Japan expands nuclear evacuation zone, new quake hits, Posted by Meosha Eaton

* High radiation forces extention of evacuations

* 7.1 magnitude quake triggers tsunami alert

* Voter anger at nuclear crisis hits PM Kan's party

* No end in sight to month-long nuclear crisis (Updates with strong quake and tsunami alert, evacuation details)

By Yoko Kubota and Yoko Nishikawa

TOKYO, April 11 (Reuters) - Japan on Monday expanded the evacuation zone around its crippled nuclear plant because of high levels of accumulated radiation, as a strong aftershock rattled the area one month after a quake and tsunami sparked the worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl.

A magnitude 7.1 tremor shook buildings in Tokyo and a wide swathe of eastern Japan on Monday evening, triggering a small tsunami alert. NHK state television said it caused the off-site power supply for two damaged reactors to shut down.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the aftershock struck 38 km (24 miles) west of the city of Iwaki, at a depth of 13 km (8 miles).

Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) , which operates the plant, said workers had stopped pouring cooling water on reactors No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 at Fukushima.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said villages and towns outside the 20 km (12 mile) evacuation zone that have had more accumulated radiation would be evacuated. Children, pregnant women, and hospitalised patients should stay out of some areas 20-30 km from the Fukushima nuclear complex, he added.

The decision to widen the evacuation band around the Fukushima plant was "based on data analysis of accumulated radiation exposure information", Edano told a news conference.

"These new evacuation plans are meant to ensure safety against risks of living there for half a year or one year," he said. There was no need to evacuate immediately, he added.

Japan had resisted extending the zone despite international concerns over radiation spreading from the six damaged reactors at Fukushima, which engineers are still struggling to bring under control after they were wrecked by the 15-metre tsunami.

Residents of one village, Iitate, which is 40 km from the Fukushima Daiichi plant, have been told to prepare for evacuation because of prolonged exposure to radiation, a local official told Reuters by phone. It has a population of 5,000.

The International Atomic Energy Agency has urged Japan to extend the zone and some countries, including the United States, have advised their citizens to stay 80 km away from the plant.

TEPCO President Masataka Shimizu visited the area on Monday for the first time the March 11 disaster. He had all but vanished from public view apart from a brief apology shortly after the crisis began and has spent some of the time since in hospital.

"I would like to deeply apologise again for causing physical and psychological hardships to people of Fukushima prefecture and near the nuclear plant," said a grim-faced Shimizu.

Dressed in a blue work jacket, he bowed his head for a moment of silence with other TEPCO officials at 2:46 p.m. (0546 GMT), exactly a month after the earthquake hit.

Fukushima Governor Yuhei Sato refused to meet Shimizu during his visit, but the TEPCO boss left a business card at the government office.

Sato has criticised the evacuation policy, saying residents in a 20-30 km radius were initially told to stay indoors and then advised to evacuate voluntarily.

RADIOACTIVE WATER

Engineers at the damaged Daiichi plant north of Tokyo said they were no closer to restoring the plant's cooling system which is critical if overheated fuel rods are to be cooled and the six reactors brought under control.

In a desperate move to cool highly radioactive fuel rods, operator Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) <9501.t> has pumped water onto reactors, some of which have experienced partial meltdown.

But the strategy has hindered moves to restore the plant's internal cooling system, critical to end the crisis, as engineers have had to focus how to store 60,000 tonnes of contaminated water.

Engineers have been forced to pump low-level radioactive water, left by the tsunami, back into the sea in order to free up storage capacity for highly contaminated water from reactors.

China and South Korea have both criticised Japan for pumping radioactive water into the sea, with Seoul calling it incompetent, reflecting growing international unease over the month-long atomic disaster and the spread of radiation.

TEPCO hopes to stop pumping radioactive water into the ocean on Monday, days later than planned.

Engineers are also pumping nitrogen into reactors to counter a build-up of hydrogen and prevent another explosion sending more radiation into the air, but they say the risk of such a dramatic event has lowered significantly since March 11.

POLITICAL FALLOUT

The triple disaster is the worst to hit Japan since World War Two after a 9.0 magnitude earthquake and a huge tsunami battered its northeast coast, leaving nearly 28,000 dead or missing and rocking the world's third-largest economy.

Concern at Japan's inability contain its nuclear crisis is mounting with Prime Minister Kan's ruling party suffering embarrassing losses in local elections on Sunday.

Voters vented their anger at the government's handling of the nuclear and humanitarian crisis, with Kan's ruling Democratic Party of Japan losing nearly 70 seats in local elections. [ID:nL3E7FA09V]

The unpopular Kan was already under pressure to step down before March 11, but analysts say he is unlikely to be forced out during the crisis, set to drag on for months.

