PYONGYANG, North Korea — North Korea fired a long-range rocket early Friday, South Korean and U.S. officials said, defying international warnings against moving forward with a launch widely seen as a provocation.
TOKYO — Helicopters ferried supplies Tuesday to thousands of people still cut off by Japan’s worst storm in 28 years. Typhoon Talas left at least 46 dead and 54 missing in a nation still struggling to recover from its devastating tsunami just six months ago.
LONDON — Six cities from Europe, Asia and the Middle East are competing to host the 2020 Olympics. Submitting bids to the International Olympic Committee by Friday’s deadline were Rome; Madrid; Tokyo; Istanbul; Doha, Qatar; and Baku, Azerbaijan. There were no surprises, as all six cities had previously announced their candidacies.
Nuclear plant operators trying to avoid complete reactor meltdowns said Thursday that they were close to completing a new power line that might end Japan’s crisis, but several ominous signs have also emerged: a surge in radiation levels, unexplained white smoke and spent fuel rods that U.S. officials said could be on the verge of spewing radioactive material.
Japanese officials warned of a possible second explosion at a nuclear plant crippled by the earthquake and tsunami as they raced to stave off multiple reactor meltdowns, but they provided few details about whether they were making progress. More than 180,000 people have evacuated the area, and up to 160 may have been exposed to radiation.