Japan Meteorological Agency said earlier that the quake was measured at 7.9 magnitude but the U.S. Geological Survey upgraded later the quake to magnitude 8.8.

The quake struck at 2:46 p.m. (05:46 GMT) is felt in almost all areas in Japan’s pacific coast, including Tokyo and Osaka. The powerful quake struck 382 kilometer northeast of Tokyo with depth of 10 kilometers under the seabed.

Numerous people reported injured and Black smoke was seen rising from building in Tokyo’s Odaiba waterfront area, and Major blackout throughout Yamagata Prefecture was reported, Kyodo news agency quoted police as reporting.

Damage from tsunami reported in Kamaishi, Iwate Prefecture, TV footage shows. A nuclear plant on the Pacific coast in Miyagi Prefecture has been automatically shut down Friday following the quake.

Japan has issued a six-meter tsunami warning and the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii said a tsunami warning was in effect for Japan, Russia, Marcus Island and the Northern Marianas.

A tsunami watch has been issued for Guam, China’s Taiwan, the Philippines, Indonesia and U.S. state of Hawaii. (Xinhua)

The first two spots on the list see no change for tycoons Robert Kuok and Ananda
Krishnan. Kuok, 87, has held the pole position since 2006 when Forbes Asia began ranking
the 40 richest Malaysians. He is worth $12.5 billion, up by half a billion from last year. His
biggest source of wealth is his stake in Wilmar, the world’s largest listed palm oil company.

Krishnan, 72, comes in at No. 2 with $9.5 billion, up from $8.1 billion last year. His
Maxis Communications is Malaysia’s biggest cellphone service provider. Recently he took
three of his companies private: satellite broadcaster Astro All Asia Networks, power and
gambling company Tanjong, and satellite operator Measat Global.

At No. 3 is this year’s biggest gainer in dollar terms, Lee Kim Hua. The 81-year-old
widow of casino magnate Lim Goh Tong, she is one of three women on the list this year. Her
Genting shares took off when the company’s Singapore operations on Sentosa Island opened,
pumping up the family’s net worth by $2.7 billion to $6.6 billion from a year ago. Lee Shin
Cheng, who built IOI Group into one of the world’s biggest palm oil producers, is down one
spot at No. 4 with a net worth of $5 billion, up by $400 million from last year.

AirAsia’s Anthony Fernandes, Malaysia’s budget airline pioneer and Forbes Asia’s
2010 Businessman of the Year is ranked No. 20 this year, down one spot from last year
despite his wealth increasing to $470 million from $330 million last year.

The only newcomer this year is Chia Song Kun at No.24 with $400 million. The share
price of his QL Resources, the seafood, egg production and palm oil company, has doubled
since last year. Tiah Thee Kian at No. 35 is the only returnee to the list after a year’s absence
as stock in his TA Enterprise has recovered from a drop. He is worth $170 million.

Not all did well as there were three this year who saw their wealth drop, led by
Vincent Tan at No. 9. The self-made entrepreneur who runs Berjaya Group saw his wealth
dip to $1.25 billion from $1.6 billion last year. Timber tycoon Tiong Hiew King was the only
person who did not see his wealth change. He is still worth $1.2 billion and is ranked No. 10
on the list.

This year, a minimum net worth of $125 million was needed to qualify for the list, up
from $110 million last year. The number of billionaires on the list remains unchanged from
last year at 10.

There are six octogenarians on the list this year. The oldest, at 88, is widow Chong
Chook Yew who comes in at No. 29 with a wealth of $300 million. Stocks in her company,
Selangor Properties hit a three-year high in January this year on news of a possible mass
transit development near one of the company’s land banks. This pushed her wealth up by $70
million from last year.

The full list of Malaysia’s 40 richest can be found in the March 2011 issue of Forbes
Asia, which is available on newsstands now.

