Japanese and U.S. meteorologist agencies detected the earthquake and located the epicenter to be about 330 miles (530 km) north-east of Tokyo.

According to CNN.com, 8,000 people from the cities of Kamaishi and Ofunato, coastal cities, were ordered to evacuate and so far there have been no reported deaths or injuries.

This tremor may have been generated as an aftershock of the quake that hit Japan in March which killed 23,000, although this statement is yet to be confirmed.

Earlier this month The Christian Post reported how seven former Church of England clergy were ordained into the Ordinariate, as part of a series of ordinations taking place over Pentecost.

A number of those joining the new Ordinariate have said they were forced to take action following the Church of England's increasing acceptance of same-sex blessings and gay clergy. Others have also cited the Church's movement towards accepting women bishops as a reason to defect to the Catholic Church.

According to the BBC, one of the three, Father Elliott, resigned from his post as the Anglican vicar of Holy Trinity in Reading in April. He moved to the Catholic Church, taking 15 of his congregants with him. Elliot has said he felt urged to take the action following Pope Benedict extending a "hand of friendship".

In excess of 900 laity have already moved to the Catholic Church and have been waiting for their clergy to complete training for Catholic priesthood at a seminary in West London.

According to The Times in London, Keith Newton, who heads up the Ordinariate, has explained that dozens more Church of England clergy are currently also considering their positions within the Anglican Church. Newton told The Times, "Every week somebody writes or e-mails asking how they can join the Ordinariate. They are often people I have never heard of before."

The Vatican announced in 2009 that it would introduce a new church structure that would allow former Anglicans to enter into "full communion" with the Catholic Church while preserving their Anglican traditions. Pope Benedict made the provision in response to the numerous requests he received from Anglicans who were unhappy with the ordination of women and noncelibate gay bishops.

2011 is on target to record the largest number of earthquakes in a single year for at least 12 years.

Research by Irish Weather Online, using data from the US Geological Survey (USGS), has found that earthquake activity (5.0-9.9 magnitude) from 01 January to 19 June 2011 is already exceeding the total annual seismic activity for the years 2001, 2002 and 2003. 2011's total number of recorded earthquakes is also expected to exceed the most seismically active year of the past 12 years, 2007.

A total of 1,445 earthquakes, ranging in magnitude from 5.0 to 9.9, have been recorded in the year up to 19 June. The total number of earthquakes recorded globally for the entire of 2007 was 2,270.

The massive earthquakes in Japan (2011), Chile (2010), Sichuan (2008), Sumatra (2005 and 2008) and Indonesia (2004) have served to remind us of the devastating impact of earthquakes on life and property. While the number of earthquakes ranging between 8.0 magnitude and 9.9 magnitude have shown no significant increases in recent years, the number of earthquakes ranging 5.0 magntiude to 7.9 magnitude is rising. In particular there has been a sharp rise during the past 12 years of moderate earthquakes in the range 5-6.9.

In the last 24 hours alone earthquakes ranging 5 magnitude or more have hit Tonga, Fiji, Panama, the South Sandwich Islands, Japan, Papua New Guinea, Peru and Indonesia.

Seismologists argue that an increase in detected earthquakes does not necessarily represent an increase in actual earthquakes. The USGS, for example, says improved global communication and enhancements in detection technology have both contributed to higher earthquake numbers being recorded over time. According to the USGS: "Although it may seem that we are having more earthquakes, earthquakes of magnitude 7.0 or greater have remained fairly constant throughout this century and, according to our records, have actually seemed to decrease in recent years."

Commenting on swarm earth activity in a specific geographical area, the USGS said :" A temporal increase in earthquake activity does not mean that a large earthquake is about to happen. Similarly, quiescence, or the lack of seismicity, does not mean a large earthquake is going to happen. A temporary increase or decrease in the seismicity rate is usually just part of the natural variation in the seismicity. There is no way for us to know whether or not this time it will lead to a larger earthquake. Swarms of small events, especially in geothermal areas, are common, and moderate-large magnitude earthquakes will typically have an aftershock sequence that follows. All that is normal and expected earthquake activity."

"The genesis of life is as inevitable as the formation of atoms ... Life exists on other planets and we will find it within 20 years," said Andrei Finkelstein, director of the Russian Academy of Sciences' Applied Astronomy Institute, according to the Interfax news agency.

Speaking at an international forum dedicated to the search for extraterrestrial life, Finkelstein said 10% of the known planets circling suns in the galaxy resemble Earth. If water can be found there, then so can life, he said, adding that aliens would most likely resemble humans with two arms, two legs and a head. "They may have different colour skin, but even we have that," he said.

Finkelstein's institute runs a programme launched in the 1960s at the height of the cold war space race to watch for and beam out radio signals to outer space.

"The whole time we have been searching for extraterrestrial civilisations, we have mainly been waiting for messages from space and not the other way," he said