NAHA, Japan (AP) — Okinawa is about as far away as one can get from Fukushima without leaving Japan, and that is why Minaho Kubota is there. She was petrified of the radiation spewing from the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant that went into meltdown last year, so she grabbed her children, left her skeptical husband, and moved to the small southwestern island. More than 1,000 people from the disaster zone have done the same thing. Experts and the government say there have been no visible health effects from the radioactive contamination from Fukushima Dai-ichi so far, but they also warn that even low-dose radiation carries some risk of cancer and other diseases. Okinawa has welcomed the people from areas affected by the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami that set off the nuclear disaster.

BEIJING (AP) — A Chinese satellite navigation network created to eventually compete with America’s Global Positioning System (GPS) is offering services to Asian users outside the country. The network’s spokesman, Ran Chengqi, said in a press briefing that the Beidou system is offering services including positioning, navigation, time, and text messaging to users in the Asia-Pacific region. China expects Beidou to generate a $63 billion annual market for services to the transport, meteorology, and telecommunications sectors. China, and especially its military, have long been wary of relying on the dominant GPS network, fearing Washington might take the system offline in a conflict or an emergency.

KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — Poultry farmers in Nepal have stopped trucks importing chicken from India for KFC restaurants and destroyed the cargo. Nepal has banned chicken from India since bird flu broke out in India four years ago. Chief government administrator of Dhading district Bed Prasad Kharel says farmers stopped and seized two trucks bringing the frozen chicken to Nepal’s capital, Kathmandu. A brief scuffle broke out between police and the farmers. Police say authorities took control of the trucks, but that after consultation with livestock officials the cargo was dumped in a pit and covered. KFC, the only western fast-food restaurant in Nepal, says it imports its chicken from Brazil. Kharel says the tags on the cargo showed it came from India.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The seemingly pregnant belly sported by the wife of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in mid-December appeared to be gone by New Year’s Day. That sent South Korean media into a frenzy of speculation that there’s a new baby in the ruling Kim dynasty. Video broadcast December 17 showed Ri Sol Ju wearing a billowing black dress that covered what appeared to be a swollen belly. Rumors swept Seoul and Pyongyang that she was pregnant, although it was difficult to tell for sure from the images. There has been no official word from Pyongyang. Ri was shown by state TV at a New Year’s concert wearing a tighter dress and looking noticeably slimmer, causing more speculation in Seoul that she may have given birth.

BEIJING (AP) — A low-budget, domestically produced comedy has unexpectedly become the highest-grossing Chinese film to date. Chinese state media reported that the wacky road movie Lost in Thailand has grossed more than 1 billion yuan ($160 million) since its December 12 debut. The official Xinhua News Agency, citing an independent monitor of box office figures, said it also beat James Cameron’s Titanic in 3-D, the most popular foreign film in 2012, in Chinese theaters. Set in Thailand, the film tells the story of two businessmen who go searching for their boss in the north, and then link up with a tourist eager to explore the country. It is filled with slapstick humor and action scenes. The previous record for a domestic film was 726 million yuan set by Painted Skin 2.