Devotees offer prayers during the month-long festival in hopes of winning the god's favour.
Japan may consider economic sanctions against the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), depending on the response of the international community.
The White House said on Thursday Democratic People's Republic of Korea's failed rocket launch was a provocative act.
The DPRK will hold an "urgent press conference" this morning, widely believed to be about the rocket launch, according to China Daily reporter in Pyongyang.
Giant quakes off Indonesia in which five people died caused panic but little damage, with warning systems introduced after the catastrophic 2004 Asian tsunami proving successful, experts said.
Iraq is no stranger to battles, but this is not one fought with rifles and rockets: When the bell sounds, trainers release two cockerels, Daqduqa and Sammam, into the ring.
The five-day window for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's rocket launch opened on Thursday, as more than 100 foreign reporters waited anxiously to see whether Pyongyang would send its satellite into space.
The satellite that Pyongyang is planning to send into space has a 60 to 70 percent chance of succeeding, according to a Russian space expert.
Vice-President Xi Jinping on Thursday urged members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization to improve mutual trust and cooperation for regional stability and world peace.
US Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta met with visiting Japanese Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba on Thursday, discussing a possible satellite launch this month by the DPRK.
In total, 39 out of 77 Thailand's provinces have been hit by the current drought, the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department reported on Thursday.
The lower house of Japan's parliament approved a resolution against the planned satellite launch.
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