Nairobi/Kinshasa - Around 30,000 people fleeing fierce battles between Congolese troops and Tutsi rebels are pouring into refugee camps near the eastern city of Goma, the United Nations refugee agency UNHCR said Wednesday, as the rebels appeared to push back government forces.

UN helicopter gunships and armoured vehicles have been supporting Congolese troops north of Goma, the capital of North Kivu province, as renegade Tutsi general Laurent Nkunda's troops press toward the town.

Nkunda's National Congress for the Defence of the People (CNDP) says it has driven the Congolese army back from the town of Kibumba, which lies about 20 kilometres north of Goma.

Meerut, Oct. 29 : With the metro cities like Delhi increasingly adapting to shopping at malls, a sleepy town like Meerut is also catching up.

The growing charm to take to the mall culture is indicated by the proposal to establish two dozen shopping complexes during the next two years.

The exclusive shopping malls and multiplexes coming up in the heart of the city is a common sight, attracting the youngsters to hope to choose from a wide range of products under a single roof.