BREAKING NEWS

Thirty UN rescue teams on standby to help Japan

GENEVA - Thirty international search and rescue teams stand ready to go to Japan to provide assistance following a major earthquake, the United Nations said on Friday.
"We stand ready to assist as usual in such cases," Elisabeth Byrs of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance (OCHA) told Reuters in Geneva. "Thirty international search and rescue teams are on alert and monitoring the situation and stand ready to assist if necessary."