THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THURSDAY, MARCH 15, 2012
PAGE 3
NEWS OF THE WORLD
Associated Press
ASIA
Russia grants NATO allies access to base claiming mutual interest
MOSCOW — A new deal allowing the United States and its NATO allies to use a Russian air base for transit of troops and military cargo to Afghanistan would help ensure Russia's own security, Russia's foreign minister said Wednesday.
Sergey Lavrov said a plan to permit the U.S. and other NATO nations to use the base in the city of Ulyanovsk on the Volga River will soon be considered by the Russian Cabinet. If approved, the deal could help repair Russian ties with the United States, which have become increasingly strained over Washington's missile defense plans in Europe and the Syrian crisis.
Moscow has provided the U.S. and other NATO member states with air corridors and railway routes for carrying supplies to and
from Afghanistan. The new agreement would for the first time allow alliance members to set up a logistics facility for troops and cargo on Russian territory.
Lavrov strongly defended such a deal, saying the success of NATO's mission is essential for fending off the spread of terrorism and illegal drugs from Afghanistan into ex-Soviet Central Asian nations and Russia.
ASIA
“It's in our interests that the coalition achieves a success before withdrawing and makes sure that the Afghans are capable of defending their country and ensuring an acceptable level of security.” Lavrov told the lower house of Russia's legislature. Some lawmakers argued that the U.S. military's use of the Ulyanovsk facility could threaten Russia by allowing foreign troops on its soil.
TOKYO — A series of earthquakes rattled Tokyo and northeastern Japan on Wednesday evening but caused no apparent damage or injury in the same region hit by last year's devastating tsunami.
Japan experiences earthquake days after anniversary of devastating tsunami
The strongest was a magnitude 6.8 that struck off Hokkaido island and generated a small tsunami. Some communities along the northern Pacific coast advised residents to evacuate coastal homes.
A swelling of eight inches was observed in water at the port of Hachinohe in Aomori about an hour after the tremor, with smaller changes seen elsewhere. The Meteorological Agency lifted all tsunami advisories within about 90 minutes.
About 9 p.m. local time, a magnitude-6.1 quake shook buildings in the capital. It was centered just off the coast of Chiba, east of Tokyo, at a rather shallow nine miles deep.
Narita International Airport briefly closed runways for inspection but later resumed operation. Several
local train services were suspended for safety checks.
There were no abnormalities reported at nuclear power plants after the two earthquakes, operators said. Nearly all of Japan's nuclear plants are offline for safety inspections.
This past Sunday, Japan marked the first anniversary of the massive magnitude-9.0 earthquake and tsunami that left some 19,000 people dead or missing, wreaked widespread damage along the northeastern coast and triggered the worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl. Rebuilding has yet to fully begin in many coastal communities.
Wednesday's temblors were considered aftershocks of last year's massive quake, Meteorological Agency official Akira Nagai told a news conference, warning residents to stay away from buildings already damaged by it and the thousands of aftershocks since.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Local residents flee to a public hall for taking shelter, after a tsunami warning was issued following an earthquake in Ofutau, Iwate prefecture, northeastern Japan, Wednesday. A series of earthquakes rattled Tokyo and northeast Japan late Wednesday evening but caused no apparent damage or injury in the same region hit by last year's devastating tsunami.
ASIA
Death toll rises as rescuers recover more bodies from capsized ferry
DHAKA, Bangladesh --- Rescue workers found more bodies Wednesday inside the salvaged wreckage of a Bangladesh ferry that capsized with about 200 people on board, bringing the death toll to 112.
The ferry collided with a cargo boat and sank early Tuesday, sending scores of people into the Meghna River, just south of Dhaka. Local police chief Mohammad Shahabuddin Khan said about 35 survivors were plucked from the water, while local media reported that another 40 managed to swim to shore.
Hundreds of anxious people, many of them
weeping, gathered near the scene of the accident to look for their loved ones. Some were angry, saying they blamed local authorities for the slow pace of the rescue operation.
Parul, who goes by one name, said she had been waiting at the shore since Tuesday night for news of her newly married brother, who was returning on the ferry with 16 others from his wedding party.
She said only four of the 17 had apparently survived. Two bodies had been recovered, but the bridegroom and others were still missing. Rescue workers and divers
called off the search late Wednesday after raising the wreckage, but police planned to stay in the area.
The death toll climbed to 112 late Wednesday after villagers and rescuers found more bodies inside the ferry and floating in the water, said rescue official Mahfuzul Haque. Divers had recovered 31 bodies Tuesday, and efforts to move the ferry had shaken more loose.
AFRICA
Radical Nigerian sect kills seven in attacks
MAIDUGURI, Nigeria — Suspected members of the Boko Haram radical Islamist sect have killed seven people in two separate attacks in Nigeria's north, authorities said Tuesday.
Adamawa State police spokesman Daniel Altine said attackers shot dead a policeman, a soldier and three bystanders Monday evening at a checkpoint in the town of Mubi. The attackers may have been avenging the army's killing of six suspected Boko Haram members at a training camp in the
town on Monday. Altine said.
Meanwhile, army spokesman Lt. Ikedichi Iweha said suspected sect members shot dead two more policemen in the major northern city of Kano on Tuesday. He said soldiers killed one of the assailants during the attack.
Boko Haram has been accused of killing more than 340 people in Nigeria this year alone. The group has engaged in an increasingly bloody campaign to destabilize Nigeria's weak central government.
SENATE CAMPAIGNS BEGIN
From left, Natasha Kothari, a junior from Overland Park, Kait Perry, a junior from Auburn, Alek Joyce, a sophomore from Lawrence and Mitchell Rucker, a freshman from Burdett, table for KUnited Monday afternoon on Wescoe Beach.
CHRIS NEAL/KANSAN
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