LA Times News

LA Times News

Libyans in Tobruk rejoice over no-fly zone

Posted: 17 Mar 2011 07:57 PM PDT

Rebels and families take to the streets in celebration of the U.N.'s decision to impose a no-fly zone to check the military gains of Moammar Kadafi's forces.

Rebels and families across this seaside eastern city fired rifles, climbed to rooftops, danced and sped through streets with flags flapping out windows early Friday to celebrate the United Nations' imposition of a no-fly zone over Libya.

Q&A: Worries outweigh radiation threats in U.S.

Posted: 17 Mar 2011 06:19 PM PDT

All that worrying might cause more harm than the radiation from the Japan nuclear accident, experts say. A look at some common concerns.

With reports that a radiation plume from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant could reach Southern California as soon as Friday, worried citizens have been hoarding potassium iodide pills, wondering if it's OK to go outside and otherwise fretting over an invisible, and somewhat unpredictable, threat.

Winds, fluctuating radiation levels hamper efforts to control Japan nuclear plant

Posted: 17 Mar 2011 06:59 PM PDT

There is no sign of progress as of early Friday local time. The official death toll rises to 5,692, with 9,522 unaccounted for and feared dead, authorities say.

There was no obvious sign of progress in the battle to take control of the dangerously stricken Fukushima No. 1 (Daiichi) nuclear power plant early Friday, as blustery winds and fluctuating radiation levels hampered efforts to douse hot nuclear equipment with water from helicopters and firetrucks.

Anxiety runs deep, but Tokyo tries to put on a brave face

Posted: 17 Mar 2011 03:38 PM PDT

Residents realize their situation doesn't compare to the crisis farther north, but their city, one of the world's most efficient and orderly, isn't the same. And many fear that something worse, bringing more disorder, is yet to come.

In a city where everything works, suddenly not quite everything does.

U.N. Security Council authorizes action against Moammar Kadafi

Posted: 17 Mar 2011 05:13 PM PDT

U.S. and allied forces began preparing for military operations against Libya despite doubts the outgunned rebels can be saved.

 

Japan nuclear accident poses crisis for worker safety

Posted: 17 Mar 2011 06:12 PM PDT

Workers at the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant could rapidly reach their annual radiation exposure limit and may have to be rotated out soon.

Bursts of radiation being released at the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant could mean workers there will have to be quickly rotated out, and some could rapidly reach their annual exposure limit, complicating efforts to contain Japan's continuing nuclear crisis.

Japan nuclear plant workers' dedication to common good a national trait

Posted: 17 Mar 2011 06:29 PM PDT

Many Japanese see the bravery of the 'Faceless 50' as the epitome of group responsibility, known as Yamato-damashi . That collective consciousness is almost second nature, especially in time of crisis.

In Japan they call them the "Faceless 50." They are the workers at the ravaged Fukushima nuclear plant who stayed to fight the fires and keep the reactors from melting down.

Libyan battle heads to showdown in Benghazi

Posted: 17 Mar 2011 05:30 PM PDT

Moammar Kadafi's forces have moved relentlessly eastward, pushing the rebels back to their capital, Benghazi. However, it's uncertain whether the tactic of airstrikes followed by ground attacks can work in such a large population center.

Moammar Kadafi's military and beleaguered rebel fighters are gearing for a showdown in this opposition stronghold, a battle that will help determine whether the monthlong uprising in eastern Libya can prevail — and, if not, whether a brutal regime can endure an underground resistance movement and the threat of foreign military action.

Pakistan denounces U.S. drone strike

Posted: 17 Mar 2011 05:11 PM PDT

Pakistan's army chief says innocent tribal elders were among the 40 slain in North Waziristan. The U.S. denies targeting civilians in the attack, which appeared to be aimed at a Taliban compound.

Pakistan's army chief strongly condemned a U.S. drone missile strike that killed at least 40 people in a volatile tribal region along the Afghan border Thursday, asserting that the dead included innocent tribal elders who had been holding a meeting.

Japan's toll of dead and missing surpasses 15,000; 380,000 displaced

Posted: 17 Mar 2011 04:26 PM PDT

Japan's National Police Agency says nearly 5,700 are confirmed dead and 9,500 are missing. The nation is struggling with fuel shortages, questions of food safety and scarce electricity supplies. Emergency crews reportedly don't have enough gas to do their jobs.

The Japanese economy is showing increasing signs of disarray, with the world's third-largest economy struggling with shortages of fuel, questions of food safety, and scarce electricity supplies that are forcing stores and restaurants in Tokyo to close early.

