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Disaster in Japan: March 17 Live Blog

Follow the latest events around the Pacific Rim after an 9.0-magnitude earthquake off Japan's coast triggered a devastating tsunami.

Blog: Mar11-12 - Mar13 - Mar14 - Mar15 - Mar16

(All times are local in Japan GMT+9)

• Timestamp: 

  4:18am

  Staff at Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant may receive "lethal doses" of radiation, the US nuclear regulator has told Congress. Gregory Jaczko, head of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, said:

  We believe that around the reactor site there are high levels of radiation. It would be very difficult for emergency workers to get near the reactors. The doses they could experience would potentially be lethal doses in a very short period of time.

  But he noted US authorities did not want to speculate too much on the matter:

  Our information is very limited.

• Timestamp: 

  4:05am

  We've got a new map online, which you can interact with by clicking here. It gives you geo-tagged tweets, YouTube videos, Ushahidi reports - and earthquake sites, news reports, seismic data... and photos. Check it out.

  

• Timestamp: 

  3:54am

  We've got a slideshow of photos online, giving the scene as the tsunami struck. To access it, click here.

  

• Timestamp: 

  3:49am

  The Tokyo Electric Power company says "a new power line that could solve the nuclear crisis is almost ready".

  We'll keep you posted.

• Timestamp: 

  3:25am

  The "US nuclear chair" is being quoted by the AFP news agency as saying there is now "no water at the Fukushima reactor No.4", and radiation levels are "extremely high".

  Read below for why this is a bad thing.

  We'll bring you more details as they emerge...

• Timestamp: 

  3:14am

  The US military has delivered high-pressure water pumps to Japan to help cool Fukushima's crisis-hit nuclear power plant.

  The pumps were ferried to Yokota Air Force Base for use at the crippled Fukushima plant, with four additional pumps delivered from Sasebo, in Japan's southwest, the US Pacific Fleet said in a statement.

  Rising temperatures caused by damage to the cooling system pumps during Friday's earthquake are cauding the water in the reactor cores to turn to steam, increasing pressure, and exposing the fuel rods.

  When the fuel rods become even partly exposed, the temperature increases rapidly, turning more of the water to steam, and increasing pressure even more quickly. When the rods come into contact with steam, rather than water, hydrogen is produced.

  With large amounts of hydrogen held in a container whose heat and pressure is increasing rapidly, there is a risk of an explosion, which may damage the containment vessel and allow nuclear fuel to leak out, spreading large amounts of radiation.

  The high-pressure pumps are used to re-fill the reactor cores as the water level begins to drop, replacing the water at a speed which cools both the rods and the chamber, reducing pressure and averting the potential for a meltdown.

• Timestamp: 

  3:07am

  As foreigners are urged by their governments to consider leaving Tokyo, many Japanese residents are not taking any chances and have started rushing out of the capital.
  
  Concern is growing in the capital that radiation leaking from the Fukushima plant, about 270km away, will spread. Many have begun hoarding supplies of basic necessities, in case they need to spend long periods indoors.
  
  Al Jazeera's Andrew Thomas reports on the mood in the metropolis.

• Timestamp: 

  2:59am

  British officials have advised its citizens in Tokyo and to the city's immediate north to consider leaving the area, say Reuters.

• Timestamp: 

  2:48am

  The US embassy in Tokyo recommends US citizens living within 80km of the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant to leave the area or shelter indoors. This echoes an earlier move by the US military.

  The embassy has said this is "precautionary".

  Japanese officials have asked all those within 20km of Fukushima to evacuate their homes, and those living within 20-30km of the plant - some 100,000 people - to remain indoors.

• Timestamp: 

  2:44am

  The debate over the future of nuclear power has just stepped up a notch - with US Secretary of State
  Hillary Clinton saying the ongoing crisis at the Fukushima plant "raises questions" about the use of nuclear energy in the country. She said:

  
  What's happening in Japan raises questions about the costs and the risks associated with nuclear power, but we have to answer those. We get 20 per cent of our energy right now in the United States from nuclear power.

• Timestamp: 

  2:34am

  A French parliamentary hearing called to discuss the worsening nuclear crisis in Japan has been suspended in uproar - in a spat over a parked car.

  As ministers outlined France's response to the explosions, part-meltdowns and radiation leaks at Fukushima nuclear plant, independent member of parliament Maxime Gremetz stormed into the committee room to complain his car was blocked.

  "That's enough! This is unworthy!" science committee chairman Claude Birraux protested, amid shouts from MPs, enraged by the timing of the interruption.

  After disrupting the hearing - screened on live television - for a second time, Gremetz was ordered to get the car registration number. Committee chairman Birraux told him:

  With Japanese people risking their lives today, don't come here and be a pain in the neck with your story about badly parked cars.

  Energy minister Eric Besson said he was sure the offending vehicle did not belong either to him, or Environment Minister Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet, telling the committee:

  If it was either of our cars, I am sure the chauffeurs would be sitting in the front.

• Timestamp: 

  2:10am

  With tens of thousands still missing along the country's north-east coast, battered by the earthquake and tsunami, rescue workers face an extra challenge in their already tough job - the snow.
  
  Al Jazeera's Steve Chao reports as the temperatures plummet in the worst-hit regions, where thousands have been made homeless.

• Timestamp: 

  1:47am

  Al Jazeera's D.Parvaz (@DParvaz) has been in touch again, and sent us this photo from Tokyo. She tells us:

  Shelves are never raided like this here. Notice the shelves behind, where candy was stocked, loom pretty full. So people are far from starving - but the basics, which require constant re-stocking, are low - due to some level of panic buying, but also issues with manufacturing and transportation.

  

  [Photo: D.Parvaz]

• Timestamp: 

  1:42am

  Statement from the office of the UN secretary-general:

  The Secretary-General this morning spoke with H.E. Mr. Naoto Kan, Prime Minister of Japan.

  The Secretary-General once again extended his sympathy and condolences to the people of Japan for the catastrophic impact inflicted by the earthquake and tsunami on 11 March, and commended the massive efforts being undertaken to assist those affected. 

  The Secretary-General and Prime Minister Kan also discussed the situation at the Fukushima nuclear plants.

  The Secretary-General remains very concerned while appreciating the Government of Japan’s efforts to contain the risk to the population.

  The Secretary-General reiterated that the United Nations stands ready to provide any additional support if requested.
  
  

• Timestamp: 

  1:35am

  More bad news for those suffering after the earthquake and tsunami wiped out their food stocks. At least nine ships carrying grain are unable to unload their cargoes because of problems at ports hit by the tsunami.

  This is likely to have knock-on effects along the food supply chain.

• Timestamp: 

  1:23am

  The situation at Fukushima is "very serious", says the UN nuclear watchdog chief. So much so, he's on his way. IAEA head Yukiya Amano will fly to Japan tomorrow - for a one-day trip.

• Timestamp: 

  1:03am

  Al Jazeera's D.Parvaz (@DParvaz) sends us this photo of the unusual sight of a queue for the elevator at Shin Osaka train station. This means the train was packed with people travelling with babies in prams, as well as the elderly, fleeing Tokyo, she tells us.

  

  [Picture: D.Parvaz]

  While you're at it, why not also check out the blog post she sent us yesterday: Trying to outrun radiation

  

   

• Timestamp: 

  12:54am

  Some US air crews are being given potassium iodide tablets ahead of missions as a precaution against radiation, says Reuters - though no US military personnel in Japan are showing signs of radiation poisoning, says the Pentagon.

• Timestamp: 

  12:50am

  Some news breaking out of the Pentagon: US forces in Japan are not being allowed within 80km of the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant without special authorisation.

  It's worth remembering, for Japanese residents, the evacuation zone around the site is limited to 20km, and those living between 20-30km from the plant encouraged to 'stay indoors'.

• Timestamp: 

  12:32am

  Japanese officials are worried about the state of a pool holding spent nuclear fuel the Fukushima nuclear plant, says the International Atomic Energy Agency. The agency saud:

  Japanese authorities have reported concerns about the condition of the spent nuclear fuel pool at Fukushima Daiichi Unit 3 and Unit 4.

  The IAEA said Japan's defence minister had announced helicopters planned to drop water onto Unit 3, and officials were also preparing to spray water into Unit 4 from ground positions, and possibly later into Unit 3.

  Some debris on the ground from the March 14 explosion at Unit 3 may need to be removed before the spraying can begin.

• Timestamp: 

  12:22am

  An evacuee from the area around the Fukushima nuclear plant is screened for possible radiation exposure by medical staff using Geiger counters at a public welfare centre in Hitachi City, Ibaraki.

  

  [Picture: Reuters]

• Timestamp: 

  12:02am

  Welcome to our new live blog for March 17. We'll bring you all the latest from Japan as events develop following the devastating earthquake and tsunami - and we'll keep you up to date with reports following the explosions and partial meltdowns at the stricken Fukushima nuclear power plant.

Live Blog: Bahrain crackdown

The latest news, photos and videos from Bahrain, where security forces have attacked protesters camped out in Pearl Roundabout.

(All times are local in Bahrain, GMT +3)

• Timestamp: 

  9:56pm

  Tehran recalled its ambassador from Manama in protest against today's crackdown, according to the semi-official news agency Mehr.

  Iran appears to be engaging in a tit-for-tat with the Sunni-ruled island Gulf kingdom, after Bahrain removed its own ambassador yesterday.

• Timestamp: 

  9:51pm

  Khalil Marzouk, deputy head of the opposition Shia political party Wefaq, told AFP news agency that the situation in Bahrain was "catastrophic" and that "we now have three martyrs".

  In the aftermath of this morning's crackdown, Bahrain's new Shia health minister, Nizar Baharna, resigned after security forces stormed into Manama's largest hospital complex. Twelve Shia judges also stepped down today to protest "excessive use of force" by police.

  

• Timestamp: 

  9:27pm

  In Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province, home to the vast majorirty of the country's religious minority, several hundred Shia demonstrators rallied today in support of their co-religionists in neighbouring Bahrain.

  One witness told the AFP news agency that protests occurred in Qatif, Seehat, Tarut, Safwa and Awamiya. AFP said there were no reports of casualties, just five days after Saudi forces injured three protesters in Qatif with live fire. 

• Timestamp: 

  9:14pm

  Al Jazeera's Patty Culhane reports from the White House that the press secretary showed up 45 minutes late to the press briefing due to a "busy day" with so many news stories.

  Spokesman Jay Carney told reporters that President Obama had previously called Bahrain's king in February. Carney also said how the president stressed that "the political process is the only legitimate way" to resolve the tensions in Bahrain.

  Our correspondent said that this was a "slightly tougher stance than what we've heard before but nothing close to what we heard from this administration during other protests in the region".

  But she added that US relations with Saudi Arabia are a much different story. "It's believed the US doesn't have any leverage over Saudi Arabia," she said. "Nothing that will slow down an economic recovery faster than a huge spike in gas prices."

• Timestamp: 

  9:07pm

  US President Barack Obama has called the rulers of Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, urging them both to exercise "maximum restraint" in dealing with political protesters, according to a statement by White House spokesman Jay Carney. 

• Timestamp: 

  9:02pm

  Parts of the Bahraini capital remain under a strict curfew, "starting from the Sword Bridge until the traffic lights before the Sheikh Issa bin Salman al Khalifa Bridge, and the areas to the left of it and to the right of it to a distance of 400 metres in either direction", according to a statement made earlier this evening by a Bahraini defence official.

  The official also declared that "marches and gatherings in the kingdom of Bahrain are banned until the country returns to normal".

• Timestamp: 

  8:41pm

  Find the latest Bahrain news, programmes and more on our Bahrain Protests Spotlight page. There you'll also find Live Blogs from February 17 to 20.

  Also, don't forget to check out Inside Story: Saudi Arabia's intervention in Bahrain and People & Power: Fighting for change.

  Sayed Ahmed Alwedaye, who was featured on People & Power as an activist with the November 14 opposition movement, is among those arrested in Bahrain this morning. His current whereabouts are unknown. 

   

• Timestamp: 

  8:27pm

  

  Shia protesters in Iraq and Lebanon have strongly denounced the involvement of Saudi forces in Bahrain.

  In Beirut today, hundreds of supporters of the Shia party Hezbollah waved flags belonging to Bahrain, Lebanon and their own party. 

  Bahrain, Lebanon and Iraq are the only Arab countries where Shia outnumber Sunni Muslims, who make up a majority of the Islamic world. 

