North Korean leader's uncle 'executed over corruption'

the once-powerful uncle of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has been executed after being purged for corruption, state news agency KCNA reports.

Thai opposition to quit government

Thailand’s main opposition party said Sunday its members were resigning en masse from parliament to protest against a government they claim is "no longer accepted by the people", a move certain to exacerbate the country’s latest political crisis

Philippines reaches power-sharing deal with rebel group

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Thai prime minister rejects opposition calls to resign

Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra on Tuesday refused opposition calls to resign before snap elections in February as protest leaders announced the creation of a parallel government and said the premier should be charged with "insurrection".

S. Korea announces expanded air defence zone

South Korea said Sunday it will expand its air defence zone, which will now partially overlap with a similar zone announced by China. The two zones will now both include a rock claimed by both countries and controlled by South Korea.

By FRANCE 24  (text)

 

South Korea on Sunday said it plans to expand its air defence zone, which will now partially overlap with a similar zone announced by China last month. The two zones will now both include a rock claimed by both countries and controlled by South Korea.
Beijing’s declaration of an air defence identification zone in an area that includes islands at the heart of a territorial dispute with Japan has triggered protests from the United States and its close allies Japan and South Korea.
Announcing the expansion of its own zone to include two territorial islands to the south and a submerged rock also claimed by China, South Korea’s Defence Ministry said the move would not infringe on neighbouring countries’ sovereignty.
“We believe this will not significantly impact our relationships with China and with Japan as we try to work for peace and cooperation in Northeast Asia,” defence ministry head of policy Jang Hyuk told a briefing.
'Not an excessive measure'
“We have explained our position to related countries and overall they are in agreement that this move complies with international regulations and is not an excessive measure,” he said, adding the ministry’s top priority was to work with neighbouring countries to prevent military confrontation.
South Korea had objected to China’s November 23 move as unacceptable because its new zone includes a maritime rock named Ieodo, which Seoul controls, with a research station platform built atop it. China also claims the submerged rock.
But South Korea’s reaction to Beijing has been more measured than the sharp rebukes delivered from Tokyo and Washington, reflecting a sensitivity towards Seoul’s largest trading partner.
South Korea’s air defence zone was originally established by the US Air Force in 1951 during the Korean War. The extension of the zone will not apply any restrictions to the operation of commercial flights, the defence ministry said separately in a statement.
The move will take effect on Dec. 15, it said.
It will also result in an overlap with Japan’s air defence zone, Jang said.
China wants mutual respect
There was no immediate reaction from China, although Beijing’s response to news last week that South Korea was reviewing its options on the air defence zone was relatively low key.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said on Friday that any move by South Korea must “accord with international law and norms”, but added: “China is willing to maintain communications with South Korea on the basis of equality and mutual respect.”
The decision by China that kicked off the latest spat was the subject of a tense disagreement as U.S. Vice-President Joe Biden visited China last week, stressing Washington’s objections to the move that he said caused “significant apprehension” in the region.
Ties between China and Japan, always fraught due to regional rivalry and lingering bitterness from World War Two, have been strained for months by the dispute over the islands in the East China Sea, called the Diaoyu by China and the Senkaku by Japan.
Washington takes no position on the sovereignty of the islands, but recognises Tokyo’s administrative control and says a US-Japan security pact applies to them.
Beijing says its zone is in accordance with international law and Washington and others should respect it.
Under the Chinese zone’s rules, all aircraft have to report flight plans to Chinese authorities, maintain radio contact and reply promptly to identification inquiries.
US, Japanese and South Korean military aircraft have breached the zone without informing Beijing since it was announced. South Korean and Japanese commercial planes have also been advised by their governments not to follow the rules.
(FRANCE 24 with REUTERS)

Thai police remove barricades to PM offices

© AFP

Thai protesters, who have vowed to topple Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, entered the government's headquarters on Tuesday after police removed barricades from outside both Government House and the police headquarters.By FRANCE 24  (text)

 

