25 Mar 11 Massive earthquake hits Burma near Thailand border Dangerous breach suspected at quake-stricken Japan nuclear plant Report: Hamas calls on UN to halt Israel's strikes on Gaza Drug-Resistant ‘Super Bug’ Hits LA County Hospitals, Nursing Homes Global food scare widens from Japan nuclear plant Clashes break out at Jordan anti-government protest Nato takes over Libya no-fly zone Japan investigation into nuclear plant radiation leak UNHRC condemns Israel on Golan, okays Iran rapporteur Shalev: UNGA ‘Palestine’ resolution may have real impact PM: Israel will respond with 'utmost strength' to terror Japan tsunami: Toll tops 10,000 two weeks after quake Gaddafi's entourage sends out secret peace feelers Gaza militants fire rockets deep into Israel Sales of luxe doomsday bunkers up 1,000%
AT least 75 people were killed when a strong earthquake struck Burma, officials said today, with fears that the toll would rise as news filtered through from remote areas still cut off. Tremors were felt as far away as Bangkok, almost 800km from the epicentre, Hanoi and parts of China when the earthquake hit late yesterday, which the US Geological Survey (USGS) measured at magnitude 6.8.
Suspicions of breach at Fukushima nuclear plant raised when two workers waded into water 10,000 time more radioactive than normal and suffered skin burns. A suspected breach in the reactor core at one unit of a stricken Fukushima nuclear plant could mean more serious radioactive contamination, Japanese officials said Friday, revealing what may prove a major setback in the mission to bring the leaking plant under control.
Hamas called on the United Nations on Friday to put an end to the "crime of the recent attacks on Gaza," referring to the stepped up Israeli air strikes on the Strip which have come in the wake of increased rocket fire, the pan-Arab daily Al-Quds Al-Arabi reported. The report, which was carried by Israeli media, also said that Taher al-Nunu, a spokesman for the Hamas regime, called on the Arab League to work urgently to stop "recent Israeli aggression."
...Dr. Brad Spellberg, an infectious disease expert at Harbor UCLA Medical Center says there is no current teatment for CRKP bacteria — and there might not be any in the future either. “There’s been a complete collapse in the development of new antibiotics over the last decade…and in the next decade there isn’t going to be anything that becomes available that’s going to be able to treat these bacteria,” said Spellberg.
Countries across the world shunned Japanese food imports Thursday as radioactive steam leaked from a disaster-struck nuclear plant, straining nerves in Tokyo. The grim toll of dead and missing from Japan's monster quake and tsunami on March 11 topped 26,000, as hundreds of thousands remained huddled in evacuation shelters and fears grew in the megacity of Tokyo over water safety.
Supporters of Jordan's government have clashed with protesters demanding political reforms in the capital Amman. Reports say supporters of the king threw stones at the hundreds of protesters camped in Gamal Abdel Nasser Square, injuring a number of them. The protesters were demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Marouf al-Bakhit, reforms to parliament and for corrupt officials to stand trial.
Nato says it has agreed to take over responsibility from the US for enforcing the no-fly zone over Libya. Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said talks would continue on giving Nato a "broader responsibility", with a decision possible in the coming days. There have been differences of opinion about whether attacks on ground troops should form part of the action.
The Japanese government says an investigation is under way to establish the source of the radiation leak at the quake-hit Fukushima nuclear plant, which left two workers in hospital. The plant's operator says dangerously high radiation levels recorded in water at one reactor raise the possibility its core has been damaged. Meanwhile, the official death toll from the 11 March earthquake and tsunami has passed 10,000, police say.
The United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva on Thursday denounced the Israeli presence in the Golan Heights and created the post of a special investigator into human rights issues in Iran. The resolution on the “Syrian Golan,” which calls for an immediate cessation of any “settlement” construction in the Golan, is the first of six resolutions on Israel. The UNHRC is expected to approve the remaining five resolutions when it wraps up its 16th session on Friday.
Israel failed to realize until recently that the Palestinian bid to win United Nations General Assembly endorsement for statehood in September might not be merely declarative, but could have profound practical consequences under the provisions of a little-known UNGA resolution, Gabriela Shalev, the former Israeli ambassador to the UN, has told The Jerusalem Post. UNGA Resolution 377, also known as the “Uniting for Peace” resolution, was passed during the Korean War in 1950, at the initiative of the US, because the Soviet Union was vetoing UN Security Council action to protect South Korea.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Friday said that Israel is "prepared to respond with the utmost strength in order to put a stop to terror," Israel Radio reported. Netanyahu's comments came prior to a meeting with US Defense Secretary Robert Gates in Caesarea. Prior to the meeting, Gates said that security ties between Washington and Israel are closer than they have ever been.
The death toll from Japan's 11 March earthquake and tsunami has topped 10,000, police say. More than 17,440 people are listed as missing, and 2,775 as injured. Many hundreds of thousands of people remain homeless, short of food, water and shelter after the magnitude 9.0 quake shattered communities.
Members of Muammar Gaddafi's entourage are putting out feelers to seek a ceasefire or safe passage from Libya, according to U.S. and European officials and a businessman close to the Libyan leadership.
Palestinian militants in Gaza fired a new wave of rockets that landed deep inside Israel Thursday, defying Israeli retaliatory attacks and threats. As the violence threatened to escalate the day after a deadly Jerusalem bombing, Israel got a boost from the visiting U.S. defense chief, who said no country could tolerate the "repugnant" attacks on its soil.
A devastating earthquake strikes Japan. A massive tsunami kills thousands. Fears of a nuclear meltdown run rampant. Bloodshed and violence escalate in Libya. And U.S. companies selling doomsday bunkers are seeing sales skyrocket anywhere from 20% to 1,000%.