"The great disaster was a double tragedy for Japan. The first tragedy was the catastrophe caused by the earthquake, tsunami and the nuclear accident. The other misfortune was that the disaster resulted in prolonging Prime Minister Kan's time in office," Sankei newspaper said in an editorial on Monday. ($1=85.475 Japanese yen) (Additional reporting by Issei Kato, Shinichi Saoshiro, Chisa Fujioka, Elaine Lies, Masahiro Koike and Linda Sieg in Tokyo; Writing by Michael Perry; Editing by Jonathan Thatcher and Alex Richardson)

Japan stops nuclear plant leak; crisis far from over, Posted by Meosha Eaton

* Liquid glass seals ground, stops leaks

* Nuclear crisis far from under control

* Fisherman angry over contaminated water being pumped into sea

* Vast sea to dilute radioactive water - expert (Updates with cumulative radiation concerns, angry fishermen)

By Shinichi Saoshiro and Yoko Nishikawa

TOKYO, April 6 (Reuters) - Japan stopped highly radioactive water leaking into the sea on Wednesday from a crippled nuclear plant and acknowledged it could have given more information to neighbouring countries about contamination in the ocean.

Despite the breakthrough in plugging the leak at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant, engineers need to pump 11.5 million litres (11,500 tonnes) of contaminated water back into the ocean because they have run out of storage space at the facility. The water was used to cool over-heated fuel rods.

Nuclear experts said the damaged reactors were far from being under control almost a month after they were hit by a massive earthquake and tsunami on March 11.

Plant operator Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO) said it had stemmed the leak using liquid glass at one of the plants six reactors.

"The leaks were slowed yesterday after we injected a mixture of liquid glass and a hardening agent and it has now stopped," a TEPCO spokesman told Reuters.

Engineers had been struggling to stop leaks from reactor No. 2, even using sawdust and newspapers.

Neighbours South Korea and China are getting concerned about the world's worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl in 1986, and the radioactive water being pumped into the sea, newspapers reported.

"We are instructing the trade and foreign ministries to work better together so that detailed explanations are supplied especially to neighbouring countries," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano told a news conference.


Experts insisted the low-level radioactive water to be pumped into the ocean posed no health hazard to people.

"The original amount of radioactivity is very low, and when you dilute this with a huge body of water, the final levels will be even lower than legal limits," said Pradip Deb, senior lecturer in Medical Radiations at the School of Medical Sciences, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology University.

The government is preparing to revise guidelines for legal radiation levels, designed for brief exposure to high levels of radiation in emergencies and not cumulative absorption, for people living near the damaged plant.

Workers are struggling to restart cooling pumps -- which recycle the water -- in four damaged reactors.

Until those are fixed, they must pump in water to prevent overheating and meltdowns, but have run out of storage capacity for the seawater when it becomes contaminated.

Radioactive iodine detected in the sea has been recorded at 4,800 times the legal limit, but has since fallen to about 600 times the limit. The water remaining in the reactors has radiation five million times legal limits.

"What they are going to have to release is likely to be highly radioactive. The situation could politically be very ugly in a week," said Murray Jennex at San Diego State University, who specialises in nuclear containment.

Japan's fishermen, who are part of the politically powerful agriculatural lobby, made it clear they were not assuaged by assurances that ocean radioactivity levels were low and safe.

"(The release of radioactive water into the sea) is unforgivable in any circumstance," Ikuhiro Hattori, chairman of the Japan Fisheries Cooperatives, told NHK state television.

"From now on, our fishermen will never cooperate with or accept nuclear power generation. I would like them to stop even those reactors that are now in operation right away."


COOLING REACTORS KEY

Japan is facing its worst crisis since World War Two after the 9.0 magnitude earthquake and tsunami left nearly 28,000 people dead or missing and thousands homeless, and rocked the world's third-largest economy.

It will likely take months to finally cool down the reactors and years to dismantle those that have been damaged. TEPCO has said it will decommission four of the six reactors.

An opposition lawmaker from Fukushima told reporters antipathy in the area would make it difficult to resume operations at the nearby Fukushima Daini plant, where operations have been halted since March 11.

The two Fukushima plants together provide four percent of Japan's electric power. [ID:nTKB007431]

"Nuclear power plants can run only with local consent. I see it as being quite difficult to resume operations," said Masayoshi Yoshino of the Liberal Democratic Party.

