IAEA says Japan situation serious but stable

VIENNA (AP) _ The situation at Japan's tsunami-stricken nuclear plant is ``very serious,'' but at the moment does not appear to be deteriorating, a senior official of the U.N. atomic agency said Thursday.As emergency workers frantically worked to regain control of the dangerously overheated nuclear complex, Graham Andrew told reporters ``there had been no significant worsening'' over the past 24 h

March 18, 2011

4 New York Times journalists missing in Libya

  NEW YORK (AP) _ Four New York Times journalists covering the fighting in Libya were reported missing Wednesday, and the newspaper held out hope that they were alive and in the custody of the Libyan government.   Editors last heard from the journalists on Tuesday as they were covering the retreat of rebels from the town of Ajdabiya, and Libyan officials told the newspaper they were trying to loca

March 17, 2011

Japan helicopters dump water on nuclear plant

   TOKYO, March 17, 2011 (AFP) - Japanese military helicopters dumped water Thursday from huge buckets onto the stricken Fukushima nuclear power plant in a bid to douse fuel rods, television images showed.   A total of three twin-rotor CH-47 Chinooks of the Self-Defence Forces each emptied more than seven tonnes of water onto reactors three and four, according to public broadcaster NHK.

March 17, 2011

Tokyo shares end 5.68 percent higher

TOKYO (AFP) - Tokyo shares closed up 5.68 percent Wednesday on bargain hunting following a huge two-day selloff, as Japan scrambled to avoid a nuclear catastrophe. 

March 16, 2011

Radiation levels fall in Tokyo area: officials

TOKYO (AFP) - The levels of radiation detected in Tokyo and neighboring Chiba fell back Tuesday after rising above normal levels possibly due to radiation emitted from a quake-hit nuclear power plant, officials said.Tokyo officials said they detected 0.809 of a micro-sievert between 10:00 and 11:00 am in the capital, some 250 kilometers (155 miles) southwest of the troubled Fukushima plant on the

March 16, 2011

Japan: 70 pct of reactor fuel rods may be damaged

  TOKYO (AP) _ Japan's nuclear safety agency says 70 percent of the nuclear fuel rods in an earthquake-stricken reactor may have been damaged following an explosion.   An agency spokesman, Minoru Ohgoda, said Wednesday that the damage occurred in Unit 1 of the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear complex.The facility has suffered explosions and fires since Friday's massive quake and tsunami damaged its cool

March 16, 2011

In tragedy, Japan impresses the world

WASHINGTON (AFP) -- Despite the horrific scenes of destruction, Japan may emerge from its quake-tsunami disaster with a stronger international brand-name as the nation’s resilience wins wide praise.Television stations around the world have broadcast the footage of the seismic waves as they razed homes and carried away cars as if they were toys, stranding dazed survivors on the brutalized landscape.But coverage has also shown another side -- Japanese showing calm as they search for loved ones or

March 15, 2011

Fire at Japan nuke plant, radiation rises: Kan

TOKYO (AFP) - A fire has broken out at the number-four reactor at the quake-hit Fukushima No. 1 atomic power plant and radiation levels have risen considerably, Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan said Tuesday.

March 15, 2011

Japan suspects nuclear reactor container damaged

   TOKYO (AP) _ Japan's nuclear safety agency says it suspects an explosion at a nuclear power plant may have damaged a reactor's container and fears a radiation leak.   An agency spokesman, Shigekazu Omukai, says the nuclear core of Unit 2 of the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant was not damaged in the explosion early Tuesday.   But the agency says it suspects the bottom of the container that surrounds th

March 15, 2011

Japan's TEPCO evacuates some staff from nuke reactor

   TOKYO (AFP) - Some workers have been evacuated from the number-two reactor at the Fukushima No.1 nuclear power plant after it was hit by an explosion Tuesday, a Tokyo Electric Power Co. spokesman said.    "We have moved our staff to a safer area," except for those working to cool the reactor, the TEPCO spokesman said.   An official from Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency told AFP "tha

March 15, 2011

Official death toll in Japan's disaster tops 2,400

   TOKYO (AFP) - The death toll from a killer earthquake and tsunami that flattened much of Japan's northeast coast topped 2,400, police said Tuesday.   The National Police Agency said 2,414 people are confirmed dead and 3,118 missing, with 1,885 injured in the disaster which struck on Friday afternoon.      The official toll yesterday stood at 1,647.   On Sunday, the police chief of Miyagi, one o

March 15, 2011

Part of troubled reactor container appears damaged: Japan

TOKYO (AFP) - Part of the container of a troubled nuclear reactor appears to be damaged, the Japanese government said early Tuesday, indicating possible serious radiation leaks.Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano told reporters that "damage appears on the suppression pool" -- the bottom part of the container, which contains water used to cool down the reactor and control air pressure inside."But w

March 15, 2011

Japan says explosion heard at another nuclear reactor: media

TOKYO (AFP) - An explosion was heard at another reactor of an earthquake-damaged nuclear power plant early Tuesday, the Japanese government said, according to local media.

March 15, 2011