TOKYO (AP) _ Tokyo Electric Power Co. says three workers have been injured and seven are missing after an explosion at the stricken Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant.   Japan's chief cabinet secretary says a hydrogen explosion occurred Monday at the facility's Unit 3. The blast was similar to an earlier one at a different unit at the facility.   Yukio Edano says people within a 12-mile (20-kilome

World Business March 14, 2011

  TOKYO (AP) _ Japan declared states of emergency for five nuclear reactors at two power plants after the units lost cooling ability in the aftermath of Friday's powerful earthquake. Thousands of residents were evacuated as workers struggled to get the reactors under control to prevent meltdowns.   Operators at the Fukushima Daiichi plant's Unit 1 scrambled ferociously to tamp down heat and pressu

World News March 12, 2011

  HONOLULU (AFP) - Tsunami waves raced across the vast Pacific Ocean Friday triggered by a huge quake off Japan, washing ashore in Hawaii and threatening the US West Coast, as officials urged people to seek shelter.   Sirens blared and Hawaiian authorities rapidly evacuated low-lying areas as the waves rolled across thousands of miles from the Japanese coast to hit Hawaii before dawn around 3:24 a

World News March 12, 2011

      LOS ANGELES (AFP) - California's governor declared a state of emergency Friday after tsunami waves hit the US West Coast, forcing evacuations, damaging boats and leaving one man missing, swept out to sea.   Governor Jerry Brown's declaration for four coastal counties unblocks federal funds to help clean up after waves triggered by Japan's devastating quake hit the US mainland, notably in nor

World News March 12, 2011

   TOKYO, March 12, 2011 (AFP) - Japanese naval and coastguard helicopters have found a ship that was swept out to sea by a massive tsunami and airlifted all 81 people aboard to safety, Jiji Press reported Saturday.   The ship was owned by a shipbuilder in Ishinomaki, Miyagi prefecture.   Friday's massive quake struck just under 400 kilometres (250 miles) northeast of Tokyo, creating a 10-metre (3

World News March 12, 2011

   TOKYO (AP) _ Japan's huge earthquake brought super-modern Tokyo to a standstill as it paralyzed trains that normally run like clockwork, crippled mobile phones, stranded hordes of commuters and trapped scores of people in elevators.   The magnitude-8.9 quake that struck off the coast Friday afternoon and triggered a deadly tsunami in the northeast also violently shook buildings in the capital,

World News March 12, 2011

   WASHINGTON (AP) _ President Barack Obama said he was ``heartbroken'' by images of devastation in Japan following Friday's deadly earthquake and tsunami, and pledged U.S. assistance to help the country recover.   ``Our hearts go out to our friends in Japan and across the region, and we're going to stand with them as they recover and rebuild from this tragedy,'' Obama said during a White House ne

World News March 12, 2011

  TOKYO (AFP) - Japan scrambled Saturday to prevent nuclear accidents at two atomic plants where reactor cooling systems failed after a massive earthquake, as it evacuated tens of thousands of residents.   Radiation 1,000 times above normal was detected in the control room of one plant, although authorities said levels outside the facility's gates were only eight times above normal, spelling "no i

World News March 12, 2011

   TOKYO (AP) _ Tens of thousands of stranded people roamed the streets of Tokyo or holed up in offices and train stations as the capital's usual bustling traffic came to a standstill Friday after the biggest earthquake in modern Japanese history struck.   The magnitude-8.9 temblor off Japan's northeastern coast shook buildings in the capital, left millions of homes across Japan without electricit

World News March 11, 2011

   HONOLULU (AP) _ Tsunami waves spawned by a massive earthquake in Japan have hit Hawaii.   The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center says Kauai was the first island hit early Friday by the tsunami, which was quickly sweeping through the Hawaiian Island chain. Officials predicted Hawaii would experience waves up to 6 feet (2 meters).   Residents in coastal areas of Hawaii were evacuated to refuge areas

World News March 11, 2011

 TOKYO (AP) _ Japan ordered thousands of residents near a nuclear power plant to evacuate on Friday following a massive earthquake that caused a problem in the plant's cooling system.   Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said the Fukushima No. 1 power plant was not leaking radiation. The plant is in Onahama city, about 170 miles (270 kilometers) northeast of Tokyo.   Japan's nuclear safety agency

World News March 11, 2011

   The massive earthquake that hit Japan's northeastern region has caused telephone traffic to surge between South Korea and its neighbor that effectively made placing calls impossible, the country's largest telephone operator said Friday.   KT Corp. said that from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. cellular and landline phone traffic shot up 91 times and 41 times, respectively, compared to normal traffic.    Calls

Politics March 11, 2011

 A powerful earthquake that struck off Japan's northeastern coast on Friday caused all flights bound for Japan to be canceled, the government said.   The flight disruption came hours after a magnitude 8.8 earthquake hit Japan's Pacific coast, unleashing a tsunami that washed away cars and houses along the coastal areas.   The Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs said that flight operat

Social Affairs March 11, 2011

  DAEJEON (Yonhap) -- South Korea is relatively safe from major earthquakes, although there is a need to pay close attention to developments taking place in countries such as Japan, local geological experts said Friday.   Lee Hee-il, head of the geological research division at the state-run Korea Institute of Geoscience & Mineral Resources (KIGAM), said the country is relatively insulated from the

Social Affairs March 11, 2011

     TAIPEI (AFP) - Taiwanese authorities said Friday that minor tsunamis set off by a massive quake in Japan reached the island's coastline without causing any damage.   Waves around 10 centimetres (four inches) high hit Taiwan's east and northeast coasts in the evening, the central weather bureau said.   The bureau later lifted the tsunami warning, saying it did not expect more and bigger waves.

World News March 11, 2011