Hundreds of Thai opposition protesters, who have vowed to topple Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, entered Government House in Bangkok unopposed on Tuesday, after police said they would offer no resistance.
Authorities have removed barriers to allow demonstrators into the compound "in order to reduce tensions between protesters and the police", Krisana Pattanacharoen, a police official, said in a televised address.
There was a carnival atmosphere, as protesters poured into the compound blowing whistles, sitting on the manicured lawns and posing for pictures, as tensions eased sharply in the capital after two days of unrest.
"This is great. I will fight!” said one protester outside Government House's gates, holding a Thai flag.
Earlier on Tuesday, police used cranes to remove concrete slabs and barbed wire barricades on a road leading to the nearby city police headquarters after agreeing to let the protesters into the building.
Some 20 police and soldiers were visible at the door of one of the buildings within the headquarters, in a dramatic reduction of security for the symbolic seat of government power.
The move comes after police announced they would no longer protect the building, which they had defended with tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannon on Monday.
The unexpected reversal of strategy by the government suggests it no longer wants to confront the protesters after days of clashes that have left three people dead and more than 230 injured and raised concerns about the country's stability.
Metropolitan Police chief Lieutenant General Kamronwit Thoopkrajang also said his officers would no longer try to fend off protesters at the police base.
"The Metropolitan Police Headquarters belongs to the public," he said.
"There will be no use of tear gas today," he said. "Last night a police officer was injured by a gunshot so if we resist there will be more injuries, and we are all Thais," he said.
Other government officials did not comment on the developments and it was not clear if this would provide more than a lull to the violence and the crippling political deadlock that undermines Thailand's democracy, economy and tourism.
On Monday night, protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban told his supporters to storm the Bangkok Metropolitan Police Bureau, one of the main buildings they have vowed to seize as part of a campaign to topple the government.
Yingluck told a news conference on Monday that while she could accept Suthep’s demand to hand power to an unelected council, she was willing to do anything it takes to end the violent protests,
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP)

Japan's Fukishima starts risky fuel rod removal

© AFP

Workers at Japan’s Fukushima nuclear plant on Monday began the delicate job of removing radioactive fuel rods from a reactor building. A full decommissioning of the earthquake-damaged plant is expected to take between 30 to 40 years.

By NEWS WIRES (text)

 

Workers started removing radioactive fuel rods Monday from a reactor building at the crippledFukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear power plant, Tokyo Electric Power Co. said. The painstaking and risky task is a crucial first step toward a full cleanup of the earthquake and tsunami-damaged plant in northeastern Japan.
The Unit 4 reactor was offline at the time of the March 2011 disaster, and its core didn’t melt as Units 1-3 did. But hydrogen explosions blew the roof and walls off the Unit 4 building and weakened the structure, leaving it vulnerable to earthquakes.
Tokyo Electric, known as TEPCO, has since reinforced the building, but experts say keeping so many fuel rods in a storage pool in the building still poses a major safety risk.
"The operation is an important step toward decommissioning Fukushima Dai-ichi, which would take 30-40 years," TEPCO President Naomi Hirose said in a video message on the company’s website.
TEPCO has built a massive steel structure next to and partly over Unit 4 to mount cranes for the operation. It will take at least until the end of 2014 to finish moving the 1,533 sets of fuel rods, including 202 unused sets, to a safer location. Each set includes about 60-80 fuel rods containing uranium-based fuel pellets.
TEPCO will remove the unused fuel rods first, and will then move on to the more radioactive spent fuel. At the very end it will remove three sets of rods that are slightly damaged. The storage pools in Units 1-4 contain a total of 80 sets of rods with slight damage, most of which occurred years ago.
TEPCO spokesman Noriyuki Imaizumi said a group of six workers safely stored four sets of fuel rods in a cask on Monday. No problems were reported.
The operation is delicate. Experts say the fuel rod sets may have been damaged or jammed by small pieces of debris that fell into the pool during the explosions. Some have also raised concern about a major earthquake hitting during the removal work.
Two other reactors, Units 5 and 6, were also offline at the time of the disaster and eventually went into normal shutdown. They are also expected to be decommissioned.
(AP)

China sends fighter jets into disputed airspace

Tensions have risen further after the Chinese air force sent fighter jets into a controversial new air defence zone on Thursday, following US, Japanese and Korean military flights in the same disputed area over the East China Sea.

China sent several fighter jets and an early warning aircraft into its new air defence zone over theEast China Sea on Thursday, raising the stakes in a standoff with the United States, Japan and South Korea.