  Iraq's top Shia cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, who rarely speaks out publicly about political situations, has called for Bahrain's government to "stop using violence against unarmed citizens", according to his spokesman.

• Timestamp: 

  8:12pm

  Abdullah Al Derazi, secretary-general of the Bahrain Human Rights Society, tells Al Jazeera that his organisation is "calling on the minister of defense to lift the curfew and the siege surrounding doctors at Salmaniya Hospital", in the aftermath of reports about attacks on doctors by security forces.

  Al Derazi adds: "Eyewitnesses have called us saying that security forces entered the hospital and took 20 injured people to an undisclosed location, and we don't know where they are now". 

• Timestamp: 

  7:57pm

  Bahrain's government has said security forces have secured central areas of the city, including Manama's largest hospital. But Dr Nehad Shirawi, the head of the Intensive Care Unit at Salmaniya Hospital, tells Al Jazeera that doctors there feel anything but safe, with a large security force contingent in the parking lot:

  We are scared to get out of the hospital. We don't think its safe to go out and we don't know what to do ... We are phyiscally and mentally exhausted and I don't think we'll be able to continue to attend to patients in this way. We need to be replaced by other doctors so we can go home and rest.

• Timestamp: 

  7:42pm

  A sign of global criticism of the GCC decision to deploy security forces in Bahrain, Twitter user Mohammed AlMaskati (Emoodz) says:

  Tweeps in Kuala Lumpur announced a sit-in by the Saudi Embassy in KL Friday @ 2PM in protest to the deployment of the troops to #bahrain #kl

• Timestamp: 

  7:29pm

  Hillary Clinton has said that Bahrain and its Gulf allies are on the "wrong track", and  the region awaits Iran's next move, following comments by Tehran that sending GCC troops to Bahrain was "unacceptable interference".

  The Iranian president said that "the way they respond to their own people with tanks, guns and helicopters is inhumane". Bahrain has already recalled its ambassador to Tehran and diplomats are hoping that the tension will not trigger a larger Middle East crisis. 

  Iraq's prime minister has also said that the presence of GCC forces could inflame regional tensions.

• Timestamp: 

  7:08pm

  Abdul Mohamed, an eyewitness at Salmaniya Hospital, tells Al Jazeera through an interpreter: 

  We are besieged here since the morning. No one can get in or out of the hospital as a result of the conflict at the Roundabout. Bahraini army, police and Saudi security are using tanks to prevent people from entering. There are also other forces I cannot identify in civilian clothing ... There is a large number of injured, over 400 people, including women and children.

• Timestamp: 

  7:04pm

  The tiny Gulf island is still reeling from an early morning crackdown to clear out Pearl Roundabout, Bahrain Financial Harbour and Salmaniya Hospital, which resulted in at least six deaths, including two policemen. 

  Local Bahraini TV has reported that citizens should be assured of the country's stabliity, which is in the "hands of the people we've always trusted". 

• Timestamp: 

  6:58pm

  Political debate continues in the US over whether the US was properly informed by the GCC about the planned dispatch of Saudi and Emirati security forces to Bahrain.

  The Obama administration is expected to address criticism that its Middle East credibility has been damaged, threatening national security. The State Department is expected to deliver a statement just over one hour from now, and the White House will chime in on the matter an hour later.

• Timestamp: 

  6:41pm

  The curfew continues in Bahrain and is slated to last until 4am. Residents of Manama are reporting that internet communications remain very slow and that most protesters are not at the moment mobilising for further action.

• Timestamp: 

  6:22pm

  A US academic in Bahrain, who has asked not to be identified, tells Al Jazeera that the GCC deployment has not been well-received by many people in Manama:

  I think it's quite a big change. I don't believe that people thought the GCC military force was anything substantial, but clearly ... there is a feeling that these are not friendly troops, that this is in fact a military occuption. This is what some of the opposition people are saying, whereas the government people are saying, 'We asked for our friendly neighbours to give us a hand dealing with trouble-makers and saboteurs'.

  The academic continues, saying that the force is not likely to spur on political dialogue:

  It's easy, in a way, to send armed forces into a neighboring country, but it may prove hard to remove them later on ... The situation has become much more aggravated and intense, and the idea of resuming negotiations or even begining them is off the table because no one in the opposition is in the mood to.

• Timestamp: 

  6:15pm

  The Gulf Cooperation Council's Peninsula Shield force is continuing to upgrade its commitment to intervention in Bahrain.

  Just a round-up of the resources that are being contributed: 1,000 Saudi troops securing critical infrastructure; 500 UAE police on hand; Qatar considering sending trooops; and a $10bn GCC aid package to Bahrain over 10 years.

  

• Timestamp: 

  6:08pm

  "Officially, now the military forces are running the hospital," Reyad Salman, a doctor at Salmaniya Hospital, tells Al Jazeera.

  Salman says that it was not the military forces who were beating up doctors earlier in the day - but forces from ministry of the interior. He adds that despite "making all necessary communication and arrangements to secure ambulances to reach the places with injured people", security forces did not respect the medical needs of the wounded.  

  In addition, he says "a lot of patients inside the hospital have not been seen, and other patients still cannot reach the hospital securely". Salman also says that he personally sustained a fracture in his arm, and two of his comrades received serious injuries. 

• Timestamp: 

  4:11pm

  The Wefaq party, Bahrain's largest formal opposition group, says it doesn't have any role in organizing a protest which was reportedly planned for this afternoon.

  "Wefaq has advised people since this morning to avoid confrontation with security forces and to remain peaceful," a Wefaq official told Reuters.

• Timestamp: 

  4:00pm

  The Iranian parliament will "launch an investigation" into the crackdown in Bahrain, according to the state-run IRNA news service, which quoted Mohsen Kouhkan, a spokesman for the parliament.

  "There is a great concern in [the] Majlis over the latest developments in Bahrain, specially because Saudi Arabia and the UAE have deployed forces in Bahrain to suppress the people," he said.

  It's one of several responses from Iran in the last 24 hours: Earlier today, president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called the crackdown a "foul and doomed experience"; and yesterday, Iran summoned the Saudi Arabian and Swiss ambassadors to protest the presence of Saudi troops in Bahrain. (Iran really wanted to complain to the United States, but the two countries do not have diplomatic relations, so the Swiss represent American interests.)

• Timestamp: 

  3:35pm

  There are several reports from Reuters that soldiers, tanks and APCs are moving towards Budaiya highway, which is supposed to be the site of an anti-government march starting right about now.

• Timestamp: 

  3:20pm

  This is a quick-and-rough rendering, but here's the area covered by Bahrain's just-announced curfew; essentially it covers the main highway running past Pearl Roundabout and the financial district, plus the roundabout itself.

  
• Timestamp: 

  2:54pm

  State television just announced a curfew from 4pm to 4am in parts of the capital. It covers the area between the Seef district, in western Manama, and the traffic light before the bridge to Muharraq.

  We'll post a map in a few minutes - for now, suffice it to say, the curfew zone includes Pearl Roundabout, the Bahrain Financial Harbour, and several other buildings which have recently been targets of protests.

• Timestamp: 

  2:24pm

  The "youth movement" in Bahrain - the loose collection of opposition groups that led many of the rallies and protests over the last few weeks - is trying to organize a march at 3:30pm (12:30 GMT) this afternoon. The plan is to march on Budaiya highway, the main road running from Manama to Budaiya (and which was apparently lined with soldiers and APCs this morning).

  That would be in defiance of the army, of course, which earlier this afternoon ordered people not to gather outside "for their own safety."

• Timestamp: 

  2:17pm

  Reuters is reporting, sourced to an unnamed hospital official, that a third Bahraini policeman was killed today (the previous police death toll was two). Four officers were reportedly injured.

• Timestamp: 

  2:06pm

  The question on many people's minds in Manama, no doubt, is "what next?" Police have cleared Pearl Roundabout, and they have tried to deter future protests by warning people not to gather in public. But the protesters still have very real grievances, which have only been deepened by today's crackdown.

  And Bahrain's state media, which for weeks has been accused of exacerbating divisions in Bahraini society, isn't exactly setting the stage for a reconciliation.

  The state-run news agency is using the word تطهير - "cleansed" or "purified" - to talk about today's crackdown. It's also describing protesters as criminals or outlaws.

• Timestamp: 

  1:24pm

  I've been hearing scattered reports of activists arrested today in Bahrain. The details are often sketchy, but I can confirm one arrest: Saeed Ahmed, a youth activist I met and interviewed at a protest outside state television earlier this month, has been arrested by security forces.

  When I met him he was still recovering from injuries suffered at the hands of police - they beat him, brutally, with batons - a few weeks earlier.

• Timestamp: 

  1:20pm

  A spokesman for the Bahraini army, Tariq al-Hassan, just delivered a statement on state-run Bahrain TV. He warned people against gathering outside - "for your own safety."

• Timestamp: 

  1:06pm

  Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has weighed in on the crackdown in Bahrain, according to Iran's state-run IRNA news service.

  "This expedition is a very foul and doomed experience, and regional nations will hold the American government responsible for this," he said.

• Timestamp: 

  12:58pm

  One more report from Al-Wasat newspaper, which we've been citing a lot today. It says four members of the shura council - the upper house of Bahrain's national assembly - have resigned their posts to protest this week's crackdown on demonstrators.

  They are: Mohamed Hadi al-Halawji; Mohamed Baqir Hasan Radi; Nasser al-Mubarak; and Nada Hafad.

  Hafad was the first to quit, submitting her resignation on Tuesday night. She accused the government and the state media of trying to foment divisions within Bahraini society.

• Timestamp: 

  12:46pm

  Several videos are emerging from Budaiya highway, which is a main east-west road connecting Manama to the northwestern city of Budaiya. One of them, which we've embedded below, shows helicopters orbiting overhead and APCs parked on the street, with several soldiers standing around; the second does not have great picture quality, but you can clearly hear shooting.
• Timestamp: 

  12:22pm

  The British foreign office just announced that its embassy in Bahrain has been closed "until further notice." The closure comes one day after the British government advised its citizens against all travel to Bahrain.

• Timestamp: 

  12:20pm

  Ghidar, a protester in Manama, said in a phone interview that the crackdown has made it impossible for injured people to seek medical attention:

  We cannot move outside even to go to the hospital, even if there are any medical centers open for us, we cannot move... slowly, slowly they are getting closer to us, we don't know what to do now. We are just praying.

• Timestamp: 

  12:10pm

  Iraqi cleric Moqtada al-Sadr is calling for protests in Baghdad and Basra today to "support the Bahraini people and to denounce and condemn the murdering of innocent revolutionaries," Reuters reports.

  "We want to show solidarity with our brothers in Bahrain. The killing of innocents should stop," said Hazem al-Araji, an aide to Sadr.

• Timestamp: 

  11:54am

  The usual caveats apply, but this video is reportedly from outside Al-Razi Health Center, a few blocks south of Pearl Roundabout. It shows security forces - mostly riot police, but at least one man dressed in what looks like army camouflage - shooting at unseen targest.
• Timestamp: 

  11:39am

  Another report from the Al-Wasat newspaper, which spoke with Majid al-Alawi, Bahrain's housing minister (and formerly an exiled leader of the opposition).

  Al-Alawi told the paper he's temporarily pulling out of the government because of its "handling of the current events in the country." He stopped short of resigning his post, though.

• Timestamp: 

  11:29am

  An update from a doctor in Budaiya health center, outside of Manama: She tells Al Jazeera that "streams of casualties" are arriving from the capital, all of them in private cars, because hospitals in Manama (particularly Salmaniya Medical Complex) are being blocked.

  The doctor says that one person has already died at the hospital, which is "only capable of minor surgery."

• Timestamp: 

  11:19am

  It has been difficult to get an accurate report of the casualties in Manama this morning. Early reports said that two protesters were killed; now Abdel Jalil Khalil, from Bahrain's opposition Wefaq party, tells Reuters that five people have been killed.

  The number of people injured reportedly runs into the hundreds, but there's no way to get a more specific number yet.

• Timestamp: 

  11:14am

  Another video - this one reportedly from Sitra yesterday (where several people were killed in clashes). It's shot from a balcony overlooking a side street, where riot police stomp on a man and then throw him into a jeep.

