MAY 13 (Reuters) — Nepalese woke up on Wednesday (May 13) after a night sleeping outdoors a day following a second powerful earthquake hit the Himalayan nation, bringing down buildings weakened by the first disaster and killing at least 66 people, including 17 in neighbouring India and one in Chinese Tibet. A 7.3 earthquake shook the region on Tuesday (May 12), the strongest since a massive magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck on April 25. Most of […]
Asia
Philippine Army reasserts claim on disputed island in South China Sea
MAY 13 (Reuters) — Philippine military officials traveled to a disputed island held by the Philippines on Monday (May 11) to re-establish its claim amid tensions with Beijing and its reclamation activities in the South China Sea. China’s rapid reclamation around seven reefs in the Spratlys archipelago of the South China Sea has alarmed claimants, including the Philippines and Vietnam, and drawn growing criticism from U.S. government officials and the military. Armed Forces of the […]
Nepal earthquake survivors turn to rebuilding homes and lives
MAY 11 (Reuters) — Earthquake survivors in Kathmandu began cleanup work and turn to rebuilding their lives on Monday morning (May 11), 16 days after a massive earthquake brought down buildings and killed thousands of people. Workers were seen cleaning up Durbar Square, a UNESCO world heritage site that used to attract tens of thousands of tourists every year before the disaster. Despite the government’s pledge to rebuild the country, some worry that the task […]
Pakistan helicopter crashes killing Norwegian, Philippine ambassadors
MAY 8 (Reuters) — A Pakistan military helicopter carrying diplomats to the launch of projects in northern Pakistan crashed on Friday (May 8) killing six people, including the ambassadors of Norway and the Philippines and the wives of the ambassadors of Malaysia and Indonesia, the army said. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was travelling to the mountainous northern region of Gilgit on a separate aircraft to launch two projects when the accident happened. He returned to Islamabad, his […]
Nepal asks for international support for reconstruction
MAY 5 — The prime minister of Nepal asked the international community for support for reconstruction after a magnitude 7.8 earthquake hit the said nation. Said support is needed for the rebuilding of infrastructure and business establishments. Nepal is considered as one of the poorest countries in the world. The death toll of said earthquake has reached more than 7,000. (Kathmandu, Nepal)
Bamboo keyboard, gaining fame in China
MAY 5 — The newest technological trend in China is environmentally-friendly. Instead of using the usual plastic computer components, a Chinese manufacturer makes computer keyboards and mouse made of bamboo. (Beijing, China)
China lodges protest with U.S. after religious freedom report
CHINA lodged a protest with the United States after a U.S. government commission said Chinese violations of religious freedom were “severe” and “systematic”, the Foreign Ministry said on Monday (May 4). The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, a bipartisan U.S. federal government body, said in a report last week that there were “unprecedented violations” against Christians, Buddhists and Muslims in China last year. The report urged the U.S. Department of State to re-designate China’s […]
May 1 rallies across Asia demand higher pay, better workers’ rights.
MAY 1 (Reuters) — Marches in various cities in Asia on Friday (May 1) rallied for workers’ rights on May Day. In Dhaka, thousands of workers took to the streets to demand better working conditions, especially for those working in garment factories. “We don’t want to see anymore Rana Plazas, no more Tazreen in Bangladesh. This means that we want to see the garment industry and the workers who work there have a safe working […]
UN agencies join in Nepal quake relief
MAY 1 (Reuters) — The devastating earthquake in Nepal has drawn high attention from all over the world and several of the UN agencies are offering their help for its recovery. In the past two days, the World Food Program and its affiliate corporations donated over 100 tons of food to the worst-hit districts while the UN Children’s Fund delivered nearly 30 tons of supplies, including tents, water purification tablets, and first aid and hygiene […]
Woman trapped for five days under quake rubble, rescued in Nepal
RESCUERS on Thursday (April 30), pulled free a woman who had been trapped under a collapsed building for five days following a 7.8 magnitude earthquake which devastated the tiny Himalayan nation of Nepal. Krishna Devi Kadkha, who is in her late twenties, was working as a maid in a Kathmandu hostel when the quake struck. She spent five days trapped under the rubble with three bodies, including that of her uncle. The alarm was raised by 14 […]
Many quake survivors still stranded in Nepal’s mountainous regions
APRIL 30 (Reuters) — Many survivors of the Nepal earthquake were still waiting to be evacuated from rural mountainous regions on Thursday (April 30), as the United Nations said relief efforts need to be scaled up. Local Nepalese television broadcast footage on Thursday (April 30) showed hundreds of survivors of the Nepal earthquake desperately trying to board a helicopter. Reuters cannot independently identify the locations or confirm the dates the video was filmed. More than […]
Ambulances carrying bodies of executed drug convicts leave Indonesian prison island
APRIL 29 (Reuters) — Ambulances carrying the remains of executed drug convicts left the Indonesian prison island of Nusakambangan on Wednesday (April 29). The eight people, including nationals of Australia, Nigeria, Brazil and Indonesia, were executed by firing squad after midnight. But a Filipina who was on the same execution list was not executed as part of the group. A spokesman for the Attorney General’s Office said it had delayed the execution of Mary Jane […]