Concerned over a possible buildup of hydrogen gas in reactor No. 1, engineers will inject nitrogen gas into the reactor on Wednesday night to prevent an explosion, TEPCO said.

Hydrogen explosions ripped through reactors 1 and 3 early in the crisis, spreading high levels of radiation into the air.

The key to bringing the reactors under control is the extent of damage to the plant's cooling system, said analysts.

In a sign the cooling systems may be severely damaged, the Sankei newspaper reported that the government and TEPCO were considering building new cooling systems for three reactors to operate from outside the reactor buildings.

"To put the Fukushima nuclear catastrophe in perspective, Chernobyl involved a single operating reactor core," said Kevin Kamps from Beyond Nuclear, a U.S. radioactive waste watchdog.

"Fukushima Daiichi now involves three reactors in various stages of meltdown and containment breach, and multiple (spent fuel storage) pools at risk of fire," said Kamps.

Kamps said the spent fuel rod pools, which are on the roof of the damaged reactors, alone have more irradiated nuclear fuel than that which exploded and burned at Chernobyl. ($1=84 Japanese yen) (Additional reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka in Tokyo, Scott DiSavino in New York and Tan Ee Lyn in Singapore; Writing by Michael Perry and Paul Eckert; Editing by Jonathan Thatcher and Robert Birsel)

Close to 30,000 dead or missing in Japana and disaster still brewing, Posted by Meosha Eaton

According to the latest reports, there are over 28,000 deaths and missing persons in lieu of the recent March 11 earthquake and tusanami. It appears that the situation continues to get worse for Japan with the recent nuclear and radiation crisis.  What is next? It's hard to say with the radiation leak still not under control.

Hundreds of engineers have been toiling for nearly three weeks to cool the plant's reactors and avert a meltdown of fuel rods. While that scenario has receded, highly tainted water has been found in some reactors and in concrete tunnels outside.

Readings have also showed radioactive iodine in the sea off the plant at record levels and radiation has been in tap water in Tokyo and in tiny traces abroad.

Experts say a lack of information and some inconsistent data have made it hard to understand what is happening at Fukushima, which appears to have moved from a core-meltdown phase to one in which the management of released radioactivity is paramount.

The situation has taken a new turn with contaminated water, causing officials to call on France nuclear experts for assistance.

The head of the French nuclear reactor maker -- one of France's most powerful female executives -- travelled to Tokyo with three French experts in radioactive water contamination.

The French experts will be based in the Tokyo area and not at the acual nuclear site.
Their participation could help facilitate the developments on the disaster.

U.S. will Help Japan Recover and Rebuild---Obama, Posted by Meosha Eaton

By William Ekanem, MACTV NEWS

On St. Patrick’s Day during the week, President Barack Obama said that the United States will help Japan to recover and rebuild.

Speaking at a luncheon at the Capitol, Obama described Japan as one of The United States finest allies, adding that as  Japan endures a terrible tragedy, “  As Americans, our first instinct naturally has been to help in any way that we can.”

Special guest at the gathering was Irish Prime Minister, Taoiseach Kenny, whose presence Obama acknowledged by saying that, “ today is a day for tens of millions of Americans of Irish descent to celebrate the tremendous influence that one small island with a big-hearted people has had on our country.”

On the funny side he told the Irish Prime Minister that, we thank you for joining us.  Your presence at this lunch virtually guarantees that any partisan clashes will be limited to who is more Irish than whom.”

Obama added, “now, speaking of ancestry, there has been some controversy about my own background.    Two years into my presidency, some are still bent on peddling rumors about my origins.  So today I want to put all those rumors to rest.  It is true my great-great-great-grandfather really was from Ireland.    It’s true.  Moneygall, to be precise.  I can’t believe I have to keep pointing this out.”

He enjoined those present at the luncheon, which were mainly political kingpins that “ as servants of the people who sent us here, we can all do better to live up to the example that Tip O’Neill and Ronald Reagan and others often set -– to put the differences of the day aside; to seek common ground; to forge progress for the sake of this country that we love.”

Present at the event were Speaker Boehner, leaders of the GOP and Democrats as well as top government functionaries.   

Radiation found on Japan passengers to Taiwan, S.Korea, Posted by Meosha Eaton

TAIPEI/SEOUL, March 17 (Reuters) - About 25 passengers arriving in Taiwan from Japan were observed with levels of slightly higher exposure to radiation, a government official said on Thursday.

Authorities in South Korea had earlier reported unusually high radiation levels on three passengers arriving from Japan.

The Taiwan official, part of the government's atomic energy council, told Reuters by telephone that the 25 passengers had arrived from various Japanese cities and had "slightly higher" levels than normal.

