Earthquakes

Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global

5.5 earthquake hits south of the Kermedec Islands.

5.1 Earthquake hits Tonga.

5.0 Earthquake hits offshore El Salvador.

5.0 Earthquake hits the southwestern Ryukyu Islands off Japan.

Nepal - Indian scientists claim that extensive groundwater extraction in the Indo-Gangetic Plain over the last five decades has "significantly" contributed to the killer April 25, 2015, Nepal temblor and "probably all earthquakes" in the region beneath the Himalayan arc.

Japan - Three former executives at a Japanese power giant have been formally charged with negligence over the 2011 disaster at the Fukushima nuclear plant. The trio, formerly of Tokyo Electric Power Co (Tepco), will be the first to go to court over the incident. A citizen's panel ruled last year they should face trial, forcing prosecutors to pursue the case. The Fukushima Daiichi plant suffered a series of meltdowns following a massive earthquake and tsunami. Prosecutors in Tokyo had twice decided against pressing charges, citing insufficient evidence. But in a rare legal move, the panel's ruling forced a compulsory indictment of the three. The panel said the three men did not take sufficient measures despite being warned of a risk of a tsunami near the Fukushima plant. They plan to plead not guilty on the grounds they could not have anticipated the size of the tsunami.