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A tsunami warning was initially issued, but later lifted. There are no reports of major damage or casualties.

The Japan Meteorological Agency gave the strength as 6.9 while the US Geological Survey put it at 7.3.

Japan is often hit by earthquakes. In 1995, a magnitude-7.2 quake in the port city of Kobe killed 6,400 people.

The latest tremor occurred at 0531 on Saturday (2031 GMT on Friday).

BBC News website reader Ivan Brackin, who lives on Yoron Island, said it was the biggest quake he had felt in his 40 years in Japan but there had been no visible effects in his area.

“We’re 30 yards [metres] from the sea and no sign of a tsunami,” he said.

“I woke up to violent shudders that lasted about six seconds then a pause followed by a couple of sharp jumps. Jumpers are the most dangerous so that sent me under the desk.”

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BANGKOK, Feb 26 (Reuters) – Judges reading a lengthy verdict on whether to seize $2.3 billion of ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra family’s assets said on Friday his policies benefited his family business, raising the likelihood his money will be confiscated.

Authorities say major violence is unlikely but have mobilised thousands of police and troops to pre-empt any backlash by supporters of the 60-year-old fugitive at the centre of a 5-year political crisis in Southeast Asia’s second-biggest economy.

Analysts expect the nine-judge Supreme Court to either seize all of the frozen wealth or to allow Thaksin to keep a portion of the assets. The latter scenario is seen as more favourable for markets in the short-run as it lessens the risk of an imminent showdown in Thailand’s divisive colour-coded crisis.

“The partial seizure of the assets should be what financial markets prefer because both sides can claim victory,” said Prapas Tonpibulsak, chief investment officer at Ayudhya Fund Management.

(For possible market reactions click on [ID:nSGE61I05K])

Prosecutors say Thaksin and his former wife, Potjaman na Pombejra, concealed ownership of shares in his family business Shin Corp SHIN.BK while in office from 2001 to 2006, and that he abused power by tailoring policies to benefit the company.

Thaksin, ousted in a 2006 coup and convicted in absentia of graft, has denied the charges from self-imposed exile in Dubai.

One judge said a Thaksin-era government policy to convert part of a telecommunications concessions fee into an excise tax “favoured Shin Corp at the expense of the state”.

A judge also said Thaksin concealed his ownership of stock in Shin Corp, an argument seen as a main precondition for deciding there was a conflict of interest in government policies benefiting Shin Corp, a major telecommunications business.

“The way it’s going, it looks highly likely he will have the whole lot confiscated and he’ll not get anything back,” said Jade Donavanik, dean of the faculty of law at Siam University.

“The judge has repeatedly said the stock was Thaksin’s property. Him concealing assets is the entire foundation of this case, so it’s likely they’ll take it all.”

A final ruling on whether to confiscate any or all of the assets was due later on Friday. Thailand’s stock market reopens on Tuesday after a long weekend holiday.

Some analysts say a court verdict unfavourable to Thaksin, could add weight to allegations he is the victim of a political vendetta and may spark an angry response from supporters.

‘JUDGMENT DAY’

Security was tight around Bangkok’s Supreme Court on what has become known as “Judgment Day”, with cellphone signals jammed to prevent remote-detonated bombings and judges ferried to the courthouse, some from safe houses, in bullet-proof cars.

Six-hundred police guarded the court. Security agencies said thousands of riot troops were on standby in case of unrest.

Political uncertainty has subdued Thailand’s benchmark index .SETI in recent weeks, with many traders waiting to see what the ruling will bring. But foreign investors were net buyers for four straight days this week, drawn to bargains in Thailand where stocks are trading at just 10.6 times forecast 2011 earnings, Asia’s cheapest after Pakistan, Thomson Reuters data shows.

The pro-Thaksin “red shirt” movement, which last April forced a regional summit to be abandoned and staged demonstrations that sparked Thailand’s worst street violence in 17 years, plans a mass rally in Bangkok on March 14 but says it will not protest on Friday whatever the verdict. [ID:nSGE61N09L]

The delay was widely seen as a move to distance the movement from any groups that might seek to stir up trouble. A splinter pro-Thaksin group, “Red Siam”, rallied close to the court on Friday, but has vowed to remain peaceful.

The “red shirts” accuse authorities of playing up the risk of unrest. Security agencies have said they are most concerned outside agitators, or a “third hand”, will trigger violence.

The twice-elected Thaksin says he will fight any seizure of the assets from exile.

(For a related analysis click on [ID:nSGE61I095]; and for a factbox on the case click [ID:nSGE61M019])

Although the verdict will turn a new page in an intractable political crisis that has alarmed many investors, few believe it will provide any hope of a long-term resolution. 
 
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Henry Waxman, chairman of the House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee, told a hearing on Toyota that highway safety regulators do not have the expertise to properly evaluate sophisticated engineering systems in today’s vehicles.

“Ultimately, I believe addressing this problem will require legislation,” Waxman said. “Carmakers have entered the electronics era but the (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) seems stuck in a mechanical mind-set.”

Automakers are watching the Toyota developments very closely to see if the saga prompts new congressional or regulatory action.

Waxman’s committee on Monday sharply criticized NHTSA’s handling of consumer complaints about unintended acceleration in Toyota and Lexus models, particularly persistent reports over the years alleging problems with software-driven electronic throttles.

Toyota says its throttles are sound and no NHTSA review has found any problems with them. Jim Lentz, the company’s U.S. sales chief, said at the hearing that Toyota is in the midst of an outside review of those systems.

But Waxman said regulators have lacked the necessary resources to “critically assess Toyota’s insistence that its vehicles could not fail.”

