Today's Reuters News Headlines - Yahoo! News:
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Analysis: A Romney win would likely change little at Federal Reserve
Sun,1 Apr 2012 02:47 PM PDT
Reuters -  (Reuters) - For all the derision Republican presidential hopefuls have heaped on the Federal Reserve, a November win by lead contender Mitt Romney would likely change little at the central bank, at least in the short term. That might seem surprising, given the unprecedented barrage of criticism levied this campaign season at Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, whose aggressive efforts to support the economy have sparked accusations that he is setting the table for future inflation. Texas Governor Rick Perry, who has since dropped out of the race, called Bernanke's policies "treasonous. ...
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Santorum won't quit race; top Republican calls for unity
Sun,1 Apr 2012 09:44 AM PDT
Reuters -  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate's top Republican called on his party to unite behind leading presidential candidate Mitt Romney on Sunday as rival Rick Santorum vowed to stay in the race beyond a likely defeat in Tuesday's Wisconsin primary. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell stopped short of endorsing Romney in an interview on CNN's "State of the Union" show. But McConnell did say the former Massachusetts governor would make an "excellent nominee" and left little doubt about whom he supported in the battle to take on Democratic President Barack Obama in the November 6 election. ...
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Russian plane crashes, kills at least 29: agency
Sun,1 Apr 2012 10:15 PM PDT
Reuters - MOSCOW (Reuters) - At least 29 people were killed and 14 were rescued alive from a plane crash in Siberia, Russia's state-run Itar-Tass news agency said on Monday, citing a regional Emergency Situations Ministry official. The ATR 72, a twin-engine, turbo-prop plane, with 43 people aboard, crashed some 30-35 km (18-22 miles) from the western Siberian city of Tyumen, Emergency Situations Ministry spokeswoman Irina Andrianova said. The mid-range plane belonging to Russian airline UTair crashed after taking off from Tyumen on a flight to Surgut, an oil town further north in Siberia. ... Full Story | Top |
Myanmar opposition claims by-election win for Suu Kyi
Sun,1 Apr 2012 07:26 PM PDT
Reuters -  YANGON (Reuters) - Myanmar's pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi won a seat in parliament on Sunday, her party said, after an historic by-election that is testing the country's nascent reform credentials and could persuade the West to end sanctions. ...
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Insight: Bank stampede keeps Spanish real estate on the ropes
Sun,1 Apr 2012 10:11 PM PDT
Reuters - MADRID (Reuters) - When Jose Morales travelled up from Granada in southern Spain in February to look at a new apartment in the Madrid satellite town of Sesena, he was greeted by long queues of mostly young people outside the sales office. "When the door opened, there was a stampede to get in, like a department store sale, and some were even injured in the dash," said Morales. The apartments were selling so fast, unseen by the buyers in many cases, that he missed out on the one he wanted. ... Full Story | Top |
Florida teenager's hometown turns out in Miami protest
Sun,1 Apr 2012 06:01 PM PDT
Reuters -  MIAMI (Reuters) - Thousands of protesters gathered in a downtown bayfront park on Sunday demanding the arrest of the neighborhood watch volunteer who shot and killed an unarmed black teenager, Trayvon Martin, in central Florida a month ago. Civil rights leaders were joined by local politicians, pastors and Martin's parents, who made their first major public appearance in their hometown since last month. Sunday's protest came a day after one of the largest demonstrations in Sanford, the central Florida town where Martin was killed. ...
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U.S. automakers expect sizzling sales for March
Sun,1 Apr 2012 06:19 PM PDT
Reuters -  DETROIT (Reuters) - U.S. auto sales are expected to continue at a strong pace in March, capping the best quarter in four years for new vehicle purchases as the overall U.S. economy improved and new car buyers found easier financing. The strong first quarter in the U.S. market could temper the impact of weak auto sales in Europe, where both General Motors Co and Ford Motor Co have lost money. "The strong U.S. data should help support first-quarter earnings and potentially offset any greater than expected softness in Europe," RBC Capital Markets analyst Joseph Spak said in a research note. ...
