The Korea Herald

With aid slow to come, Japanese fend for themselves

Mar 20, 2011

KARAKUWA, Japan (AP) ― There may be no water, no power and no cell phone reception in this tsunami-struck town, but in the school that serves as a shelter, there are sizzling pans of fat, pink shrimp.Relief supplies have only trickled into the long strip of northeast Japan demolished by a powerful earthquake and the wave it unleashed a week ago, leaving affected communities to fend for themselves.
U.S. missiles rain down on Libya in ‘limited action’

Mar 20, 2011

WASHINGTON (AFP) ― The United States on Saturday unleashed a barrage of Tomahawk missiles against the Libyan regime’s air defenses, but ruled out using ground troops in what President Barack Obama called a “limited military action.”After initially taking a cautious stance on armed intervention in Libya’s civil war, Obama ordered the strikes citing the threat posed to civilians by Moammar Gadhafi’s
Egypt votes for first time in 50 years

Mar 20, 2011

CAIRO (AP) ― Millions of Egyptians voted freely on Saturday for the first time in more than half a century, joyfully waiting for hours to cast their ballots on a package of constitutional changes eliminating much-hated restrictions on political rights and civil liberties.Young people traded mobile-phone pictures of ink-stained fingers that showed they voted. Others called relatives to boast of cas
Japan says crippled nuclear plant to be scrapped

Mar 20, 2011

TOKYO (AP) -- Japan's top government spokesman says the country's tsunami-ravaged nuclear plant must eventually be scrapped. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano's comment Sunday was the first word from the government that the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear complex will have to be closed once its overheating reactors are brought under control. Closing the plant is inevitable, since the seawater
Pakistan coal mine blast kills three, 45 missing

Mar 20, 2011

QUETTA, Pakistan (AFP) - At least three miners were killed and 45 others trapped underground when explosions triggered a collapse in a coal mine in Pakistan's Baluchistan province on Sunday, officials said. A total of 48 miners were working around 1,200 metres (1,300 yards) underground in the mine and the officials said hopes for the survival of the missing were slim. The mine in the far-fl
Japan toll tops 20,000 amid atom plant crisis

Mar 20, 2011

KITAKAMI, Japan, March 20, 2011 (AFP) - Crews fighting to cool reactors at Japan's stricken nuclear plant struggled Sunday to switch partial power back on after a natural disaster that has left more than 20,000 people dead or missing.The discovery of radiation in foodstuffs in regions around the plant, and of traces of radioactive iodine in Tokyo tap water well to the southwest, compounded public
Allies launch Libya force as Gadhafi hits rebels

Mar 20, 2011

A warplane is seen being shot down over the outskirts of Benghazi, eastern Libya, Saturday. (AP-Yonhap News)Libya says 48 killed in West's air and missile strikesTRIPOLI (AFP) - At least 48 people have died since the US, Britain and France began pounding Libya with air strikes and Tomahawk missiles, according to an initial toll given to AFP by a Libyan official early Sunday.Allies launch Libya for
China expresses regret over allied strike on Libya

Mar 20, 2011

BEIJING (AP) _ China on Sunday expressed ``regret'' over punishing airstrikes by the U.S. and European nations against Libya to enforce a U.N. no-fly zone.Supporters of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi wave flags as they anticipate his arrival at his Bab Al Azizia compound in Tripoli, Libya, Saturday. (AP-Yonhap News) Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said China ``consistently disagrees with
Plane shot down over rebel-held city in Libya

Mar 19, 2011

Smoke billows after a Libyan jet bomber crashed after being shut down in Benghazi on Saturday as Libya's rebel stronghold came under attack, with at least two air strikes and sustained shelling of the city's south sending thick smoke into the sky. (AFP-Yonhap News) BENGHAZI, Libya (AP) _ Libyan rebels shot down a warplane that was bombing their eastern stronghold Saturday as the opposition accus
Egyptians vote on constitutional changes

Mar 19, 2011

CAIRO (AP) _ Eager for their first taste of a free vote in decades, Egyptians formed long lines outside polling centers on Saturday to cast their ballots on a package of constitutional amendments sponsored by the ruling military. The nationwide referendum is the first major test of the country's transition to democracy after a popular uprising overthrew President Hosni Mubarak's authoritarian
Student in anti-Asian rant says she'll leave UCLA

Mar 19, 2011

LOS ANGELES (AP) _ A student who posted an Internet video of her tirade against the Asian population at the University of California, Los Angeles, said Friday night that she is leaving the school, despite the university's decision not to discipline her. In a statement to the Daily Bruin campus newspaper, Alexandra Wallace said she has chosen to no longer attend classes at UCLA because of what
Japan denies news of 'eight-day survivor'

Mar 19, 2011

Rescue workers search through debris in Minamisanriku, Miyagi prefecture on Friday. AFP-Yonhap News OSAKA, Japan (AFP) - A man thought to have survived for eight days in the rubble of Japan's earthquake and tsunami zone was actually an evacuee who had returned to his house, a military spokesman said Saturday. Troops had found the man -- aged in his 20s, apparently in shock and unable to speak
Taiwan reports 4.5-magnitude quake in morning

Mar 19, 2011

HONG KONG (Yonhap) -- Taiwan was struck by a 4.5-magnitude earthquake early Saturday, but no casualties or damage have reported, according to the Taiwanese government. The quake shook the northeastern county of Yilan at 5:56 a.m. with the epicenter located in coastal waters about 26 kilometers south of Yilan, Taiwan's Central Weather Bureau said. The tremor only lasted for 0.02 second, it
Temperatures in fuel pool of No. 5 reactor falling: Kyodo

Mar 19, 2011

The temperatures in the spent fuel pool of the No. 5 reactor at the Dai-Ichi nuclear plant in Fukushima Prefecture, northern Japan, are falling, Kyodo News reported, citing Tokyo Electric Power Co. As of 9 a.m. today, the temperature had fallen to 67.6 degrees Celsius from 68.8 degrees four hours earlier, Kyodo said. (Bloomberg)
Japan to restore power at four reactors on Saturday: agency

Mar 19, 2011

OSAKA, Japan (AFP) - Electricity is expected to be restored to four reactors at a stricken Japanese atomic plant on Saturday to power cooling systems, the nuclear and safety agency said.