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The operator of a crippled nuclear power plant in northern Japan says the latest radiation readings at the earthquake and tsunami-battered facility are 100,000 times higher than normal.

Earlier Sunday, workers at the plant were evacuated after incorrect readings of 10 million times higher than normal were reported in water that had accumulated in a turbine housing unit of the Fukushima-Daiichi plant’s number 2 reactor.

The faulty readings underscore the high-pressure challenges to several hundred workers struggling to provide accurate public information while trying to restart cooling systems at the plant. Workers have in some instances been conducting highly-sensitive electrical checks in the dark, under conditions that have been described as extreme.

A magnitude 6.5 earthquake rocked the region on Monday, the latest in a series of aftershocks. There were no reports of damage of injuries. Japanese officials said Sunday the death toll from the tragedy that struck March 11 has risen to more than 10,600 people, with more than 16,500 others listed as missing. About 300,000 are living in temporary shelters.

Earlier Sunday, authorities said they also detected heightened levels of radioactive iodine in seawater within 300 meters of the plant. The nuclear safety agency said one-half a liter of the seawater contains the same amount of radiation that a person can safely be exposed to in a year. But officials said the ocean will quickly dilute the worst contamination, and that there is no immediate threat to marine life or seafood safety.

Radiation spikes were also detected last week in the water supply in Tokyo and nearby areas. Radiation has been found in vegetables and milk from farms near Fukushima, prompting a host of countries to ban imports of food from the region.

Efforts also are under way to drain highly radioactive pools of water that have accumulated in the reactor buildings, after two workers were hospitalized with radiation burns from stepping into a puddle of contaminated water. Plant officials say they do not yet know the source of the radioactive water.

Workers on Saturday sprayed fresh water instead of seawater into the damaged nuclear reactors, in an ongoing effort to keep damaged fuel rods from overheating and spewing more radiation into the environment. There was concern that salt in the seawater was clogging pipes and coating the fuel rods, interfering with efforts to restore the plant’s cooling systems.

The U.S. Navy is sending ships loaded with fresh water to the plant on Japan’s east coast.

Japanese authorities have urged residents still living within a 20- to 30-kilometer radius of Fukushima to voluntarily leave the area. Residents within that zone were told previously to stay indoors to avoid the threat of radiation, while residents closer to the plant were told to evacuate.

                  The United Nations says the number of asylum seekers trying to enter wealthy countries has steadily declined in the past decade.

The Geneva-based agency issued a report Monday covering applications for asylum in 44 industrialized nations. The report shows that a total of 358,800 people sought asylum in those countries in 2010, which was five percent less than the year before and more than 40 percent less than a decade ago.

U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres said only a handful of countries received an increased number of applications last year. Those include the United States, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Australia and New Zealand.

Most regions, including Europe, North America and North Asia, reported decreases in 2010 from the previous year. Within Europe, the largest decline was seen in the south as fewer people asked for protection in Malta, Italy and Greece. All three have struggled to stem an influx of boat people from Africa and the Middle East in recent years.

The United States remained the largest single destination for asylum seekers, followed by France.

With more than 55,500 applications, the United States was the largest recipient of asylum applications in 2010, an increase of 13 percent from the year before, partly due to a rise in the number of Chinese and Mexican asylum seekers.

Serbs, especially from Kosovo, represented the largest single group seeking asylum in rich countries, followed by Afghans and the Chinese.

Guterres said that developing countries, notably Tunisia, Liberia and Egypt, carry the biggest share of responsibility for hosting refugees. He called on all countries to support them.

Opposition organizers in Yemen hope to rally tens of thousands of people in the capital,

Sana’a, Friday for what they are calling a “Day of Departure” to demand President Ali

Abdullah Saleh’s immediate resignation.

By late Thursday, security forces had deployed heavily throughout the capital, raising the

possibility of confrontations. Earlier in the day, military forces loyal to the president

clashed with army units supporting the opposition. The fighting took place in the southern

town of Mukalla.

Also Thursday, Mr. Saleh discussed a possible solution to Yemen’s deepening political

crisis with the country’s top military officer, General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, who defected

to the opposition this week and sent troops to protect pro-democracy protesters in Sana’a.

Officials familiar with the negotiations said the talks are focusing on a civilian-led

transitional council that would run the country until new parliamentary elections are

held.

The Wall Street Journal reported that by late Thursday, negotiations widened from talks

between Mr. Saleh and General Ahmar to include meetings between their aides, Yemen’s Vice

President Abdo Rabu Hadi, U.S. Ambassador Gerald Feierstein and the leaders of two

opposition parties.

In another key development, the leader of Yemen’s largest tribe , Sheikh Sinan Abu Lohoum,

announced his support for opposition demands.

Friday’s anti-government rally is planned to take place despite a newly imposed state of

emergency. It gives security forces sweeping powers to prevent protests and to detain

suspects.

