Kiss me, quick! Twilight's Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Romantic moment: Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson share a kiss after a party to celebrate the premiere of Water For Elephants in New York last night


Reese Witherspoon might not have enjoyed getting close to Robert Pattinson, but his girlfriend Kristen Stewart apparently has no complaints.

The actress, 21, was spotted kissing her Twilight co-star, 24, in the back seat of a car as they left an after party following the New York premiere of his new movie, Water For Elephants, last night.

Stewart was carrying her high heels in her hands and looked giddy as she leaned in for the affectionate moment.


Home time: The pair shared a back-seat smooch as the called it a night


The brunette, who is always eager to keep her relationship out of the spotlight, had skipped the red carpet but turned out to support her boyfriend at the private bash.

Pattinson instead attended the screening with his co-star Reese Witherspoon, who had just days earlier described the pair's love scenes as 'unpleasant'.

'He had a very runny nose,' the 35-year-old told MTV, adding: 'It wasn’t appealing. It wasn’t pleasant.'


Happy couple: Despite having sore feet, Kristen couldn't wipe the smile off her face


Reese, who married talent agent Jim Toth last month, offered her co-star some advice for his future kissing scenes too.

'Bring a Sudafed,' she joked.

Pattinson has been dating Stewart since 2009 and the pair have recently been filming The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, both parts 1 and 2, which is expected to finish later this month.

The upcoming installments will see their characters Bella Swan and Edward Cullen get married and have a child.


Awkward: Robert walked the red carpet with his co-star Reese Witherspoon, who had earlier described love scenes with the actor as 'unpleasant'


Meanwhile, Reese has been hot on the promotional trail for the movie, which is released on April 22.

Today, she sported three different outfits as she did a tour of talk shows in New York.

She wore a clingy blue dress, long black coat and cream coloured heels for an appearance in Good Morning America, before changing into a coral mini dress and black tights for The View.

Lastly, she went for a more summery look in a floral pink and white number for a radio appearance.


All change: Reese changed outfits three times for her talk show appearances in New York earlier today


Water for Elephants Premiere - Robert Pattinson








source: dailymail

Portrait of hope after the tidal wave of despair: How distraught woman seen sobbing in Japan's ruins was reunited with her grandmother... and two of h

By DAVID JONES

Devastation: This picture of Akane Ito sitting crying in the ruins of the devastated city of Natori became one of the most iconic images from the Japanese tsunami


Among all the haunting photographs taken in the aftermath of the Japanese tsunami, one image became iconic - capturing the incredible scale of destruction and the resulting human misery in one unforgettable frame.

Published prominently in the Daily Mail and countless more newspapers around the world, it showed a young Japanese woman hunched in despair beside a ripped-up road, her tiny figure dwarfed by vast mounds of debris.

Rather strangely, she had removed her red rubber boots and placed them neatly beside her, but the fact that she sat barefooted amid the wreckage somehow made the picture more poignant.


Reunion: Against all the odds, Akane found two of her 13 dogs, labrador Mei and poodle Momo after the disaster


The photographer who took the picture never spoke to the woman, nor even asked her name. So who was this tormented woman, with her fashionable clothes and hairstyle, and what was the story behind her anguish?

The image was so powerful that I determined to discover the answer while in Japan reporting on the earthquake and tsunami for this paper. But with tens of thousands living in homeless people’s shelters along the country’s north-east coastline, tracking her down seemed an impossible task.

However, when I had all but given up and was back in Britain, I finally found her.


Temporary home: The hostess is now housed in a shelter where there is a special section for homeless people with pets


I had pinned the picture to a town-hall door in Natori in northern Japan, alongside dozens of other appeals to the missing - and by sheer chance she had seen it and responded to my request to get in touch.

Her name is Akane Ito, she is a 28-year-old nightclub hostess, and her story is by turns tragic and uplifting – a testimony to the extraordinary spirit with which the Japanese are facing up to their trials.

Until the tsunami struck, Akane lived with her construction-worker boyfriend and his mother, in a two-storey wooden house in Yuriage, a fishing port nearly 200 miles north of Tokyo which was populated by some 7,000 people.


Hope: Akane has not given up looking for her 11 other dogs

Akane has no children, but kept no fewer than 13 dogs - including six chihuahuas - which she loved dearly and regarded as her family.

‘On March 11, I was upstairs watching TV with my dogs, when suddenly I felt this mighty earthquake,’ she recalls. ‘There seemed to be no major damage, but we were just left without water, electricity and gas.

‘It meant that we had no radio or TV, so we hadn’t a clue that a huge tsunami was about to come racing in. We weren’t worried at all because a few years ago, when we had another big quake, the tidal wave was only about 10cm high.

‘The day after the tsunami, I tried to go back for them, but the town was still flooded and I couldn’t get through. I had no idea it had been completely destroyed until two days afterwards, when my boyfriend was able to drive us there.

‘When that photograph was taken, it was about 11am on March 13. I was sitting in front of what had been the entrance to my house, in total shock at the realisation that we had lost everything and our beloved dogs were gone.

The first dog to be found alive was May, a six-year-old female Labrador. Bedraggled and forlorn, she was spotted by a family as they wandered through the ruins of Youriage, a mile from Akane’s home, in search of missing relatives.


source: dailymail

Back in his owner's arms, the tsunami dog who survived three weeks at sea on wrecked house

Back where she belongs: The plucky dog was finally reunited with her owner, who alerted police after spotting her on TV


The lucky dog rescued from a roof drifting off Japanese coast for three weeks after the tsunami has finally been reunited with her owner.

Members of the Japan Coast Guard spotted the stricken pet - who had drifted nearly 2km offshore - during an aerial search of the area.

