Monday, March 14, 2011 | |
Japanese reactor faces meltdown scare as 1,000 bodies wash up on shore
Top news: Technicians in Japan are battling to stabilize a third reactor at the earthquake stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. Hydrogen explosions were recorded at the plant on Saturday and earlier today -- the most recent one injured 11 people.
Officials say the release of radiation, though twice the level Japan considers safe, is still relatively modest as containment wall shielding the reactor cores have remained intact. However, the U.S. has removed one of its aircraft carriers from the region after detecting radiation 100 miles offshore.
Seawater is being flooded into the damaged reactors to prevent a full meltdown of the plant. The process of cooling the reactors may continue for months, meaning that tens of thousands of people evacuated from the area may not be able to return to their homes and winds could blow radioactive materials toward Japanese cities.
Japan is still coming to terms with the human devastation caused by the earthquake and the tsunami that followed it. Around 1,000 bodies washed up on shore in Japan northeastern Miyagi prefecture. The official death toll from the disaster has been raised to 2,800 but the police chief in Miyagi said more than 10,000 people may have been killed in his prefecture alone.
The devastated Japanese coastline has been hit by hundreds of aftershocks since Friday including a 6.2 magnitude quake that prompted a new Tsunami scare today.
Libya: Forces loyal to Muammar al-Qaddafi continued to tighten their grip on areas previously controlled by anti-government rebels. New airstrikes have been launched on the town of Ajdabiya, near the opposition capital of Benghazi. The government has offered amnesty to rebels fo put down their arms.
After a meeting on Saturday, the 22-member Arab league backed the formation of an international no-fly zone. However, the idea still faces opposition from NATO member Turkey and U.N. Security Council permanent member Russia.
Officials say the release of radiation, though twice the level Japan considers safe, is still relatively modest as containment wall shielding the reactor cores have remained intact. However, the U.S. has removed one of its aircraft carriers from the region after detecting radiation 100 miles offshore.
Seawater is being flooded into the damaged reactors to prevent a full meltdown of the plant. The process of cooling the reactors may continue for months, meaning that tens of thousands of people evacuated from the area may not be able to return to their homes and winds could blow radioactive materials toward Japanese cities.
Japan is still coming to terms with the human devastation caused by the earthquake and the tsunami that followed it. Around 1,000 bodies washed up on shore in Japan northeastern Miyagi prefecture. The official death toll from the disaster has been raised to 2,800 but the police chief in Miyagi said more than 10,000 people may have been killed in his prefecture alone.
The devastated Japanese coastline has been hit by hundreds of aftershocks since Friday including a 6.2 magnitude quake that prompted a new Tsunami scare today.
Libya: Forces loyal to Muammar al-Qaddafi continued to tighten their grip on areas previously controlled by anti-government rebels. New airstrikes have been launched on the town of Ajdabiya, near the opposition capital of Benghazi. The government has offered amnesty to rebels fo put down their arms.
After a meeting on Saturday, the 22-member Arab league backed the formation of an international no-fly zone. However, the idea still faces opposition from NATO member Turkey and U.N. Security Council permanent member Russia.
