Tens of thousands of people rallied in Tokyo to protest the use of nuclear power, highlighting the growing opposition to atomic energy in Japan since the crisis at the Fukushima power plant. The protest Monday comes as Japan prepares to restart another reactor shut down after last year’s March tsunami and earthquake set off multiple […]
Japan Begins Cleanup After Record Rains, Flooding
Posted July 16th, 2012 at 5:10 am (UTC-5)
Residents of southwestern Japan are returning home after four days of record rainfall that caused massive flooding. Hundreds of thousands of people on the island of Kyushu began to clean up Monday, as the death toll from flooding and landslides reached at least 27. Sunday, Japanese troops airlifted supplies to more than 3,000 thousand people […]
North Korean Army Chief Dismissed
Posted July 16th, 2012 at 4:20 am (UTC-5)
North Korea has announced the removal of its military chief, a key advisor to leader Kim Jong-un. In a surprise radio announcement Monday, the North’s official Korean Central News Agency said Vice Marshal Ri Yong-ho had been removed from all of his posts because of illness. The announcer said the Workers’ Party central committee political […]
New Zealand to Crack Down on Party Pills
Posted July 16th, 2012 at 1:07 am (UTC-5)
New Zealand announced plans Monday to ban the use of party pills and fake cannabis – drugs offering so-called legal highs – unless producers can provide clinical evidence that they are safe. Associate Health Minister Peter Dunne said Monday that current laws are failing, because as soon as regulators ban a synthetic drug, manufacturers alter […]
North Korean Military Chief Removed from Posts
Posted July 15th, 2012 at 9:50 pm (UTC-5)
North Korean media are reporting that the army chief who is also a close advisor to leader Kim Jong-un has been removed from all this posts because of illness. The official Korean Central News Agency said a meeting of the Political Bureau of the Workers’ Party on Sunday decided to relieve 69-year-old Ri Yong-ho from […]
Torrential Rains Strand Thousands in Japan
Posted July 15th, 2012 at 6:05 pm (UTC-5)
Japanese troops have airlifted supplies to thousands of people who remain cut off by floods and mudslides triggered by days of torrential rains that have killed at least 26 people. More than 3,000 people are stranded in Fukuoka prefecture, southwestern Japan. More than 90 millimeters of rain an hour fell in Kyoto prefecture in western […]
Sanctions Eased, Burma Signs GE Deal
Posted July 14th, 2012 at 3:10 pm (UTC-5)
Just days after the United States formally lifted economic sanctions against Burma, General Electric has signed a deal to provide X-ray machines to two private hospitals in Rangoon. The U.S. company says the $2-million sale will go through a local company called Sea Lion. The head of GE’s Asia operations, Stuart Dean, has said the […]
Burmese President Says Nation at “Critical Juncture”
Posted July 13th, 2012 at 10:55 am (UTC-5)
Burmese President Thein Sein has told a group of U.S. business leaders that Burma is at a “critical juncture” as it moves from a military administration to democracy and economic reform. He spoke Friday at a meeting in Cambodia’s Siem Reap, just two days after the United States eased sanctions on Burma to allow U.S. […]
Clinton Meets with Burma President
Posted July 13th, 2012 at 8:55 am (UTC-5)
((new head, lead) U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met with Burmese President Thein Sein Friday, after the United States formally lifted economic sanctions against the southeast Asian nation. The talks took place on the sidelines of a conference in Cambodia. Clinton met with President Thein Sein in December, during a landmark trip to Burma. […]
Microblog of US Consulate in Shanghai Disappears
Posted July 13th, 2012 at 7:15 am (UTC-5)
A social media account run by the U.S. Consulate in Shanghai has mysteriously disappeared from the Internet in China, prompting many to wonder if it is the work of government censors. The Shanghai consulate’s account on Sina Weibo, a popular Twitter-like microblog service, was known for its sometimes witty commentary, often on Chinese political and […]