  The time and the place can't be independently confirmed, but the uniforms and the vehicle definitely belong to the Bahraini riot police.
• Timestamp: 

  11:05am

  AFP is reporting that riot police also attacked the small group of protesters who remained at Bahrain Financial Harbour, the downtown financial hub which has been the site of protests for the last 10 days or so.

  Most of them were cleared out during a crackdown on Sunday that left more than 200 injured. But a small group remained at the site and set up roadblocks; AFP says those have now been dismantled.

• Timestamp: 

  10:39am

  Bahrain's state television channel is showing footage of a mostly-empty Pearl Roundabout: A few people are walking around (mostly away from the roundabout), and a line of cars just drove through, but otherwise it appears empty.

  Most of the fires appear to have gone out, at least from this camera angle, though one tent on the east side of the square still seems to be smoldering.

• Timestamp: 

  10:33am

  We've been sent two videos allegedly from Pearl Roundabout today. We can't verify them independently, but they match with the other images we've seen from Manama today: Heavy black smoke rising over the square, a large group of riot police stationed on the overpass just north of the roundabout. So they appear to be authentic.

  One shows the smoke rising over the square, and crowds running away:

  The other video, which is shot from a different location - north and west of the square, it looks like - also shows crowds moving away.

• Timestamp: 

  10:20am

  Al-Wasat is reporting clashes in Sitra, a predominantly Shia area south of Manama. The town also saw clashes yesterday, which left three people dead and many injured.

• Timestamp: 

  10:00am

  The AFP news agency is reporting that Bahrain's stock exchange has been closed until further notice; so are schools and universities.

• Timestamp: 

  9:56am

  A contact on Twitter passes along this photo of riot police surrounding an ambulance - notice that the ambulance's tire has been flattened:

  
• Timestamp: 

  9:53am

  Reuters is reporting that two Bahraini police officers have been killed today, "knocked down by protesters driving in cars at high speeds."

• Timestamp: 

  9:49am

  Doctors in Salmaniya Medical Complex, the main hospital in Bahrain, say riot police are preventing them from moving in and out. That's also what we're hearing from the Wefaq Society, one of Bahrain's formal political opposition parties, which has been posting photos from the hospital on its Twitter feed.

  One of the photos shows riot police standing next to an ambulance - though whether they're blocking it or simply checking it is unclear. They're waving to a tank driving by on the street. Another photo shows hospital staff standing outside a closed gate.

  And then there's this photo, of doctors and nurses standing idly at the hospital's emergency entrance:

  

  Again, though, a caveat: We don't know exactly why they are standing around idly.

• Timestamp: 

  9:32am

  Bahrain's opposition Al-Wasat newspaper is reporting (in Arabic) that two people have been killed so far: Ja'afar Mohamed Abd Ali Salman, 41, from Karana; and Ahmed Abdallah Hasan, 23, from Hamad Town.

  The report also says that several military helicopters are orbiting over Pearl Roundabout.

• Timestamp: 

  9:27am

  This photograph, taken from a building to the west of Pearl Roundabout, was posted on Twitter a few minutes ago by @khokhz. It shows several tents on fire and heavy black smoke rising over the roundabout:

  
• Timestamp: 

  9:23am

  The crackdown, which started close to two hours ago, seems to have largely succeeded in clearing the roundabout: Witnesses say the protesters camped out there have fled, and photos show dozens - if not hundreds - of police officers surrounding the area.

Disaster in Japan: March 16 Live Blog

Follow the latest events around the Pacific Rim after an 9.0-magnitude earthquake off Japan's coast triggered a devastating tsunami.

Blog: Mar11-12 - Mar13 - Mar14 - Mar15

(All times are local in Japan GMT+9)

• Timestamp: 

  11:59pm

  That's it for today's live blog - but you can keep up to date with all the latest as it happens on our brand new liveblog for March 17. Click here to read it.

• Timestamp: 

  11:58pm

  Andriy Chudinov, one of the first workers to get to the Chernobyl disaster site - the world's worst ever nuclear accident - has applauded the crisis workers at the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant.

  These are good guys. After all, they have had it even worse than we did. They had a tsunami first and now there are several reactors with problems. That's a nightmare for any atomic worker.

  Most of the 64-year-old's colleagues died soon after they were exposed to huge levels of radioactive material following the 1986 blast. The Chernobyl accident released 400times the amount of radiation as that released in the atomic bombing of Hiroshima.

• Timestamp: 

  11:37pm

  After the devastation wrought on the north-east coast, Japanese citizens in areas which escaped the brunt of the earthquake and tsunami are scrambling to help their compatriots.

  Residents of Niigata city have so far collected around 100,000kg of spare food supplies to donate to shelters on the east coast.

  Tomohide Nozawa, a 25-year-old student, said:

  I heard the news about donations from my friends. I am here to give away supplies that are not immediately necessary for me, to give away what I can.

  Genki Hoshino, the 27-year-old organiser of the city's donation campaign, added:

  Through media we can witness the seriousness of the disaster and the ever-growing number of casualties - and we feel that people's emotions are getting stronger to try and help out more.

  If you'd like to join Tomohide and Genki in donating to those in need, click here.

• Timestamp: 

  11:33pm

  Russia's state nuclear corporation says the crisis at Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant "is reaching the worst case scenario".

• Timestamp: 

  11:26pm

  The ongoing nuclear crisis in Japan has been credited (or blamed) for a rise in support for Germany's Green Party.

  Suport for the anti-nuclear greens has risen three per cent to 18 per cent in just a week, ahead of three state elections.

  Meanwhile, Angela Merkel's ruling Christian Democrats are also being squeezed from the right, as conservatives and business leaders demand a reversal of yesterday's decision not to extend the operating lives of aging nuclear power stations.

• Timestamp: 

  11:13pm

  Japanese families wait in line to eat dinner at a centre for the homeless in Kesennuma, Miyagi province.

  Tens of thousands of people, possibly hundreds of thousands, have been made homeless by the earthquake and tsunami, while more than a million households remain without water, power or heating.

  And the snow continues to fall.

  

• Timestamp: 

  10:55pm

  Japanese emperor Akihito has given a rare television address to the nation, in which he described the catastrophe to have befallen the nation as "unprecedented in scale".

  The 77-year-old said he was "deeply worried" about the situation at the crisis-hit Fukushima nuclear plant, in an appearance which interrupted scheduled programming. He urged survivors "not to abandon hope":

   

  I am deeply hurt by the grievous situation in the affected areas. The number of deceased and missing increases by the day and we cannot know how many victims there will be. My hope is that as many people possible are found safe.
  
  I hope from the bottom of my heart that the people will, hand in hand, treat each other with compassion and overcome these difficult times.

• Timestamp: 

  10:30pm

  To put that last note into perspective - there are only 19 nuclear reactors currently being built across the whole of Europe.

  China has 13 reactors, whereas the EU hosts some 196.

• Timestamp: 

  10:16am

  China is suspending its development of nuclear power plants amid rising public anxiety. As the country's economy develops rapidly, nuclear power had been seen as key to delivering the nation's energy infrastructure.

  Some 28 reactors - or 40 per cent of the world's total under construction - are being built in China. The country's current capacity is 10.8 gigawatts, though analysts expected a target of up to 80GW in the coutnry's new five-year plan due at the end of this month.

• Timestamp: 

  10:10am

  Japan's football fixtures against Montenegro and New Zealand have been cancelled due to the devastation in the country.

  The friendlies were due to take place at the end of March.

• Timestamp: 

  10:05pm

  Japanese rescue workers who may be exposed to high levels of radiation may be flown to Europe for treatment, if there is no room for them in Japanese hospitals, the European Group for Blood and Marrow Transplantation has offered.

  A spokesman said:

  Japan is more competent than any European country when it comes to radiation treatment, but they are dealing with an awful lot right now and so we made this offer and are ready to help if they blow the whistle.

  After a person has been radiated, you have three to four days before they're on the cusp of severe complications. At that point they could be put on a flight to Europe if Japanese facilities are overwhelmed.

   

  As many as 500 bone marrow transplant centres across 27 European countries have been put on alert and could treat 200 to 300 patients if necessary.

  The European plans were drawn up in the aftermath of the Chernobyl disaster.

• Timestamp: 

  9:57pm

  Steff Gaulter, Al Jazeera's senior meteorologist, tweets:

  No of #aftershocks in #Japan still falling. 00-12GMT on Sat, there were 49 aftershocks of mag 5.0 or higher. Sun:26. Mon:17. Tue:10. Today:7

  You can follow her: @WeatherSteff

• Timestamp: 

  9:50pm

  Uncertainty remains over the World figure skating championships, due to begin in Tokyo on Monday.

  Officials will decide by Friday on whether to cancel the contest or to postpone until October. "Respect for the Japanese people" will govern the decision, International Skating Union president Ottavio Cinquanta.

• Timestamp: 

  8:50pm

  Japan's disaster appears to be growing worse. It is a now a nation fighting against the odds on several fronts. 

  Al Jazeera's Nazanin Sadri reports.

• Timestamp: 

  7:35pm

  Al Jazeera speaks to Imad Ghadduri, a nuclear scientist.

• Timestamp: 

  7:27pm

  Geraldine Thomas of Imperial college of London told Al Jazeera, "People in Tokyo should not be worrying as much as they seem to be.
  
  "There is no evidence at the moment that it is going to be a Chernobyl-like disaster."

• Timestamp: 

  7:24pm

  Al Jazeera's Andrew Thomas has reported from Osaka that "There are so many reactors that have been damaged at that one site.
  
  "But what is worrying that there is now seems to be reactor number 3 is showing high levels of radiation.

  "There is a very reserved anxiety, and many many people are leaving the country."

• Timestamp: 

  7:05pm

  Al Jazeera's Harry Fawcett reports on the latest situation in Japan.

• Timestamp: 

  6:54pm

  Al Jazeera's D.Parvaz (@dparvaz)blogs from Tokyo on how the Japanese are trying to move away from the path of radioactive winds - Read it here Trying to outrun radiation

• Timestamp: 

  6:49pm

  The crisis in Japan has hit the nuclear power industry worldwide, as governments order safety checks.

  Angela Merkel, German chancellor says all seven of the country's nuclear power plants which began operating before 1980, will be shut down for checks.

  She also confirmed that France and Germany have agreed to put nuclear safety on the G20 agenda.

  And the European Union is calling for so-called "stress tests" on all 143 nuclear reactors across Europe, in response to what the EU energy chief describes as an "apocalypse" in Japan.

• Timestamp: 

  6:17pm

  Japan's chief cabinet secretary has warned that while they're now dousing the plant with water, it has to be done with caution.

   

  We got advice from experts to spray water from above, but depending on the situation in the storage pool, we may cause some risk if we pour water in large amounts in a very short time. So we have to analyse the risks.

• Timestamp: 

  6:15pm

  Workers have now returned to the nuclear power station having earlier left because of a rise in radiation levels.

• Timestamp: 

  6:14pm

   

  Over the past couple of hours, military Chinook helicopters have been airlifting water to Fukushima nuclear power station.

   Water bombs have been dropped onto the site of the fire in reactor 4. But NHK says that the mission has been abandoned.

• Timestamp: 

  6:13pm

  Al Jazeera's Harry Fawcett reports that "US is saying that its citizens can stay in Japan but should follow advice of the government."

• Timestamp: 

  5:22pm

  Joi Ito (@Joi) blogs about how the change of location of workers at Fukushima plant was misreported as 'evacuation' -as it simply got lost in translation - here is Joi's blog post

  This morning at 8:30AM March 16 JST Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano held a press conference to talk about the smoke billowing from Reactor 3 at Fukushima.
  
  At this press conference, he explained that the radiation levels spiked and that TEPCO staff would be temporarily moved to "a safe region". He probably should have said "location" as Hiroko Tabuchi pointed out to me.
  
  The foreign press misunderstood this and started reporting that the TEPCO staff had evacuated the reactor causing a broad panic. Hiroko Tabuchi of the New York Times  contacted the Nuclear Industry Safety Agency and TEPCO directly to clarify and confirmed that they had not in fact been evacuated, but just moved temporarily to a safer area during the spike.
  
  Jun Seita then reported that as of 11:30AM, NHK was reporting that the staff were back to work.
  
  The frustrating thing was that once this corrosive and sensational misinformation was in the main stream media via the wires, it was very hard to get them to fix it.
  
  Al Jazeera was the first that I saw to edit their news story to reflect that indeed they had not been evacuated.
  