The official provided no further details. He said the government had set up monitoring posts to subject arriving passengers to tests. No further measures were planned.

In Seoul, the Yonhap news agency quoted officials as saying that a Japanese man in his 50s arriving at Incheon airport had a reading exceeding 1 microsievert from his hat and coat, several times the normal reading.

He was believed to have lived in Fukushima prefecture, site of the nuclear power station damaged in last week's big earthquake and tsunami.

The level posed no public health risk and officials will release the three passengers, YTN television said.

South Korea's nuclear safety agency has said it considers 300 nanosieverts per hour as the ceiling of a normal level of radiation in atmosphere. One microsievert translates to 1,000 nanosieverts.

The checks at the airport were voluntary, a Reuters photographer at the airport said.

Vice Science Minister Kim Chang-kyung told lawmakers on Thursday that officials were preparing to set up monitoring devices at the southern port of Busan soon to measure radiation levels on ferry passengers arriving from Japan. (Reporting by Jack Kim in Seoul and Rachel Lee in Taipei; Editing by Ron Popeski and Jeremy Laurence

Oil up $2 to over $112 on Middle East unrest, Posted by Meosha Eaton

* Bahrain Petroleum partly shuts down production

* Japan battles to avert nuclear meltdown

* Coming Up: U.S. Feb inflation, weekly jobless claims


(Updates prices, quotes, BAPCO shutdown)

By Claire Milhench

LONDON, March 17 (Reuters) - Oil rose by more than $2 on Thursday as tensions in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain fuelled fears of further supply disruption while investors weighed the impact on energy demand from quake-hit Japan.

Brent crude for May, the front-month contract after April expired on Wednesday, was up $2.13 to $112.73 a barrel at 1120 GMT. Overnight it fell as much as 1 percent to $109.45 but then rebounded Thursday morning to an intraday high of $113.12.

U.S. crude rallied more than $1, reaching an intraday high of $99.86 before slipping back to $99.71 a barrel.

"The market is seeing risks from the supply side and the demand side, and has to decide which is weighing more," said Barbara Lambrecht, a commodity analyst at Commerzbank. "It is looking for orientation -- I think we can expect more volatility."

Prices had slid about 4 percent since Japan's earthquake and tsunami six days ago, touching a three-week low of $107.35 on Wednesday. But increased tensions in the Middle East have helped prices rebound.

"The focus is back on continuing unrest in the Middle East and what will be a lot of disruption in Libya for a long time," said Christopher Bellew, an oil trader at Bache Commodities.

"The risk is more to the upside -- there was a lot of long liquidation on that sharp sell off at the beginning of the week so we will work our way a bit higher probably."

In Bahrain at least six opposition leaders have been arrested, a day after a crackdown on protests by the Shi'ite Muslim majority. A United Nations human rights official urged Bahrain to rein in its forces.

State-owned Bahrain Petroleum Co (BAPCO) has partly shutdown production due to staff shortages caused by the protests, trade sources said..

Bahrain lies less than 100 kms from the hub of the Saudi oil industry at Dhahran, including the world's largest oilfields, oil terminal and processing plant.

"The demonstrations in Bahrain are a potential threat to Saudi Arabia," said Thorbjorn Bak Jensen, oil market analyst at Global Risk Management.

Saudi Shi'ites marched in the kingdom's oil-producing east on Wednesday, demanding the release of prisoners and voicing support for Shi'ites in nearby Bahrain, an activist and witnesses said.


JAPAN, LIBYA DISRUPTIONS

The market is also focused on the quake-crippled Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan where emergency crews are battling to cool an overheating nuclear plant in efforts to avert a meltdown.

Although the Japanese reconstruction effort will be energy-intensive, manufacturing shutdowns such as that of Toshiba's LCD assembly line may reduce the immediate demand for electricity.

Any lengthy disruptions to regional production networks could spill over into global supply chains and impact economic growth, investors fear.

"With the Japanese crisis we are starting to enter an area of systemic risk where assets can see extreme fluctuations without necessarily a fundamental justification," Olivier Jakob, oil analyst at Petromatrix, said in a note.

Bak Jensen said risk aversion had prompted the big sell-off earlier in the week, but when Japan regains control of its nuclear reactors, oil prices should pick up again.

"Refined products such as fuel oil and gasoil are trading at premiums to Brent and that should put upward pressure on Brent," he said.

In Libya, government soldiers battled rebels on the road to the insurgent stronghold of Benghazi. The United Nations Security Council meets later on Thursday to consider its response to the escalating violence in Libya, with a vote planned on the no-fly zone.

