Super typhoon Neoguri threatens Japan

The storm could be one of the worst in decades, with gusts of up to 270 kilometres per hour expected to slam into the southernmost subtropical island chain early on Tuesday, and possibly reaching mainland Japan by Wednesday, the national weather agency said.

The typhoon was located some 600 kilometres south of Okinawa's main island at 0300 GMT and was moving north northwest at 25 kilometres per hour.

"Please be vigilant, stay inside buildings and avoid working outside and making unnecessary trips," a meteorological agency official said at a press briefing.

The official warned that the storm could pack "record level" winds and stir up high waves.

"It is likely to arrive in Okinawa on Tuesday morning, generating violent gales and high waves... and, in some areas, violent rains," he said.

"Please be ready to evacuate," the official added.

The meteorological agency forecast Neoguri, whose name means racoon in Korean, would dump up to 80 millimetres of rain an hour on Okinawa as it pounds the archipelago.

The storm, which could affect an area with a 500 kilometre radius, was expected to be downgraded by the time it hit the Japanese mainland.

However, Kyushu region -- next to the main island of Honshu where major cities including Tokyo and Osaka are located -- was already witnessing heavy rains and officials warned over possible floods and landslides.

"I'm calling on the heads of municipalities not to hesitate in issuing evacuation warnings and don't be afraid of being overcautious," Keiji Furuya, the state minister in charge of disaster management told.

US Kadena Air Force base in Okinawa, the largest US airbase in the Pacific, began evacuating some of its aircrafts on Sunday in preparation for the typhoon.

"I can't stress enough how dangerous this typhoon may be when it hits Okinawa," Commander James Hecker of the 18th Wing stationed in Kadena said in a statement posted online.

"This is the most powerful typhoon forecast to hit the island in 15 years; we expect damaging winds to arrive by early Tuesday morning.

"So be prepared!...Tie down your outdoor items and work with your neighbours to help them."

Okinawa is regularly hit by typhoons but islanders were taking no chances with fishermen on Miyako island bringing boats back to port and tying them down with ropes.

Read more Latest News from World News

India, US, Ethiopia join hands to tackle maternal deaths issue

Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan would be one among the host of global leaders including World Bank President Dr Jim Young Kim and USAID Administrator Raj Shah to attend the important international meeting in Washington.

Co-hosted by India, US and Ethiopia in collaboration with UNICEF and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the 'Acting on the Call: Ending Preventable Child and Maternal Deaths' will unveil new efforts to save an unprecedented number of women and children by 2020 in 24 selected countries.

It will also announce adoption of bold reforms to improve effectiveness and efficiency at the Agency, a media release said.

Read more Latest News from World News

Toyota announces price for new fuel cell car

The vehicles will be rolled out by March and beyond the home market during the summer of 2015, it said in a move that will see the environmentally friendly cars available in the United States and Europe.

"Hydrogen is a particularly promising alternative fuel since it can be produced using a wide variety of primary energy sources, including solar and wind power," the automaker said in a statement. 

Read more Latest News from Business News

India's defence budget is one third of China: Pentagon

The official annual defence budget of China in the year 2013 was USD 119.5 billion against India's USD 39.2 billion, the Pentagon said on Thursday in its annual report on China, which was submitted to the Congress.

    

For comparison, the national defence budget of Russia in the year 2013 was USD 69.5 followed by that of Japan of USD 56.9 billion.

  

The annual budget of South Korea was USD 31 billion followed by USD 10.8 billion, the Pentagon said adding that tensions remain along the India-China border.

  

"Despite improving political and economic relations between China and India, tensions remain along their shared 4,057 km border, most notably over Arunachal Pradesh, which China asserts is part of Tibet, and over the Aksai Chin region at the western end of the Tibetan Plateau," the Pentagon said.

  

"In 2009, China and India said they would establish a hotline between their Prime Ministers after exchanging barbs over the status of the border region of Arunachal Pradesh," said the report ‘Military and Security Developments Involving the People's Republic of China 2014’ that runs into over 90 pages.

    

"By 2011, however, progress still lagged as India reportedly found trouble obtaining suitable encryption technology to establish the hotline.

    

Chinese and Indian officials met in late September 2013 to finalize the text of the Border Defence Cooperation Agreement, which will supplement existing procedures managing the interaction of troops along the Line of Actual Control," the Pentagon said.

Read more Latest News from World News