Japan and South Korea also flew military aircraft through the zone on Thursday while Washington sent two unarmed B-52 bombers into the airspace earlier this week in a sign of support for its ally Japan. None of those aircraft informed Beijing.

CONFLICTING AIRSPACES IN CHINA SEA

“China announced on Saturday this new air identification zone, suddenly expanding its airspace and demanding that aircraft flying through notify Chinese authorities of their route in advance,” said FRANCE 24’s Tokyo correspondent Gavin Blair.
He added that the zone covered the disputed Diaoyu/Sengagku Islands, which made its designation a provocative move.
The Chinese patrol mission was “a defensive measure and in line with international common practices”, the official news agency Xinhua cited air force spokesman Shen Jinke as saying.
Ties between China and Japan have been strained for months by the dispute over the islands in the East China Sea, called the Diaoyu by China and the Senkaku by Japan. Washington does not take a position on the sovereignty of the islands but recognises Tokyo’s administrative control and says the US-Japan security pact applies to them.

Sabre rattling
China’s Foreign Ministry said on Thursday that since the zone came into force there had been no impact on the safe operation of international civilian flights, although it added that China “hoped” airlines would cooperate.
Japan’s two biggest airlines have defied the identification order since Wednesday at the request of the Japanese government.
FRANCE 24’s Blair said the latest Chinese air patrols represented “an escalation in the region and the biggest danger with all this sabre-rattling going on would be an accidental collision in the area between aircraft”.
Although there are risks of a confrontation in the zone, US and Chinese military officials have stepped up communication with each other in recent years and are in regular contact to avoid accidental clashes.
US Vice President Joe Biden is visiting China, Japan and South Korea next week, and will try to diffuse tensions over the issue, senior U.S. administration officials said.
The Global Times, an influential tabloid published by the ruling Communist Party’s official People’s Daily newspaper, praised the government for its calm response in the face of “provocations”, saying China would not target the United States in the zone as long as it “does not go too far”.
But it warned Japan it could expect a robust response if it continued to fly military aircraft in the zone.

(FRANCE 24 with Reuters)

N Korean leader's powerbroker uncle 'sacked'

South Korean intelligence reports suggest Kim Jong Un's influential uncle was dismissed from his posts.

Wife of China's jailed Nobel Laureate suspected of suffering severe depression

(Reuters) - The wife of jailed Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Liu Xiaobo is unwell under house arrest and possibly suffering from severe depression, but refuses to seek medical help as she is afraid of further punishment, her friends said on Monday.

Workers prepare the Nobel Peace Prize laureate exhibition ''I Have No Enemies'' for Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo at the Nobel Peace Center in Oslo December 9, 2010.

North Korea powerbroker 'dismissed'

A powerful uncle of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has been removed from his post, South Korean media reports say.

Many observers saw Mr Chang as having a major influence on Kim Jong-un

Liu Xia, wife of Nobel laureate Liu Xiaobo, 'depressed'

Concern is growing for the mental health of the wife of jailed Chinese Nobel Peace laureate Liu Xiaobo.

Thai protesters, who have vowed to topple Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, entered the government's headquarters on Tuesday after police removed barricades from outside both Government House and the police headquarters.

Thalidomide lawsuit settled in Australia, NZ for $81m

A lawsuit filed by more than 100 people in Australia and New Zealand who suffered birth defects caused by the drug Thalidomide has been settled.

Philippines typhoon death toll tops 5,200, govt says

The number of people killed in the Philippines by Typhoon Haiyan has surpassed 5,200, the government said on Friday, with another 1,611 people still missing.

Thai police push back Bangkok protesters with tear gas

Thai police on Sunday successfully pushed back a mob of angry demonstrators by using tear gas and water cannon as they tried to force their way into the government headquarters in Bangkok. Meanwhile, the leader of the anti-government protests handed the prime minister an ultimatum, giving her two days to hand “power to the people”.

China launches its first lunar rover mission

China on Monday launched its first ever moon rover mission, becoming the third nation to do so as the country advances its ambitious space programme.

Typhoon Haiyan: Philippines declares state of calamity

The Philippine President Benigno Aquino has declared a state of national calamity to speed relief efforts for victims of Typhoon Haiyan.

Haiyan hits Vietnam as Philippines death toll mounts

Typhoon Haiyan slammed into Vietnam on Monday, after killing thousands of people in the Philippines where rescue workers are still struggling to reach the most devastated areas.