OPEC members including Saudi Arabia have increased output partly to compensate for the loss of as much as two-thirds of Libyan supplies, at the same time eroding spare capacity.

Commerzbank's Lambrecht noted even if the Gaddafi regime quickly regains control of oilfields and exporting facilities, the sites are partly destroyed and market sanctions expected.

(Additional reporting by Alejandro Barbajosa in Singapore; editing by James Jukwey)

Surgeon General: Buying Iodide a "Precaution", Posted by Meosha Eaton

View more videos at: http://www.nbcbayarea.com.

The fear that a nuclear cloud could float from the shores of Japan to the shores of California has some people making a run on iodine tablets. Pharmacists across California report being flooded with requests.

State and county officials spent much of Tuesday trying to keep people calm by saying that getting the pills wasn't necessary, but then the United States surgeon general supported the idea as a worthy "precaution."

U.S. Surgeon General Regina Benjamin was in the Bay Area touring a peninsula hospital. NBC Bay Area reporter Damian Trujillo asked her about the run on tablets and Dr. Benjamin said although she wasn't aware of people stocking up, she did not think that would be an overreaction. She said it was right to be prepared.

On the other side of the issue is Kelly Huston of the California Emergency Management Agency. Huston said state officials, along with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the California Energy Commission, were monitoring the situation and said people don't need to buy the pills.

Obama's Littlest Constituents

"Even if we had a radiation release from Diablo Canyon (in San Luis Obispo County), iodide would only be issued to people living within a 10-mile radius of the plant," Huston added.

Santa Clara County's public health officer Dr. Martin Fenstersheib told the Mercury News he also does not recommend getting the tablets, adding some people can be severely allergic to the iodine.

"There is no reason for doing it," Fenstersheib told the paper.

Either way, the pills are hard to get. eBay prices have skyrocketed.

New U.S. air rules may benefit nuclear energy, Posted by Meosha Eaton

* EPA rules could ensure reliance on nuclear

* Rules could shut aging coal plants

WASHINGTON, March 16 (Reuters) - U.S. environmental regulators will propose pollution rules on Wednesday that could ensure continued reliance on nuclear power by forcing aging coal plants into early retirement.

The Environmental Protection Agency said it will unveil standards on mercury, which can damage nervous systems in babies, and other airborne toxins from power plants at 1100 EDT (1500 GMT).

Japan's battle to stop earthquake-damaged nuclear reactors from melting down has pushed some countries to be more cautious on atomic energy. Germany, which has taken the strongest stance after the disaster, plans to shut seven of its older nuclear plants, or a quarter of its atomic energy, for a three-month safety review.

The United States has said it remains committed to the technology. U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu said on Wednesday that federal regulators will look to boost the safety of the nation's nuclear plants after the Japan crisis.

Coal-fired plants generate nearly 50 percent of U.S. electricity while nuclear and natural gas generate about 20 percent each.

The EPA crackdown could help shut some 15 to 20 percent of aging U.S. coal-fired plants.

That could increase reliance on natural-gas-fired power plants, which can be built quickly and pollute less than traditional coal-fired power plants.

It could also ensure that the country continues to derive large amounts of power from nuclear plants, despite the Japanese crisis, because they emit virtually no gases. (Editing by Jim Marshall)

Q+A: What do latest events at Japan nuclear power plant mean? Posted by Meosha Eaton

By Elaine Lies

March 16 (Reuters) - Japan's nuclear crisis worsened on Wednesday, with workers ordered to withdraw briefly from the stricken power plant after radiation levels spiked, just hours after smoke was seen rising from the quake-crippled nuclear facility.


Q: What does the smoke mean?

A: The smoke is most likely to be steam, a natural byproduct of pouring water into the reactors to cool them down and keep the fuel rods covered. Authorities are also trying to maintain water levels at a spent-fuel storage pool at the plant's No. 4 reactor, which experts now view as the real threat.

The steam is an issue because it contains radioactive particles, but experts say these particles may not be as serious as, say, an explosion within a reactor core. So far, it appears the radiation is mostly escaping in the form of steam and some experts believe the radioactive particles could merely be dust or from rusted structures within the reactor buildings -- known as "crud" within the nuclear industry. Radiation levels have not risen significantly in Tokyo, about 240 km to the south.


Q: Why is the situation at the spent-fuel pool a worry?

