EARTHQUAKE

President Barack Obama offered assistance to Japan on Friday after an 8.9 earthquake hit just off the coast of the northeastern city of Sendai, triggering a tsunami which has so far caused up to 300 deaths, according to local officials.

Reports are coming in of thousands of people trapped in Tokyo’s Disneyland following the devastating 8.9-magnitude earthquake that struck Japan on Friday.

The biggest ever earthquake to hit Japan has killed hundreds of people already, according to reports. According to Kyodo News, at least 300 bodies have been recovered from one of the worst-hit coastal cities in the northeast of the country.

The devastating earthquake measuring 8.9 on Richter scale went rampaging through Japan and triggered a massive tsunami with 12-foot waves inundating the northern coastal region.

The British government has offered Japan any assistance it may need after the massive earthquake and tsunami that smashed into the country, according to UK foreign secretary, William Hague.

While Facebook, Twitter and other social media platforms have been flooded with Japan earthquake photos, YouTube users have uploaded video footage giving viewers across the globe a glimpse into the first hand experience of the disaster.

The death toll from the massive quake that hit northeast Japan on Friday, causing many injuries, fires and a four-metre (13-ft) tsunami along the country's Pacific coast, has reached 26, local media reported.

Companies across Japan are in emergency mode and assessing the immediate physical and economic damage caused by the massive 8.9-magnitude earthquake.

European shares hit a three-month low in early trade and Asian stocks too dropped on Friday, while U.S. futures headed lower, after a powerful 8.9-magnitude earthquake has struck off Japan's northeastern coast, triggering a tsunami as high as 10 metres.

The world is reacting to the catastrophic earthquake that struck Japan Friday through social media as platforms like Facebook and Twitter come alive with reactions, prayers and timely updates of the disaster.

A tsunami warning has been issued by NOAA's National Weather Service to the following countries with the estimated time of arrival at forecast points.

Oil prices dropped to near $101 a barrel in Asia on Friday, after a powerful earthquake measuring 8.9 magnitude on Richter scale hit off Japan.

While residents in Beijing have reported to have felt the tremors of the massive earthquake that hit Japan Pacific coast, top Chinese seismology expert is confident that the Chinese mainland is not in the danger zone.

A powerful earthquake measuring 8.8 on Richter scale hitting off Japan

A 5.8-magnitude earthquake hit Yingjiang County in southwest China's Yunnan Province on Thursday afternoon, killing alt least 14 people and injuring about 135 local residents.

Will there be chaos, a flurry of natural disasters and extreme weather on March 19 when the moon will come close to Earth? The full moon at lunar perigee, the closest approach during its orbit, can wreak havoc on Earth, according to astrologers. But the scientific community doesn't see reason for hiding under the table and stocking up supplies though it doesn’t rubbish the impact of the phenomenon altogether.

One Australian dollar can get you about 1.37 New Zealand dollars right now. That’s an extreme low level for the New Zealand dollar, according to data compared by Westpac Global Strategy Group.

Japan Meteorological Agency has issued a tsunami advisory in the country after a strong earthquake of magnitude 7.2 hit the north-eastern zone.

Usher is the latest celebrity to say that he will return the money he was paid for performing at a Gadaffi family party in St. Barts.

Following Nelly Furtado's initiative, singers Beyoncé and Mariah Carey said they will each return the $1 million they received for performing for Libya dictator Moammar Gaddafi's family.

The small earthquakes that struck north central Arkansas could be from a combination of natural and human activity.