UN court rules for Cambodia in Thai territory dispute

The UN's highest court has awarded Cambodia the disputed territory surrounding the Preah Vihear temple which lies on the border to Thailand. The court has also told Thailand to withdraw its troops from the area.

Rescue efforts hampered by devastation in Philippines

Monday to reach areas of the Philippines devastated by Typhoon Haiyan, which killed an estimated 10,000 people in the city of Tacloban alone.

China begins talks on economic reform

© Photo: AFP

Chinese leaders began a four-day meeting in Beijing Saturday to set an agenda of economic reforms over the next ten years, with finding a more sustainable growth model for the world’s second-largest economy likely to be a top priority.

Scores killed in Philippines typhoon onslaught

More than 1,000 people have been killed in the Philippines after one of the strongest typhoons ever to make landfall struck the country Friday, the Red Cross said. The coastal city of Tacloban and Samar province are among the most devastated areas.

Vietnam braces for deadly Typhoon Haiyan

After killing an estimated 10,000 people and leaving a trail of destruction across the Philippines, Typhoon Haiyan is expected to hit Vietnam on Monday morning, with the country evacuating hundreds of thousands of people in preparation.

At least 10,000 feared dead after Philippines typhoon

Typhoon Haiyan has left at least 10,000 dead in the central Philippines, a senior police official said Sunday, with the country left battered by winds of up to 275 kph and surging sea water that has swept away entire villages.

WA Police find third TATP bomb package in South West

POLICE have found a third suspicious package at an abandoned caravan park south of Perth today in yet another major twist in the South-West explosives saga.

Japanese lawmaker reprimanded for approaching emperor

A member of the Japanese parliament has been reprimanded for attempting to involve the emperor in politics.

China Shanxi blast: Police arrest one suspect

man has been arrested in connection with a series of blasts outside a local Communist Party office in Shanxi province, police and state media say.

Super Typhoon Haiyan batters the Philippines

Typhoon Haiyan struck the central Philippines on Friday, forcing millions of people to flee their homes as powerful winds of up to 313 kph (195 mph) battered the country. At least three people have reportedly been killed by the storm.

Blasts at China regional Communist Party office kill one

A series of small blasts have killed at least one person outside a provincial office of the ruling Communist Party in northern China, state media report.

Why children as young as three are sent to boarding school in China

Family ties are hugely important in China, but thousands of Chinese parents are still sending children as young as three away to boarding school. Why do they do it?Kelly Jiang bounces into her kindergarten classroom, her parents a few steps behind."

Fukushima nuclear plant set for risky operation

More than 1,000 fuel rod assemblies need to be removed from a building that was badly damaged following the tsunamiA task of extraordinary delicacy and danger is about to begin at Japan's Fukushima nuclear power station.

New Zealand police under fire over 'rape club' probe

The New Zealand government ordered an independent inquiry Thursday into allegations that police botched an investigation into an online "rape club" that preyed on underage girls.

Beijing police accused of sexism towards women drivers

Police in China's capital, Beijing, have been accused of sexism over safety tips targeting women drivers.
Beijing police believe that women drivers are lack of sense of direction while driving

China plea paper 'to be overhauled'

A Chinese newspaper that made a front-page appeal for the release of a reporter accused of defamation is to be overhauled, a press regulator says.
Chen Yongzhou appeared on state TV in his prison uniform

China calls car crash a terrorist attack, arrests 5

Authorities identify the three occupants of the car that hit pedestrians at Beijing's Tiananmen Square. The three family members were among five people killed.

Uighurs sell their wares at a market in Beijing. Members of the ethnic minority said they were facing stepped-up scrutiny from Chinese police after the deadly car crash Monday at Beijing's Tiananmen Square. (Ng Han Guan / Associated Press /October 30, 2013)

Returned South Koreans 'entered North Korea via China'

South Korea says six men returned by North Korea on Friday all entered the communist state via China, some in search of a better life.

The six men were returned via Panmunjom, the truce village between the Koreas

China's manufacturing activity at 18-month high

China's manufacturing activity grew at its fastest pace in 18 months in October, adding to signs of a recovery in the world's second-largest economy.

