The "miracle" rescues of at least seven people trapped beneath ruins came as hope faded for tens of thousands of others entombed in the devastated capital of Port-au-Prince.

Senior American military officials said that over week after Haiti's devastating earthquake the focus had shifted to securing the delivery of aid.

Ena Zizi, 69, was saved by search and rescue workers, who had fed her water by a tube, after eight days under the wreckage of Haiti's Roman Catholic cathedral.

DELARAM, Afghanistan -- American Marines came under attack by Taliban fighters Monday at the start of an operation intended to push insurgents from a volatile town in southern Afghanistan, while across the country six Western service members, including at least three Americans, were killed in battle.

The toll amounted to the deadliest day in more than two months for international forces, at a time when thousands of additional Marines are arriving as part of President Obama's troop buildup in Afghanistan.