S. Korea steps up rescue efforts as shipwreck death toll keeps rising
The death toll from South Korea's ferry disaster has risen to 20, as 270 people are still listed as missing, including two from China.
South Korean authorities are sending more aircraft and ships to the scene, including three large salvage vessels.
The country's coast guard has dispatched a total of 29 planes and 171 ships to aid the rescue and recovery effort.
Military and civilian divers have already made dozens of attempts to enter the ferry. But rising winds, waves, and rain have hampered efforts.
Meantime, family members of the missing passengers have been allowed to board rescue vessels to visit the shipwreck site.
China's foreign ministry has asked South Korea to provide information on the two Chinese nationals on board the ship.
The cause of the sinking is not known, though it's been speculated that the ship ran aground.
It first turned on its side and floated for a couple of hours before finally sinking off the country's southwest coast on Thursday.
The ship's captain and crew are being questioned by police.
12 aircraft take part in day's search for Malaysia Airlines plane
Australian authorities say the underwater search for flight MH370 will not be called off, even if the current effort does not yield any results.
Earlier, Prime Minister Tony Abbott stated that the international search would stop and regroup if nothing is found in the area of seabed that is being examined.
Abbott's office has now clarified the statement, saying authorities may change the search area, but the effort will not be stopped.
So far, the US Navy Bluefin-21 remote sub that has been taking 3-D pictures of the ocean floor has found no trace of wreckage from the missing Malaysia Airlines plane.
Ukraine, Russia Agree to Framework to De-Escalate Ukraine Tensions
Ukraine and Russia have agreed to a series of steps to ease tensions in Ukraine.
Those include demobilizing militias, vacating seized government buildings, and establishing a political dialogue that could lead to more regional autonomy in Ukraine.
The plan has backing from the US and Europe.
However, the deal has left many unasnwered questions on such specific issues as how international monitors can "play a leading role in assisting Ukrainian authorities and local communities" on implementing the deal.
The deal doesn't require Russia to pull its troops back from the border with Ukraine, either.
U.S. releases 450 mln USD of Iran's frozen funds
The United States is taking steps to release nearly half-a-billion dollars to Iran, under the terms of the interim nuclear agreement reached late last year.
The move follows a report from the International Atomic Energy Agency, confirming that Iran has completed the dilution of the agreed amount of 20 percent enriched uranium.
Under the deal it reached with the U.S., Britain, France, China, Russia and Germany, Iran is taking steps to halt its controversial nuclear program in exchange for an easing of sanctions that have crippled its economy.
Peru evacuates 4,000 near active Ubinas Volcano
Evacuation orders have been issued near a volcano in Peru.
Some 4 thousand people living near the Ubinas (oo-BEAN-yas) volcano have been told to leave their homes following an increase in volcanic activity.
The authorities expect it will take up to three days to safely remove those people from the area.
Thirty-thousand heads of livestock are also being removed.
The volcano has been spewing a steady stream of smoke and ash, sending a plume nearly 5 kilometres into the air. There has also been an increase in ground tremors.
Ubinas is the most active volcano in Peru right now. It's 12-hundred kilometres south of the capital, Lima.
Author Gabriel Garcia Marquez dies
Nobel prize-winning Colombian author Gabriel Garcia Marquez has died in Mexico aged 87.
A spokeswoman for the family announced the news on Twitter.
The cause of his death has not been released.
He was recently hospitalised for a lung and urinary tract infection in Mexico City.
Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos has paid tribute to the renowned author on Twitter.
He wrote, "One Hundred Years of Solitude and sadness for the death of the greatest Colombian of all time."
Garcia Marquez has been considered one of the greatest Spanish-language authors.
His masterpiece of magic realism, One Hundred Years of Solitude, has sold more than 30 million copies worldwide.
He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1982.
Researchers find counterintuitive way to reverse depression
Researchers in the US have made a discovery that could lead to new seemingly-counterintuitive methods for treating depression.
Instead of dampening neuron firing found with stress-induced depression, researchers demonstrated for the first time that further activating these neurons can also help completely abolish depression in mice.
The research was carried out by scholars at the Icahn School of Medicine in New York.
The findings, published in the U.S. journal Science, may lead to totally new therapies that promote a natural resilience to depression in humans.
Lead researcher Ming-Hu Han, assistant professor at the school, describes the potential therapy using an old Chinese saying: wu ji bi fan.
It means things will develop in the opposite direction when they become extreme. |