World News 14 April, 2013

Kerry in Japan to ease Korean peninsula tensions

US Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Japan to hold talks regarding nuclear tensions on the Korean peninsula after ensuring Chinese support to help bring resolution to the ongoing crisis. Japan, which has deployed Patriot missile batteries around Tokyo to defend against a potential North Korean nuclear strike, says it will coordinate with the US to send a strong signal urging Pyongyang to listen to the international community and give up its “nuclear and missile programs.” Kerry is set to meet with his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida and will wrap up his four-day diplomatic tour in East Asia on Monday.

N.Korea blasts South’s offer for dialogue on joint industrial zone

Pyongyang has blasted Seoul’s offer for dialogue intended to restart the Kaesong joint industrial zone as a “meaningless” and “cunning” rouse meant to conceal South Korea’s desire to invade the North.  North Korea announced the withdrawal of its 53,000 workers and a halt in operations at Kaesong at the beginning of the week as military tensions have ratcheted up significantly on the Korean Peninsula. Kaesong, which was opened in 2004 and produces a range of consumer goods, had previously seen its operations unaffected be past crises.

Four rescued off California coast after abandoning ship

Four people who jumped from a sinking tugboat onto a life raft have been rescued in Big Sur off the coast of central California, the Coast Guard said. The crew sent out a distress call after the ship began sinking in rough seas on Saturday afternoon. A rescue helicopter located the men about 13 miles out to sea. The crew was picked up and brought to Monterey for evaluation, no injuries were reported.

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51  infected with new bird flu in China

The new strain of the H7N9 bird flu virus that emerged last month in eastern China continues to spread, with more cases being reported outside the originally infection zones. The virus has already killed 11 people in Shanghai and in the provinces of Zhejiang, Jiangsu and Anhui. Authorities have placed those exposed to the infected under observation. Beijing has vowed total transparency in order to avoid a repeat of the panic of 2003, when a Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) pandemic killed 1/10th of the 8,000 people it infected worldwide.

6.6-magnitude earthquake hits Papua New Guinea

A powerful 6.6-magnitude earthquake struck 74 kilometers west of Bougainville Island in Papua New Guinea on Sunday. No damage has been reported so far, and no tsunami alert has been issued. This earthquake, which was recorded at a depth of 64 kilometers, is typical for the geologically active ‘Pacific Ring of Fire.’ A recent 7.9-magnitude quake in the region in early February caused a tsunami that killed five people in the neighboring Solomon Islands.

One missing in Washington state avalanches

One hiker went missing after two avalanches struck two separate groups in the mountains of Washington state east of Seattle on Saturday. A second missing man was later found injured but alive. In one instance, an avalanche struck a group of three, and two of the hikers suffered non-life-threatening injuries after being dragged nearly a quarter of a mile at speeds of over 50 mph, a local sheriff’s sergeant told Reuters. The third man from their group remains unaccounted for. In the other incident, a party of 13 snowshoers was hit by an avalanche that buried a woman in their group under 6 feet of snow. The woman was dug out and later brought down in a sled by rescuers. She suffered hypothermia and other possible injuries, the sheriff’s sergeant said.

At least 34 dead in Peru bus crash

At least 34 people have died and scores injured when a bus dropped 200 metres down a ravine in Peru, local authorities have announced. The incident happened on a mountain road near the town of Otuzco, almost 570km north of the capital of Lima. Forty-three passengers were aboard the bus when it left the town of Manchu headed toward the regional capital of Trujillo.

Airbus hits tower in Brasilia, no casualties

An Airbus A330 has hit the lighting tower at the Brasilia international airport in the Brazilian capital. No one on board was injured during the incident, local media reported. According to preliminary information, the Airbus with some 260 people aboard, scraped the tower with the left wing when the plane touched down. The aircraft belonged to the Portuguese airline TAP and was flying from Lisbon.

China’s bird flu spreading other province

Two more people have been diagnosed with the H7N9 bird flu virus as the infection spread to another province.  The new cases are reported in central Henan just west of the area where the disease has been centred. So far 11 people have died and another 51 have been infected since the Chinese authorities announced two weeks ago they had found H7N9 in humans for the first time.