NEWSLINE AT NOON 12:00 Rain and aftershocks hamper rescue operations in Nepal

ARIRANG NEWS 12:00 Title: Rain and aftershocks hamper rescue operations in Nepal We begin with a nation in crisis. A series of aftershocks is hampering search-and-rescue efforts in Nepal after a powerful earthquake devastated large parts of the country on Saturday. Well over 27-hundred people are confirmed dead, but that number is sure to rise as the search for bodies buried under the collapsed buildings in the capital continues and rescuers struggle to reach more remote regions. Shin Se-min reports. The scale of the damage, destruction and death caused by the earthquake remains fluid,… as Nepalis dig through the rubble looking for any signs of survivors. The conditions grew worse on Sunday night, as rain pummeled the capital Kathmandu. For those who did survive, the situation is harsh. Tens of thousands of survivors slept out on the streets on Saturday night after the quake struck. Some moved into shelters on Sunday but the structures are not well constructed and their numbers are insufficient. Outside of the capital, landslides caused by the aftershocks are hampering rescue operations as workers struggle to reach remote regions of the country. The seven-point-eight magnitude earthquake struck just before noon on Saturday,… with the epicenter just 60 kilometers east of the capital Kathmandu. Less than a day afterward, a strong aftershock rattled the nation again, sending people back into a panic. And the underground plate that shook Nepal also sent tremors through India, China, Tibet and Bangladesh. Countries have rushed to send aid and personnel to the devastated nation,… and relief groups began arriving on Sunday. India, China and Pakistan were the first to respond. India flew in medical supplies and disaster personnel, while Pakistan is sending aircraft with necessary supplies. Korea's foreign ministry said Monday that it will send a rescue team,… along with one million U.S. dollars in humanitarian aid. Other countries including the U.S., the United Arab Emirates, Britain, Germany and France have also pledged support. Relief efforts have been hampered by aftershocks that have closed Nepal's main airport multiple times,... as supplies of food, water and medicine dwindle. Shin Se-min, Arirang News. Title: President Park returns from South America tour President Park Geun-hye has returned from her four-nation tour of South America. During visits to Colombia, Peru, Chile and Brazil, she sealed dozens of deals expected to pave the way for Korea to diversify economic cooperation with the region. Choi You-sun reports. Korea's presidential office says President Park's South America tour has helped Korea diversify its cooperative partnerships with the region beyond trade. It also found ways to join the two sides' innovation-led growth initiatives for future co-prosperity. Marking the first joint local production of Korea's trainer jet, the KT-1P with Peru, President Park said the two sides should focus more on win-win partnerships. "We have agreed to continue cooperating in diverse areas, including Peru's multi-purpose advanced trainer jet project." With South America severely lacking medical personnel and services, Korea signed deals with Peru, Chile and Brazil to help them develop their telemedicine services, including a smart hospital vessel. This, in turn is expected to offer Korean medical equipment manufacturers a better chance to launch their business in the region's eleven billion-U.S. dollar telemedicine market. Securing deals with all four countries' e-commerce associations and major distribution companies, Korea expects to better benefit from its FTAs and increase related exports to three billion dollars in five years. "In order to alleviate the problem of physical distance between the two sides, we need to vitalize an online-based trading system." Korea will also work with Chile and Brazil to support their startups and assist job-seekers, as well as increase exchanges between their young people. President Park's trip has taken Korea a step closer to winning various infrastructure projects in the region, each worth billions of dollars, such as Colombia's subway construction and Peru's river restoration. Choi You-sun, Arirang News. Title: President Park to accept PM's resignation as early as Monday The resignation tendered by Prime Minister Lee Wan-koo will be officially accepted, as early as Monday,... with President Park Geun-hye returning back in Korea from her South American tour,... Once the resignation is accepted,... Deputy Prime Minister Choi Kyung-hwan will serve as acting Prime Minister. Prime Minister Lee Wan-koo tendered his resignation last week,... due to mounting pressure from both political camps to resign,... amid a high-profile bribery scandal. Lee was one of the eight ruling Saenuri Party politicians,... listed on a suicide memo left by late businessman Sung Woan-jong,... who allegedly had accepted kickbacks from Sung.