The top 10 richest in Malaysia are:
1) Robert Kuok; US$12.5 billion
2) Ananda Krishnan; $9.5 billion
3) Lee Kim Hua; $6.6 billion
4) Lee Shin Cheng; $5 billion
5) Quek Leng Chan; $4.8 billion
6) Teh Hong Piow; $4.7 billion
7) Yeoh Tiong Lay; $2.7 billion
Syed Mokhtar AlBukhary; $2.5 billion
9) Vincent Tan; $1.25 billion
10) Tiong Hew King; $1.2 billion

The Malaysia list includes fortunes that are shared among extended families. The list
was compiled using shareholding and financial information obtained from the families and
individuals, stock exchanges, analysts and the Companies Commission of Malaysia. Net
worths are based on stock prices and exchange rates as of February 14, 2011. Private
companies were valued based on comparisons with prevailing earnings or financial ratios.

www.forbes.com/malaysia

THAI special flight TG8830 left Suvarnabhumi airport at 12.30pm with Thai officials from the Foreign Ministry heading by Krerkpan Roekchamnong, Middle East Division director, Department of South Asia, Middle East and African Affairs together with medical doctors from the Directorate of Medical Services of the Royal Thai Air Force.

The flight is scheduled to leave Cairo International Airport with the Thai nationals at 5.30pm and arrive at Suvarnabhumi Airport on Friday at 8.50am.

Grp Capt Niwat Intarawichian, a physician who leads the medical team, said the report initially did not mention that any Thais were injured in the violent clashes but only normal minor illnesses and stress.

The team prepares basic medical kits and medicine to help Thais and is ready to help foreigners who may be wounded from the incidents.

The dried and canned foodstuffs including canned fish, instant noodle, rice and water purifiers have been prepared to distribute to Thai students who are still in Egypt to use in case of emergency.

Meanwhile, Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya said enroute to Cambodia to meet officials there that the government would consider sending a third flight to evacuate Thai citizens in Egypt who want to return home.

Mr Kasit said he has learned that Malaysia and Singapore are sending ships to evacuate their nationals in Egypt. Thailand will ask the two fellow ASEAN member countries to provide transport for some Thai nationals. He said such a cooperation is possible under an ASEAN agreement.

Supporters of President Hosni Mubarak fired on protesters in Cairo’s Tahrir Square killing four people and wounding 13.

President Mubarak said Tuesday he would step down in September, angering protesters who want him to quit immediately.

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Airbus has increased the average list price of its aircraft by 4.4 per cent. The increment applies for all new aircraft from the beginning of January 2011, apart from the A380, for which the increase is 8.4 per cent.

The 4.4 per cent increment has been calculated according to the Airbus standard escalation formula over the January 2010 to January 2011 period. Meanwhile the A380’s additional price adjustment reflects the type’s outstanding revenue-generating performance now being demonstrated in airline service.

“As we continue to ramp-up production rates to meet the unprecedented global demand for Airbus aircraft, the required industrial investments we are making, coupled with a weak Dollar, necessitates raising our aircraft prices across the board,” said John Leahy, Airbus Chief Operating Officer, Customers. “Moreover, the A380’s further price adjustment reflects the type’s exceptional value it clearly generates for its operators, with whom it has exceeded all expectations in service.”

www.airtransportnews.aero

Such actions will contribute to national reconciliation among the people of Myanmar, meaningful dialogue and facilitate the democratization of Myanmar. Only free, fair and inclusive General Elections will then pave the way for Myanmar’s full integration into the international community.

ASEAN member countries wish to see Myanmar, a fellow ASEAN member, be at peace, prosperous and well respected in the international community. We stand ready to cooperate with the Myanmar Government in its efforts to realize the seven steps to democracy and remain constructively engaged with Myanmar in order to build the ASEAN Community together. We also continue to support the ongoing good offices of the United Nations Secretary-General and urge Myanmar’s full cooperation with the United Nations.

More than 473,300 residents of Zhejiang had been relocated and some 35,440 ships called back from the sea, the provincial flood-control headquarters said Sunday.

Weather forecast by the provincial meteorological station said on Sunday morning that Morakot was moving at a speed of up to 10 kilometers per hour northwestward from the sea and likely to land on the coast from Wenzhou in Zhejiang to Luoyuan of neighboring Fujian Province, on Sunday afternoon or in the evening.

Strong winds and heavy rainstorms are expected to slam most part of Zhejiang following the typhoon landing, according to the weather forecast.

A number of expressways in the province were closed, according to the provincial highway management authority.

Morakot has caused some havoc in neighboring Fujian Province, where more than 480,000 people had been relocated for safety concerns.

Li Saixi, a native of Qiyu Village in Luoyuan County, was busy pumping water out of his basement after a downpour Saturday night.

