Vienna – Japan upgraded the rating of events at its Fukushima 1 nuclear plant to an ‘accident with wider consequences’ on Friday, according to official messages sent to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna. Rating the accident at level 5 of the 7-step INES scale puts it on the same level as the […]
MANILA, Philippines – China will proceed with the execution of three Filipino drug convicts after almost a month of delay. Chinese Ambassador Liu Jianchao said in a news conference that a commutation of the death sentences “has been ruled out,” adding that the verdict of China’s Supreme People’s Court was final and would be enforced […]
Saving lives, livelihoods and property from tsunamis Despite the incredible damage wrought by the March 11th Great Tohoku earthquake and tsunami which struck the Pacific Coast of Japan’s Honshu Island, and which appear to have taken the lives of at least 14,000 people, the fact is that many more could have died. Tsunami detection systems […]
Vienna, March 17 (DPA) Twenty-three nuclear and rescue workers have been injured and 20 have received high radiation doses so far at Japan’s Fukushima power plant, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said Thursday. Two people were missing at the plant that was hit by a magnitude-9 earthquake and a tsunami Friday, the Vienna-based agency […]
China has suspended approval for new nuclear power stations following the accident at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi plant. It will also carry out checks at existing reactors and those under construction. China is currently building 27 new reactors – about 40% of the total number being built around the world. The news comes as China grows […]
A former British railway freight boss who was arrested last year in Thailand on suspicion of sexually abusing hill tribe children has been found dead in Laos. Roger Pettit, 68, from Brighton, Sussex, was found dead in a guest house in the Laos capital Vientiane last month. No foul play is suspected. Unconfirmed reports suggest […]
Jihadis seek to kill individuals who oppose them Indonesian Islamic extremists’ war on those they consider apostates appears to be taking an ominous new turn with the mailing of three bombs concealed in books to apparent opponents. The bombs raise fears that jihadi terrorists are now broadening their attacks to go after those who either […]
An explosion was reported at 0610 local time Tuesday morning at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant’s second reactor. The blast is feared to have breached the pressure chamber. The explosion is thought to have been in the reactor’s “pressure suppression room” — part of the cooling system. It damaged the area that contains water […]
