TOKYO
Quake kills 1, sparks tsunami warnings
A strong earthquake struck Japan early today, killing at least one person and injuring at least 110 others as it violently shook buildings and triggered a small 6-inch tsunami that hit the coast, officials and media reports said.
The magnitude-7.1 quake hit off the north coast of Ishikawa prefecture, Japan’s Meteorological Agency said.
Immediately after the quake struck, authorities issued a tsunami warning for the country’s northwestern Sea of Japan coast and broadcasters urged people near the sea to seek higher ground. The Meteorological Agency said seismically triggered waves of up to 25 inches were possible, but the warning was lifted about an hour after the 6-inch wave hit land.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the epicenter of the earthquake was 225 miles northwest of Tokyo.
LONDON
Iran moves 15 seized Britons to Tehran
One day after its forces seized 15 British naval personnel near disputed waters, Iran accused Britain on Saturday of “blatant aggression,” while Britain demanded “the immediate and safe return” of its personnel.
In Tehran, the Foreign Ministry spokesman, Mohammad Ali Hosseini, said that the Britons – eight sailors and seven marines – had violated “the sovereign boundaries of other states,” the state-run IRNA news agency said, and that Iran was carrying out “further investigation of the blatant aggression.”
Iranian news agencies said the 15 Britons had been transferred to Tehran, where a senior Iranian military official was quoted as saying they had “confessed to illegal entry into Iran’s waters.”
MONTREAL
Judge: Muslims can’t vote wearing veils
Muslim women will have to remove their face coverings if they want to vote in Monday’s Quebec election, a government official said Friday, reversing his earlier decision to allow the veils.
Marcel Blanchet, the French-speaking province’s election chief, had been criticized by Quebec’s three main political leaders for allowing voters to wear the niqab, which covers the face except for the eyes, if they signed a sworn statement and showed identification when they vote.
But Blanchet reversed his decision Friday, saying it was necessary to avoid disruptions when residents go to the polls.
TAIPEI, Taiwan
Drivers to detour for butterfly crossing
Taiwan will cordon off part of a highway to create a safe passage for a massive seasonal butterfly migration in coming days, an official said Saturday.
The milkweed butterflies – which are indigenous to the island off China and have distinct white dots on purple- brown wings – migrate in late March from southern Taiwan to the north, where they lay eggs and die.
The young butterflies then fly south every November to a warm mountain valley to escape the winter cold.
Conservationists say Taiwan has about 2 million milkweed butterflies.
A 600-yard stretch of highway in southern Taiwan’s Yunlin County will be sealed off as the migration peaks, said Lee Tai-ming, head of the National Freeway Bureau.
Authorities will set up nets to make the butterflies fly higher and avoid passing cars, Lee said. He said they will also install ultraviolet lights to guide the insects across a highway overpass.