Mr. Saleh on Thursday offered a general amnesty to defecting troops in a meeting with

senior commanders.

In the face of growing protests against his 32-year-rule, the president said previously

that he planned to stay in office until his term ends in 2013. But on Tuesday, a Saleh

spokesman said the president is willing to hold early elections this year and to leave

office by January. The opposition has dismissed the offer.

A number of government officials, diplomats and tribal leaders have joined the opposition

since a crackdown on protesters killed 52 people last Friday.

Opposition organizers in Yemen hope to rally tens of thousands of people in the capital,

Sana’a, Friday for what they are calling a “Day of Departure” to demand President Ali

Abdullah Saleh’s immediate resignation.

By late Thursday, security forces had deployed heavily throughout the capital, raising the

possibility of confrontations. Earlier in the day, military forces loyal to the president

clashed with army units supporting the opposition. The fighting took place in the southern

town of Mukalla.

Also Thursday, Mr. Saleh discussed a possible solution to Yemen’s deepening political

crisis with the country’s top military officer, General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, who defected

to the opposition this week and sent troops to protect pro-democracy protesters in Sana’a.

Officials familiar with the negotiations said the talks are focusing on a civilian-led

transitional council that would run the country until new parliamentary elections are

held.

The Wall Street Journal reported that by late Thursday, negotiations widened from talks

between Mr. Saleh and General Ahmar to include meetings between their aides, Yemen’s Vice

President Abdo Rabu Hadi, U.S. Ambassador Gerald Feierstein and the leaders of two

opposition parties.

In another key development, the leader of Yemen’s largest tribe , Sheikh Sinan Abu Lohoum,

announced his support for opposition demands.

Friday’s anti-government rally is planned to take place despite a newly imposed state of

emergency. It gives security forces sweeping powers to prevent protests and to detain

suspects.

Mr. Saleh on Thursday offered a general amnesty to defecting troops in a meeting with

senior commanders.

In the face of growing protests against his 32-year-rule, the president said previously

that he planned to stay in office until his term ends in 2013. But on Tuesday, a Saleh

spokesman said the president is willing to hold early elections this year and to leave

office by January. The opposition has dismissed the offer.

A number of government officials, diplomats and tribal leaders have joined the opposition

since a crackdown on protesters killed 52 people last Friday.

The top United Nations human rights body has established the post of special investigator

for rights abuses in Iran.

The Geneva-based U.N. Human Rights Council approved the resolution Thursday with 22 votes

in favor, seven against and 14 abstentions. Four of the 47 member-nations did not vote.

The Associated Press reports that an outside expert is to be appointed to the position

later this year.

The council expressed concern over Iran’s crackdown on opposition figures, its increased

use of the death penalty and other abuses.

Tehran rejected the resolution, which was championed by the United States and Sweden.

Iran is not a member of the council and has not admitted international human rights

experts into the country for at least a decade.

In Washington, White House National Security Adviser Tom Donilon welcomed the decision as

“a historic milestone that reaffirms the global consensus and alarm about the dismal

state of human rights in Iran.”

The U.N. Human Rights Council was established in 2006 as a successor to the widely

criticized U.N. Commission on Human Rights. The United States became a member in 2009.

A 22-year-old woman who fled to Nigeria after a fire killed four children at her Texas home day care center pleaded not guilty to manslaughter and other charges Wednesday — two days after being sent back to the United States.

Jessica Tata from Houston faces 14 charges, including manslaughter and illegal flight to avoid prosecution, related to the February 24 blaze that also seriously injured three other children.

Interpol and U.S. State Department agents arrested Tata Saturday in Port Harcourt, Nigeria. She is now being held in a Houston jail without bond.

Prosecutors allege that Tata left seven children unattended at the day care center while she went shopping. A pot of cooking oil on a stove burst into flames and set the nursery school on fire.

Two days later, Tata fled to Nigeria, where she has family. She was on the U.S. list of the 15 most-wanted fugitives.

Tata is expected back in court on May 12 and a bond hearing is pending.

Chinese Smokers Face New Restrictions From May 1

State media are telling Chinese smokers they will no longer be able to light up in most public places including hotels and restaurants after May 1.

However smoking will still be permitted in government offices and other workplaces.

The cutoff date was published on a government website this week and reported in Chinese newspapers Thursday. The ban was originally to have gone into effect in January, but that was postponed because of administrative problems.

Smoking is considered the largest single cause of death in China, killing more than 1 million people a year according to World Health Organization statistics.

Chinese Smokers Face New Restrictions From May 1

State media are telling Chinese smokers they will no longer be able to light up in most public places including hotels and restaurants after May 1.

However smoking will still be permitted in government offices and other workplaces.

The cutoff date was published on a government website this week and reported in Chinese newspapers Thursday. The ban was originally to have gone into effect in January, but that was postponed because of administrative problems.

Smoking is considered the largest single cause of death in China, killing more than 1 million people a year according to World Health Organization statistics.