A series of powerful aftershocks rocked the area from about two hours after the first quake, according to the United States Geological Survey, with the largest measuring 6.5 magnitude.

China's unwavering policy is to develop ties with the North and both will strengthen exchanges in all areas, Xi said in the Rodong Sinmun newspaper ahead of a visit seen as significant because it is his first international trip this year.

Authorities in the Philippines and Indonesia urged residents in affected coastal regions to move to higher ground immediately, after the offshore quake hit about 24 kilometres west of Mindanao island's Sarangani province, the United States Geological Survey said.

Seven villagers became trapped in the cave in central Xaysomboun province on May 20 when flash floods blocked their exit as they hunted bats for food and searched for gold in old mining areas.

US producer prices posted their biggest increase in four years in April, boosted by soaring costs for goods and services since the war began.

The Justice Department on Tuesday dropped a contentious plan to create a US$1.8 billion compensation program that critics had denounced as a "slush fund" for President Donald Trump's political allies.

US Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne ​Mullin said the Trump administration is drawing up plans to stop processing international travelers ‌and cargo at major US airports in "sanctuary cities" that have declined to cooperate with an immigration crackdown.

A gunman opened fire near the White House on Saturday evening, with US Secret Service agents killing the assailant in a shoot-out during which a bystander was also struck, authorities said.

The pope is likely to decry the wars raging around the world and urge dialogue to overcome growing political and social polarization while in Spain.

El Nino is a period warming of sea surface temperatures in the central and eastern Pacific Ocean, ​which typically lasts between nine and 12 months, according ​to the World Meteorological Organization.

A cruise ship which sparked a global health alert over a deadly outbreak of hantavirus was on Saturday cleared to put to sea again after cleaning and disinfection.

The US-Israeli war on Iran has largely cut oil flows via the strait, which before the conflict saw one-fifth of the world's oil pass through. 

Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guards called the attack a "warning" after Israel struck Beirut's southern suburbs earlier in the day, threatening wider strikes in the event of repeated aggression.

The US and Iran have been engaged in largely indirect negotiations to secure an interim deal to halt the three-month-old war that would leave issues including Iran's nuclear programme to further negotiations.