A: Unlike the reactors themselves, which are inside two containers -- a massive steel container as well as one made of concrete -- the fuel pools are not, with meters of water on top of the rods providing safety only under normal circumstances. Another concern with reactor No. 4 is that the water levels in the pool could be falling, perhaps because the water is or has been boiling and is evaporating as steam.

While nobody knows exactly how much damage Tuesday's explosion did to the building, the structure does have holes and some experts have said that proposals to drop boric acid particles on the reactor suggest substantial holes in the roof.

"That's got to be protected. I'd hate to see another explosion there," said Murray Jennex, a professor at San Diego State University in California.


Q: What can be done?

A: Dropping boric acid could be helpful since it is both a fire suppressant and also absorbs radiation, while keeping water levels up in the pool is also essential. Finally, a fresh crew of workers should be sent into the plant since those who are in there are likely exhausted and may be making poor decisions, which could be adding to problems.


Q: What about the spent-fuel pools at the other reactors?

A: There are six reactors at the Daiichi complex. Three of them - no. 4 through No.6 - were offline for maintenance at the time of the quake. There are signs that water temperatures are also rising at No.5 and No.6 spent-fuel pools.

But the spent fuel at these two pools, as well as at the three reactors that were online at the time of the quake, is all older and thus less likely to pose an overheating threat.


Q: What about the other reactors?

A: There have been explosions at reactors No.1, No.2 and No.3, and suspicions that the suppression pool at No. 2 may have been damaged. But experts say that current low radiation levels suggest that the container vessels at these reactors are by and large holding, and that they're actually more optimistic about this situation than they were on Tuesday.

Doubt does remain about possible damage to the suppression pool at No. 2, but these are "overdesigned" to cope with a certain amount of damage.


Q: What do we need to watch out for?

A: Steadily rising radiation levels are the main worry, along with a fall in the water level in the spent fuel pool. Radiation levels at the plant's main gate spiked on Wednesday morning but have since fallen back, which is a good sign.

"If we have the water level doing down and rising radiation, that's a bad sign, because this means more and more of this fuel (is) exposed," said Najm Meshati, professor of civil and environmental engineering, at the University of Southern California at Los Angeles.

(Editing by Mark Bendeich

MACTV NEWS From Captial Hill

UN News: Earthquake and tsunami in Japan - Ban Ki-moon Media Stakeout , Posted by Menelik Zeleke

11 March 2011
Informal comments to the media by H.E. Mr. Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations on the earthquake and tsunami in Japan

MACTV News: SNAPSHOT-Developments after major Japan earthquake, Posted by Menelik Zeleke

March 14, 2011 1:45:43 PM

• JAPAN-QUAKE/SNAPSHOT

TOKYO, March 14 (Reuters) - Following are main developments after a massive earthquake struck northeast Japan on Friday and set off a tsunami.

- Death toll expected to exceed 10,000 from the quake and tsunami, public broadcaster NHK says. About 2,000 bodies found on two shores of Miyagi prefecture, Kyodo news agency reports.

- Japan battles to prevent nuclear catastrophe. A hydrogen explosion jolts the No. 3 reactor of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, 240 km (150 miles) north of Tokyo. Operator Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) says 11 people were injured.

- Before the blast, officials said 22 people had suffered radiation contamination. Up to 190 may have been exposed.

- Operator TEPCO begins reinjecting water into No. 2 reactor in the hope of cooling it, and says water levels have risen and half the fuel rods are exposed.

- Nuclear safety agency rates the incident a 4 on the 1 to 7 International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale, less serious than Three Mile Island, a 5, and Chernobyl at 7.

- Switzerland's energy minister says suspends approvals process for three nuclear power stations so safety standards can be revisited.

* Germany's ruling coalition is discussing suspending for three months its decision last year to extend the life of Germany's nuclear power plants, a coalition source says.

- Authorities have set up a 20-km (12-mile) exclusion zone around the Fukushima Daiichi plant and a 10-km (6 mile) zone around Fukushima Daini.

- Strong aftershocks persist in the stricken area.
- About 450,000 people evacuated nationwide in addition to 80,000 from the exclusion zone around the nuclear power plants. Almost 2 million households are without power in the freezing north and about 1.4 million households have no running water.

- Reactor operator says rolling blackout to affect 3 million customers, including large factories, buildings and households. Blackouts affected 113,000 households on Monday, it says.

- Japan's Nikkei share index falls more than 6 percent, dragging European stocks to their lowest in three months.

