EARTHQUAKE

Nissan Motor Co. (Tokyo: 7201) reported on Wednesday U.S. July Car sales up 16.2 percent over the year before on strong demand for cars, particularly the Altima and Rogue models.

Asian shares fell Wednesday after four days of gains, as expectations of stimulus action this week by the U.S. Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank fade, and following signs of deepening Asian economic stress.

Japan’s industrial output declined in June, which is the third consecutive month showing a fall, indicating that the weakening global demand and the debt burden faced by the euro zone are affecting the country’s economy.

Women in Hong Kong are living longer than those in Japan according to the latest annual report from the Japanese health ministry.

Japan’s retail sales growth slowed down in June as compared to May, indicating that private consumption being affected by the faltering global economic conditions.

A group of U.S. Congress members demanded on Friday that the United Nations take responsibility for the cholera outbreak that hit the nation of Haiti beginning in 2010. The UN has so far not implicated itself in the incident.

Syrian rebels said they shot down an army helicopter Tuesday as they battled government forces backed by air power and artillery in the fiercest fighting to hit Damascus yet.

Scientists modeled the spread of radioactive material from the site of a nuclear accident in Japan and predict that health effects will be higher than some officials have acknowledged.

The study, conducted by Sony Electronics and Nielsen television research, measured the most impactful moments in TV history based on participants' recollections of televised events. The results were compiled through an online survey of 1,077 adults selected at random by Nielsen, the company that measures TV ratings.

Three people have already died following a cholera outbreak in southeastern Cuba last week, with at least 50 more people contracting the life-threatening waterborne bacterial disease and around 1,000 people showing symptoms of infection.

Japan, which is still floundering from last year's earthquake-tsunami, is once again nearing a recession, economists say.

A magnitude-4.3 earthquake hit just outside Fort Bragg in California on Sunday at about 5:05 a.m. PDT (8:05 a.m. EDT), according to the U.S. Geological Survey, or USGS.

Former U.S. President George W. Bush turns 66 today and though he has remained out of the public's eye his work with HIV/AIDS in Africa continues.

A major study released by Japan's first-ever independent commission appointed by Parliament says the nuclear disaster was ultimately caused by government-business collusion but lays blame on Japan's society as well.

Four Filipinos, two Salvadoran women and a Palauan born in the tiny island republic in the middle of the Pacific Ocean were among the young men and women who chose to serve a country that had not yet recognized them as citizens -- until this Fourth of July.

Old-school punkers may argue that CBGB's influence could never be surpassed, but we thought it worth mentioning that other venues were similarly historic.

Nissan Motor Co. (Tokyo: 7201) June U.S. car sales rose 28.2 percent on gains for almost every model in the Nissan lineup.

Renesas Electronics Corp (TYO: 6723), a leading Japanese semiconductor manufacturer, said that it is letting go 5000 employees in an effort to restructure the organization and bring the company back to black.

The Fragrant Harbor was passed from British to Chinese sovereignty on July 1, 1997. Today, it's still torn between its Western-style freedoms and the Beijing model.

A map of the world's earthquakes that plots every temblor with a magnitude of 4.0 or greater since 1898 is surprising scientists for a number of reasons.

Social Media Day is being celebrated around the world today on Twitter, Facebook and at meetups around the world.