The protective dome over the defunct Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant’s Reactor 1 is being dismantled to prepare for the removal of nuclear fuel rods, one of the most difficult and dangerous tasks in the entire decommissioning process. The canopy was installed by TEPCO, the plant’s operator, in 2011 to mitigate the damage done to the plant in the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, which led to... 

Georgia says it will allow the opening of a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) training center on its soil despite pressure from Russia, Press TV reports. Georgia’s Defense Minister Irakli Alasania said opposition from Moscow would not alter its plans to increase ties with Western countries. “This center will be jointly operated by NATO and Georgia and it’s going to be an additional layer... 

Thousands of people have been evacuated in India as a strong cyclone sweeping through the Bay of Bengal bears down on the country’s east coast. Authorities evacuated about 150,000 people by late afternoon on Saturday, while around 400,000 more are expected to be relocated by the end of the day. Officials have been preparing emergency supplies, with rescue teams on standby along the coastlines of... 

Japan and the United States have agreed to create a new defense partnership to counter their perceived threat of China. Tokyo has become more assertive in its military policy under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, but this has led to protests at home. The new pact will help to set out how Japan and the US will work together during various degrees of provocation, from peacetime, to when Tokyo may be under,... 

China has surpassed the US in terms of GDP based on purchasing power parity (PPP), becoming the largest in the world by this measure, International Monetary Fund estimates show. In 2014 China reached $17.6 trillion or 16.48 percent of the world’s purchasing-power-adjusted GDP, while the US made slightly less, 16.28 percent or $17.4 trillion, the FT reported citing IMF data. PPP is recognized as... 

Seoul military officials say North and South Korea have exchanged fire across their land border after the North shot balloons carrying anti-Pyongyang propaganda leaflets floated from the South. South Korea’s Yonhap news agency said shots could be heard from north of the border at around 3:55 p.m. local time (0655 GMT) on Friday, about two hours after balloons containing 200,000 leaflets were... 

Chinese aircraft carrier Liaoning A top US air force commander has expressed alarm at the growing number of dangerous midair encounters between American warplanes and those of China and Russia. Head of US Pacific Air Forces General Herbert Carlisle particularly complained about China’s naval and air forces for “very much continuing to push” toward becoming increasingly active in international... 

We may finally see the end of an evil, repressive, communist regime. It is impossible to know exactly what is going on in North Korea, but something big has happened. The third generation Kim dynasty heir, Kim Jong-un, has been missing from public sight for a month, and may be ill, dead, or overthrown. There is much speculation, and contradictory reports are circulating, including the assertion that... 

The Aral Sea in 1989 (left), and now (2014) Once the fourth-biggest lake in the world, the eastern basin of the Aral Sea in central Asia is now completely dry. It is the result of a Soviet-era project to divert rivers for agriculture and a lack of rainfall at its source. “This is the first time the eastern basin has completely dried in modern times,” Philip Micklin, an Aral Sea expert from Western... 

At least 28 people have been killed in landslides and flash floods triggered by two days of heavy rain in northeastern India. Indian authorities said on Tuesday that at least 14 deaths were reported in the northeastern state of Meghalaya while another 14 people lost their lives in neighboring Assam state, where several districts, including the capital Gauhati, were flooded. According to district official... 

Panasonic has debuted a hybrid smartphone-camera sporting the largest imaging sensor yet to feature on a smartphone. The Photokina trade show in Cologne saw the company lifting the curtain off Lumix DMC-CM1, whose camera has been fitted with a 1 inch 20-megapixel sensor. Probably monopolizing the attention of mobile photographers so far has been Samsung’s Galaxy K Zoom, which the Panasonic device... 

Heavy rains in southwest China have left at least 19 people dead and 20 others missing, forcing thousands of residents to leave their homes, state media report. The China News Service said on Monday that 12 people have reportedly died in the southwestern major city of Chongqing, three in neighboring Sichuan Province, and four others in Shaanxi Province. The flooding forced some 160,000 people to flee... 

Having been fitted onto a PlayStation 4 controller, Sony’s latest smartphones and tablets become capable of streaming videogames. The PS4 Remote Play will be available on Sony’s new Xperia Z3 and Z3 compact phones, plus the company’s Z3 Tablet Compact. The feature enables the gamer to play anywhere at their home. To use it, they would have to attach their Z3 smartphone or tablet to a... 

The heaviest rainfall in 50 years has resulted in more than 400 deaths in the Kashmir region with thousands still trapped on rooftops as residents in both India and Pakistan are criticizing their governments for not doing enough to help them. In India, at least 217 people were reported to have died by Tuesday, with another 47,000 evacuated from their homes. The city of Siringar was still submerged,... 

A tie-up between electronic car pioneer Tesla Motors and mobile phone company China Unicom is to see the setting up of a charging network for electronic vehicles across the country. Peggy Yang, a spokeswoman for Tesla, which already has 200 dedicated charging outlets across China, said the project eyes setting up of 400 charging points in 120 cities. She said the new plan includes a further 20 supercharging...