- The Bank of Japan (BoJ) offers to pump a record $85 billion into the banking system.
- Credit Suisse estimates the loss at between 14 trillion yen ($171 billion) and 15 trillion yen just to the quake region.
(Tokyo bureau; World Desk Asia, Singapore +65 6870 3815)

Food and water shortage at earthquake shelter in Sendai, Japan, Posted by Meosha Eaton

More than 3,000 residents in Sendai, Japan took shelter at a suburban high school of the city after the 9-magnitude earthquake devastated their homes. Due to the current shortage of food and water supply, only children and seniors at and above 75 years old are provided with food at the emergency shelter.

Each of the people taking shelter here has a ration of only two bottles of water every day. As the access to the disaster area is cut off, the shipment of good, especially food and drinking water, to Sendai is also blocked.

Food supply to the shelter dwellers has come to a halt as of today. Still people have to live here, as their own homes are no longer in existence or safe after the catastrophic earthquake. Given the constant aftershocks at present, the shelter is the best place they could find for the time being.

"I moved here yesterday," said a young woman. "How is your own home?" asked the reporter. "Its appearance looks ok, but inside it's all a mess," said the young woman.

"My home is gone completely, with the TV set and other things rocked down everywhere, and it's dangerous to go back there," said a woman.

"Have you got a food ration?" asked the reporter.
"No, only children and seniors at and above 75 years old are entitled to a food ration," answered the woman.

For any questions please call +86-10-63969499, or email newscontent@cctv.com. If you want to learn more, please go to the CCTV website at http://newscontent.cctv.com.

Japan, Libya to dominate at G8 formin meeting, Posted by Meosha Eaton

* G8 foreign ministers to meet in Paris Monday, Tuesday
* Japan quake, Libya crisis set to dominate agenda

By John Irish


PARIS, March 13 (Reuters) -

The earthquake disaster in Japan looks set to dominate a Group of Eight foreign ministers meeting this week in Paris as members discuss ways to coordinate help for the only Asian country in the group. The crisis over Libya will also be a key issue, with the international community seeking to agree on how to stop a violent crackdown in the North African state by leader Muammar Gaddafi's government forces.

Japan was trying on Sunday to avert a disastrous meltdown at two nuclear reactors, crippled by a major earthquake on Friday that caused a tsunami estimated to have killed more than 10,000 people.

French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe pledged aid to the Japanese, offering expertise in nuclear plant safety and help in clearing up wreckage and finding buried victims. Two rescue teams were preparing to fly to Japan. Juppe and the other G8 foreign ministers are expected to look to co-ordinate the rescue and aid effort.

"Japan is a historic member of the G8, so we will definitely be showing solidarity," a French diplomatic source said. Japan's foreign minister is still scheduled to attend the meeting, a Japanese embassy official in Paris said on Sunday.

British Foreign Office minister Jeremy Browne said this weekend that a "really big coordinated international response" was needed and that Britain was playing a full part.
The fast-moving situation in Libya is also set to be a focal point for the G8 foreign ministers, the diplomatic source said.

"The current international situation will invite itself onto the programme and the ministers will study the various options (for Libya)," the source said. Libyan leader Gaddafi's forces appear to have regained the momentum in the three-week-old conflict inspired by popular revolts in Tunisia and Egypt.

Gaddafi's troops forced outgunned Libyan rebels to retreat eastwards on Sunday and laid siege to pockets of resistance, unimpeded by diplomatic efforts to impose a no-fly zone. Paris has been playing a leading role in the international response to the uprising, especially in its calls with Britain to secure U.N. support for a no-fly zone resolution.

Those calls have met some reluctance from fellow G8 members Russia and the United States as well as non-G8 China. At Friday's EU leaders summit, an airborne military option also appeared to be played down, specifically by Germany.

The United States said this weekend a call by the Arab League for such a no-fly zone was an "important step", but while Washington said it was preparing for "all contingencies" it has remained cautious over endorsing direct military intervention.

"The G8 foreign ministers ... will be an opportunity to widen the international coalition addressing the crisis in Libya," British Foreign Minister William Hague said. "And to reaffirm our collective support for political transition in Egypt and Tunisia."

U.S. State Secretary Hillary Clinton will make her first visit to France since new foreign minister Juppe took charge before she heads on to the North African states.

The two-day event begins informally with the eight ministers meeting President Nicolas Sarkozy at his Elysee Palace on Monday before officially kicking off at 2000 (1900 GMT), and ending the following day around 1500 (1400 GMT).

The talks will also touch on Iran's nuclear programme and at ways to revive the Middle East peace process in preparation for a G8 leaders summit in the northern seaside resort of Deauville at the end of May.

