Asia

Japan nuclear agency says Fukushima water leak risk exaggerated

"The chief of Japan’s nuclear watchdog chided the operator of the Fukushima plant Thursday for its inability properly to explain problems, which he said was inflating fears around the world. Shunichi Tanaka, chairman of the Nuclear Regulation Authority, said information given by Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO) on the level of radioactive contamination was 'scientifically unacceptable'. Tanaka’s comments come after TEPCO announced it had detected a hotspot with a reading of 2,200 millisieverts per hour. TEPCO has confirmed that a reading of 2,200 millisieverts per hour would be enough to kill a person in a matter of hours." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJapan nuclear agency says Fukushima water leak risk exaggerated

Fukushima ‘not under control’ – TEPCO official refutes PM’s assurances

"A senior TEPCO official contradicted Prime Minister Shinzo Abe by saying the radioactive water leakage at the crippled Fukushima plant is not under control. The official, Kazuhiko Yamashita, was asked his opinion of comments by Abe regarding the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Plant to the International Olympic Committee (IOC). 'I think the current situation is that it is not under control,' Yamashita said at a hearing in Koriyama City, Fukushima Prefecture, on Friday before further apologizing for the leaks." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFukushima ‘not under control’ – TEPCO official refutes PM’s assurances

Bangladesh police fire rubber bullets at workers seeking $100 month wage

"The vast majority of the impoverished nation’s three million workers earn a basic monthly wage of 3,000 taka ($38) — among the lowest in the world — following a deal between unions, the government and manufacturers in August 2010. On Saturday, dozens of factories were forced to shut after at least 20,000 workers left their machines to demand the wage rise. Angry demonstrators hurled stones at the outside of some 20 factories after managers refused to allow some employees to join the protests, police said. Widespread protests seeking wage rises in 2006 and 2010 led to deadly clashes, leaving dozens of workers dead and hundreds of factories vandalised." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBangladesh police fire rubber bullets at workers seeking $100 month wage

Monetary Authority of Singapore warns on ‘unregulated’ bitcoin

"The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) is cautioning consumers against bitcoin trading even as a few merchants in Singapore have started accepting the digital currency as payment for physical goods. Invented in 2009, bitcoin is the world's most well-known digital currency. It is not issued or managed by a single company or monetary authority. Bitcoins can be bought through online exchanges that convert real money into the virtual currency. Due to its anonymous nature, bitcoin trading was declared illegal in Thailand in July over money laundering concerns. An MAS spokesman told The Straits Times that consumers should be wary of such trading." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMonetary Authority of Singapore warns on ‘unregulated’ bitcoin

Muslim beauty pageant challenges Miss World

"Muslim women in headscarves and elaborately embroidered dresses took to the stage Wednesday for the finale of an Islamic beauty pageant in Indonesia, a riposte to the Miss World contest that has sparked hardline anger. 'We’re just trying to show the world that Islam is beautiful,' Obabiyi Aishah Ajibola, a 21-year-old contestant from Nigeria, told AFP backstage in the capital, Jakarta, before the final got under way. 'We are free and the hijab (Muslim headscarf) is our pride,' she said, adding that the pageant was 'nothing like Miss World, where women expose their bodies'." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMuslim beauty pageant challenges Miss World

Moon Shining At Sunset: Marina Bay Sands Resort in Singapore

"This sunset shot at the Marina Bay Sands was one in a million. The sky lit up just right as the moon was rising behind the resort. Many people don’t know but the resort is an actual complex complete with a shopping mall, casino, and a Venice Gondola ride. One of the cool things about the Marina Bay Sands Resort besides the amazing infinity rooftop pool is the fact that you can use your hotel Wi-Fi throughout the entire shopping complex. The picture was taken from the famous Merlion statue just across the water from the resort. This also happens to be where the cars zip by in the only night time Formula 1 race." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMoon Shining At Sunset: Marina Bay Sands Resort in Singapore

World’s first ‘invisible’ skyscraper planned for South Korea

"Architects in South Korea are going to need one big invisibility cloak. Seoul will soon add a 1,476-foot tower to its skyline, you just may not be able to see it. The international architectural firm GDS Architect received the green light to begin building the 'world's first invisible tower.' The glass-encased Tower Infinity will use cameras to snap real-time pictures of the area directly behind the building and project them back onto the building's reflective surface. This will create the illusion that viewers are looking straight through the building." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWorld’s first ‘invisible’ skyscraper planned for South Korea

Mining for digital gold in Thailand

"Bitcoin can be compared with voice-over-IP or internet telephone in the last decade. The technologies were first deemed illegal since there was no law supporting them. Surangkana Wayuparb, director of the Electronic Transactions Development Agency (ETDA) under the Information and Communication Technology Ministry, said the agency will study the business model of Bitcoin, as well as possible regulations and public awareness of this digital currency since the central bank said the issue was not within its authority. Don Sambandaraksa said the decision by the central bank to ban trading of Bitcoins in and out of the country while still allows Bitcoin mining doesn't make any sense." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMining for digital gold in Thailand

Google Street View driver in triple hit and run crash in Indonesia

"A driver collecting video data for internet giant Google’s Street View feature in Indonesia slammed into two vehicles after trying to flee responsibility for an earlier crash, police said Saturday. The Indonesian man had been driving a Subaru hatchback in Bogor district on the outskirts of the capital, Jakarta, on Wednesday with Google’s logo and a camera poking from the roof, when he hit a public minivan. The minivan driver got in his vehicle, Gunawan said, and gave chase for around three kilometres (around two miles), before the Google car smashed into a second minivan. 'He tried to flee again, but soon crashed into a parked truck before he gave up,' Gunawan said." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGoogle Street View driver in triple hit and run crash in Indonesia

South Korean troops kill man trying to swim North

"South Korean troops shot dead a man trying to swim across a border river into North Korea on Monday after he ignored repeated warnings to turn back, the defence ministry said. The spokesman said Nam was believed to have been trying to defect to the North, and had jumped into the river with a flotation device to help him get across. Hours before the shooting, hundreds of South Korean factory supervisors drove across a nearby border crossing into North Korea after both sides agreed to reopen a joint industrial zone shut down in April." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSouth Korean troops kill man trying to swim North