Seoul wildfire completely extinguished after 25 hours

Tibetans consider the four-story Buddhist temple in Lhasa’s Barkhor Square as the most sacred and important temple in the Tibet Autonomous Region. Chinese authorities are also prohibiting Tibetan vendors who sell ‘tsampa’, a Tibetan staple food made of barley, sha-kampo, or dried yak and sheep meat, and other edibles, alleging that they do not have proper food badges on them, said a Tibetan inside the region, Radio Free Asia reported.

“Though the Chinese government has implied that the campaign is aimed at keeping the city clean, one can see that only Tibetan vendors are targeted under this campaign,” he told Radio Free Asia. Authorities are also telling

“This has caused so much trouble for Tibetans who make their living as street vendors,” he said, Radio Free Asia reported. China maintains a tight grip on Tibet, restricting Tibetans’ political activities and peaceful expression of cultural and religious identity as Buddhists. Tibetans frequently complain of discrimination and human rights abuses by Chinese authorities and policies, which they say are aimed at wiping out their national and cultural identity. The latest move follows increased security measures in Lhasa and other major towns ahead of recent politically sensitive anniversaries during which the police randomly checked individuals and their cellphones for contact with people outside the region, Radio Free Asia reported.

Seoul, April 3 (IANS) A wildfire on a mountain in central Seoul was completely put out Monday after 25 hours, authorities said.

The fire started on Mount Inwang, a popular trekking spot in the central ward of Jongno, shortly before noon Sunday and spread rapidly due to strong wind, temporarily forcing about 120 households to evacuate, according to the Seoul city government. No injuries or deaths have been reported. The main fire was put out at around 5 p.m. Sunday, but firefighters had difficulty extinguishing the smoldering fires despite all-night operations, reports Yonhap News agency. The city government said all the smouldering fires were completely extinguished as of 1.27 p.m. (local time).

S.Korea, US, Japan hold maritime drills involving aircraft carrier

will focus on enhancing the countries’ capabilities to “detect, track, share information on and defeat” the North’s underwater threats, according to the Ministry.

37% of population displaced from Japan’s Fukushima may have PTSD: Survey

Seoul, April 3 (IANS) South Korea, the US and Japan kicked off a trilateral naval exercise, involving an American aircraft carrier, in waters south of the Korean Peninsula on Monday, amid joint efforts to reinforce deterrence against growing North Korean threats, Seoul’s Defence Ministry said. The two-day anti-submarine and search-and-rescue exercise, featuring the USS Nimitz carrier, got under way in the international waters south of the southern island of Jeju, reports Yonhap News Agency.

The joint maneuvers followed Pyongyang’s provocative acts, such as its unveiling of the Hwasan-31 tactical nuclear warhead last week and the test of the underwater nuclear attack drone Haeil days earlier.

“(The anti-submarine exercise) was arranged to enhance response capabilities of South Korea, the US and Japan against North Korea’s advancing underwater threats, including from a submarine-launched ballistic missile,” the Ministry said in a statement.

The South deployed to the exercise its key destroyers, the Yulgok YiYi, Choe Yeong and Daejoyeong, as well as the Soyang combat support ship, while the US sent the carrier and two destroyers, USS Wayne E. Meyer and USS Decatur. Japan mobilised the JS Umigiri destroyer.

The anti-submarine drills

During the search and rescue segment, they plan to practice first-aid and other emergency procedures for those in a simulated maritime accident. The three countries last held trilateral anti-submarine drills last September.

This week’s search-and-rescue drills among the three nations took place for the first time in seven years, according to the Ministry.

USS Nimitz, a centrepiece of the US’ naval power, trained bilaterally with the South Korean Navy on March 27 and made a port call in Busan, 325 km southeast of Seoul, the following day.

This week’s training highlighted tightening security cooperation among the US and its two Asian allies, which have seen their ties thaw in the wake of Seoul’s solution to the thorny issue of compensation for victims of wartime forced labour.

Tokyo, April 3 (IANS) A survey of Fukushima residents who evacuated to areas outside the Japanese prefecture following the March 2011 nuclear disaster found that nearly 40 per cent of respondents may be suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), local media reported on Monday. Waseda University and a citizens group sent questionnaires to 5,350 households mainly in the Kanto region around Tokyo who had fled from Fukushima following the nuclear disaster, and obtained responses from 516, reports Xinhua news agency. The results indicated that 37.0 per cent of the evacuees had PTSD.

Behind the high rate are longterm stress factors, including memories of the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster, drastic changes in living environments and problems resulting from the government’s post-disaster measures, Japan’s Asahi Shimbun reported.

Meanwhile, 34.5 per cent said they “still have no job”. As for reasons, 16.3 per cent cited an “inability to resume my self-owned business yet”, and 14.0 per cent said they “could not work due to illness”.

The survey, conducted from January through April 2022, also revealed the worsening financial situation of evacuees, as 56.8 per cent said they were “worried about compensation and indemnification”.

Another problem is the growing feeling of isolation, with 38.9 per cent of respondents saying they “rarely have contact” or “have no contact” with friends or acquaintances in the places where they currently live.

“Although victims remain in touch with one another, some of them cannot go out on their own,” said Takuya Tsujiuchi, a medical professor at Waseda university, who was involved in the research.

“Such shut-ins alongside depressed individuals and elderly people need personal visits by supporters.”