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Britain set for sweeping Internet, phone monitoring
Sun,1 Apr 2012 04:49 PM PDT
Reuters - LONDON (Reuters) - Britain is to allow one of its intelligence agencies to monitor all phone calls, texts, emails and online activities in the country to help tackle crime and militant attacks, the Interior Ministry said on Sunday. "It is vital that police and security services are able to obtain communications data in certain circumstances to investigate serious crime and terrorism and to protect the public," a Home Office spokesman said. The proposed law already has drawn strong criticism, from within the ruling Conservative Party's own ranks, as an invasion of privacy and personal rights. ... Full Story | Top |
Insight: Chasing cheaper cancer drugs
Sun,1 Apr 2012 02:06 AM PDT
Reuters -  LONDON (Reuters) - In a nondescript suburb south of London, tucked away behind a big hospital, Paul Workman and fellow scientists are celebrating victory in the "World Cup" of cancer drug research for their work in discovering a stream of new medicines. But the win is bitter-sweet. One of the new drugs behind the coveted prize from the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) has been deemed too costly to use in state-run British hospitals like the one next door. It is a stark example of the pricing crisis now facing cancer medicines across the globe. ...
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Syria "friends" warn Assad time is short to end bloodshed
Sun,1 Apr 2012 03:27 PM PDT
Reuters -  BEIRUT (Reuters) - Western and Arab nations warned President Bashar al-Assad not to delay adopting a plan to end a year of bloodshed in Syria and called on peace envoy Kofi Annan to set a timetable for action if the violence continues. Annan is due to brief the U.N. Security Council on Monday about whether he has seen any progress towards implementing his proposals, which Damascus has accepted but not yet carried out. ...
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Insight: Lifting the veil on Afghanistan's female addicts
Sun,1 Apr 2012 07:31 AM PDT
Reuters -  KABUL (Reuters) - Anita lifted the sky-blue burqa from her face, revealing glazed eyes and cracked lips from years of smoking opium, and touched her saggy belly, still round from giving birth to her seventh child a month ago. "I can't give breast milk to my baby," said the 32-year-old Anita, who like other women interviewed for this story, declined to give her full name. "I'm scared he'll get addicted She was huddled with other women at the U.N. ...
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U.S. to probe Wrangler, Cruze on engine fire reports
Sun,1 Apr 2012 01:45 PM PDT
Reuters - NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. safety regulators have opened two separate investigations into vehicles made by General Motors Co and Chrysler Group LLC due to reports of engine fires that in many cases completely engulfed the vehicles in flames. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration last week began probing the 2011 Chevrolet Cruze compact car and 2010 Jeep Wrangler SUVs. NHTSA received two complaints about the 2011 Cruze and eight reports about the 2010 Wrangler. The fires in the two Cruze cars began while the vehicles were on the road. ... Full Story | Top |
Myanmar opposition claims by-election win for Suu Kyi
Sun,1 Apr 2012 10:04 AM PDT
Reuters -  YANGON (Reuters) - Myanmar's pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi won a seat in parliament on Sunday, her party said, after an historic by-election that is testing the country's nascent reform credentials and could persuade the West to end sanctions. ...
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Florida teenager's home town turns out in Miami protest
Sun,1 Apr 2012 02:36 PM PDT
Reuters - MIAMI (Reuters) - Thousands of protesters gathered in a downtown bayfront park on Sunday demanding the arrest of the neighborhood watch volunteer who shot and killed an unarmed black teenager, Trayvon Martin, in central Florida a month ago. Civil rights leaders were joined by Martin's parents who were making their first major public appearance in the family's home city since a news conference on the steps of the Baptist Church where the funeral for their son was held last month. ...
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Japan to support U.S. nominee to head World Bank
Sun,1 Apr 2012 12:02 AM PDT
Reuters -  TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan will support Jim Yong Kim, the U.S. nominee for the next World Bank head, Japanese Finance Minister Jun Azumi said on Sunday after meeting the candidate who is in Tokyo on his world tour to seek support for the candidacy. Kim, a Korean-American, will be contesting against two nominees from emerging market countries - Nigerian Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and former Colombian Finance Minister Jose Antonio Ocampo - for the Washington-based institution's top job. ...
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Three winning tickets sold in record $656 million U.S. lottery
Sat,31 Mar 2012 06:23 PM PDT
Reuters -  ATLANTA (Reuters) - The largest lottery jackpot in U.S. history - a whopping $656 million - will be shared by the buyers of three winning Mega Millions tickets in Illinois, Kansas and Maryland - but their identities remained a mystery, lottery officials said on Saturday. A pre-dawn call alerted Denise Metzger, manager of a Motomart convenience store, to news from lottery officials that her store had sold a winning ticket in the tiny farming community of Red Bud in southern Illinois, with less than 4,000 residents, about 30 miles southeast of St. Louis. ...