  At the same press conference Edano accidentally said 1000 millisievert instead of 1000 microsieverts causing further confusion in the media.

   

• Timestamp: 

  5:07pm

  Two of the United States' most important nuclear power plants - the San Onofre plant and the plant at Diablo Canyon - are both built in active earthquake zones.
  
  One sits along the coast, while the other is along a geological faultline.
  
  In the wake of Japan's earthquake and tsunami - and fears of a radioactive meltdown there - nuclear industry officials in the US have reassured the public that there is nothing to worry about on home soil.
  
  But environmental groups have restated that nuclear power comes at an often steep price.
  
  Al Jazeera's Rob Reynolds reports from Southern California.

• Timestamp: 

  4:45pm

  Reporting on the humanitarian crisis following Japan's twin disaster, Al Jazeera's Harry Fawcett reports that "The worst affected areas are largely north of Fukushima, and with the prevailing winds heading south and eastwards, which means that there are not, so far, too many fears of high levels of radiation, in that part of the country.
  
  "So the very large scale rescue effort continues, we have seen huge convoys of military vehicles, fire engines, ambulances, moving around that area.

  "And out there are efforts to try to get food and water and fuel to people out there who are stranded.
  
  "But it has really been dwarfed by the scale of what happened, there are many people who are very much cut off and earlier on Wednesday there was a lot of snow in the area as well.
  
  "And an indication of just how short people are of supplies, having lost their homes and their entire towns in some instances, they have been boiling that snow water for drinking water."

• Timestamp: 

  4:32pm

  Reporting on Japan's nuclear crisis, Al Jazeera's Harry Fawcett says that "We are told that the temperature of water in which the nuclear rods are kept should be at 40 degrees celsius, it was up to 84 degrees celsius and rising.

  "So the situation is far from being cooled down, in fact it is heating up."

• Timestamp: 

  4:19pm

  Japanese government suspects that containment vessel at unit three may be damaged.

• Timestamp: 

  4:08pm

  Central Bank of Japan pours money into markets for third day, offering $43 billion - The Wall Street Journal reports that the central bank is likely to take more steps to stabilise markets.

• Timestamp: 

  3:57pm

  According to Reuters news agency, most economists now believe that the Japanese economy, which had been starting to recover when the earthquake struck, will contract in the second quarter of 2011.
  
  A few economists also flagged the risk of a prolonged disruption to consumers and companies and a decline in economic output through 2011 should power outages persist until December.

• Timestamp: 

  3:52pm

  A Chinese news agency says more than 2,000 Chinese have been evacuated from Japan's northeast following radiation leaks at a nuclear power plant.
  
  The China News Service quoted a spokesman of the Chinese Embassy in Tokyo, Deng Wei, as saying that more than 2,000 people were evacuated from Miyagi, Fukushima, Ibaraki and others.

• Timestamp: 

  3:36pm

   

  Acording to Kyodo news agency, workers at Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant have been moved to a bunker at the site after a rise in radiation levels.

   

   

• Timestamp: 

  3:31pm

  Winds staying W/NW in Fukushima for the time being,clearing any radiation to the SW. Gusts expected over 50kph at times. Snow continues to fall.

• Timestamp: 

  3:28pm

  
  Fears of the possible spread of radiation is causing unease in the Japanese capital, Tokyo. Despite assurances from the government, several companies are evacuating staff, and many citizens are leaving the city.
  
  Al Jazeera's Andrew Thomas reports.

• Timestamp: 

  3:19pm

  Jim Green of Friends of the Earth told Al Jazeera, "It is likely that there has been degradation and melting of some fuel,  the Japanese government does not have a handle on the situation... it is a situation out of control.
  
  "The fuel is gradually cooling down so as each day passes, cooling gets easier. This will help avoid further melting and degradation.
  
  "We should spare a thought for remaining 50 or so worklers on the site who are being exposed to serious doses of radioactive material."

• Timestamp: 

  3:04pm

  One of the main concerns over the nuclear plant is the damage radiation can do to the human body.
  
  

  • 1. A single dose of 1,000 milli-sieverts, or radiation units, affects the intestinal tract causing nausea and vomiting

  • 2. At higher levels, radioactive iodine can destroy parts or all of the thyroid

  • 3. Intense exposure to radioactive material from 10,000 milli-sieverts per hour would do immediate damage to small blood vessels and probably cause heart failure

  • 4. Cancer is the biggest long term risk.
• Timestamp: 

  2:55pm

  IAEA: No fly zone imposed for 30 km area around Japans Fukushima nuclear plant.

• Timestamp: 

  2:52pm

  TS Gopi Rethinaraj, a nuclear scientist, tells Al Jazeera, "It will take at least 3 or 4 days to get a definite idea of this emergency (nuclear) situation.

  "The pathways are difficult to determine because the reactor itself is a very complex device.
  
  "But we should take assurance from the fact that - will not be any worse than the Chernobyl accident.
  
  "It is a very peculiar situation, compared to other countries, these nuclear reactors are operating under unique seismic conditions.
  
  "It is the first time in history that the accident was triggered by an external disaster, so in future, countries will need to be sensitive about pwhere the reactors are placed."

• Timestamp: 

  2:46pm

  As tales of devastation continue to emerge from Japan, one national broadcaster travelled to some of the worst hit areas to meet those struggling to recover from the diasater.
  
  Here is the story of one fisherman as he picks through the remains of his life.

• Timestamp: 

  2:33pm

  
  Al Jazeera's correspondent, Harry Fawcett reports from Akita, Japan, "White smoke is rising from the Fukushima facility, where the remaining workers have had to stop their efforts to contain the crisis.
  
  "Earlier the operating company said it had seen flames at unit four. Officials are also considering dropping water, or boric acid, by helicopter to control the flames."

• Timestamp: 

  2:24pm

  Japan has ordered workers to leave the Fukushima nuclear plant as radiation rises to dangerous levels.
  
  The station has seen a series of explosions following Friday's earthquake and tsunami.

• Timestamp: 

  2:17pm

  French embassy in Japan urges citizens to leave the country or head south.

• Timestamp: 

  2:12pm

  Japan raises the official death toll for Friday's earthquake and tsunami to 3,570 and authorities say that there are thousands still missing.

• Timestamp: 

  2:07pm

  A Japanese girl waits in a food line at an evacuation center in Fukushima city, Fukushima prefecture, Japan, on March16.

  

  [EPA photo]

• Timestamp: 

  12:00am

  Yukio Edano, the chief cabinet secretary, held a brief conference about the nuclear situation, these are the key points.
  
  - An appeal not to panic buy fuel especially in areas not affected by the quake, they think the containment vessel on Reactor No3 has been damaged 
   
  - Radioaction levels have fluctuated throughout the day, at one point all staff were evacuated for safety due to a dramtic increase in radiation at the front gate.
   
  - Tempratures are rising in reactors number 5/6 and in the spent fuel rod tank in reactor no 4.
   
  - They are considering the option of spraying water onto the heating reactors from the air.There are issues getting water into Reactor numbe 4 containment pool.
   
  

• Timestamp: 

  11:30am

  Al Jazeera's Wayne Hays reporting from Akita.
  
  

• Timestamp: 

  11:00am

  Al Jazeera's Wayne Hays reporting from Akita, said that there are conflicting reports on whether the situation is under control, some media reports that the fire is under control, we are awaiting Japanese official response for confirmation.

  There are concerns about nuclear reactors number 5 and six, the cooling system are not working properly there.

• Timestamp: 

  10:33am

  Blaze at Unit 4 of Fukushima Daiichi plant complicates problems that began with last week's quake and tsunami havoc.

  Al Jazeera's Harry Fawcett reports from Kitakami, in northern Japan.
  
  
  
  

• Timestamp: 

  9:22am

  Nathi Ngubane, a scholar from the Open Air School for the physically challenged in South Africa submitted this cartoon in solidarity with the Japanese people.
  
  

• Timestamp: 

  7:05am

  Al Jazeera's Steve Chao, reporting from Akita, tells us:

  A fire has once again broken out at the No.4 reactor at Fukushima - the reactor that has been responsible for pumping out the high levels of radioactivity, which prompted government to issue that warning for those within 30km to stay indoors.

  Yesterday, Tepco asked US military officials for help putting out that fire - we're not sure how they're going to put this fire out.

  Yesterday, we heard from Prime Minister Naoto Kan, who we're told believed Tepco was hiding information from state officials, and there's a concern among people that they're not being told the full truth about what's going on.

  It is of critical concern.

  There's concern here as well that the nuclear fallout may reach here, on the other side of Japan. Everyone is watching wind directions. At the moment, it is blowing out to the east, to the sea - but if it blows south, Tokyo is just 250km away.

• Timestamp: 

  6:35am

  Japan's nuclear safety committee say radiation levels of 400 millisieverts an hour had been recorded near Fukushima's No.4 reactor earlier today.

  Exposure to over 100 millisieverts a year is a level which can lead to cancer, says to the World Nuclear Association.

  Radiation levels in Tokyo, 250km south of the crippled plant, remain normal.

• Timestamp: 

  6:20am

  More than half a million people have evacuated their homes and are staying in shelters. In Rikuzentakata, one girl carries her belongings as the army move in to assist the recovery effort.

  

  [Picture: GALLO/GETTY]

• Timestamp: 

  5:59am

  Just before midnight, we reported that the ongoing crisis at Fukushima nuclear plant had been upgraded to a level 6 on the 7-point International Nuclear Events Scale. Andre-Claude Lacoste, president of France's ASN nuclear safety authority said:

  We are now in a situation that is different from yesterday's. It is very clear that we are at a level six, which is an intermediate level between what happened at Three Mile Island and Chernobyl.

  We are clearly in a catastrophe

  Meanwhile, the US-based Institute for Science and International Security said the situation had "worsened
  considerably" and that "it may unfortunately reach a level 7 event".

  A level 6 event means that consequences are broader and countermeasures are needed to deal with the radioactive contamination.

  A level 7 event would constitute a larger release of radioactive material, and would require further extended countermeasures.

  The international community should step up assistance to Japan, said the thinktank. A level 7 event has only been declared once - for the Chernobyl disaster, which killed 56 - and released 400 times the radioactive material than had been in the atomic bombing of Hiroshima.

• Timestamp: 

  5:45am

  Two workers are missing at the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant after yesterday's explosion, says Japan's nuclear safety agency.

  The employees have not yet been identified, but it's understood they were in the turbine area of the No.4 reactor when a fire broke out.

  An agency official also told reporters there is now a crack in the roof of the reactor building, where workers are desperately trying to prevent the radioactive cores of the plant's reactors overheating - which would lead to the release of dangerous radioactive material into the atmosphere.

• Timestamp: 

  5:35am

  After explosions and fires at the 40-year-old Fukushima nuclear power plant, fears are growing over the impact of radiation leaks.
  
  Al Jazeera's Harry Fawcett reports from Kitakami, in northern Japan.

   

• Timestamp: 

  5:25am

  After several Japanese carmarkers suspended production following the disasters, Toyota and Subaru are halting some production at North American factories - to assess availability of parts.

  Subaru of America says it has suspended overtime at its plant in Lafayette, Indiana. The plant, Subaru's only North American factory, employs 3,500 workers and built 150,000 vehicles last year, including the Outback and Tribeca wagons and the Legacy sedan.

  Toyota is suspending overtime and production on Saturdays at all of its North American plants to assess the availability of car parts.

  Both are trying to conserve parts after the huge earthquake and tsunami, which is disrupting shipments from Japan to the US.

  Japanese automakers Nissan and Honda say their North American plants have not been affected so far.

• Timestamp: 

  4:57am

  Official death toll now stands at 3,373. Tens of thousands still missing.

• Timestamp: 

  4:51am

  Tokyo Electric Power Company are considering the removal of panels from the No.5 and No.6 reactors at its damaged Fukushima nuclear power plant to prevent any hydrogen build-up, says the IAEA.

  It was a build-up of hydrogen at the plant's 1-3 units that had led to previous explosions at the complex, said the agency - the UN's nuclear watchdog, which added:

  Units 5 and 6 were shut down at the time of the earthquake but both reactors are currently loaded with fuel.

  When the nuclear fuel rods become exposed and superheated, the water poured onto them - to cool them - can turn to steam before it comes into contact with the rods - this produces hydrogen, raising pressure in the reactor core.

