 Officials began inspecting bridges and roads across Hawaii early Monday following the strongest earthquake to rattle the islands in more than two decades, a 6.6-magnitude quake that caused blackouts and landslides but no reported fatalities. At least one stretch of road leading to a bridge near the earthquake's epicenter on the Big Island collapsed, Civil Defense Agency spokesman Dave Curtis said Monday. Several other roads on the Big Island were closed by mudslides, debris and boulders, but most were still passable, he said. The power was back on across most of the islands Monday morning. "The Big Island is practically all up. Maui is all up. Kauai didn't sustain any damage as far as we can tell; their power has always been on," Rod Haraga of the Hawaii Department of Transportation said on CBS News' The Early Show. "The big problem is in Oahu, where we have 800,000 population." The power grid there has only been restored 50 percent, he said. ...
http://www.cbsnews.com
censor News |
Editor - 09:59:00 10-16-06
|
 Israel Wants Lebanon Talks but Not Syria |
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Monday invited the Lebanese prime minister to begin peace talks following Israel's recent war against Hezbollah guerrillas, but Olmert ruled out peace talks with Syria at the present time, saying President Bashar Assad isn't a suitable negotiating partner.Olmert said Assad must halt its support for Palestinian militant groups before the two nations can hold peace talks and dismissed the Syrian leader's calls for negotiations as a "negotiating tactic." Syria hosts the top leaders of Hamas, the ruling Palestinian political party, which is committed to Israel's destruction.Olmert said that Israel made significant gains in its battle against the Lebanese guerrilla group. Olmert has been heavily criticized for his handling of the war, in which Hezbollah fired thousands of rockets into Israel....
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/10/16/ap/world/mainD8KPPMIO1.shtml
full News |
Editor - 09:55:00 10-16-06
|
| Australia to ban N Korean ships |
Australia is to ban North Korean ships from entering its ports in response to its claimed nuclear bomb test, the foreign minister has announced. Alexander Downer told Parliament the move would help Australia make a "quite clear contribution" to other sanctions agreed by the UN on Saturday. The move came as US envoy Christopher Hill arrived in Tokyo for talks on how to enforce the sanctions. The UN resolution imposes both weapons and financial sanctions on the North. But despite the unanimous vote, disagreements have emerged between the members of the council. Beijing has indicated that it still has reservations about carrying out the extensive cargo inspections that Washington says are called for in the resolution. ...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6054186.stm
full News |
Editor - 09:50:00 10-16-06
|
| U.S. confirms North Korean nuclear test |
An analysis of air samples collected shortly after North Korea declared it had conducted an underground nuclear explosion confirms the test took place, according to the office of the U.S. director of national intelligence. The analysis detected radioactive debris, indicating the explosive yield was less than one kiloton, said a statement from John Negroponte's office. That is relatively small for a nuclear test. The first air sample collected after Pyongyang's announcement last week contained no radioactive debris, but a second one did, as CNN reported Friday. Officials wanted to do more analysis before confirming the North Korean test. Sources said a nuclear facility in Russia is near the North Korean border, and analysts wanted to rule it out as the source of the radioactive debris. The development came as a senior U.S. official said Monday that China apparently is inspecting trucks on its border bound for North Korea despite ...
http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/asiapcf/10/16/nkorea.sanctions/index.html?section=cnn_world
full News |
Editor - 09:47:00 10-16-06
|
| China in rural birth control bid |
China is to bring in new financial incentives to encourage people in rural areas to have fewer children in another bid to control its rising population. From next year, parents in the countryside will get an annual payment when they reach the age of 60, provided they have only one child, or two girls. A lack of social security in rural areas has encouraged some families to break China's one-child policy. China's population is now 1.3bn, making it the most populous nation on earth. From next year, parents aged over 60 who have only one child, or two girls, will receive 600 yuan ($76) - around a fifth of an average farmer's income - the China Daily reports. The aim is to ease the burden on single children looking after elderly parents, the newspaper added. ...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6054594.stm
full News |
Editor - 09:44:00 10-16-06
|
| Sri Lanka attack causes carnage |
At least 99 people have been killed in a Tamil Tiger suicide attack on a military bus convoy in northern Sri Lanka, the military says. At least 100 people were hurt in a huge blast when an explosives-loaded truck rammed buses of troops, officials said. In a BBC interview, the Tamil Tigers did not confirm or deny the attack - one of the biggest in two decades of conflict - but said it was justified. The government has launched air strikes on Tamil Tiger positions in the north. The buses, targeted at a site near the town of Habarana, 190km (120 miles) north-east of the capital Colombo, were carrying unarmed navy servicemen on leave, the military said. The incident comes after at least 129 Sri Lanka soldiers were killed and 300 injured in fighting on Wednesday - the worst single day of casualties for the military since a ceasefire was signed in 2002. ...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6054470.stm
full News |
Editor - 09:42:00 10-16-06
|
|
| post The Good, The Bad and The Ugly |
|
|