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Euro zone agrees to boost rescue capacity
Sat,31 Mar 2012 12:32 PM PDT
Reuters -  COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - Euro zone finance ministers agreed on Friday to increase their financial firewall to 700 billion euros to ward off a new flare-up of Europe's sovereign debt crisis, drawing a positive initial reaction from G20 partners and markets. The 17-nation currency area agreed to combine two rescue funds to make 500 billion euros of new funds available in case of emergency until mid-2013, on top of 200 billion euros already committed to bailouts for Greece, Ireland and Portugal. ...
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Lawyer says U.S. blocks investigation of Afghan massacre
Fri,30 Mar 2012 05:00 PM PDT
Reuters -  The lawyer defending the U.S. soldier accused of murdering 17 Afghan civilians claims U.S. authorities are blocking his ability to investigate the incident. John Henry Browne, the lawyer for Staff Sergeant Robert Bales, said U.S. forces in Afghanistan have prevented his team from interviewing injured civilians at a hospital in Kandahar, and are allowing other potential witnesses to scatter, making it difficult to track them down. ...
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Exclusive: Iran helps Syria ship oil to China: sources
Fri,30 Mar 2012 03:15 PM PDT
Reuters -  LONDON (Reuters) - Iran is helping its ally Syria defy Western sanctions by providing a vessel to ship Syrian oil to a state-run company in China, potentially giving the government of President Bashar al-Assad a financial boost worth an estimated $80 million. Iran, itself a target of Western sanctions, is among Syria's closest allies and has promised to do all it can to support Assad, recently praising his handling of the year-long uprising against Assad in which thousands have been killed. ...
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Exclusive: Soros' son strikes out on his own
Sat,31 Mar 2012 01:01 PM PDT
Reuters -  NEW YORK (Reuters) - The upheaval within billionaire investor George Soros' firm continues as one of his sons is separating some of his personal fortune to manage it himself. Jonathan Soros, who stepped down in September from day-to-day management of Soros Fund Management LLC, plans to hire at least one of his father's key employees, say two people familiar with the situation. The two sources said Soros' son intends to set up his own family office - something the Soros Fund converted to last year - with the help of David Kulsar, currently chief risk officer for the Soros Fund. ...
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Obama says enough world oil to crack down on Iran
Fri,30 Mar 2012 03:20 PM PDT
Reuters -  BURLINGTON, Vt./WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama vowed on Friday to forge ahead with tough sanctions on Iran, saying there was enough oil in the world market - including emergency stockpiles - to allow countries to cut Iranian imports. In his decision, required by a sanctions law he signed in December, Obama said increased production by some countries as well as "the existence of strategic reserves" helped him come to the conclusion that sanctions can advance. ...
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Security breach hits U.S. card processors, banks
Fri,30 Mar 2012 06:29 PM PDT
Reuters -  (Reuters) - The U.S. Secret Service is investigating a major cyber intrusion at an Atlanta-based payment processor that could expose millions of MasterCard, Visa, American Express and Discover cardholders to fraudulent charges. Processor Global Payments Inc said on Friday it had found "unauthorized access" into its system early in March and notified law enforcement and financial institutions. ...
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Exclusive: Brazil prosecutor plans wider offshore oil probe
Fri,30 Mar 2012 03:23 PM PDT
Reuters -  RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - A Brazilian federal prosecutor plans to expand his investigation of a November offshore oil spill in a field run by Chevron to areas operated by other companies in the country's main oil region. The probe will explore geological conditions and operational practices in the Campos Basin in an attempt to prevent future accidents, said Eduardo Santos de Oliveira, federal prosecutor for Campos, Brazil, the city for which the offshore oil province is named. ...
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Afghanistan presses for answers on long-term U.S. military bases
Sat,31 Mar 2012 01:40 AM PDT
Reuters -  Afghanistan wants the United States to clearly spell out what sort of military presence it will leave behind once most of its combat troops leave by the end of 2014, a senior Afghan official said. It is also pressing Washington in talks over future cooperation to detail to be more forthcoming on what will be on offer for Afghan forces as they ready to take over responsibility security in the country that is still at war. "These are issues that concern us. We want to know how many bases will be there, how many soldiers and what will be their mission. ...
