LA Times News

LA Times News

Aftershocks and nuclear threat keep Japan's residents in fear

Posted: 12 Mar 2011 06:58 PM PST

More than 275 aftershocks magnitude 5 or greater have been logged since the massive quake. There are conflicting reports of a damaged nuclear plant releasing radiation, but officials are rushing to address any danger.

Aftershocks continued to jolt Japan as rescue efforts increased Sunday morning following Friday's 8.9 magnitude earthquake.

Libyan rebels' ragtag army left in disarray

Posted: 12 Mar 2011 05:51 PM PST

All that stands between Kadafi and opposition headquarters in Benghazi are disorganized volunteers and army defectors spread thinly along the coastal highway.

Ajdabiya

Libyan regime touts gains in the east

Posted: 12 Mar 2011 05:08 PM PST

Foreign journalists are flown from Tripoli to tour the battle-scarred towns of Bin Jawwad and Ras Lanuf, which had been held by rebels days before.

The shot-up ambulances at this oil town's hospital attest to a battle in which normal rules of engagement did not apply.

Meltdown may be occurring at nuclear plant, Japanese official says

Posted: 12 Mar 2011 03:52 PM PST

'There is a possibility, we see the possibility of a meltdown,' an official with Japan's nuclear agency says in an interview with CNN, adding that he is basing this on radioactivity measurements near the plant Saturday night. But the Japanese ambassasdor to the U.S. tells CNN that there's no evidence of a meltdown.

A meltdown may be occurring at one of the reactors at an earthquake-damaged nuclear power plant in northeast Japan, a government official told CNN Sunday morning Japan time.

Japan's massive earthquake has little effect on culture's impeccable manners

Posted: 12 Mar 2011 04:47 PM PST

One injured woman pinned under furniture apologizes for causing trouble in just one example of the nation's trait of exhibiting concern for others even in the worst of circumstances.

She was elderly and alone, injured and in pain. When the massive earthquake struck, a heavy bookshelf toppled onto Hiroko Yamashita, pinning her down and shattering her ankle.

Another Japan nuclear reactor fails

Posted: 12 Mar 2011 04:25 PM PST

A third reactor at the Fukushima No. 1 plant loses its emergency cooling capacity, bringing to six the number of reactors that have failed at the two Fukushima nuclear power plants since the earthquake and tsunami.

Another nuclear reactor at the Fukushima No. 1 facility in Japan has lost its emergency cooling capacity, according to the Associated Press, bringing to three the number of reactors at that facility to fall prey to Friday's magnitude 8.9 earthquake and tsunami. Added to failure of three reactors at Fukushima No. 2, the count is now six overall.

Japan will face extraordinary health challenges after tsunami

Posted: 12 Mar 2011 04:47 PM PST

Public health officials in Japan will face a host of unusual infections and trauma injuries, those with experience in the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake say.

After the surging ocean waters spawned by Japan's magnitude 8.9 earthquake receded, the drowned were only the first victims to be counted.

Japan nuclear agency reports emergency at another reactor

Posted: 12 Mar 2011 02:52 PM PST

Officials say the cooling system has malfunctioned at Unit 3 of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, the same complex where an explosion occurred Saturday at a different reactor, according to the Associated Press.

Japan's nuclear safety agency reported an emergency at a second reactor Sunday in the same complex where an explosion occurred Saturday, according to the Associated Press.

International aid workers arrive to assist in Japan earthquake rescue efforts

Posted: 12 Mar 2011 02:51 PM PST

Two teams from New York-based Doctors Without Borders arrive by helicopter in Japan's Miyagi prefecture and travel to the hard-hit northern city of Sendai.

Emergency responders have streamed into Japan to aid rescue efforts after the historic magnitude 8.9 earthquake and associated tsunami.

Lights dimmed at some Japan landmarks

Posted: 12 Mar 2011 03:04 PM PST

In an effort to save electricity and to acknowledge deaths in the earthquake and tsunami, the lights were shut off at some of Japan's best-known landmarks overnight, including the Tokyo Tower and Yokohama's Bay Bridge.

The lights went out overnight at some of Japan's best-known landmarks in an effort to save electricity and acknowledge the dead following the country's worst earthquake to date.

NASA releases satellite images of post-earthquake Japan

Posted: 12 Mar 2011 02:35 PM PST

An imager on NASA's Terra satellite captured contrasting views of Japan's Sendai region.

NASA released the first satellite images of post-earthquake and -tsunami flooding in northeastern Japan on Saturday.

