Asia

Explosion in China leaves 50 dead

CHINA, Asia, August 14 (Eagle News) — A warehouse exploded in a port city in China which left 50 dead, including 12 firefighters who responded to the explosion. Said warehouse is full of toxic chemicals, which forced authorities to suspend operations to ascertain the danger brought by these chemicals. (Eagle News Service Jay Paul Carlos, Jericho Morales, MRFaith Bonalos) https://youtu.be/dH6R1D2J6ms

Rescue efforts continue as death toll rises to 50 in Tianjin blasts

  (Reuters) — The devastated port city of Tianjin woke up in the morning on Friday (August 14) as search and rescue efforts continued after huge explosions hit the city, killing at least 50 with hundreds injured. Black smoke was still seen at the site of blasts while the search and rescue operation was underway. Investigators searched for clues on Friday to identify what caused two huge explosions at a warehouse used to store toxic […]

Japan restarts nuclear reactor amid protests

  (Reuters) — Japan switched on a nuclear reactor for the first time in nearly two years on Tuesday (August 11) despite strong protests nationwide. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe seeks to reassure a nervous public that tougher standards mean the sector is now safe after the Fukushima disaster in 2011 but opinion polls show a majority of the public oppose the move after the nuclear crisis triggered by the earthquake and tsunami in March 2011. […]

Xinhua: Typhoon lashes China’s east coast, 14 dead and 4 missing

  (Reuters) A typhoon battered China’s east coast on Sunday, killing 14 people and forcing the authorities to evacuate hundreds of thousands more. The 14 were killed after being washed away by flash floods or buried under collapsed houses or landslides, state news agency Xinhua said, citing authorities in Zhejiang province. Another four people were missing. Typhoon Soudelor forced more than 188,400 people to leave their homes in Zhejiang and 320,000 in neighboring Fujian, Xinhua […]

Typhoon Soudelor kills 6, causes floods in parts of Taiwan

(Reuters) Many Taiwanese residents caught in the path of Typhoon Soudelor were left with their homes flooded after the powerful storm battered the island on Saturday (August 8), killing at least six and injuring 64. In the greater Taipei area, the authorities worked to rescue around two dozen people trapped by a mudslide. “We received a report from people earlier that there was a mudslide. Then we sent a fire truck and rescue vehicle here to […]

Approaching typhoon brings gales, rainstorms and waves to Taiwan

Aug. 7 (Reuters) – Heavy gales, huge waves and rainstorms have hit Taiwan’s eastern areas, Ilan and Hualien in particular, as Typhoon Soudelor was moving slowly to the island on Friday night. Taiwan’s meteorological agency predicted that the typhoon would land in the eastern coastal areas of Taiwan on Saturday morning. And the strong typhoon could bring heavy rain to Taiwan, especially from Friday afternoon through Saturday. By the seaside of Ilan, the huge waves reached […]

Earthquake hits eastern Japan

IBARAKI, Japan, August 7 (Eagle News) — A magnitude 5.2 earthquake shook the eastern part of Japan, centering on the Ibaraki Prefecture with aftershocks being felt at the capital of Tokyo. (Eagle News Service Jay Paul Carlos, Jericho Morales, MRFaith Bonalos)

China agrees to expedite discussions regarding territorial dispute

KUALA Lumpur, Malaysia, August 7 (Eagle News) — According to the Malaysian Foreign Minister, China is now ready to take the talks regarding the territorial dispute to the next level. Said issue on the territorial dispute is one of the pressing concerns of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). (Eagle News Service Jay Paul Carlos, Dexter Magno, MRFaith Bonalos) https://youtu.be/0z6ZugtIKbM

Taiwan braces for most powerful storm in years

AUGUST 7 (Reuters) — Taiwan cancelled flights and school classes on Friday (August 7) as the strongest typhoon in two years churned straight for the island and was expected to make a direct hit at the weekend. Typhoon Soudelor which is due to make landfall on Saturday (August 8) has already claimed its first victims, with two people dead and one missing in choppy waters off the coast of Taiwan’s north-eastern Yilan County, the coast […]

Families of MH370 victims relive trauma

(Courtesy CCTV news) — Relatives of those on board Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 say the discovery of the first physical evidence of the plane has brought back the trauma of the aircraft’s disappearance. “It’s been sleepless nights, and it’s panic, nervous, fear, everything rolled into one, so I don’t know what to call it,” said Jacquita Gonzales, wife of the MH370 inflight supervisor Patrick Francis Gomes. “The very familiar, overpowering emotions and intense shocks, just […]

Kerry calls for halt in land reclamation, militarization and construction in South China Sea

  (Eagle News) — U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Thursday (August 6) called on China and all claimants to the disputed South China Sea to refrain from further “land reclamation, militarization and construction projects” in the area. This came about as the Philippine government expressed its thanks that the international community is seeing the realities of the South China Sea dispute and that the other affected countries are responding in an appropriate manner. […]

Philippines deports Chinese gambling lord

MANILA, Philippines, August 6 (Eagle News) – Justice Secretary Leila De Lima confirmed that Chinese gambling lord Wang Bo was deported to China where there is an outstanding arrest warrant against him. (Eagle News Service Jay Paul Carlos, Jericho Morales, MRFaith Bonalos)