(Editing by Myra MacDonald)

* Tsunami reaches more than 6 feet in California, Posted by Meosha Eaton

* Tsunami reaches more than 6 feet in California
* Thousands evacuate in California
* Hawaii residents told to move inland
* Ecuador takes extreme precautions

(Updates with Ecuador, Mexico tsunami preparations)

By Peter Henderson and Alexandra Valencia
OAKLAND, Calif./QUITO, March 11 (Reuters) - Thousands of people fled their homes along the California coast on Friday as a tsunami triggered by the massive earthquake in Japan began hitting the U.S. West Coast after rolling through Hawaii.

Initial reports from U.S. civil defense officials and residents of coastal communities suggested the force of the tsunami, a giant wall of water, had dissipated as it sped across the Pacific Ocean toward North America. The massive 8.9 magnitude quake in Japan triggered tsunami warnings for most of the Pacific basin. Advisories or warnings were in effect from Canada all the way down the Pacific coast of South America.

Tidal surges in the Hawaiian island chain were generally little higher than normal, officials said, and there were no reports of injuries or severe inland property damage.
An Obama administration official said Hawaii appeared to be out of danger, but some risk remained for the U.S. West Coast.

"I think the enormous fears that were there hours ago, for some of us hours ago, has diminished greatly, which is quite a relief for all of us," White House chief of staff Bill Daley said. "There's always the possibility that something may happen after, so people are watching it now," he added.

Craig Fugate, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, was more cautious. "The problem is you're never sure until the waves come in," he told CNN.
Tsunami waves crashing ashore in the northern Californian city of Crescent City were more than 6 feet (2 metres), the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said.

"They are starting to roll in," said Jordan Scott, spokesman for the California Emergency Management Agency. He cautioned it could take 10 to 12 hours for the effects of the quake to completely fade.

Thousands of residents were being evacuated along the California coast, including some 6,000 near the surfing town of Santa Cruz, civil defense officials said.
Scott said people were also being evacuated in Del Norte and San Mateo counties. Del Norte is the northernmost California coastal county and San Mateo includes much of Silicon Valley, although the technology center is well inland. Authorities in the neighboring state of Oregon closed schools along the coast and advised residents to evacuate.

SIRENS BLARE IN HAWAII
In Hawaii, 3,800 miles (6,200 km) from Japan, the main airports on at least three of the major islands -- Maui, Kauai and the Big Island of Hawaii -- were shut down as a precaution, and the U.S. Navy ordered all warships in Pearl Harbor to remain in port to support rescue missions as needed. Civil defense sirens blared statewide, starting shortly before 10 p.m. local time, and police with bullhorns urged residents near shore to higher ground.

John Cummings, a spokesman for emergency management in Honolulu, said no injuries or property damage had been reported after a series of four tsunami waves had hit the Hawaii's capital or the rest of the island of Oahu. President Barack Obama, a native of Hawaii, was notified of the massive Japanese quake at 4 a.m./0900 GMT and instructed FEMA to be prepared to help affected U.S. states and territories, the White House said.

CHILE RESIDENTS ALERT
Ecuador took extreme precautions after President Rafael Correa declared a state of emergency across the Andean nation on national television and urged residents to move inland.

The area at risk includes the Galapagos Islands -- a popular tourist destination known for its incredible wildlife, including endangered species, that inspired British naturalist Charles Darwin's evolution theory in the 19th century. State oil company Petroecuador halted product shipments.

On Easter Island, a Chilean territory in the South Pacific, authorities planned to move residents to higher ground, in preparation for a possible tsunami on Friday afternoon.
Chilean President Sebastian Pinera, whose country was hit by a 8.8 magnitude quake and ensuing tsunamis that killed more than 500 people a year ago, told Chileans to remain alert. Peruvian officials said they were waiting until late afternoon to decide if they would order evacuations from low-lying coastal areas such as the port city of Callao.

Many ports along Mexico's western coast were closed, including Los Cabos and Salina Cruz in southern Oaxaca, the only oil-exporting terminal on the country's Pacific side.
State-run oil company Pemex's biggest refinery, Antonio Dovali Jaime, is about two miles (3 km) from the coast near Salina Cruz but a spokesman said operations were normal. Canada advised authorities in parts of British Columbia to evacuate marinas, beaches and other low-lying areas.

(Additional reporting by Suzanne Roig and Jorene Barut in Honolulu, Peter Henderson in San Francisco, Steve Gorman in Los Angeles, Simon Gardner in Santiago; Anahi Rama, Cyntia Barrera Diaz, Mica Rosenberg and Lizbeth Diaz in Mexico; writing by Frances Kerry and Ross Colvin; Editing by Doina Chiacu)