Search results for

Initial reports from parts of Japan devastated by the earthquake and tsunami suggest that elderly residents account for a disproportionate number of victims. That's because the nation is quake-prone and its people long-lived. Now, the elderly survivors, many with special needs, are among the tens of thousands living in temporary shelters.

Haitians went to the polls to elect a new president Sunday. The contest pit an elderly former first lady against one of Haiti's most famous and colorful pop singers. Despite some delays at polling places, the election was much smoother than November's troubled primary. But results aren't expected until the end of March.

The Japanese government is mobilizing civilian and military teams to help residents and hospital patients evacuate from the exclusion zone around the stricken Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant. Still, some people living along the edge of the zone have refused to leave their homes.

The country's nuclear safety agency raised the Fukushima Dai-ichi accident to a Level 5 out of 7, putting it on par with the Three Mile Island accident. Emergency workers struggled to cool overheated fuel rods at the plant, while Japanese officials admitted the quake and tsunami had overwhelmed the government and slowed its response to the nuclear problems.

California lawmakers agreed to cut $7.4 billion from the state budget this week, in an effort to eliminate a $26.6 deficit. What other areas of the budget could be cut? And, when is the deadline for the legislature to approve the governor's proposed special election?

Shortages of food and gasoline were being felt in parts of Japan on Thursday nearly a week after a deadly earthquake and tsunami, as people hoarded basic items fearing that supplies would soon dry up.

The death toll officially climbed above 5,300 Thursday in the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan almost a week ago. Amid deepening nuclear, humanitarian and economic crises, the U.S. authorized the first evacuations of its citizens out of Japan.

Lisa Napoli, formerly with Public Radio's MARKETPLACE program, got the opportunity of a lifetime when she was invited to start a radio station in Bhutan. There she got a front row seat as this mystical Himalayan nation transitions from timeless monarchy to 21-st Century democracy.

Airs Saturday, March 12, 2011 at 8 p.m. on KPBS TV

Tunisia set the spark that led to protests throughout the Middle East and North Africa. Many hope it can similarly serve as a model in constructing democratic governance. Getting there, however, has not been easy.