BBC news 2011-03-14 加文本

BBC news 2011-03-14

BBC News with Kathy Clugston

Engineers in Japan are working to prevent a nuclear catastrophe at a power plant damaged by the huge earthquake that struck on Friday. Large numbers of people have been evacuated from the area near the Fukushima complex, the worst hit facility, amid concerns about radiation levels. Chris Hogg reports from Tokyo.

Hundreds of thousands of people here who survived Friday’s earthquake are being checked for exposure to radiation. They’ve been ordered to leave their homes in a wide area around the nuclear plant at Fukushima. Technicians there are struggling to make safe reactors damaged by the quake and the wall of water that’s swept through the complex. For a time, leaks of radiation were detected that exceeded safety limits. Officials say the levels have since declined.

The Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan has called on his country to unite and rebuild as it struggles to cope with the devastation. He said Japan was facing its worst crisis since World War 2. Food, water and fuel are reported to be running short in some parts of Japan. Police say more than 10,000 people may have lost their lives in one of the worst affected regions, the northern coastal area of Miyagi. Our correspondent Rachel Harvey is in Miyagi and sent this report.

All day long the sound of helicopters filled the air as they ferried up and down the northeast coast. At ground level progress was slower. We were aiming for the town of Minami Sanriku, one of the areas worst affected by this unfolding disaster. We have reached the stopping point. You can hear in the background diggers are now trying to clear the debris from the road up ahead, bits of wood, car tyres, bits of twisted metal. The main town is straight ahead of us and that is where, we are told, many thousands of people are still unaccounted for.

Large swathes of Japan are without power and the government is beginning a programme of rolling electricity blackouts. Huge numbers of survivors are gathered in emergency shelters, some with no heat. More than a million households are without fresh water. About 30% of Japan’s electricity comes from nuclear power.

In a remarkable tale of survival, the Japanese defence ministry said a 60-year-old man had been rescued clinging to the roof of his house. It had been carried out to sea by Friday’s tsunami. Mark Lobel has more.

For two days Hiromitsu Shinkawa drifted 15 kilometres off Japan’s northeastern coast, clinging to his floating rooftop. It was all that was left of his house in Fukushima prefecture after the tsunami had ripped it from its foundations and swept away his wife. As he clung on in the sea, he waved a red cloth in an attempt to attract the attention of passing helicopters and boats. The crew on board a Japanese military ship spotted him and sent a small vessel his way. As he was taken to hospital by helicopter, he was reported to be in good health.

World News from the BBC

Rebels in Libya have been forced to withdraw from the eastern town of Brega after coming under heavy bombardment from troops loyal to Colonel Gaddafi. Jon Leyne reports from the rebel-held town of Benghazi.

Government forces are continuing to press on with what is becoming a fairly rapid advance in eastern Libya. Two days after the small town of Ras Lanuf fell into government hands, the oil town of Brega, 100 kilometres further east, has either been captured by Colonel Gaddafi’s forces or looks like it’s about to fall. That leaves the town of Ajdabiya as the last major obstacle before the rebel stronghold of Benghazi. So the big question now is whether Colonel Gaddafi has the forces and the backup to try and recapture the rest of the country. A battle for Benghazi will be far bloodier than anything seen so far.

Meanwhile, France has said it wants to speed up diplomatic efforts to impose a no-fly zone over Libya.

There have been more violent clashes in Yemen between police and demonstrators demanding an end to the rule of President Ali Abdullah Saleh. Reports say at least 100 people were injured when police used tear gas and live ammunition to disperse protestors in the capital Sanaa.

The ruler of Oman, Sultan Qaboos, has announced he is to hand over some of his powers to officials from outside the royal family. A royal decree said the Legislative Council of Oman would be given lawmaking powers. Until now, the role of the council has been to advise the Sultan, who has ruled Oman for four decades.

The American State Department spokesman PJ Crowley has resigned after criticizing the Pentagon for its treatment of a US soldier suspected of passing classified documents to the WikiLeaks website. In a statement, Mr Crowley said he was taking full responsibility for the impact of his remarks. On Friday, Mr Crowley said that holding the soldier, Private Bradley Manning, in solitary confinement and obliging him to strip repeatedly was ridiculous, counterproductive and stupid.

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