Page 17 - John Roos News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

we begin in japan where the humanitarian disaster is compounded by the potential for a nuclear nightmare. 250,000 doses of iodine are being distributed to evacuees as a defense to radiation. it follows explosions at two nuclear reactors, a third is in critical danger of meltdown after fuel rods were exposed. across the northeastern part of japan, the devastation in many areas is absolute. village after village wiped away by the tsunami. hundreds of bodies initially swept out to sea now piling up on shore. in one port city police said at least 10,000 are dead, over half its population...

washington. >> reporter: on thursday hu attended a luncheon in washington with corporate leaders. there he stressed that the strengthening of bilateral economic ties would help revitalize the u.s. economy. >> reporter: the united states had a $250 billion trade deficit with china as of november 2010. some participants in the keptic about the benefits to the u.s. of boosting economic ties. >> i think they were addressed, but many of the issues have a great deal of work that remains to be done. >> reporter: the chinese government has agreed to business deals with the u.s. worth $45 bil...

to discuss the value of the chinese currency and ways to handle tensions on the korean peninsula. the united states is calling for the appreciation of the yuan against other currency. hu has indicated that it's time to change the international financial order centered on the u.s. dollar and this may also be discussed during the summit. relations between the u.s. and china have been tense since january last year when the obama administration decided to sell weapons to taiwan. china apparently wants to demonstrate to the international community that through the visit ties have improved...

the two defense ministers will exchange opinions on heightening tensions on the korean peninsula in the aftermath of the north korean shelling of a south korean island in november. they will also strengthen a plan for periodic reciprocal visits by the top japanese and south korean defense officials. kitazawa will meet u.s. defense secretary robert gates in tokyo on thursday of next week. they will discuss how japan and the u.s. can cooperate on the korean peninsula issues. china stepping up activity in the east china sea including waters near japan will also be a focus of the talks. ...

the tenth annual exercise. eight days of mock drills will take place over a wide area, including waters off japan's main island in the sea of japan and near the southern islands of kyushu in okinawa. one of the main drills will focus on responding to ballistic missile attacks. mock attacks from the two countries ekewind with aegis radar will practice acquiring and tracking missiles. drills will also include defending japan's remote southern islands. jet fighters will patrol the southern air space. and destroyers will patrol the waters to prevent enemy forces from landing on the islan...