Apr 17, 2001   Home | Forum | Weather | Tools | Archive | Features  | Opinion  | Apu_Match |    Chat   Love Central | FactBot | More News | Gallery | Stocks | Horoscope | Search | Ads

Features APU Person of the Year Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Awed Audience Pushkar Camel Fair   Commentary 'East Asia' on the horizon (Editorial) Hate crimes and Asian Pacific Americans (Editorial) Building up clout (Editorial) A tale of two conventions The past, present and foreseeable future of 80-20 (SB Woo) Other News Headlines APU Love Central APU_Match APU Research Center Gallery Search Asia Pacific Weather FactBot Chat! Make us your startup page!   horoscopes

Massive sandstorms hit Japan, Taiwan TAIPEI -- Japan and Taiwan suffered hazardous air quality levels after large sandstorms struck from mainland China beginning on Wednesday. By Friday, southern Taiwan had an air particle density of 200 mg per cubic meter according to the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA). Dust levels have been between eight to 10 times higher than normal over the last few days. Satellite images showed clouds of yellow sand, originating from Inner Mongolia, over Japan's Hokkaido and Tohoku regions. Sandstorms from China area seasonal phenomenon usually occurring between March and May. This latest storm has been particularly violent leading to the high particle densities in the air. --- Discuss the issues in our Table Talk dicussion area. Or just chat and meet people in our live chat web.

Headlines Central Asia Uzbeks losing patience (Times of Central Asia) Tibetan herbal tradition thrives in India (World Tibet News) East Asia 'Garlic war' with China still haunts Seoul officials (Korea Herald) Crown Princess may be pregnant (Japan Times) Pacific Islands 38th Annual Merrie Monarch Hula Festival, April 19-21 (thehawaiichannel.com) Jiang in Tahiti talks (Coconet Wireless) South Asia India joins hands with Iran to combat terrorism (Hindustan Times) Nepal-Pakistan crisis over detained diplomat continues (Dawn) Southeast Asia Asean countries advance currency swap plans (Bangkok Post) Arrest order for Estrada out soon (PDI)