Fukushima School in Limbo, Two Years After Nuclear Disaster
Akiko Fujita/ABC News(NAMIE, Japan) — Two years since taking over at Ukedo Elementary School in the town of Namie, the 54-year-old school principal Michie Niikawa has yet to welcome her first class of students, greet teachers or visit classrooms. Most…
On Eve of Quake Anniversary, Thousands Demand End to Nuclear Power
Stockbyte/Thinkstock(TOKYO) — Thousands rallied against a government plan to restart idle nuclear reactors in Japan on Sunday.The protests come as the country marks the second anniversary of the Fukushima nuclear disaster. Two years later, 160,000 peo…
North Korea Claims Nuclear Missiles ‘on Standby’
Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images(SEOUL, South Korea) — A leading general in North Korea claims the country has a long-range missile armed with nuclear warheads on standby. Pyongyang repeated its Thursday vow to ditch all non-aggression pacts with South Kor…
N. Korea Continues Tough Talk, Claims to Have Nuke-Tipped Missiles
Ed Jones/AFP/Getty Images(SEOUL, South Korea) — North Korea continued its provocative rhetoric on Friday, a day after the U.N. Security Council voted to impose tough new sanctions on the country as punishment for its nuclear weapon and ballistic missi…
North Korea’s Nuclear Strike Threat Fails to Stop UN Sanctions
TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP/Getty Images(SEOUL, South Korea) — The U.N. Security Council on Thursday brushed off a threat by North Korea to launch a “pre-emptive nuclear strike” and voted to impose tough new sanctions on the country as punishment for its nuc…
North Korea Threatens Nuclear Strike Against US
Ed Jones/AFP/Getty Images(SEOUL, South Korea) — Just hours before the United Nations votes on tougher sanctions against the country, North Korea has issued a new threat against the United States.In a statement carried by the Korean Central News Agency…
Britain to Provide Armored Vehicles to Syrian Rebels
Scott Peterson/Getty Images(LONDON) — While stopping short of offering weapons, Britain has announced its intention to provide non-lethal support to the rebels battling government forces of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.The millions of dollars’ wor…
Taliban Hands Over Bodies of 16 Afghan Soldiers
Patrick Smith/Getty Images(WARDOOJ, Afghanistan) — The Taliban turned over the bodies of 16 Afghan soldiers killed in an attack on Sunday.
The firefight, which took place in the district of Wardooj, was among the deadliest attacks on Afghan National A…
One Million Syrians Have Fled Country, UN Says
BULENT KILIC/AFP/Getty Images(GENEVA) — As expected, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) announced on Wednesday that the number of Syrians who have fled the country, which has been embroiled in a bloody two-year civ…
John Kerry Critiques Dennis Rodman Diplomacy
SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) — Secretary of State John Kerry on Tuesday offered his assessment of Dennis Rodman’s diplomatic skills in the wake of the former NBA star’s controversial visit to North Korea, where he called leader Kim Jon…
President Assad: Only the Syrian People Can Tell Me to Step Down
Sasha Mordovets/Getty Images(LONDON) — Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is rejecting calls from many members of the international community that he should step down to facilitate the end of a bloody two-year civil war in his country that has cost more…
Suicide Bombing in Pakistan Kills 30, Injures 50
George Doyle/Thinkstock(KARACHI, Pakistan) — Pakistan’s largest city was the site of a deadly suicide bomb blast on Sunday morning.The explosion is the latest attack on Pakistan’s Shiite minority. The bomber reportedly struck directly outside a Shiite…
Dennis Rodman Won’t Be Debriefed by State After Meeting Kim Jong Un
KNS/AFP/Getty Images(NEW YORK) — Basketball bad boy Dennis Rodman may be the only American to have hugged, drank and laughed with North Korea’s bad boy Kim Jong Un, but the U.S. State Department said Friday it has no plans to debrief Rodman for any pe…
Judge Sentences Two American Sailors After Rape of Japanese Woman
Stockbyte/Thinkstock(TOKYO) — A Japanese judge handed down sentences for two American sailors convicted of raping and robbing a woman in Okinawa last October, calling their actions “contemptible and violent.”
Seaman Christopher Brow…
China TV Kills Live Execution Plans at Last Minute
ChinaFotoPress via Getty Images(BEIJING) — China’s state-run broadcaster, CCTV, made a grisly announcement this week. It planned to live broadcast the execution of a Burmese drug lord and three of his henchmen for massacring 13 Chinese cre…
Dennis Rodman Is First American to Meet with Kim Jong Un
Jim Rogash/Getty Images(PYONGYANG, North Korea) — When Google CEO Eric Schmidt and New Mexico governor Bill Richardson visited North Korea last month, they did not get an audience with leader Kim Jong Un.Former NBA star Dennis Rodman, on the other han…
US to Send Direct Aid to Syrian Rebels
Scott Peterson/Getty Images(ROME) — For the first time, the United States will provide direct support to Syrian rebel fighters, Secretary of State John Kerry announced on Thursday.”I am proud to announce that the United States of America will be provi…
Syrians in Exile Can Have Passports Renewed
BULENT KILIC/AFP/Getty Images(DAMASCUS, Syria) — Millions of Syrians living abroad have also been affected by the two-year conflict going on in their homeland.Since the violence started, the expatriates have been unable to have their passports renewed…
US Says Iraq Looking the Other Way as Iran Ships Weapons to Syria
iStockphoto/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — The U.S. is losing patience with Baghdad for allegedly permitting Iran to use its airspace for flights to Syria.An unidentified American official complained that Iranians are supplying weapons to government forces in…
Iran and Super Powers Agree to Keep Nuclear Talks Going
IIPA via Getty Images(ALMATY, Kazakhstan) — Baby steps are about all the U.S. and five other super powers can expect as they continue to negotiate with Iran about freezing its rogue nuclear program.During Wednesday’s final day of talks in Almaty, Kaza…