• Timestamp: 

  4:29am

  We've got a new map online, which you can interact with by clicking here. It gives you geo-tagged tweets, YouTube videos, Ushahidi reports - and earthquake sites, news reports, seismic data... and photos. Check it out.

  

• Timestamp: 

  4:20am

  In one of the most technologically literate countries on Earth, people look to traditional ways of communications after the earthquake and tsunami wiped out much of the nation's infrastructure.

  

  [Picture: Reuters]

• Timestamp: 

  4:01am

  Kyodo news agency has quoted the Japanese prime minister as losing his temper at executives of the crisis-hit Fukushima nuclear power facility operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company. In a phone call, he reportedly shouted at them:

  The TV reported an explosion. But nothing was said to the premier's office for about an hour ...

  What the hell is going on?
  
  

• Timestamp: 

  3:56am

  Naoto Kan, Japan's prime minister, addressed the nation late yesterday. He said:

  The possibility of further radioactive leakage is heightening ... We are making every effort to prevent the leak from spreading. I know that people are very worried but I would like to ask you to act calmly.

• Timestamp: 

  3:46am

  More on Fukushima's No.2 reactor. Yukiya Amano, the IAEA chief, told reporters there was "a possibility of core damage" - estimated at less than five per cent of the fuel.

  He said there was also possible damage to the bottom of the primary containment vessel. He told reporters:

  Is it a crack? Is it a hole? Is it nothing? That we don't know yet.

  He said the pressure in the vessel had not dropped dramatically - which would have happened if there was a large hole in the container.

  The has also been a fire at a spent fuel pond at another reactor on the site, he confirmed.

• Timestamp: 

  3:15am

  With entire towns destroyed, the desperate search for tens of thousands of missing people goes on. The military has seen its largest mobilisation in decades in an attempt to find survivors amid the devastation.
  
  Al Jazeera's Tom Ackerman reports from north-east Japan.

   

• Timestamp: 

  2:58am

  As calls in Libya continue to grow for a no-fly zone to be imposed there ahead of a UN Security Council meeting, the IAEA has announced a 30km-radius no-fly zone around the crisis-hit Fukushima nuclar power plant in north-east Japan.

  Catch up on our Libya coverage, by clicking here.

• Timestamp: 

  2:41am

  Our online coverage of Japan's disaster has now been gathered together, so you can read our ongoing in-depth coverage all in one place. Click here to see if there's anthing you missed.

  

• Timestamp: 

  2:23am

  While prayer vigils are held to commemorate the victims of the earthquake and tsunami, Indian officials announce they will test foodstuffs imported from Japan for radioactivity.

  Thailand, South Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore and the Philippines have already ordered similar tests.

• Timestamp: 

  2:15am

  A Buddhist monk helps a man in Mumbai, India, light a candle during a vigil held to pay respect to those killed in the earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

  

  [Picture: Reuters]

• Timestamp: 

  1:55am

  Europe's energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger has dubbed Japan's nuclear disaster an "apocalypse", saying Tokyo had almost lost control of events at the Fukushima power plant.

• Timestamp: 

  1:45am

  The Japanese MotoGP - originally planned for April 24 - has been postponed until October, the International Motorcycling Federation has announced.

  Honda Racing Corporation head Shuhei Nakamoto said the course had suffered in the disasters that have struck Japan.

  Motegi has some circuit and grandstand damage. It will take some weeks to repair everything.

• Timestamp: 

  1:38am

  That "group of scientists" has been named as the Union of Concerned Scientists, a coalition of 200,000 academics and private citizens, including Nobel-prize winning scientists.

  They said the radiation plume from the Fukushima nuclear power plant could reach Tokyo, and that a
  "jerry-rigged" cooling system at the plant would be hard to maintain if all workers there were evacuated.

  Nuclear power and safety experts at the group said they were "very concerned" that ongoing activities at the plant would become more challenging for on-site workers. A larger radiation plume could travel hundreds of miles, the scientists said in a telephone briefing.

  A crack in the containment vessel - which the IAEA said may have been damaged by yesterdy's explosion - could allow radiation to exit the reactor in case of a core meltdown, they added.

  They concluded that the Japanese government should extend the evacuation zone around the troubled station.
  
  

• Timestamp: 

  1:13am

  Tokyo Electric Power Co says levels of cooling water at the No.2 reactor of its Fukushima nuclear power plant are recovering smoothly, after fuel rods were fully exposed yesterday.

• Timestamp: 

  1:06am

  The EU says it will conduct 'stress tests' on its nuclear plants, says AFP.

  There are currently 195 nuclear power plants in the region, with 19 under construction, says the European Nuclear Society.

• Timestamp: 

  1:00am

  Japanese officials say that 50 workers remain at the crisis-hit Fukushima nuclear power plant, but may be pulled out. A "group of US scientists", quoted by Reuters says it is unsure if "jerry-rigged cooling" would work if all the workers are evacuated.

  The as-yet-unnamed group says radiation could travel several hundred miles, and says the Japanese government should extend the evacuation zone.

   

• Timestamp: 

  12:53am

  Our team has been busy translating some tweets  - here's a selection, which show the growing desperation...

  
  @TakC_MD_PhD Lots of people are on the verge of death because of food and medicine shortages. Please don't kill people who don't need to die. Please, please whatever you have to do, get the essentials to the stricken areas. Let me know what I can do. I don't want any more of my countrymen to die.
   
  @PushCool  @Akinori_Japan Petrol shortage and complete disappearance of toilet rolls. Let's use it sparingly as it’s precious
   
  @Shintaro_SUZUKI @FKSminpo At Minami Souma Watanabe Hospital they don't have enough food for the patients, they will run out in a few days. Please help.
   
  @utyu895 Request to the media. Why do you cover scenes of misery, lots of crying faces, interview people who are upset and suffering badly? Please show us where the food is distributed, where help may be reached. Try to help the victims rather than just broadcast misery and suffering.

• Timestamp: 

  12:35am

  Steff Gaulter, Al Jazeera's senior meterologist, tweets:

  Rain has now turned to snow in #Fukushima. Winds have now swung round, coming from N/NW, clearing any radiation to the S/SW.

  You can follow her @WeatherSteff - and check out her more detailed report she filed just a couple of hours ago. Click here to read it.

• Timestamp: 

  12:18am

  Tokyo Electric Power Company, the operator of quake-hit Japan's nuclear power plants at Fukushima, says it may use a helicopter to pour water on the rooftop fuel rod pool - to immerse the 20-years-worth of used fuel that also needs to be kept cool to avert meltdown.

• Timestamp: 

  12:09am

  Japan's nuclear crisis has sparked panic buying of iodine pills in the United States, with online bids exceeding $500 for one packet, reports AFP news agency.

  But health experts have warned the pills are of limited use.

  Potassium iodide, a preventative for radiation sickness, completely ran out of stock at pharmacies across the country's West Coast, who had a rush on the over-the-counter pills.

• Timestamp: 

  12:07am

  Following explosions in at least two reactor cores at Japan's Fukushima nuclear power plant - and as the developing crisis is rated at level 6 of seven levels on the International Nuclear Events Scale - attention is turning to just what is happening inside the 40-year-old power plant in north-east Japan.
  
  Al Jazeera's Dan Nolan explains how a meltdown would happen.

• Timestamp: 

  12:02am

  Welcome to our Japan liveblog for March 16. Here we'll continue to keep you updated on events in Japan as they unfold, after a huge earthquake triggered a 10m tsunami - severely damaging at least one nuclear power plant. But if you want to catch up, you can read our blogs for reports from March 15.

Japan in crisis: March 15

Follow the latest events around the Pacific Rim after an 8.9-magnitude earthquake off Japan's coast triggered a devastating tsunami.

Blog: Mar11-12 - Mar13 - Mar14

(All times are local in Japan GMT+9)

• Timestamp: 

  11:59pm

  That's it for today's live blog - but you can stay up to date with an all-new blog for March 16. Click here to read: Japan's nuclear emergency: Live blog

• Timestamp: 

  11:43pm

  The IAEA says Monday's explosion at Fukushima nuclear plant may have affected the integrity of the main containment vessel. We'll being you more on that as it develops.

• Timestamp: 

  11:32pm

  Following explosions in at least two reactor cores at Japan's Fukushima nuclear power plant - and as the developing crisis is rated at level 6 of seven levels on the International Nuclear Events Scale - attention is turning to just what is happening inside the 40-year-old power plant in north-east Japan.
  
  Al Jazeera's Dan Nolan explains how a meltdown would happen.

• Timestamp: 

  11:22pm

  The ongoing crisis at Japan's Fukushima nuclear power plant has been upgraded to a level 6 on the International Nuclear Events Scale. To put this into perspective, the Chernobyl diaster was a level 7, and the Three mile Island accident was a level 5.

  

  [Picture: International Atomic Energy Agency]

• Timestamp: 

  11:10pm

  Here's the very latest from Steff Gaulter, Al Jazeera's senior meteorlogist:

  The Japan Meteorological Agency did this earlier, and now the USGS have now upgraded the earthquake to a 9.0. This makes it the joint fourth largest earthquake ever recorded.
  
  Now back to the winds:
  They're currently still from the east or south-east, but they are going to slowly start to swing round to the north-west over the next few hours.

  The winds are then going to pick up as the snow falls, with gusts around 40kph.

  It's going to feel much colder than the thermometer reads, which tonight will only be 1C.

  Bad news for survivors, but potentially good news for the surrounding area.
  
  It's important to remember that these are winds at the surface, and winds at different heights go at different speeds and different directions. At an altitude of around 10km, the height that aeroplanes fly, the prevailing wind is towards the west coast of the USA.

  This means that what happens to the radiation depends on what was released - and how high in the atmosphere it travels.

  Currently it's raining in the area, which means that any radiation can't get particularly high in the atmosphere, so any problems should be confined to the immediate area to the west/northwest of the site - as the winds are coming from the east - south-east.

  As soon as the winds swing round, any radiation will be pushed clear of the coast, but where will it go?
  
  It will head across the Pacific, but it will only be a problem here if it is still radioactive by the time it arrives above the Americas - and this depends on the material which is being released.

  Some materials decay very fast, meaning that they certainly won't be hazardous by the time they reach the other side of the Pacific, thousands of miles away. The most hazardous radioactive materials, which take a long time to decay, ought to remain in the core, and as long as this is intact, the coast of North America should also be problem-free.

  You can follow Steff on Twitter: @WeatherSteff

• Timestamp: 

  10:55pm

  Thousands of people remain in evacuation centres, but it is the elderly and infirm who are most vulnerable. This is the scene in Kesennuma, Miyagi prefecture.

  

• Timestamp: 

  10:46pm

  Al Jazeera's Andrew Thomas, reporting from Tokyo, tells us:

  There is an anxiety that the radiation could come down this way - and there is a real possibility that it could, if the wind were unkind - that has worried many. There are long queues at petrol stations, and in supermarkets - for water, bread, biscuits. Not that people are trying to get away, but many are expecting they may have to hunker down for a while. At the airport, there was no mass rush to get out - though some foreign governments are advising against non-essential travel to the capital.

• Timestamp: 

  10:30pm

  Al Jazeera's Taymoor Tabili, reporting from Akita in northern Japan, tells us:

  The government has been stepping up measures to help citizens evacuate the area round Fukushima. Police can be seen going around the 20km zone, encouraging people to leave. The hospital that is inside that area has been evacuated - with some patients airflifted from the roof, as they were too sick to leave otherwise. There does seems to be a general movement away from the area.
  
  Certainly among the foreigners here, they are seeming to move much more - probably because they can and have other places to go to.
  
  The roads are basically still passable - some are showing earthquake damage, and some have ben blocked - but the main problem is that people have very limited access to petrol. Some people are sleeping in their cars overnight outside petrol stations, hoping to get supplies when they are delivered.
  
  There is a general sense the cleanup is being hampered because of the nuclear situtaion - and because of a sense of a general lack of leadership from the government.

• Timestamp: 

  10:25pm

  Google has been hosting an excellent resource centre, with emergency contact numbers, its 'people finder' service, shelter locations, message boards and times of expected power blackouts.

  You can access it by clicking here: Google crisis response

  in addition, the site has been hosting some highly informative maps, as independent developers produce overlays.

  This one shows the evacuation zones around the Fukushima nuclear plants. Some 170,000 have been told to evacuate their homes since the disaster hit on Friday.