The panel’s investigation found that NHTSA’s staff does not include electrical or software engineers, Waxman said in a letter to Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.

“We need to make sure the federal safety agency has the tools and resources it needs to ensure the safety of the electronic controls and onboard computers that run today’s automobiles,” Waxman told witnesses at the hearing.

LaHood said NHTSA is adding staff and disputed the committee’s finding that the agency did not have electrical engineering expertise. However, he told Waxman that the Transportation Department may be “asking for some legislative remedies.”

He was not specific but did say it would help NHTSA if automakers were required to report to U.S. regulators their safety problems in other countries.

LaHood also said the government should consider a potential industry mandate for systems that would allow brakes to override the throttle in cases of runaway acceleration.

NHTSA is reviewing electronics in Toyota vehicles as well as those made by other manufacturers. It is consulting outside experts and Toyota.

“We’re going to do a complete review of electronics,” LaHood told lawmakers at the hearing. “We’re going to get into the weeds on the electronics. We feel an obligation to do that.”

NHTSA is a relatively small agency that oversees auto safety and fuel efficiency standards.

It opens about 100 safety investigations annually and has broad powers that critics say are not always used fully. NHTSA receives about 30,000 complaints a year.

The agency relies on nudging industry into “voluntary” recalls rather than forcing action. It’s tougher stance with Toyota in 2009 and this year prompted big recalls for unintended acceleration related to floor mats that can be trapped by the accelerator and gas pedals that do not spring back as designed.

LaHood said he did not believe NHTSA needed expanded authority from Congress to force recalls.

The last major auto safety legislation authorized by Congress toughened industry defect reporting requirements following the 2001 Firestone tire debacle associated with deadly rollovers of Ford Motor Co SUVs.

Over the past three years, NHTSA’s defect and compliance investigations have led to 524 recalls involving 23.5 million vehicles, transportation officials said.

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(CNN) — The junta leading Niger following last week’s coup and suspension of the constitution is working to return the country to democratic rule, a United Nations official said Sunday.

“The political party is very keen to return power to civilians and transition to an all-inclusive democracy,” U.N. Special Representative for West Africa Said Djinnit told CNN. “This transition began with the occurrence of the coup and the expiration of the constitution and implementation of a new constitution.”

The new constitution already is in the works, said Djinnit, who along with representatives from the African Union and the Economic Community of West African States met with junta leaders in Niamey, Niger, on Sunday to push for a quick resolution to the conflict.

“The mission of this meeting is to assure this coup is the last,” Djinnit said. “No coup can be tolerated.”

President Mamadou Tandja is said to be detained in a military camp following Thursday’s coup. Soldiers reportedly stormed the presidential palace, according to the United Nations, and the French Embassy reported hearing intermittent gunfire less than a mile from the palace.

A military official announced the suspension of the constitution later that day and attributed the order to the Superior Council for the Restoration of Democracy.

The violence may have been prompted by a collapse of talks between the government and the opposition over a recent referendum allowing the president to hold power indefinitely, according to the United Nations. Tandja had been in office since 1999, but Niger’s previous constitution mandated only two, five-year terms for president, according to the CIA World Fact Book.

General public sentiment in the west African nation of 15 million appeared to favor the coup, according to Djinnit, who said life had returned to normal for civilians and many had gathered in rallies of support. Djinnit’s observations back earlier reports that the situation was calm in Niger, with children returning to school and shops open for business.

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The funeral for those killed in a double bombing targeting Shia muslims in the Pakistani city of Karachi attracted thousands of mourners today.

The death toll from the attack on Friday has now risen to 33, with a further 165 injured.

The funeral for 14 muslim victims, held at a sports field in Karachi, was attended by 10,000 people, according to police officials.

Most shops in the sprawling city of 18 million people were closed and public transport was halted as a procession of mourners carried the coffins though the streets.
Karachi has a long history of sectarian violence between the majority Sunni and minority Shia muslims.

Yesterday a motorbike laden with explosives targeted a bus carrying a group of Shias to a religious festival.

A second bomb exploded outside the entrance to the emergency ward of the Jinnah hospital, where the victims of the first attack were being treated.

Police had initially suspected the two attacks were carried out by suicide bombers but later said the devices were planted.

A third bomb, defused at the hospital, was similar in type, indicating one group was involved.

The bombings coincided with the final and most important day of the Shia Arbaeen religious festival, marking 40 days of mourning for the Prophet Muhammad’s grandson.

Security in Karachi has been tightened after a suicide bomb killed 43 people in December on the Shia holy-day of of Ashura.

Senior police investigator Raja Umer Khattab said the Jundullah (Army of God) militant group was behind both attacks.

He added: “This is the same group that carried out the Ashura attack.”

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani today appealed for calm between the two communities.

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Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Thursday that Tehran and Islamabad should develop a joint campaign to promote regional security.

“Given the current situation, the regional countries — especially Iran and Pakistan — must devise a joint plan to provide security in the region,” said Ahmadinejad.

The Iranian president made the remarks during a meeting with visiting Pakistani National Assembly Speaker Fahmida Mirza in Tehran.

“Radicalism is a threat to all countries in the region,” Ahmadinejad said, calling for concerted cooperation between Tehran and Islamabad to settle such problems.

He added that Iran and Pakistan need to expand relations in all areas.

President Ahmadinejad said that certain countries are unhappy about “the brotherly ties between Tehran and Islamabad.”

Mirza, for her part, said that her country considered expansion of its ties with Iran as “a necessity” for Pakistan.

She noted that Tehran and Islamabad have similar stances regarding many international issues. The Pakistani speaker said that her country has always supported Iran’s civilian nuclear program.

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