A 7.3-magnitude earthquake struck off the west coast of Indonesia's northern Sumatra early Wednesday, sending panicked residents onto the streets and in search of higher ground.

Thousands on the island of Simeulue, 200 kilometers from the epicenter, ran from their homes as the ground shook, an Agence France Presse reporter on the scene said.

Mitt Romney stormed Tuesday to a commanding win in New Hampshire's Republican presidential primary, making him the clear favorite to take on President Barack Obama in November.

The former Massachusetts governor and millionaire venture capitalist immediately looked to South Carolina's January 21 primary, hoping a victory there and in Florida on January 31 could effectively anoint him the nominee.

A U.S. drone attack has hit a militant compound in Pakistan's northwest, the first since a November helicopter strike killed 24 Pakistani soldiers and triggered a crisis in relations.

Four militants were killed late Tuesday when two missiles struck the compound on the outskirts of Miranshah in North Waziristan, a lawless tribal region near the Afghan border, security officials said.

Fire swept through a South Korean fishing ship near Antarctica early Wednesday, killing three fishermen and leaving two others with severe burns.

Rescue coordinators said the outcome could have been worse had it not been for the assistance given by a nearby sister ship and another fishing vessel. Thirty-seven crew members were rescued, including two unconscious men who had been severely burned and were hoisted off the flaming ship by crane. Five crew members suffered moderate burns.

Four people were killed in eastern India on Wednesday when a goods train collided with a Delhi-bound passenger express, police said.

One passenger carriage was thrown off the track in the state of Jharkhand in the crash, which occurred around dawn in foggy conditions.

Gunmen shot eight people dead in northern Nigeria Tuesday and a mob torched an Islamic school in the south, as a nationwide fuel strike and growing religious tension rattled Africa's oil-rich giant.

The two-day old general strike has not yet affected the output of Africa's top oil producer but it has paralyzed the country and sent the government, already battling a brutal campaign by an Islamist group, into crisis mode.

An earthquake with a magnitude of 7.3 struck off the west coast of Indonesia's Northern Sumatra on Wednesday, the U.S. Geological Survey reported.

A tsunami warning has been issued by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center.

Russia voiced its concern Tuesday at the announcement that Iran had begun uranium enrichment at a new nuclear plant, a move that has triggered alarm in the West.

"Moscow has with regret and worry received the news of the start of work on enriching uranium at the Iranian plant," the foreign ministry said in a statement published on its website.

A U.S. ship on Tuesday rescued six Iranian mariners in the Gulf after their vessel broke down, the Pentagon said, in the latest such gesture despite soaring tensions between Washington and Tehran.

The Iranian crew, stuck before sunrise some 50 nautical miles (90 kilometers) southeast of the Iraqi port of Umm Qasr, used flares to seek help from the passing U.S. Coast Guard cutter Monomoy, according to the Pentagon.

Japan's foreign minister, on a Gulf tour to seek assurances over oil supplies, said Tuesday that Tokyo was "very concerned" by escalating tensions with Iran and called for a diplomatic solution.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE), meanwhile, gave assurances it would make up for a shortfall in oil supplies to Japan.