Kadafi warns rebels to give up and rest of the world to stay out

Posted: 17 Mar 2011 02:00 PM PDT

His forces poised to take two rebel-held cities, Libya leader Moammar Kadafi warned that any armed foreign intervention would result in Libyan attacks on air and sea traffic across the Mediterranean,

Libyan leader Moammar Kadafi lashed out at the international community and at his domestic enemies Thursday as his troops stood poised to retake two rebel-controlled cities.

Blind Libya cleric a voice of revolt

Posted: 17 Mar 2011 01:57 PM PDT

Yosry Alhadar infuses Koranic verses with patriotism, creating a sense of epic struggle that sends young men with Kalashnikovs and grenade launchers against Moammar Kadafi's rockets and warplanes.

When he was a boy, the blind sheik was forced to read Moammar Kadafi's Green Book manifesto in Braille, his fingers trying to decipher the erratic mind of a leader who brutalized a nation.

Japan nuclear crisis could last for weeks, U.S. nuclear official says

Posted: 17 Mar 2011 01:28 PM PDT

Gregory Jaczko, chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, says getting the situation under control at the Fukushima Daiichi complex 'will likely take some time ... possibly weeks.' Jaczko reiterates that there is no radiation threat to any U.S. territories.

The nuclear crisis in Japan could last for weeks, the chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Thursday.

Pentagon sends hazardous-materials experts and surveillance drone to aid Japan

Posted: 17 Mar 2011 12:57 PM PDT

Defense Secretary Robert Gates has authorized up to $35 million in humanitarian assistance to Japan from the Pentagon, a spokesman says. About 17,000 U.S. military personnel are involved in relief operations.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. military has sent a nine-member team of hazardous-materials experts — and a sophisticated unmanned surveillance craft — to help Japan with its nuclear crisis, a Pentagon spokesman said Thursday.

High radiation levels hamper efforts to cool Japanese reactors

Posted: 17 Mar 2011 11:51 AM PDT

Workers are forced to pull back in their attempt to use helicopters and water cannons to spray the damaged Fukushima nuclear plant and stave off a meltdown. About 30 tons of seawater dumped from helicopters mostly miss their target.

High radiation levels at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant have forced workers to abandon at least temporarily their desperate efforts to spray water from helicopters and water cannons in a last-ditch effort to cool the plants and stave off a meltdown.

Bahrain continues crackdown on opposition

Posted: 17 Mar 2011 05:21 PM PDT

Several opposition leaders are arrested and troops accompanied by bulldozers begin clearing the tent city in Pearl Square and sealing off Shiite neighborhoods in the capital.

Bahrain's security forces arrested at least half a dozen opposition leaders Thursday and surrounded Shiite Muslim neighborhoods on the second day of a crackdown that, at least for now, appeared to have left the regime's opponents frightened and divided about how to respond.

Obama celebrates St. Patrick's Day, announces visit to Ireland

Posted: 17 Mar 2011 11:59 AM PDT

Keeping up a St. Patrick's Day tradition, President Obama welcomes Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny to the White House and praises the 'incredible bond' between their two countries. The president also says he would take time to explore his roots when he travels to Ireland in May as part of a European trip.

If it's St. Patrick's Day, you can expect even the White House to wear the green, wink at domestic Irish political power and greet Ireland's leader on the annual pilgrimage to the United States.

Japan uses helicopters, water cannons in desperate bid to cool reactor fuel

Posted: 17 Mar 2011 09:13 AM PDT

Authorities struggle to avert full meltdowns and to cool fuel rods at the earthquake-crippled Fukushima Daiichi plant as U.S. and Japanese authorities appear to disagree over the magnitude of the nuclear crisis. Public anger mounts over lagging quake relief efforts.

Japanese authorities made desperate new attempts to avert full-scale meltdowns at a quake-battered nuclear plant Thursday, dispatching helicopters to drop tons of water on the reactors and using water cannons to cool a spent-fuel pool that an American official said was responsible for "very significant radiation levels."

Japan radiation fears spark panic salt-buying in China

Posted: 17 Mar 2011 07:05 AM PDT

Long lines and mob scenes ensue at stores amid a clamor for iodized salt fueled by rumors of a radioactive cloud from Japan's quake-damaged nuclear plant and the belief that the salt would protect against radiation poisoning.

China tried to quell panic buying of iodized salt Thursday after grocery stores across the country were emptied of the seasoning by hordes of people hoping to ward off radiation poisoning after the nuclear accidents in Japan.

Kadafi forces poised to rout rebels in eastern cities

Posted: 17 Mar 2011 05:20 AM PDT

Tanks, trucks and troops deploy outside Ajdabiya, apparently ready for a full-scale battle.

Libyan leader Moammar Kadafi's forces appear to be poised Thursday to crush rebels who have taken control of key eastern cities despite international condemnation that has yet to result in concrete actions.