FUKUSHIMA, Japan (AP) -- Workers at a leaking nuclear complex hooked up power lines to all six of its reactor units, but other repercussions from a massive earthquake and tsunami still rippled across Japan as economic losses mounted at three flagship companies.The progress on the electrical lines at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant was a welcome and significant advance Tuesday after days

The yen fell for a second day on speculation the Group of Seven nations will continue to sell the currency to curb its appreciation.The yen slid against all of its 16 major counterparts, extending losses from March 18 after G7 nations followed Japan’s lead and sold the currency as it reached a postwar high, endangering the recovery from its biggest earthquake. The euro rose versus the yen on prosp

World Bank: Japan may need 5 years to rebuild from devastating quake, tsunamiSINGAPORE (AP) ― Japan may need five years to rebuild from the catastrophic earthquake and tsunami that has caused up to $235 billion of damage, the World Bank said Monday.The March 11 disaster ― which killed more than 18,000 people and ravaged northeastern Japan ― will likely shave up to 0.5 percentage point from the cou

Toyota Motor Corp. and Sony Corp., two of Japan’s biggest manufacturers, are facing worst-case scenarios of long-term production shortfalls as scores of plants remain closed and workers are idled in the aftermath of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.“The current situation is still difficult,” Chisato Kitsukawa, a spokesman for Tokyo-based Sony, by phone Saturday. The company has shut eight plant

Optometrists: 3-D screen on Nintendo 3DS could help kids with vision disordersNEW YORK (AP) ― U.S. eye specialists are welcoming the Nintendo 3DS game device, dismissing the manufacturer’s warnings that its 3-D screen shouldn’t be used by children 6 or younger because it may harm their immature vision.On the contrary, the optometrists say, it’s a good idea to get your kids to try the 3-D screen, e

WASHINGTON (AFP) ― IBM has agreed to pay $10 million to settle charges it gave cash and gifts to Chinese and South Korean officials to win contracts for mainframe and personal computers and other products.The agreement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission calls for the U.S. computer titan to pay disgorgement of $5.3 million, interest of $2.7 million and a civil penalty of $2 million.Un

Japan’s risk of becoming the first Group of Seven member to return to a recession after the global financial crisis eased as the G7 intervened to halt the yen’s appreciation.The G7’s yen sales sent the currency down the most since September, to 80.58 per dollar at the close Saturday in New York, compared with the postwar high of 76.25 reached March 17. Japan’s Vice Finance Minister Fumihiko Igaras

President emphasizes importance of trade with Brazil to economic growth back homeBRASILIA, Brazil (AP) ― Seeking to link his Latin American tour to job growth back home, President Barack Obama said Saturday the U.S. was eager to sell its goods and services to economically booming Brazil’s growing middle class. The president’s economic message, however, was overshadowed by events in Libya, where a

TOYKO (AP) ― The Japanese auto industry remained largely hobbled Thursday, nearly a week after the country’s worst-ever earthquake laid waste to its industrial northeast, although some manufacturers announced plans to resume limited operations.Toyota Motor Corp., the world’s top automaker, will start up plants for producing repair or replacement parts on Thursday. However, the company said it woul

Bank of Japan injects another $61.2 billion into financial systemTOKYO (AP) ― Japan’s central bank pumped another $61.2 billion into the financial system Tuesday to quell fears that the country’s banks could be overwhelmed by the impact of the massive earthquake and tsunami.The injection of 5 trillion yen comes a day after the Bank of Japan fed a record 15 trillion yen into money markets and eased

NEW DELHI (AFP) ― The typical tourist in Asia used to be a young backpacker in need of a shower, but these days there are just as many older and retired people roaming the continent seeking its secrets.With money and time to spare, the new breed of Western visitor is hitting the road in India, China and elsewhere, armed with an adventurous spirit, an inexhaustible thirst for knowledge and a keen e

MIAMI (AFP) ― U.S. scientists in the Florida Everglades are recruiting crocodiles and alligators in their fight to preserve the fragile wetlands by implanting satellite chips in their necks for the first time.As the animals make their way through different parts of the sprawling national park they beam back information on changes in the ecosystem and its impact on their size and movement patterns.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) ― With the original iPad, Apple brought an attractive, easy-to-use tablet computer to the masses at a reasonable price ― a feat numerous companies are trying to top.With Friday’s release of the iPad 2, Apple is pulling further ahead, with improvements that make an already excellent tablet even more enticing. It goes to show that when it comes to tablets, Apple refuses to be best

GENEVA (AFP) ― The U.N. expert on food rights Tuesday urged regulation of agriculture commodities trading to stop a speculative bubble that is artificially helping to drive up food prices.Olivier De Schutter, the U.N. special rapporteur on the right to food, warned that the situation may be amplified by high oil prices.“There is a very close correlation between the price of oil and the price of fo

STEVENAGE, England (AP) ― Eden Sawczenko used to recoil when other little girls held her hand and turned stiff when they hugged her. This year, the 4-year-old autistic girl began playing with a robot that teaches about emotions and physical contact ― and now she hugs everyone.“She’s a lot more affectionate with her friends now and will even initiate the embrace,” said Claire Sawczenko, Eden’s moth

Carnival has returned to Haiti, a year after the devastating earthquake, but this time it is darker and more menacing rippling with violent under tones as Haitians seek to exorcise their demons.Papier-mache artist Jean-Marc Turin created a sculpture dubbed “Haiti Kolera” for this year’s carnival in the coastal town of Jacmel.The striking cardboard figure of a red and blue woman, vomiting down her front representing the cholera epidemic stalking the nation, is a far cry from the happy, fantasy-fi

MANILA (AFP) ― Like some bad science-fiction movie, Philippine fishermen are encountering strange alien creatures: tough, speckled fish with sharp spines that tear and rip their nets.These suckermouth catfish from South America are just one of a growing number of foreign species that are spreading in local waterways and forests, threatening to edge out the country’s indigenous plants and animals.The catfish, locally known as “janitor fish,” were originally introduced locally for aquariums but ca

The sun is shining on the tourism trade in Asia-Pacific with double-digit growth notched up in 2010, spurred largely by Chinese and Indian middle classes packing their bags for a break abroad. Strong economies, the proliferation of low-cost airlines and a burgeoning constituency of online shoppers are adding to the region’s rosy outlook.There was an 11 percent rise in arrivals in the region overall last year, according to preliminary data from the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA). And 2011

China may deflect international pressure for faster yuan appreciation by reporting the nation’s smallest trade surplus in 10 months tomorrow.The excess was $4.9 billion in February, from $6.5 billion a month earlier, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey of 21 economists. Data for the first two months of the year is typically distorted by the timing of a Lunar New Year holida

Members joining Saudi Arabia in raising production to allay fears of supply crunch in WestOil’s march towards $120 a barrel sparked a frantic day across financial markets, as OPEC members prepared to increase production and investors seeking a “safe haven” drove the price of gold to a fresh high.Fears were intensified as Libya witnessed a day of fierce clashes between forces loyal to Colonel Gadha