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Who are the lucky 3 to share record $656 million U.S. lottery?
Sat,31 Mar 2012 12:39 PM PDT
Reuters - ATLANTA (Reuters) - Three lucky ticket-holders in Illinois, Kansas and Maryland will share the largest lottery jackpot in U.S. history of $656 million, after about 1.5 billion $1 tickets were sold, lottery officials said on Saturday. At least two of the winners' tickets were "quick picks" - meaning all six numbers of the Mega Millions lottery computer picked the winning numbers announced at the drawing Friday night in Atlanta: 2-4-23-38-46 and Mega Ball 23. ...
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Syria says revolt over, but army still shooting
Sat,31 Mar 2012 08:40 AM PDT
Reuters -  Syria says the year-long revolt to topple President Bashar al-Assad is now over, but it will keep its forces in cities to "maintain security" until it is safe to withdraw in keeping with a U.N.-backed peace deal. The agreement proposed by United Nations-Arab League special envoy Kofi Annan says the Syrian authorities must be first to withdraw troops and stop violence immediately. The army kept up an offensive against opposition strongholds on Saturday, pummelling the Khalidiya district of Homs city. ...
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Euro zone agrees to boost rescue capacity
Fri,30 Mar 2012 01:59 PM PDT
Reuters -  COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - Euro zone finance ministers agreed on Friday to increase their financial firewall to 700 billion euros to ward off a new flare-up of Europe's sovereign debt crisis, drawing a positive initial reaction from G20 partners and markets. The 17-nation currency area agreed to combine two rescue funds to make 500 billion euros of new funds available in case of emergency until mid-2013, on top of 200 billion euros already committed to bailouts for Greece, Ireland and Portugal. ...
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Documents show debate over handling of 9/11 remains
Fri,30 Mar 2012 04:07 PM PDT
Reuters -  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Cremated remains that may have included those of victims of the September 11 attacks were incinerated and sent to a landfill despite an internal debate in which some officials at the main U.S. military mortuary recommended the ashes be dispersed at sea. Documents released on Friday show that nearly one year after the September 11, 2001 attacks, military and civilian personnel responsible for the mortuary at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware engaged in an lengthy e-mail exchange over what to do with 1,321 portions of remains. ...
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Analysis: Saudi summer oil burn should decline this year
Fri,30 Mar 2012 08:40 PM PDT
Reuters - DUBAI/KHOBAR (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia is likely to burn less crude in its power plants this summer thanks to rising output from dedicated gas fields and gas that would be associated with any increase in oil output to make up for lower Iranian production. Last summer the world's leading oil exporter burned an average of 730,000 barrels a day (bpd) of crude for electricity to keep the population cool in the hottest months from July to the end of September, official figures indicate. ... Full Story | Top |
Syrian army must pull back first under Annan plan
Fri,30 Mar 2012 01:00 PM PDT
Reuters -  BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian artillery hit parts of Homs city and at least 37 people were killed in clashes around Syria on Friday, opposition activists said, as peace envoy Kofi Annan told President Bashar al-Assad his forces must be first to cease fire and withdraw. "The deadline is now," Annan's spokesman Ahmad Fawzi said in Geneva. "We expect him to implement this plan immediately." An army pullback to bases would permit a safe return to mass, peaceful protest, said anti-government activists. But there was no sign of any risk-free demonstrations on Friday. ...
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U.S. may accept less stringent controls for Taliban detainees
Thu,29 Mar 2012 05:45 PM PDT
Reuters -  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration has signaled a willingness to accept less-stringent controls on former Taliban leaders who could be transferred to Qatar as part of a deal between the United States and the Afghan militants to kick-start Afghan peace talks, U.S. officials said. ...
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Exclusive: Soros' son strikes out on his own
Fri,30 Mar 2012 04:40 PM PDT
Reuters -  NEW YORK (Reuters) - The upheaval within billionaire investor George Soros' firm continues as one of his sons is separating some of his personal fortune to manage it himself. Jonathan Soros, who stepped down in September from day-to-day management of Soros Fund Management LLC, plans to hire at least one of his father's key employees, say two people familiar with the situation. The two sources said Soros' son intends to set up his own family office - something the Soros Fund converted to last year - with the help of David Kulsar, currently chief risk officer for the Soros Fund. ...