  The yellow pin shows the first site, site of several reactor explosions and partial meltdowns.  The yellow circle indicates the 20km evacuation zone. The largest circle shows the 30km limit. Between the two perimeters, residents are told to: "Wait indoors, close doors and windows, shut down air ventilators - and dry laundry indoors."

  The pink pin shows the second troubled site, which has also declared a state of emergency - though less urgent. the circle around that site indicates the 10km exclusion zone there.

  

• Timestamp: 

  9:52pm

  Steff Gaulter, Al Jazeera's senior meteorologist, gives us the latest forecast:

  Currently there's drizzle in Sendai, Japan - but this will turn to snow in the next few hours. It's going to get colder and colder in the next few days.
  
  For Fukushima, obviously the winds are important for determining where the radiation travels: Currently they are from the south-east at 10kph, but are forecast to change in around an hour, becoming 20kph from the north or north-west.

  You can follow Steff on Twitter: @WeatherSteff

• Timestamp: 

  8:45pm

  The US military says that it has moved several Navy ships including the carrier USS Ronald Reagan closer to the Japanese coast after initially pulling them back due to radiation concerns.

  A spokesman for US forces in Japan said favorable weather conditions allowed the ships to move closer to Japan's northeast coast to support Japanese relief and search and rescue operations.

• Timestamp: 

  8:15pm

  Al Jazeera's Harry Fawcett reports the latest on the nuclear crisis from Iwate prefecture.

• Timestamp: 

  7:56pm

  New pictures of the moment the tsunami struck in Japan on Friday are still emerging. They show the terrifying scenes, as whole towns were swept away. 

  But some also show amazing escapes as Al Jazeera's Caroline Malone reports.

• Timestamp: 

  7:31pm

  The Geneva-based UN Weather Agency says Japan winds are dispersing radioactive material over the ocean, Reuters news agency reports:

  No danger for Japan or the region for now

• Timestamp: 

  7:19pm

  Our nuclear scientist Imad Khadduri who has been a great on-set guest guiding us through the crisis says this web site is the best out there.

  It was apparently created on Saturday and is the go-to site for the scientific community tracking the nuclear story.

• Timestamp: 

  6:47pm

  The threat from the damaged nuclear reactor in Fukushima is "extremely high," says France's foreign minister as Japan meets with other Group of Eight major powers. Alain Juppe said on Europe 1 radio, after Japan's Takeaki Matsumoto briefed him and their other G8 counterparts on the situation on Monday evening:

  The situation is extremely serious... The risk is extremely high. [...] It is up to the Japanese to say how we can help them after the deadly quake and tsunami.

  Juppe added that French President Nicolas Sarkozy wants the G20 grouping of big economies "to be at Japan's service."

• Timestamp: 

  6:38pm

  Japan's Tokyo Electric Power Co says it has pulled out 750 workers from its Daiichi nuclear plant this morning, leaving 50 there to deal with problems with the reactors.

• Timestamp: 

  6:35pm

  Japan's nuclear safety agency says there are two holes of 8-metres square in a wall of the outer building of the quake-hit Fukushima Daiichi No.4 reactor after the blast this morning, Reuters news agency reports.

• Timestamp: 

  5:36pm

  Reporters of Dutch and Flemish public broadcasters NOS and VRT are also being pulled out of Japan due to radiation risk, sources tell Al Jazeera.

• Timestamp: 

  5:20pm

  Japan's soccer J.League is postponed indefinitely following Friday's earthquake, Kyodo news agency reports.

• Timestamp: 

  5:07pm

  Dutch broadcaster RTL pulls back its reporters from Japan due to raised radiation levels, says one of RTL's reporters on Twitter.

• Timestamp: 

  4:38pm

  China is confident that Japan can overcome the hardships facing the country, the Chinese foreign ministry says. Spokeswoman Jiang Yu told reporters during a press briefing:

  We are confident that they will be able to overcome these hardships, and China will provide more aid based on the needs of Japan.

  China's nuclear safety agency says it is "closely monitoring" developments and strengthening checks on radiation levels in China, though no increase had been detected so far in China.

• Timestamp: 

  4:30pm

  Yukio Edano, a cabinet minister, insists that radiation levels are not posing a health risk at the moment. At the No 2 reactor water is being supplied right now.

  The radiation level at the front gate was 8217 this morning. [...] It has since come down to the level that can do no harm, according to the information that I have received.

  

• Timestamp: 

  3:48pm

  Tokyo's outspoken conservative governor Shintaro Ishihara apologised for describing Japan's deadly earthquake and tsunami as "divine punishment". Ishihara, 78, who is seeking re-election on April 10, told a news conference:

  (The remarks) hurt victims, Tokyo residents and victims. [...] I deeply apologise.

  Yesterday Ishihara said Japanese people were becoming "greedy" and highlighted the case of people who continue to pocket their parents' pensions by delaying death notifications.
• Timestamp: 

  3:31pm

  A good interactive explainer by the New York Times: How a Reactor Shuts Down and What Happens in a Meltdown

• Timestamp: 

  3:12pm

  Here is a sketch by our graphics team illustrating the cooling system at reactor No 2 that failed, leading to a build-up of pressure in the containment vessel - the same problem units one and three encountered before they exploded.

• Timestamp: 

  3:05pm

  A sketch by the Al Jazeera graphics team of the Fukushima nuclear power plant. Tuesday's explosion occurred at Unit 2, where there are significant numbers of fuel rods submerged in water.

   

• Timestamp: 

  2:34pm

  Al Jazeera’s Steve Chao, reporting from Yamagata, says a no-fly zone has been established in a 30 km radius over the Fukushima nuclear plant.

• Timestamp: 

  2:27pm

  Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 slumps more than 14 per cent as radiation fears rise. Some $720bn in market value has been wiped off the Tokyo’s exchanges top companies since Friday, according to Reuters.

• Timestamp: 

  2:05pm

  Events have taken a turn for the worse in Japan. The prime minister has warned people living within 30 kilometres of a nuclear plant damaged by Friday's earthquake to stay indoors.
  
  Naoto Kan made the announcement during a press conference after a third explosion was reported at Fukushima, triggering more concerns about contamination of the atmosphere.

   Al Jazeera's Stefanie Dekker reports.

• Timestamp: 

  1:22pm

  Al Jazeera's Steve Chao, reporting from Yamagata, says there is a lot of concern about further radiation leakage.

  Many people are watching the wind directions. Over the last 24-hours we have seen the US carrier group that has been helping in the humanitarian relief efforts move away from the Fukushima plant out of safety concern. With the new explosion we've seen at the plant, there is growing concern that the situation will only worsen.

   

• Timestamp: 

  12:43pm

  A fire which broke out at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear-power plant has been extinguished, Kyodo news agency and other media quoted the power station operator as saying.
  
  The fire broke out earlier on Tuesday following an explosion in the building housing the number-four reactor of the plant.

• Timestamp: 

  10:33am

  Reuters news agency has reported that Japan's prime minister said on Tuesday that radioactive levels had become high around an earthquake-stricken nuclear power plant after an explosion there, and there was a risk of radiation leaking into the atmosphere.
  
  Naoto Kan urged people within 30 km (18 miles) of the facility north of Tokyo to remain indoors and the French embassy in the capital warned in an advisory that a low level of radioactive wind could reach Tokyo within 10 hours.
  
  Tuesday's explosion was the third at the plant since it was damaged in last Friday's massive earthquake and tsunami.

• Timestamp: 

  10:30am

  A radiation leak is feared after Japan's Nuclear Safety Agency reported a third explosion at Unit 2 of the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear-power plant in the country's northeast.
  
  Shinji Kinjo, an agency spokesman, said that "a leak of nuclear material is feared", after the explosion was heard at 6:10am local time (21:10 GMT) on Tuesday.

• Timestamp: 

  9:30am

  Al Jazeera's Harry Fawcett, reporting from Ichinoseki, in Japan's northeast, said:

  People didn't know what was happening and they wonder what they can do. Some say that they can't get out due to lack of fuel.
   
  We know that there was a sound of explosion at reactor 2, where there are significant parts of the fuel rods submerged in water.
   
  The government is sticking to the line that radiation level is within safety level, but it is a fast-changing situation.

• Timestamp: 

  8:46am

  TEPCO reported that they confirmed 8217 micro Sievert at the front gate of the Daiichi Fukushima Powerplant.
  This is 3 times of what a person normally exposed to in a year in one hour.

• Timestamp: 

  8:45am

  Japanese officials: about 50 staff are still at nuclear plants to monitor the situation.
  
  

• Timestamp: 

  8:21am

  Japanese nuclear safety agency reports a third explosion at Unit 2 of Fukushima Daiichi plant.

• Timestamp: 

  6:18am

  Clint Eastwood's movie Hereafter has been pulled from Japanese cinemas.

  The film follows three people questioning life, death and a potential afterlife.

  Exorcism film The Rite, starring Anthony Hopkins, was due to open this weekend - but its release has now been delayed, said Warner Bros, distributors of both films.

  The official death toll from the earthquake and tsunami currently stands at around 2,800, but tens of thousands remain missing.

• Timestamp: 

  6:11am

  Naoto Kan, Japan's prime minister, is setting up a joint nuclear response headquarters.

  Kan, a phsyics graduate and former science and technology minister, says he will personally lead operations at the headquarters, to be located at the main office of the embattled Tokyo Electric Power Company.

• Timestamp: 

  5:50am

  Google has some excellent maps online, which are even better if you read Japanese or have translation software. Click here to interact with the multi-layered version.

  This one shows Japan's nuclear power stations.

  

   

  And this one has click-through links powered by the excellent Ushahidi crisis-mapping platform - which allows crowdsourced reports to be uploaded by anyone on the ground with a mobile phone. Purple dots are news/information reports, pink show available services, red show medical facilities, green show facility info and turquoise show sources of supplies.

  

• Timestamp: 

  5:21am

  Google is currently tracking nearly 162,000 people through it's Japan Person Finder service.

  If you're looking for someone in Japan, or have details about someone, click here to enter their details.

• Timestamp: 

  5:12am

  A earthquake registering 4.1 on the Richter scale has just shaken Tokyo in the past few minutes. Skyscrapers were reported swaying, but no injuries or damage has been reported, and no tsunami warnings issued.

• Timestamp: 

  4:55am

  So here's the latest developments concerning the 7th fleet of the US Navy, much of which is helping in relief efforts in Japan. A statement from the US military tells us:

  The USS Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group, which includes the cruiser USS Chancellorsville (CG 62), the destroyer USS Preble (DDG 88), and the combat support ship USNS Bridge (T-AOE 10) - along with the guided-missile destroyers USS Fitzgerald (DDG 62), USS John S. McCain (DDG 56), USS McCampbell (DDG 85) and USS Curtis Wilbur (DDG 54) will continue operations off the east coast of Honshu.

  An additional destroyer, USS Mustin (DDG 89), is at sea south of the disaster site. In the coming days, USS Ronald Reagan will serve as a floating platform to refuel helicopters from the Japan Self Defence Force, Japan Coast Guard, fire and police - and other civilian authorities involved in rescue and recovery efforts ashore.
  
  The 7th Fleet temporarily repositioned its ships and aircraft away from the Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear power plant yesterday, after detecting low level contamination in the air and on its aircraft operating in the area. 

  As a precautionary measure, US 7th Fleet ships conducting disaster response operations in the area moved out of the downwind direction from the site.
  
  Today, SH-60 helicopters assigned to Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron (HS) 14 and Helicopter Anti-submarine Squadron Light (HSL) 51 - based at Naval Air Facility Atsugi - conducted surveys of the at-sea debris field, and conducted search and rescue missions along the coastline. 
  
  USS Tortuga (LSD 46) with two heavy-lift MH-53 helicopters, is steaming towards Tomokomai on the eastern coast of Hokkaido, where it will arrive tomorrow.  There, it will onload about 300 Japan Ground Self Defense Force personnel, and 90 vehicles, and deliver them to Aomori, on the northern end of Honshu.
  
  USS Blue Ridge (LCC 19), USS Essex (LHD 2), with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, USS Harpers Ferry (LSD 49) and USS Germantown (LSD 42) are en-route to the area from Southeast Asia. They are expected to begin arriving on Wednesday, March 16.
  
  US Navy P-3 "Orion" aircraft from VP-4 in Kadena AFB, Okinawa, are flying missions to survey and assess the debris field at sea.

