Saturday, 18 May 2013 12:00
Posted by Parvez Jabri
TOKYO: A strong 6.1-magnitude earthquake struck off the northern coast of Japan's main Honshu island on Saturday, seismologists said, but no tsunami warning was issued and there were no immediate reports of damage.The quake hit at 2:48 pm (0548 GMT) in the Pacific some 50 kilometres (31 miles) from Namie town near the tsunami-ravaged Fukushima Daiichi plant, the United States Geological Survey said.Japan's meteorological agency estimated it as 5.9 magnitude at a depth of 50 kilometres.Fukushima operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. said there were no immediate reports of any impact on the plant, Jiji Press said."We have received no reports of damage so far," an official at Fukushima prefecture told AFP. Neighbouring Miyagi prefecture also had no reports of damage, a Miyagi official said.Japan is regularly hit by powerful earthquakes and has largely adapted its infrastructure to tremors that can cause widespread damage in other, less developed countries.Copyright AFP (Agence ...
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TOKYO: A strong 6.1-magnitude earthquake struck off the northern coast of Japan's main Honshu island on Saturday, seismologists said, but no tsunami warning was issued and there were no immediate reports of damage.The quake hit at 2:48 pm (0548 GMT) in the Pacific some 50 kilometres (31 miles) from Namie town near the tsunami-ravaged Fukushima Daiichi plant, the United States Geological Survey said.Japan's meteorological agency estimated it as 5.9 magnitude at a depth of 50 kilometres.Fukushima operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. said there were no immediate reports of any impact on the plant, Jiji Press said."We have received no reports of damage so far," an official at Fukushima prefecture told AFP. Neighbouring Miyagi prefecture also had no reports of damage, a Miyagi official said.Japan is regularly hit by powerful earthquakes and has largely adapted its infrastructure to tremors that can cause widespread damage in other, less developed countries.Copyright AFP (Agence ...
JAKARTAA British woman could face the death penalty in Indonesia after being arrested for allegedly smuggling crystal methamphetamine into the country from China, an official said Saturday.The woman, identified only by her initials AR, was arrested at a hotel in the city of Surabaya, East Java province, last month with 1.47 kilograms (three pounds, four ounces) of the drug, the national narcotics agency said."Because she smuggled drugs weighing more than five grams, she could face ...
WASHINGTON: Prime Minister Shinzo Abe defended in an interview Friday the right of Japan's leaders to visit a controversial shrine to war dead but hit back at critics who accuse him of revisionism.Amid the latest flare-up with China and South Korea over history, Abe quoted a US scholar as comparing the Yasukuni shrine to Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, which has a section for Confederate Civil War dead."I am of a view that we can ...
TAIPEI: Taiwan's leader on Friday called for calm and promised to protect Filipinos on the island amid widespread anger at the Philippines over the killing of a Taiwanese fisherman.Anti-Manila sentiments mounted after a 65-year-old fisherman was shot dead last week by Philippine coastguards who said his vessel intruded into Philippine waters. Taiwanese media have reported an attack on a Filipino, tourists cancelling planned visits to the Philippines and some supermarkets removing food from the Philippines ...
BANGKOK: Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will address a forum on water security in Thailand next week, an embassy official said on Friday, just weeks before he stands down from the post.His scheduled appearance in the northern Thai city of Chiang Mai from Sunday comes as Iran gears up for elections and as world powers press the Islamic republic over its suspected nuclear program and support for the Syrian regime."He will arrive on Sunday (May 19) ...
SEOUL: North Korea is now thought to have around twice as many mobile missile launchers as previously estimated by Seoul, a report said Friday, quoting a state-run military analysis unit.Yonhap news agency said the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses (KIDA) had revised its figures after seeing a related Pentagon document.It now estimated that Pyongyang had up to 50 medium-range missile launchers and 150 for short-range projectiles.Seoul had previously estimated the North had up to 94 ...
SEOUL: South Korea Thursday criticised an "unhelpful" visit to North Korea by a senior aide to Japan's prime minister, saying it weakened the united front needed to deal with Pyongyang.Isao Iijima arrived in Pyongyang on Tuesday on a visit that clearly surprised both Seoul and Washington, which have been working closely with Tokyo on coordinating North Korea policy.South Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman Cho Tai-Young said it was "important" that the US and its two close ...