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Security breach hits U.S. card processors, banks
Fri,30 Mar 2012 04:39 PM PDT
Reuters - (Reuters) - Four giant card-payment processors and large U.S. banks that issue debit and credit cards were hit by a data-security breach after third-party services provider Global Payments Inc discovered its systems were compromised by unauthorized access. It was not immediately clear how many cardholders became victims of the breach, which affected MasterCard Inc, Visa Inc, American Express Co and Discover Financial Services, as well as banks and other franchises that issue cards bearing their logos. U.S. ...
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Lawyer says U.S. blocks investigation of Afghan massacre
Fri,30 Mar 2012 03:05 PM PDT
Reuters -  SEATTLE (Reuters) - The lawyer defending the U.S. soldier accused of murdering 17 Afghan civilians claims U.S. authorities are blocking his ability to investigate the incident. John Henry Browne, the lawyer for Staff Sergeant Robert Bales, said U.S. forces in Afghanistan have prevented his team from interviewing injured civilians at a hospital in Kandahar, and are allowing other potential witnesses to scatter, making it difficult to track them down. "My gut is the reason is they don't have much of a case," said Browne at a press conference at his downtown Seattle office on Friday. ...
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Consumer spending jumps, GDP prospects brighten
Fri,30 Mar 2012 09:41 AM PDT
Reuters -  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. consumer spending increased by the most in seven months in February as households shook off a rise in gasoline prices, leading economists to raise forecasts for first-quarter growth. Even with gasoline around $4 a gallon, Americans were more optimistic about the economy's prospects this month than at any other time over the past year, drawing solace from a firming labor market. The Commerce Department said on Friday that consumer spending rose 0.8 percent in February as demand for long-lasting goods, like automobiles, rose sharply. ...
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U.S. begins sanctions process in Airbus dispute with EU
Fri,30 Mar 2012 10:00 AM PDT
Reuters -  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States said on Friday that European governments had failed to end illegal subsidies for aircraft manufacturer Airbus and so will be taking the first step at the World Trade Organization toward seeking sanctions on potentially billions of dollars of European goods. "We refuse to stand by while American businesses and workers are disadvantaged," U.S. ...
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Insight: Obama's North Korean leap of faith falls short
Fri,30 Mar 2012 08:14 AM PDT
Reuters -  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - When U.S. diplomats filed into North Korea's grim embassy in Beijing last month they found an unlikely surprise: Starbucks. Their hosts, led by North Korean's chief nuclear negotiator Kim Kye-gwan, had ordered U.S.-style coffee for talks both sides hoped would lead to new negotiations on Pyongyang's nuclear program and to resumed U.S. food shipments to one of the most feared and secretive countries in the world. There were more surprises to come. ...
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North Korea test fires short-range missiles: reports
Fri,30 Mar 2012 05:08 AM PDT
Reuters -  SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea fired two short-range missiles off its west coast on Thursday believed to be part of a test to upgrade capabilities, said news reports published on Friday, quoting South Korean military officials. North Korea has raised tensions in recent weeks by announcing it would launch a rocket to put a satellite into orbit, but regional powers are urging Pyongyang to drop the plan, saying it would violate U.N. Security Council resolutions. ...
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RIM posts loss as new CEO begins to clean house
Fri,30 Mar 2012 11:04 AM PDT
Reuters -  TORONTO (Reuters) - Research In Motion posted a net loss and its first slump in BlackBerry shipments for its holiday quarter since 2006, as its new CEO announced the initial steps in a strategic overhaul and would not rule out an eventual sale of the company. RIM's shares dropped as much as 9 percent on Thursday after the company said it would no longer issue financial forecasts and was reviewing "strategic opportunities" such as partnerships and joint-venture licensing, and other ways to leverage its assets. ...
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Japan to lift entry ban on some Fukushima cities
Fri,30 Mar 2012 06:01 AM PDT
Reuters -  TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan said on Friday it would lift entry bans on some cities in Fukushima prefecture that had been designated no-go zones due to their proximity to a nuclear power plant crippled by a powerful earthquake and tsunami last March. After the natural disasters triggered the worst atomic accident since Chernobyl by causing nuclear fuel meltdowns at the Daiichi power plant in Fukushima, 240 km (160 miles) northeast of Tokyo, the government evacuated a 20 km (12 mile) radius of the complex, in which around 80,000 people lived. ...
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