• Timestamp: 

  4:25am

  Moody's credit rating agency has said it will review the rating of embattled Fukushima nuclear power plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co, with a view to a possible downgrade from its Aa2 status.

  The agency predicted the electricity giant to be hit in the immediate future with "substantial costs, such as capital expenditure relating to replacing damaged units and costs for sourcing replaceent power for customers".

  Tepco's shares plummeted by 24 per cent when the Tokyo stock exchange opened this morning.

• Timestamp: 

  4:10am

  With economic losses expected to run into the hundreds of billions of dollars, and the human cost too large to count, a report from Reuters spells bad news for investors in Tepco, Asia's largest electric power utility company - and operator of the crisis-hit Fukushima nuclear plant.

  Citing "a source familiar with the situation", Reuters says the insurance policies taken out on Japan's nuclear facilities don't cover damage caused by earthquakes or tsunami...

  We'll being you more on this as it comes in...

• Timestamp: 

  3:30am

  Before the tsunami, Rikuzentakata was home to 24,000 people. After the huge wave wiped out the entire town, 18,000 of its residents are missing.
  
  Al Jazeera's Harry Fawcett reports from the devastated town in northern Japan.

• Timestamp: 

  3:14am

  The nuclear fuel rods at Fukushima's crisis-hit plant show no sign of meltdown, the International Atomic Energy Agency says. A spokesman said:

  I think at this time we don't have any indication of fuel ... currently melting.

  His words follow those of Japan's cabinet secretary Yukio Edano, who earlier said it was "highly likely" the fuel was beginning to melt in each of the facility's three troubled reactors.

• Timestamp: 

  2:55am

  With a humanitarian crisis unlike any experienced in Japan since WWII - millions of people without power, and tens of thousands of homes destroyed, officials are racing to prevent a nuclear disaster adding to the devastation caused by the earthquake and tsunami.

  In this photo, Tokyo Electric Power Co. Vice-President Sakae Muto (R) and other executives of Japan's largest power utility bow to apologise over a crisis at its nuclear power plants in quake-hit Fukushima Prefecture.

  

  [Picture: Reuters]

• Timestamp: 

  2:45am

  As temperatures plummet, millions of people are spending a fourth night without foods, water or heating.

  Overwhelmed shelters are housing 550,000 people along Japan's east coast after the earthquake and tsunami killed at least 10,000 people. Kyodo news agency reports that authorities have lost contact with a further 30,000 citizens.

  In Ishinomaki, Patrick Fuller, of the International Federation of the Red Cross, says:

  It is the elderly who have been hit the hardest.

  The tsunami engulfed half the town and many lie shivering uncontrollably under blankets. They are suffering from hypothermia having been stranded in their homes without water or electricity.

  Snow is expected within the next few days.

• Timestamp: 

  2:15am

  More business news: European shares have fallen to a three-month low following Japan's disaster.

  One Tocqueville Finance fund manager said:

  Anything related to the nuclear sector is under pressure as traders bet on tougher regulation. At the same time the renewable sector is in favour as the other side of the trade.

  But Liquefied Natural Gas, diesel and jet fuel have all risen in price, as speculators eye profits to be made from increased Japanese demand. Gold is also rising in price, as central banks look to stabilise currencies.

  And Panasonic has announced it intends to ramp up production of dry batteries to meet a shortage in japan's quake-hit areas, where rotating power blackouts are in operation after the country's nuclear energy sector was taken offline.

• Timestamp: 

  1:48am

  Smoke billows from the No.3 reactor at Fukushima nuclear power plant after a large explosion yesterday. Reactor No.1 - at the bottom of the picture - already faced a huge explosion on Saturday, which blew the roof and walls off the outer containment facility.

  

  [Picture: Reuters]

• Timestamp: 

  1:40am

  Yesterday, we spoke to Greenpeace, now the global debate over nuclear power has been reopened.

  Today, Finland has ordered a safety review of its own nuclear network - particularly concentrating on how power plants' internal and external electricity supply functions during disruptions and accidents.

  And Germany has just suspended a controversial agreement signed last year - which extended the life of several of Germany's oldest nuclear plants beyond their original planned closure dates.

• Timestamp: 

  1:15am

  Disaster experts say the next 48 hours are critical when it comes to finding survivors in Japan.
  
  To try and improve their chances, the number of military personnel has been doubled to 100,000, as Al Jazeera's Steve Chao reports from Natori.

• Timestamp: 

  1:09am

  A partial meltdown is likely underway at three of the four reactors at Fukushima No.1 nuclear plant, says Japan's cabinet secretary.

  The nuclear fuel rods inside reactor Nos. 1, 2 and 3 appear to be melting after being exposed. Yukio Edano says:

  Although we cannot directly check it, it's highly likely happening.

  This is where we run into a terminology problem. Some experts would consider that a "partial meltdown", while others reserve the term for when nuclear fuel melts through a reactor core's inner chamber, but it contained within the outer shell.

• Timestamp: 

  12:51am

  Nuclear fuel rods at the No.2 reactor at the Fukushima nuclear power plant - where both reactors Nos. 1 and 2 have already had explosions and partial meltdowns - are once again exposed, Japanese media is reporting.

  The rods, normally surrounded by cooling water, heat rapidly once exposed - quickly building pressure inside the reactor core.

  If water levels fall too far, there is a risk of meltdown, damage to the reactor core and a large radiation leak.

• Timestamp: 

  12:44am

  The UN's own disaster management team has arrived in Japan. The team of seven experts from France, the UK, Sweden, India, Republic of Korea and Japan will help authorities with humanitarian assessments and coordinating international relief efforts.

  More than a dozen countries have already sent specialist search and rescue teams.

  The United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination team "is designed to assist the UN in meeting on site coordination requirements and international needs for early and qualified information during the first phase of a sudden onset emergency. It deploys disaster response experts within 24 hours anywhere in the
  world."

• Timestamp: 

  12:22am

  Some 230,000 doses of iodine have been distributed to evacuation centres around the earthquake-damaged Fukushima nuclear plant, the IAEA says.

  The neighbourhoods surrounding the plant, the site of two reactor explosions in recent days, have been evacuated of around 185,000 residents, said the International Atomic Energy Agency - the UN's nuclear watchdog.

  However, Japanese safety officials told the IAEA:

  The iodine has not yet been administered to residents; the distribution is a precautionary measure in the event that this is determined to be necessary.

• Timestamp: 

  12:02am

  Welcome to our live blog for March 15. We'll continue bringing you all the latest news as it happens. But if you want to catch up, you can read yesterday's reports by clicking here - Disaster in Japan: March 14

Disaster in Japan: March 14

Follow the latest events around the Pacific Rim after an 8.9-magnitude earthquake off Japan's coast triggered a devastating tsunami. Stay up to date with an all new liveblog for March 15. There, we'll keep you right up to date with the latest developments as they happen. Click here to read it.

Blog: Mar11-12 - Mar13

(All times are local in Japan GMT+9)

• Timestamp: 

  8:45am

  Japanese officials: about 50 staff are still at nuclear plants to monitor the situation.
  
  

• Timestamp: 

  8:21am

  Japanese nuclear safety agency reports a third explosion at Unit 2 of Fukushima Daiichi plant.

• Timestamp: 

  11:59pm

  That's it for today's Japan liveblog. But you can stay up to date with all the latest reports with our brand new live blog for March 15. Click here to read it - Japan in crisis: Live blog

• Timestamp: 

  11:47pm

  Not all markets fell on news of the Japan disaster. Some speculators believe profit lies in helping Japan rebuild its shattered infrastructure. And since the country's nuclear facilities were taken offline, the price of Liquefied Natural Gas has surged.

  Now Qatar's state controlled LNG giant, Qatargas, says it is ready to meet Japan's shortfall.

  Qatargas stands ready to provide all the support to its long-term partners and foundation customers in Japan to meet any increased requirements for LNG at this time ... Qatargas can also rely on our sister company RasGas to support Qatargas' efforts to meet our Japanese buyers' and partners' needs.

  The death toll from Japan's earthquake and tsunami is expected to reach into the tens of thousands.

• Timestamp: 

  11:26pm

  Professor Ilham Al-Qaradawi from Qatar University tells us of the effects of radiation poisoning:

  Radiation affects human cells. It either kills the cell - if the dose and energy are high, or it damages the cell, causing cancer and so on.

  When a person is exposed to radiation, the effect could range from redness in the skin to severe burning of the skin - but can also have more pronounced effects such as nausea.

  The long term effect of radiation is, of course, cancer.

  A large radiation dose or prolonged radiation exposure are the main reasons for radiation-induced cancer. The nost common type is thyroid cancer, which can be combated by taking potassium iodide tablets, thereby saturating the body with iodine so it does not absorb the radioactive iodine if inhaled or ingested.

  There are also genetic, hereditary, effects and effects on the fetus in cases of high dose exposure.

  The effects of very high doses are seen in a very short time - in the order of minutes or hours depending on dose. The lower doses can give rise to cancer, but this might take years.

  It is believed that very low doses are harmless, since we are exposed to those naturally.

  It must be emphasised that fear of radiation is often as dangerous as the radiation itself, as it leads to unnecessary action that can be just as harmful.

• Timestamp: 

  11:15pm

  Correction to predictions on the change in wind direction. It's forecasted to be blowing from the north at around 22kph for the next nine to twelve hours, when it is due to completely switch direction and blow from the south. Apologies for the confusion.

• Timestamp: 

  11:05pm

  Steff Gaulter, Al Jazeera's senior meteorologist, has been keeping us on the web desk up to date with the latest. She tells us:

  
  Aftershocks becoming less frequent in Japan. On Saturday between 00 & 12GMT, there were 49 aftershocks of magnitude 5.0 or higher. On Sunday there were 26. Today only 17.
  
  So, as far as seismology goes, things are improving. However, the weather is getting worse. Over the next few days it's going to get much colder. Temperatures on Tuesday will only struggle to 7C as a maximum and by Wednesday, only 3C.

  The temperatures at night will also drop, with temperatures getting below freezing by Wednesday night. As if that's not bad enough, Wednesday will also bring some snow.
  
  With much of the region without electricity, this is not good news.

• Timestamp: 

  10:52pm

  Staying with the International Atomic Energy Agency - they've launched their own Facebook page, where they've been updating information on all the nuclear plants in Japan... Click here to check it out.  And while you're on Facebook, did you know we have our very own profile page? Why don't you join the 447,360 well-informed people who follow Al Jazeera English?

• Timestamp: 

  10:47pm

  US officials say there are 1,300 US citizens living in the worst-hit areas of Japan, but they have not received any reports of fatalities or serious injuries. All of the 50,000 US troops stationed in Japan are helping in the relief effort, says General Field.

• Timestamp: 

  10:35pm

  More on that report of US warships moving away from the coast after detecting rising radiation levels.

  In a press conference, General Burton Field - US forces Japan commander - was asked if it was correct that crewmembers of the aircraft carrier USS Reagan had been conatminated with radiation, and if the ship had been moved away. he answered:

  After that incident, what they did is they analyzed where they were, what their mission was to be, and they moved their ships into an area where they thought that there would not be any chance of any further contamination, and in a way that they could continue to do the missions that they are assigned to do:  again, working on that sea survey because there is a tremendous amount of debris that is pulled off into the ocean after the tsunami receded; relief efforts on the land; and search-and-rescue on both the land and the water areas.

  QUESTION:  Are there actual crewmembers contaminated?

  We found contamination on the clothes of several crewmembers, and one crewmember had some on his skin.  And the exposure rate was about the same as you would get over a month-long period outside in the sun.  We assess that as very, very low.  And the way we treat that is we scrub the areas with soap and water, and then we test them, and there was apparently no harm come to any crewmembers.  And they are all back performing their missions today.
  
  

• Timestamp: 

  10:20pm

  Yukiya Amano, the IAEA director general, has released the following statement. We're expecting him to give a press conference in the next few hours. We'll bring you it as it happens.

• Timestamp: 

  10:08pm

  Latest weather forecast from Fukushima, where the wind was blowing from the north a few hours ago, says the wind direction was due to change - about now - to blow from the south. 

  When we have confirmation this is what's happened - and what exactly it means for the spread of radiation or other nuclear pollution, we'll let you know...

• Timestamp: 

  10:00pm

  A quick roundup of what's been going on in the past few hours.

