GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – A 7.6 magnitude earthquake shook Costa Rica’s western Nicoya peninsula Wednesday 5 September, but left the country relatively unscathed, with no reported deaths. The quake, the strongest to have hit the Central American country in 20 years, was centered in the Guanacaste province along the Pacific coast, some 150 kilometers from the [...]
Major tsunami warning out for Indonesia, Indian Ocean coastlines
April 11, 2012 by
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – An 8.6 earthquake registered off the coast of Indonesia is raising fears throughout Indian Ocean nations of a major tsunami like the one in 2004 that killed tens of thousands of people. The Hindu in India reports that “the tremors were felt far and wide in southern and eastern parts of India, [...]
Japan bows for a minute of silence in memory of 2011 earthquake
March 11, 2012 by
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – All of Japan came to a halt at 14:46 local time Sunday 11 March for one minute of silence in memory of the massive earthquake and tsunami that struck the country one year ago. Reuters notes that “The magnitude 9.0 earthquake unleashed a wall of water that hit Japan’s northeast coast, killing [...]
Oil imports, earthquake push Japan into 1st trade deficit in 32 years
January 25, 2012 by
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Japan has announced its first trade deficit since 1980, Y2.49tn ($32bn), with Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda saying it will take until 2014 for a turn-around. Analysts, according to the financial press, are gloomier about Japan’s short- to mid-term prospects for avoiding a current account surplus. The savings rate in the country has been [...]
Japan establishes a no-go zone, imposes penalties (video)
April 21, 2011 by
Japan has established a 20km no-go zone around the Fukushima nuclear plant and has announced that it will impose penalties to anyone breaking the rule. According to government sources, the fines of up to US$1,200 are necessary to protect the health and safety of the area’s roughly 70,000 residents. Up to 60 families have returned [...]
Japan asks foreign countries to remain calm
March 16, 2011 by
Swiss embassy among those suggesting citizens leave The Japanese emperor, in a highly unusual television appearance Wednesday 16 March, urged his country’s people to retain hope in the face of uncertainty over nuclear problems and the post-earthquake rescue efforts. The death toll has now risen above 4,000 and a number of foreign countries, including Switzerland, [...]
Swiss rescue team in Japan searched for survivors, not back yet
March 16, 2011 by
(correction) Swiss team that provided rescue work and logistics is not yet back from Japan Switzerland and Japan (GenevaLunch) – A team of 25 Swiss rescuers and nine canine units have officially finished their search and rescue operations but are still in Japan where they helped in the search for survivors after the most powerful [...]
Nuclear blast in Japan causes harmful radiation levels
March 15, 2011 by
Tsunami, quake official death toll at about 2,000 but 3,000 declared missing, figure for dead expected to rise sharply The third, latest blast at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan, at 06:10 local time Tuesday 15 March, accompanied by a fire, has caused radiation leaks at a level harmful to human health, Japanese [...]
Catastrophe in Japan (Chappatte cartoon)
March 13, 2011 by
©2011 Chappatte, distributed by Globe Cartoon. More cartoons on Chappatte’s web site. Geneva-based Patrick Chappatte works for the International Herald Tribune, for Geneva newspaper Le Temps, and for NZZ am Sonntag. All cartoons reproduced with permission.
Red Cross opens family-finder service for Japan
March 12, 2011 by
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The ICRC (International Committee of the Red Cross), working closely with the Japanese Red Cross, has created a Family Links web site to help people who are seeking other family members in the wake of the 11 March earthquake and tsunami north of Tokyo. The list of those missing, created Friday, [...]