Land deal stand-off continues in China village

A stand-off is continuing a tiny hamlet in China's southern Yunnan province following a violent confrontation between villagers and police last week.

Japan minister: China threatens peace in islands row

Japan's defence minister says China's behaviour over disputed East China Sea islands is jeopardising peace.

Itsunori Onodera's comments came amid heightened tensions between the two countries over islands known as Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China.

China fireworks factory blast kills 11 in Guangxi

An explosion at a fireworks factory in the southern Chinese region of Guangxi has killed 11 people and injured 17, state media say.

Fans Question Suspicious Vote At Thai FCC Election

Fans of Trang FC and Phang Nga FC, two of the six clubs involved in the controversy, want clarification on why the men who voted for them have since stepped away from the clubs' management. 

The election, which saw Worawi Makudi clinch victory over his challenger Virach Chanpanich to retain the post for a fourth consecutive term, was marred by allegations of irregularities. 

It was alleged that outside people were brought in to replace the six clubs' originally-designated representatives, after the poll was delayed from its original date in mid-June.

Things looked more suspicious after Thanya Phovijit, who took part in the poll as Trang's representative, announced a day after voting that he would take a reduced role in managing the team. 

Earthquake Creates Mile Long Rock Wall

A deadly earthquake that struck the Philippines last week created a spectacular rocky wall that stretches for kilometres through farmlands, astounded geologists said Thursday.

Dramatic pictures of the Earth-altering power of the 7.1-magnitide quake have emerged as the government worked to mend the broken central island of Bohol, ground zero of the destruction.

Mayor of Philippine Apologizes Over Deaths

Manila mayor to apologise over Hong Kong deaths

The mayor of the Philippine capital will formally apologise over the deaths of eight Hong Kong tourists in a 2010 hostage crisis, an aide said Wednesday, despite the president insisting none should be given.

Joseph Estrada, a graft-tainted ex-president who was elected mayor of Manila in May, will go to Hong Kong this week to present the apology in the form of a resolution passed by the city council, a city official said.

A formal apology has been one of the long-standing demands by the Hong Kong government over the deaths of the eight tourists in Manila in August 2010 after they were taken hostage by a disgruntled Filipino policeman.

"There is an admission of a bungled operation. The city of Manila is being more candid now," Luch Gempis, secretary of the Manila city council, told AFP.

Philippine authorities have acknowledged that police and other authorities mishandled the hostage situation.

North Korea to Return 6 Detained South Koreans

SEOUL, South Korea October 24, 2013 (AP)

By FOSTER KLUG Associated Press

North Korea plans to allow six detained South Koreans to return home, officials in Seoul said Thursday, an unusual move that accompanied Pyongyang's separate approval of a visit by South Korean lawmakers to a recently restarted factory park both Koreas run in the North.

Pyongyang's Red Cross sent a letter to the South saying the detained South Koreans will cross over the heavily armed border at the so-called truce village of Panmunjom on Friday, according to a short statement from the South's Unification Ministry, which is responsible for cross-border ties.

Moomoo the cat's shooter hands himself in

• 
  

• 
  An x-ray of the crossbow bolt that pierced the skull of a cat -Source: Massey University
• 
  The crossbow bolt that was removed from a cat's head -Source: Massey University

A Wainuiomata teenager has claimed responsibility for shooting a cat through the head with a crossbow bolt.

On Tuesday, Donna Ferari rushed four-year-old Moomoo to a veterinarian clinic after discovering him cowering in bushes with what looked like an arrow through his head.

Massey University vets managed to remove the bolt as it went in above the cat's left eye and out behind his ear but did not touch the brain.

Family mourns NSW water-bomber pilot

The body of a pilot killed during a firefighting operation in NSW has been recovered. Source: AAP

A FIREFIGHTING pilot who died when his waterbombing plane crashed in southern NSW was naturally skilled, respected and professional, his family says.

David Black, 43, died when his Dromader aircraft crashed while fighting a fire at Wirritin in Budawang National Park, 40 kilometres west of Ulladulla, around 10am (AEDT) on Thursday.

Reports say one of the plane's wings fell off before the aircraft plummeted to the ground.

Bushfire claims hit $138m and rising

More than 1000 claims have been made by those who lost property in the NSW bushfires, the ICA says. Source: AAP

DAMAGE from the NSW bushfires has been estimated at $138 million but the Insurance Council (ICA) of Australia expects it to increase as more inspections are conducted.