  - Fukushima has been hit by another explosion. Saturday's blast was at No.1 reactor - this morning's was at No.3 reactor. It injured 11 people.

  - Coolant at Fukushima's No.2 reactor has run out, meaning its fuel rods have become fully exposed, causing temperatures to rise swiftly, and pressure inside the reactor core to mount rapidly.

  - US warships brought in to aid the relief effort have reportedly been moved away from the coast after detecting elevated radiation levels.

  - France has reportedly asked its citizens to leave the Tokyo area and "strongly advised" French nationals against travel ro Japan.

  - Japanese officials appeal for calm, say any other explosions or meltdowns are unlikely. "The figures do not indicate a high level of radiation," says Japan's cabinet secretary.

• Timestamp: 

  8:31pm

  Al Jazeera's Gerald Tan reports on the emergency confronting Japan after a tsnumai devastates its Pacific coast.

  
  

   

• Timestamp: 

  8:14pm

  Reuters - Nuclear fuel rods now fully exposed at Reactor No.2 at the Fukushima nuclear plant.

• Timestamp: 

  6:07pm

  Al Jazeera's Harry Fawcett, reporting from the town of Rikuzentakata, says that at least 18,000 people are currently unaccounted for in the area.

• Timestamp: 

  5:37pm

  Nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has set up a Facebook page, and is updating information on all nuclear plants and reactors in Japan.
  
   

• Timestamp: 

  5:29pm

  Al Jazeera's graphics team highlights the reactors of concern at the Fukushima nuclear power plant.
  
  

• Timestamp: 

  4:11pm

  Al Jazeera's Florence Looi reports on the heightened fears of a nuclear disaster after the devastation caused by the tsunami.
  
  

• Timestamp: 

  2:38pm

  The Tokyo Eelctric company announces it expects to be short of one million kilowatts of power on Monday.

• Timestamp: 

  2:08pm

  Al Jazeera's Teymoor Nabili, reporting from the town of Shobutahama, said that local residents are most concerned about getting back to a sense of normality.
  
  "Everything is destroyed, and one man said he is atill looking for his car, which was washed up," he said.
  
  You can follow Teymoor on the micro-blogging site Twitter - @teymoornabili

• Timestamp: 

  1:58pm

  For further information on Japan's twin disasters, and the subsequent fallout, read the latest news update.

• Timestamp: 

  1:38pm

  Rescue workers from more than a dozen countries search ravaged northeastern coastal cities for survivors. as an international effort to help Japan cope with its multiple disasters gathered pace.
  
  Some 70 countries have offered assistance, with help coming not only from allies like the United States but also countries with more strained relations like China, and even from the Afghan city of Kandahar.

• Timestamp: 

  1:25pm

  AFP - A tsunami alert has been lifted, according to an official in the Fukushima prefecture, after reports of an approaching large wave and retreating seawater - a phenomenon that occurs before tsunamis - had
  sparked alarm and local evacuation orders.
  
  "There is no more fear of a tsunami at this moment, but we will continue to ask our residents to remain vigilant to future advisories," the official said.

• Timestamp: 

  1:08pm

  Japanese media reporting that at least 2,000 bodies have been found in the Miyagi prefecture.
  
  About 1,000 bodies were found coming ashore on hardest-hit Miyagi's Ojika Peninsula and another 1,000 were spotted in the town of Minamisanriku where the prefectural government has been unable to contact about 10,000 people, or over half the local population.

• Timestamp: 

  1:05pm

  The second hydrogen explosion in three days rocks a nuclear plant in Fukushima on Monday, sending a massive column of smoke into the air and wounding 11 people.
  
  It isnot immediately clear how much - if any - radiation had been released.

  The explosion at the plant's Unit 3, which authorities have been frantically trying to cool following a system failure in the wake of a massive earthquake and tsunami, triggered an order for hundreds of people to stay indoors, said Yukio Edano, the chief cabinet secretary.

• Timestamp: 

  11:40am

  The New York Times has reported that experts say radioactive releases could last months.

  As the scale of Japan’s nuclear crisis begins to come to light, experts in Japan and the United States say the country is now facing a cascade of accumulating problems that suggest that radioactive releases of steam from the crippled plants could go on for weeks or even months.

• Timestamp: 

  11:38am

  Japan has issued a fresh tsunami warning for stricken coast.

• Timestamp: 

  11:30am

  
  An explosion has taken place in one of Japan nuclear power plant
  
  
  

  
  
• Timestamp: 

  6:37am

  Radioactive levels at the Onagawa nuclear facility - at least "at the site boundary" - are now back to normal levels, Japanese authorities have told the International Atomic Energy Agency.

• Timestamp: 

  6:03am

  Al Jazeera's Steve Chao, reporting from Natori - a once scenic coastal community - tells us hundreds of members of search and rescue teams have arrived at the city, two days after it was devastated by the tsunami. One woman tells him:

  All I've got left is myself.

• Timestamp: 

  4:53am

  As officials and technicians in Japan battle to prevent reactor meltdowns, the debate over nuclear power has been reopened. Jan Beranek of Greenpeace tells Al Jazeera those who depend on nuclear power "are sitting on a ticking time bomb".
• Timestamp: 

  4:44am

  Good evening, British people! We're now live on UK Freeview TV, so make sure you check us out. Right now, Riz Khan is chatting to the excellent Maysoon Zayid - who describes herself as "a Palestinian Muslim virgin with cerebral palsy, from New Jersey, who is an actress, comedian and activist".

  If you're not lucky enough to get us on your TV, don't forget you can tune in online by clicking here. And if you're in the US, why not take a moment to Demand Al Jazeera?

• Timestamp: 

  4:33am

  It was reported earlier that "favourable winds" would blow any nuclear pollution westwards, over the Pacific Ocean.

  Now US officials have said citizens of the country will not experience "any harmful levels" of radiation from
  Japan's earthquake-hit nuclear power reactors. The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission says:

  All the available information indicates weather conditions have taken the small releases from the Fukushima reactors out to sea away from the population.

  Given the thousands of miles between the two countries, Hawaii, Alaska, the US Territories and the US West Coast are not expected to experience any harmful levels of radioactivity.

• Timestamp: 

  4:15am

  Russia is sending two groups of rescuers to join the Japanese recovery effort.

  A cargo aircraft carrying a 50-strong team has left Moscow, while 25 have embarked on a helicopter from Khaborovsk in Russia's far east.

  More than 1million people in Japan remain without water or power, and whole towns have been swept away.

• Timestamp: 

  3:45am

  As if the people of Japan didn't have enough to deal with.

  A volcano on the southern island of Kyushu has begun to spew ash and rock, the country's weather agency has announced.

  Shonmoedake mountain is more than 1,500km from the epicentre of Friday's earthquake, and it's not yet clear if the eruption is linked to the earlier seismic activity.

• Timestamp: 

  3:13am

  The catastrophe in Japan is so far known to have claimed 1,400 lives.
  
  Minami Sanriku appears to be one of the worst hit coastal towns. It now lies buried under a sea of mud, with 10,000 of its residents unaccounted for.
  
  Al Jazeera's Wayne Hay has more.

• Timestamp: 

  2:59am

  Insurance claims following Japan's offshore earthquake could hit US$35billion, according to initial estimates.

  That's more than the entire global catastrophe loss for the insurance industry in 2010.

  What's more - risk modelling company AIR, who came up with the figures, said that amount doesn't include the effects of the tsunami that followed the quake, or any potential losses from nuclear damage.

• Timestamp: 

  2:45am

  Panic over at Tokai.

  The cooling pump failed at the plant - just 120km from Tokyo - but an additional pump is now working and cooling the reactor, a plant spokesman says. Masao Nakano said:

  Our seawater pump, powered by a diesel generator, stopped because of the tsunami and we then manually stopped one of our cooling systems.

  But the other cooling systems and other pumps are working well, and temperatures of the reactor have continued to fall smoothly.

  
  Tokai No. 2 is one of a string of nuclear power plants located along Japan's coast, which was hit by a 10-metre (33 foot) tsunami triggered by a powerful Pacific Ocean seabed earthquake on Friday.

  At the worst-hit facility, the Fukushima No1 plant, crews have struggled desperately to keep cooling two reactors by pouring seawater into them, after an explosion yesterday blew off the roof and walls of No1 reactor's outer building.

• Timestamp: 

  1:53am

  Is this the nightmare scenario of nuclear meltdown becoming real? And what can be done to contain the nuclear threat while at the same time dealing with the widespread destruction caused by Japan's largest recorded earthquake?

  Al Jazeera's Inside Story examines. Indepth anylsis and amazing footage below.

• Timestamp: 

  1:34am

  The New York Times has an amazing, yet horrifying, "before and after" photo gallery. Not that we want you to leave our site, of course. But you won't want to miss this. Click here. But be sure to come right back!

• Timestamp: 

  1:29am

  Yet more worrying trouble for Japan's nuclear power systems. Following "partial meltdowns" at Fukushima nuclear plant, and a state of emergency being declared at Onagawa after a radiation leak, now "Tokai No.2" plant is in jeopardy.

  The cooling system pump at the nuclear plant, 120km north of Tokyo, has stopped.

  It is also a boiling water reactor, and suffered a nuclear accident in 1999.

  We'll keep you updated...

   

• Timestamp: 

  1:14am

  Afghan president Hamid Karzai has spoken of his sorrow, as he signed a book of condolence at the Japanese embassy in Kabul. He said:

  The people of Afghanistan find themselves together in the pain and the difficulties of the people of Japan.

  His words come after officials in the southern Afghanistan city of Kandahar announced it was donating US$50,000 to help with relief efforts in Japan.

  Japan, the world's third-largest economy, has pledged some US$5billion in aid to war-ravaged Afghanistan over the next five years.

• Timestamp: 

  1:00am

  The United States Geological Service says the huge earthquake off the coast of Japan actually moved the island some 2.4m west.

  The Pacific plate reportedly pushes under a far western wedge of the North American plate at the rate of about 83mm (3.3 inches) a year - but a colossal earthquake can provide enough of a jolt to dramatically move the plates. USGS seismologist Paul Earle said:

  With an earthquake this large, you can get these huge ground shifts. On the actual fault, you can get 20metres of relative movement, on the two sides of the fault.

• Timestamp: 

  12:55am

  We mentioned yesterday that liquefaction - the process by which sand and water trapped metres underground bubbles to the surface - was causing some problems at Tokyo Disneyland.

  Now, we understand the theme park was drenched with water-logged segments.
  
  There were 69,000 people at the Disneyland and the adjacent Tokyo Disney Sea, built on a landfill in Tokyo Bay, when the quake occurred, a spokesman at the local Urawa police station said.
  
  There were no injuries reported.

• Timestamp: 

  12:37am

  With more states of emergency being declared at nuclear facilities in Japan, nuclear scientist Imad Khadduri says the risk of damage from meltdown is less than in disasters such as Chernoyl and Three Mile Island.
  
  He talks to Al Jazeera's Kamahl Santamaria and outlines the likely outcomes.

  
  
• Timestamp: 

  12:14am

  More on the situation at the Onagawa nuclear facility.
  
  The "lowest level of a state of emergency" was declared "as a consequence of radioactivity readings exceeding allowed levels in the area surrounding the plant", said the International Atomic Energy Agency.
  
  But, according to Japanese authorities, the three reactor units at the Onagawa nuclear power plant "are under control".

  The IAEA, the UN's nuclear watchdog, said that venting of the damaged Onagawa reactor unit had started
  at 9:20am in Japan "through a controlled release of vapour."

  The operation was intended to lower pressure inside the reactor containment. Following the failure of the high pressure injection system and other attempts of cooling the plant, the authorities had first injected water and
  then sea water into the unit.

  The authorities have informed the IAEA that accumulation of hydrogen is possible ... The IAEA is continuing to liaise with the Japanese authorities and is monitoring the situation as it evolves.

• Timestamp: 

  12:04am

  Japanese safety officials say the cooling system at the quake-damaged Onagawa nuclear plant has not been damaged, and the rise in reported radiation levels is due to a radiation leak at another plant nearby.

• Timestamp: 

  12:02am

  Welcome to our live blog for up-to-the-minute reports as events unfold, following the huge earthquake off Japan's coast, which triggered a 10m tsunami. Here, we'll bring you everything that happens on March 14 - but if you feel you've missed out, you can catch up with yesterday's liveblog by clicking here.