South Korea tightens rules to combat illegal whaling

South Korea banned commercial whale hunting in 1986

South Korea says it is tightening rules to combat illegal whaling.

Although commercial whale hunting is banned in the country, the trading of whales that are found dead is still legal.

The new rules will require fisherman to report to police immediately if they discover dead whales in their nets or washed ashore.

The move comes after critics said some fishermen were exploiting a loophole in the law.

The new regulations mean that, from Monday, samples from all dead whales must be given to the authorities for testing, and their meat can only be sold after a full investigation into how the animal died.

Those who catch dead whales will also only be allowed to process and sell them at state-designated...

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Strong earthquake hits Chile

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A strong 7.1 magnitude earthquake has hit central Chile, driving tens of thousands panicked residents from their homes due to fears of a tsunami but causing no injuries or damage, officials said.

There were no immediate reports of deaths or damage, and Vicente Nunez, head of the National Emergency Office, said no tsunami alert was issued.

Sunday's quake struck the town of Tirua almost 70 km northwest of Temuco at 5:21 pm local time (2021 GMT), the director of the country's Onemi emergency office said.

It struck at a depth of about 17km, according to the US Geological Survey, and there was at least one aftershock of 5.0-magnitude.

"Up until now we don't have any reports of injuries, there's no damage, just overloaded telephone lines and some partial power cuts. We're continuing to monitor the situation," Onemi chief Vicente Nunez said.

He said the possibility of a tsunami along....

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