On Friday morning 1011 claims had been made, ICA CEO Rob Whelan said.

More than 200 homes have been destroyed and more than 100 were damaged in the large fires but more claims are expected as many areas haven't been declared safe and insurance assessors can't enter.

Thailand's Buddhist Supreme Patriarch dies aged 100

Thailand's most senior Buddhist leader, the Supreme Patriarch Somdet Phra Nyanasamvara, has died aged 100.

He passed away on Thursday after suffering a blood infection following recent surgery for an intestinal infection, doctors said.

He had been receiving treatment at Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital in Bangkok since being admitted for an illness more than a decade ago.

Chinese court set to rule on Bo Xilai appeal

Supporters of Mr Bo, in handcuffs, believe he is the victim of a political purge

Continue reading the main story

Bo Xilai scandal

• Will leaders regret Bo's fall?
• Profile: Bo Xilai
• Transparency or theatre?
• Key players

A Chinese court is set to rule on the appeal of disgraced top politician Bo Xilai, the former Chongqing Communist Party leader.

Bo was jailed for life in September on charges of bribery, embezzlement and abuse of power.

He was removed from office in 2012 amid a scandal which saw his wife convicted of a British businessman's murder.

Titanic project to start by year's end

Updated: 2013-10-24 20:36

By Ma Lie ( chinadaily.com.cn)

A project to rebuild the Titanic, the first one in the world to original scale, is set to be started by the end of this year in Daying county, Sichuanprovince, West China Metropolis Daily reported on Wednesday.

As part of the province's 10-billion-yuan ($1.64 billion) tourist investment, the new Titanic will be built to original size; 270 meters long, and 28meters wide.

The project will be carried out by a US company and will commence by the end of this year.

Su Shaojun, head of the investment company for the new Titanic, said that the ship will stay permanently in the county and highlight the originalvessel's luxury.

Titanic sank after hitting an iceberg on its maiden voyage from Britain to the United States in April 1912 but its hold on the global imaginationremains undiminished.

Mixed marriages in China a labour of love

By Zoe MurphyBBC News

"From the first time I started to love a Chinese man, hiding became part of my life," says American Jocelyn Eickenburg.

She had moved to Shanghai in 2003 to be with her now-husband Jun Yu.

"In the past, students had been expelled for dating or marrying foreigners. We didn't know what would happen if the university administration found out, so we told no-one he was living off-campus with me," she says.

A foreign woman with a Chinese man is a rare pairing.

Cruise missiles on parade in South Korea show

1 October 2013 Last updated at 11:30 BST

South Korea is staging what officials describe as its largest military parade in a decade, as its president warns of a "very grave" threat from North Korea.

Cruise missiles and torpedoes were amongst the weapons displayed in the armed forces day parade, reports said.

US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel also attended the event marking the 65th anniversary of South Korea's armed forces.

Around 11,000 soldiers and 120 aircraft were mobilised for the event.

Japan aims to beam solar energy down from orbit

wired.co.uk -- Oct 03

The Japanese space agency JAXA is developing a revolutionary concept to put "power stations" in orbit to capture sunlight and beam it to Earth.

The country has been looking for new power sources following the devastating earthquake and tsunami in March, 2011, that destroyed much of the north-east of the country and caused a meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant.

Leak traced to overfilling of tank built on slope

NHK -- Oct 03

The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant says the latest leak of radioactive wastewater has been traced to the overfilling of a storage tank built on a slope.

Tokyo Electric Power Company officials apologized at a news conference on Thursday for the leaks that surface on an almost daily basis.

The tank is on the mountain side of the plant's No.4 reactor. The TEPCO officials said the tank was built on ground that slopes toward the ocean, and the leak occurred on the side that faces the sea.

They estimate that 430 liters of wastewater seeped outside the barrier around the tank and say some of this water may have flowed into the sea, about 200 meters away.

Workers had been careful not to fill the tank to the top. But on Wednesday, they put in too much rainwater that had pooled nearby.

Shortly after 8:00 PM on Wednesday, workers found wastewater leaking from the upper part of the tank.

They detected 200,000 becquerels per liter of beta ray-emitting radioactive substances in water pooled inside the barrier around the tank. The safety limit is 30 becquerels per liter.