Yemen security forces fire on protesters, killing at least one

Posted: 12 Mar 2011 02:48 PM PST

Yemeni anti-government protesters are attacked with nonlethal weapons and live ammunition upon waking near the university in the capital, witnesses say.

Security forces opened fire on antigovernment protesters when they awoke for prayers Saturday morning near Sana University, killing at least one and injuring hundreds, witnesses said.

Japan death toll reportedly exceeds 680

Posted: 12 Mar 2011 01:29 PM PST

The Kyodo News Agency says the death toll from Friday's 8.9 earthquake in Japan exceeded 687 as of Saturday midnight local time. About 300,000 residents had been evacuated in five prefectures, the news agency says, citing the Japanese National Police Agency.

The death toll from Friday's 8.9 earthquake in Japan exceeded 687 as of Saturday midnight, according to a police tally reported by Kyodo News Agency, and the number of casualties was expected to increase.

Brutal West Bank killings shock Israel, stir fears of renewed violence

Posted: 12 Mar 2011 12:35 PM PST

Ambulance workers describe a scene of 'incomprehensible horror' where five Jewish settlers, including an infant, were stabbed to death. The killings send shockwaves through Israel.

A grisly trail of toys and blood led paramedics to the first three bodies: a mother, father and their 4-month-old infant, stabbed to death in their bed. In the next room, medics say they found the body of an 11-year-old sibling.

Japan quake efforts a race against time

Posted: 12 Mar 2011 07:40 PM PST

Japanese officials seek to reassure the nation that the Fukushima No. 1 plant is not at risk of a meltdown, after an explosion prompts an evacuation of 100,000. Dozens are believed to have been exposed to elevated levels of radiation.

The number of missing and feared dead in Japan's epic earthquake soared early Sunday as a reeling nation struggled to contain an unprecedented nuclear crisis, pluck people in tsunami-inundated areas to safety, quell raging blazes and provide aid to hundreds of thousands of frightened people left homeless and dazed.

Workers face daunting rescue effort in Japan

Posted: 12 Mar 2011 10:41 AM PST

The death toll has reached 680 and is rising, 10,000 residents of one coastal town haven't been located and more than 215,000 people are living in 1,350 temporary shelters. Japan has sent thousands of relief workers to the hardest-hit coastal areas in the northeast.

Japan has sent thousands of rescue workers to the northeastern coastal area devastated by Friday's earthquake, including officials attempting to prevent a meltdown at a nuclear reactor damaged in the quake.

Japan plagued by aftershocks -- 27 of them magnitude 6 or greater

Posted: 12 Mar 2011 10:07 AM PST

Since Friday's 8.9 quake, Japan has experienced more than 154 aftershocks of magnitude 5 or greater, and 27 of magnitude 6 or greater, an official with the U.S. Geological Survey says. But he says it would take an aftershock of at least a magnitude 7 to generate a tsunami.

Japan continued to be rocked by aftershocks Saturday following Friday's 8.9 magnitude earthquake.

Arab League backs no-fly zone in Libya

Posted: 12 Mar 2011 09:52 AM PST

The Arab League's decision lays the groundwork for Western nations to consider a no-fly zone over Libya. The league also reportedly decided to recognize a rebel council as the representative of the Libyan people.

The Arab League decided Saturday to support a no-fly zone in Libya, paving the way for Western countries to decide whether to move forward with the plan.

Japan Q&A: What caused the blast at nuclear plant, and what are officials doing to avert a meltdown?

Posted: 12 Mar 2011 10:03 AM PST

The cause of the explosion isn't yet clear, but the nuclear plant has lost the ability to cool its hot uranium fuel. Seawater is being pumped into the reactor containment vessel and radiation levels outside the reactor are decreasing.

An explosion overnight destroyed the building housing one of the nuclear reactors at Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Fukushima No. 1 facility about 160 miles north of Tokyo, where authorities have been struggling to bring the reactor under control following the loss of backup power for the cooling system. Officials have feared a meltdown of the reactor core at the plant, also known as Fukushima Daiichi, which could result in the release of large quantities of radioactivity into the environment, but the latest information suggests the situation is coming under control.

Libyan forces move toward eastern stronghold

Posted: 12 Mar 2011 09:36 AM PST

Moammar Kadafi's army forces set sights on the rebel base Port Brega after strategic victories in Ras Lanuf and Zawiya. Opposition leaders say rebels are not in danger of defeat.

Forces loyal to Libyan leader Moammar Kadafi advanced eastward toward the strategic city of Port Brega in an intensifying onslaught against outgunned and inexperienced rebels who have retreated across deserts and coastal highways closer to their eastern stronghold in Benghazi.