The Pacific island nation of Fiji is bracing for a powerful cyclone that ripped through Samoa last week, leaving at least three people dead, several others missing and thousands homeless. Officials said Sunday that dozens of evacuation shelters have been set up in northern Fiji, ahead of 300-kilometer winds approaching the Pacific nation. The storm […]
Japan Votes in Key Parliamentary Polls
Posted December 15th, 2012 at 8:55 pm (UTC-5)
Japanese voters are casting ballots Sunday in parliamentary elections that analysts say could return once-dominant conservatives to power after three years of center-left rule. Pre-election polling by major Japanese newspapers show the conservative Liberal Democratic Party — led by hawkish former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe — in line to win the majority of seats in […]
South Korea Analyzing North’s Rocket Debris
Posted December 14th, 2012 at 12:55 pm (UTC-5)
South Korea says its navy has retrieved debris from the North’s rocket launch earlier this week and will analyze it to learn more about Pyongyang’s missile capability. Defense Ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok says a navy ship carrying what appeared to be a fuel tank arrived Friday at a military base in Pyeongtaek. The tank was […]
China Defends Flight Over Disputed Islands
Posted December 14th, 2012 at 10:00 am (UTC-5)
China has defended the flight of a government plane in disputed airspace near contested islands in the East China Sea, an incident that provoked a diplomatic dispute with Japan. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said Friday Japanese aircraft and ships have entered waters around the islands since September. “The Foreign Ministry has demanded many […]
Man Stabs 22 Children at Chinese Elementary School
Posted December 14th, 2012 at 6:25 am (UTC-5)
Chinese state media say a man stabbed 22 children and an adult at an elementary school in central China on Friday. The official Xinhua news agency says the knife-wielding man attacked the children outside a school in Chenpeng village in Henan province. It said the children, whose ages are not known, suffered non-life-threatening injuries. Police […]
North Korea Vows More Satellite Launches
Posted December 14th, 2012 at 5:25 am (UTC-5)
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is vowing to send more satellites to space, just days after the country’s successful long-range rocket launch provoked international condemnation. The official Korean Central News Agency said that Mr. Kim “stressed the need” to continue the satellite launches “to develop the country’s science, technology, and economy.” The United Nations […]
North Korea Vows Mores Satellite Launches
Posted December 14th, 2012 at 12:05 am (UTC-5)
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is vowing to send more satellites to space, just days after the country’s successful long-range rocket launch provoked international condemnation. The official Korean Central News Agency said that Mr. Kim “stressed the need” to continue the satellite launches “to develop the country’s science, technology, and economy.” The United Nations […]
North Korea Vows Mores Satellite Launches
Posted December 13th, 2012 at 11:10 pm (UTC-5)
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is vowing to send more satellites to space, just days after the country’s successful long-range rocket launch provoked international condemnation. The official Korean Central News Agency said Thursday that Mr. Kim “stressed the need” to continue the satellite launches “to develop the country’s science, technology, and economy.” The United […]
Japan Scrambles F-15s After Chinese Plane Enters Disputed Territory
Posted December 13th, 2012 at 1:20 am (UTC-5)
Japanese media reports say Tokyo has scrambled F-15 fighter jets after a Chinese plane entered disputed airspace near contested islands in the East China Sea. The reports quote Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura as saying the jets were sent in response to a Chinese Oceanic Administration airplane that was spotted near the islands on Thursday. […]
US Condemns ‘Highly Provocative’ N.Korean Rocket Launch
Posted December 12th, 2012 at 6:05 am (UTC-5)
The United States is joining the international community in condemning what it calls a “highly provocative” long-range rocket launch by North Korea. National Security Council spokesperson Tommy Vietor said in a statement that the launch threatens regional security and is in direct violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions barring Pyongyang from ballistic missile technology. […]