Bo Xilai found guilty on all charges, sentenced to life in prison

By Steven Jiang, CNN

Beijing (CNN) -- A court in eastern China sentenced Bo Xilai -- the former rising star of the ruling Communist Party who fell from power amid a scandal involving murder, betrayal and financial skullduggery -- to life in prison Sunday.

Bo received the life sentence for bribe-taking, as well as 15 years for embezzlement and seven years for abuse of power.

The sentences, which came shortly after the guilty verdicts, surprised some analysts.

"I'm actually a little bit surprised. I think it's a very strong verdict" compared to some previous cases, said Yuhua Wang, a political science professor at University of Pennsylvania.

"He was a political star before falling from grace. He was ... the son of a revolutionary veteran. His father was Mao's colleague," he added.

Australia's New South Wales State Sets New Limits on Coal-Seam Gas Drilling

 

PERTH, Oct 3 (Reuters) - Australia's New South Wales has implemented new regulations that would keep some areas of the state off limits to new coal-seam gas drilling, potentially affecting the plans of gas developers such as AGL Energy.

Global sugar demand leaves Cambodian farmers landless

Song Kong, a 56-year-old farmer in Cambodia's southern Koh Kong Province, vividly recalls the day in 2006 when a bulldozer arrived and began clearing his paddy field to make room for a sugar plantation. Since then, life has become much worse for him and 456 other families who also lost their land in Sre Ambel District. 

“Before my farmland was taken from me, I was able to save at least US$1,000 every year. Now, I don't have any land, so I rely on fishing in the rice fields and streams,” said Kong, a representative of the community. He earns between US$1.25 and $2.50 per day - not enough for his family of six to live on - so there is nothing left to put aside for a safety cushion, or plan for a better future.

Waters rise in Cambodia after deadly floods kill 

At least 30 people have been killed in floods in Cambodia as heavy monsoon rains have drowned provinces along the Mekong river, raising fears the country is set for a repeat of the 1996 floods, which killed 170 and affected a million people nationwide.

The Mekong has burst its banks in several places, forcing tens of thousands of people to higher ground.

Possible gas find reported in Papua New Guinea

Published: Sept. 27, 2013 at 6:54 AM

WOOLLOOMOOLOO, Australia, Sept. 27 (UPI) -- An apparent onshore natural gas field in Papua New Guinea could possibly give up approximately 400 billion cubic feet of reserves, Horizon Oil announced.

Cambodian opposition rejects Hun Sen election win

Cambodia's opposition on Monday rejected the claim of victory by the ruling party of strongman Prime Minister Hun Sen in weekend elections, alleging widespread irregularities.

"The Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) cannot accept the results of the fifth parliamentary election ... because the CNRP has found a lot of serious irregularities," the party said in a statement.

It called for a committee representing the two main political parties, the National Election Committee, civil organizations and the United Nations to "be urgently established" to investigate complaints.

Cambodian Prime Minister Extends Reign Amid Opposition Boycott of Parliament

By THOMAS FULLER

Published: September 23, 2013

BANGKOK — Cambodia’s long-serving, authoritarian prime minister, Hun Sen, was elected to another five-year term in office on Tuesday despite a deadlock with the opposition, which has refused to attend the National Assembly in protest over alleged electoral cheating.

Mr. Hun Sen was set to be sworn into office later Tuesday by Cambodia’s king, Norodom Sihamoni, officially extending the prime minister’s 28 years in power.

The king has sought in vain to broker an end to the acrimony after Mr. Hun Sen’s foes claimed widespread cheating in the July 28 election and rejected the official results, which left Mr. Hun Sen’s Cambodia People’s Party in the majority, though weakened.

New Zealand 'beefs' up presence in China

The growing appetite for beef in China - which can’t be met by domestic production in the near-term - is good news for New Zealand exporters, according to a new industry report.
In its report, ‘Australia and New Zealand beef up their presence in China’, agricultural banking specialist Rabobank says Chinese beef consumption is expected to continue growing at a faster pace than domestic production, increasing the reliance on imports to satisfy demand.
Report co-author, Rabobank animal proteins analyst Matt Costello warns however, that while the New Zealand beef industry sees long-term growth and potential within the Chinese market, so too do competitors from around the world.