“The rain gushed into my house at midnight and the water level reached to my thigh at about 2 a.m.”, he said.

Owners of coastal aquafarms were fastening production facilities as strong winds pushed up high waves.

Supply of vegetables and seafoods reduced in an outdoor market of agricultural products in Lianjiang County. Dustmen were clearing up streets after strong winds spread rubbish everywhere.

Rainstorms pelted the coastal areas in northern and central parts of Fujian from 8 a.m. Saturday to 5 a.m. Sunday, with rainfall of 300 mm reported in some areas. (Xinhua)

According to the Fujian provincial meteorological station, Morakot is likely to land again in the coastal province between Saturday evening and night.

Although the typhoon was weakening after a landfall in Taiwan, it still packed winds of 137 kilometers per hour at 7 a.m. Saturday and churning northwestwards at a speed of 15 to 20 kilometers per hour.

It unleashed torrential rains in Fujian, where in five sites the water levels were recorded 0.02 to 0.66 meters above warning levels.

In adjacent Zhejiang Province, rainfall exceeded 50 millimeters on 6.8 percent of the province’s land by Friday night, with the highest at 110 millimeters in Cangnan county which borders Fujian.

Nearly 300,000 residents and tourists in dangerous areas were evacuated, and the province called back 29,987 ships to harbor.

More than 50,000 soldiers were prepared for emergencies in Zhejiang, said the local government.

Morakot, which means “emerald” in Thai, is the eighth storm to hit China this year. It landed in Hualien of Taiwan at 11:45 p.m. Friday, turning over cars and cutting power supplies. Two people were killed and four others were missing. (Xinhua)

STX (Dalian) Shipbuilding Co. Ltd., a subsidiary of the STX Group from the Republic of Korea (ROK) and the investor of the project, said the boatyard was now the largest in the world in terms of physical area. The firm did not reveal the cost of the yard.

Used for final assembly of big ships, the yard is 460 meters long, with a width of 135 m and a height of 14.5 m. It is able to accommodate two ships each with a dead weight tonnage of 320,000 tonnes to be built simultaneously, said the company.

The former largest shipyard in the world in terms of physical size was built by ROK-based Hanjin Heavy Industries in the Philippines. The Dalian boatyard is 1 m longer and 1 m wider than its Filipino counterpart, the STX (Dalian) Shipbuilding said.

STX Group, the fourth largest shipbuilding company in the world in terms of orders received, started to invest in Changxing Island in 2006 and has since increased its investment there to 13.4 billion yuan (1.96 billion U.S. dollars). (Xinhua)

The attack struck near a mosque in Taza, a predominantly Turkmen Shiite town, at around 1:00 pm (1000 GMT) and claimed women and children among its victims, officials said.

“I saw a truck passing through a very narrow road and, a few minutes later, I heard a huge explosion and the ceiling of my shop collapsed on my head,” said Akbar Zain al-Abdin, 40, whose fertilizer and farm products store was almost completely destroyed.

“I didn’t see a fire, but I saw a huge cloud of sand in the sky,” he said.

“The victims were our relatives and our friends, their houses collapsed on them.”

Kirkuk hospital morgue chief Ibrahim Mahmoud and Iraqi police Major Salam Zangana said 22 people were killed in the attack, while Zangana added that 125 were wounded, many of them seriously.

A senior police official, who did not want to be identified, put the toll at 30 dead and more than 125 wounded, and added that the attack was carried out by a suicide bomber and appeared to have been an Al-Qaeda bombing.

The official added that more than one tonne of explosives had been used in the bombing.

“The bombing is a big disaster, the criminals and killers chose this time to attack because it is when farmers return home to their houses for lunch,” Majeed Azzat, a member of Kirkuk’s provincial council, said.

The Turkmen Front, Iraq’s main Turkmen political party, announced three days of mourning and called for an “immediate investigation… and for the criminals to be brought to justice.”

The attack, which took place around 400 metres (yards) from the Shiite Al-Rasoul mosque, also seriously damaged dozens of houses, with police saying that many victims could still be under the rubble.

An AFP reporter at the scene said the bomb left a deep crater in the ground.

In the aftermath of the attack, police called on local residents to donate blood at nearby hospitals.
It is the bloodiest attack in Iraq since May 20, when a car bomb tore through a Baghdad street full of diners, killing 40 people and wounding 83.

AFP