BBC news 2011-03-13 加文本

BBC news 2011-03-13

BBC News with David Austin.

The Japanese government has played down concern about a possible nuclear meltdown, following a big explosion at a nuclear power station in the north of the country. The blast occurred a day after the area was hit by a powerful earthquake and tsunami. A top government official, Yukio Edano, said a steel container encasing the nuclear reactor had not been ruptured by the blast.

“It was not the reactor’s container that exploded; therefore it is not the case that a large radiation leak is expected. According to the results from the radiation monitoring systems of the Tokyo Power Electric Company of Fukushima prefecture, the density of the radiation has not increased after the explosion compared to before the explosion.”

Tens of thousands of people have left the area surrounding the nuclear plant. Shortly after the blast, the Japanese authorities extended the evacuation zone around the plant to 20 kilometres. Local media said three people were being treated for exposure to radiation. Medical teams have been sent there to counter any further radiation threat, and the government has urged people to stay calm. However, these residents said they were concerned.

“Officials said 10 kilometres or 20 kilometres away is safe, but the radiation may change and go out wider. It’s very disturbing. There is no way to get out of here.”

“I think it’s safe at the moments, but I’m worried that radiation might already be reaching us.”

Fifty thousand Japanese military personnel had been ordered to join the huge rescue and relief operation following the earthquake and tsunami. More than 1,000 people are feared dead. About 400 bodies were found in the town of Rikuzentakata, and Japanese media reports say 10,000 people are unaccounted for in Minamisanriku. Damian Grammaticas in the port of Sendai says the scenes of devastation there are astonishing.

Giant shipping containers have been picked up and swept inland and smashed against buildings. There are trees and wood and rubble strewn everywhere. Shipping crates, too. In front of me here, dozens and dozens and dozens of motor cars have been picked up, smashed and crushed. All across the ground, it’s wet and muddy with sand that’s been swept in by the waves. And right next to me here, is a giant articulated truck that’s been picked up, turned over, crumpled in the front end, smashed in, too.

International disaster relief teams have been sent to Japan. The United Nations said a nine strong UN team of experts would include several Japanese speakers. Britain said it was sending expert assistance after receiving a request from Japan. Singapore is also deploying an urban search and rescue team. American forces stationed in Japan have already been involved in rescue operations, and more than 50 territories and countries have offered assistance.

World News from the BBC.

The Arab League has agreed to ask the United Nations’ Security Council to enforce a no-fly zone over Libya. The vote was unanimous. The secretary-general of the 22-member bloc, Amr Moussa, explained the reason for the decision.

“We want to protect the civilian population in Libya after what has been reported of attacks and casualties and very tense situation, very bloody situation. As for anything about the post-Gaddafi situation, we have not addressed that point.”

The pan-Arab television station al-Jazeera says one of its cameramen in Libya has been killed. Al-Jazeera said Ali Hassan Al-Jaber and his crew had been caught up in an armed ambush near Benghazi in the rebel-held east of the country.

The authorities in Egypt say they’ll lift restrictions on political parties, after a referendum on constitutional amendments a week from now. A military official, quoted by the state news agency MENA, said lifting the restrictions would allow politicians to form new parties simply by notifying the authorities.

An American aid worker has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for crimes against the state in Cuba. Alan Gross, who’s 61, was arrested in December, 2009. From Havana, here’s Michael Voss.

Alan Gross finally came to court earlier this month. The trial lasted two days and was closed to the press. The verdict was issued in a brief statement on state-run television. He’s been found guilty of “acts against the integrity and independence” of Cuba. Sixty-one-year-old Alan Gross was a subcontractor for a US government funded programme aimed at supporting civil society and promoting democratic change. The authorities in Havana consider it part of a long-standing US policy to subvert the revolution and bring about regime change.

Washington has described the sentence as another injustice.

BBC News.