The two-year-old dog, called Ban, had an emotional reunion with her female owner after the woman spotted her on television.

Ban had survived for three weeks after the tsunami when coastguards spotted her while searching at sea for human survivors.

She was found drifting some 1.8km (1.1 miles) off Kesennuma, Miyagi prefecture, one of the Japanese areas hit worst by the disaster.

Local television showed showed pictures of the dog scampering around the roof of the house before it disappeared inside through a hole in the roof.


The emotional reunion came after the dog survived for three weeks on its own out at sea


It is thought the roof had become detached and washed out to sea by receding waters from the tsunami, which struck northeast Japan on March 11.

Her owner recognised the dog on TV and alerted authorities, who reunited woman and pet yesterday.

The pair were reunited at an animal care centre where the dog was being looked after.
The dog's owner, a woman who did not wish to be named, said: 'We'll never let go of her.


Against all odds: The dog appears to have survived by clinging to a house that had been swept away by the massive earthquake and tsunami that struck on March 11


'I saw the rescue on the news, and knew it was her. I knew her right away, from her face.'

Toshiro Suzuki, head of the animal shelter, said: 'I'm happy for the reunion, after they were separated by the disaster.'


Japan 'tsunami dog' Ban reunited with owner after surviving at sea



source: dailymail

Tsunami's terrifying power is revealed in new clip as fresh 6.5-magnitude quake hits Japan

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Leading edge: As alarm sirens blare over the city, the initial surge spills over barriers around Kesennuma Bay and begins running through the streets


As news emerged today of yet another earthquake striking Japan, terrifying new footage from the original March 11 earthquake and tsunami shows the brutal and deadly power of the water that has claimed thousands of lives.

Filmed from the top of a building in Kesennuma, around 300 miles north-east of Tokyo, the footage shows the surge of water cascading over coastline barriers around Kesennuma Bay as a tsunami alarm sounds.

It quickly turns into a furious torrent of water, sweeping everything away - including cars, ships and buildings - as it forces itself inland.


Gone in seconds: Within a minute the carpark in the previous shot has been completely erased by the fast-flowing water - giving residents no time to react


Panning right: The amateur cameraman points his handheld camera to capture water pouring through the streets beyond - destroying everything in its path


The sheer power of the water has to be seen to be believed. More unnerving is the sound of the tsunami crushing and grinding everything in its path.

The 5min 45sec clip begins as the leading edge of the tsunami has already struck, with cars being pushed over the bay's surge barriers and being swept into a nearby car park.

The amateur cameraman pans the handheld camera to the left to capture the fast-flowing water as it rushes into the bay. A siren begins and a recorded voice in Japanese gives tsunami advice to Kesennuma residents.


Disaster zone: The tsunami's devastation is now complete - what was once a thriving city no longer exists


Soon the wall of water is moving with incredible speed and rising fast - the barrier that had once looked like a mini waterfall is now now merely a ripple as the tide flows over it.

A storage building with a green roof in the middle distance of the shot begins to disintegrate under the immense force.

The camera pans to the right and focusses on another part of the city. Water can be seen flooding surrounding streets and buildings in the distance are being washed away as smoke rises from the ravaged city.


An injured man, using two sticks to support himself, walks underneath a ferry that came to rest on the roof of a two-storey building in Otsuchi, in the north-east of the country


Reiko Kikuta, right, and her husband Takeshi Kikuta watch as workers attempt to attach ropes to their submerged home to try to pull it ashore with construction equipment on Oshima Island in north-eastern Japan


Daunting task: Police officers in protective suits search among the wreckage left by the natural disaster for missing people in Minamisoma, Fukushima Prefecture





source: dailymail

Not such a good idea: Paris Hilton regrets devouring huge burger right before Japan charity run

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Running for relief: Paris and Nickey arrived at 11am to take part in the 'Tokidoki Youth Relief/Red Cross Run'


Most athletes would stay away from eating large meals right before a race, and Paris Hilton soon regretted snacking on a burger ahead of her charity run.

The heiress munched away on a ‘Fatburger’ hamburger before taking part in a two mile charity run to raise money for earthquake and tsunami-hit Japan.

Perhaps the 30-year-old thought the extra carbohydrates would fuel her during the race, but instead she appeared to be struggling through her first mile.


'Best burger ever': Paris says Fatburger burgers are her favourite and couldn't resist the treat ahead of her run, but later admitted she wished she had waited until after the race to eat it


Paris was joined by her sister Nicky and the girls arrived in Santa Monica at 11am to take part in the ‘Tokidoki Youth Relief/Red Cross Run’.

The Simple Life star still managed to crack a smile during the jog though, but afterwards onlookers saw her quickly grab a bottle of water and dash off to her car to sit down.

She then admitted to one of the cameramen that it wasn’t the best idea and wished she’d waited until after the race to eat the burger.


Carb-loading: Paris quickly eats her burger before the race


But Paris, who was dressed in black jogging bottoms and a white charity T-shirt animated with Japanese characters, did insist that ‘Fatburger’ make ‘the best burgers ever’.

So far 90,000 of the charity T-shirts have been sold to raise money for Japan’s victims.

Black Eyed Peas songstress Fergie also ran the race and looked athletic in three-quarter length jogging leggings and a matching black top animated with the Japanese characters.

The Boom Boom Pow singer was pounding the pavement alongside her husband Josh Duhamel.

The Transformers star organised the event after being affected by the devastation caused by the 9.0-magnitude earthquake on March 11.


Celebrity runners: Paris and Nicky were joined by Black Eyed Peas singer Fergie, who had filmed the video for her band's latest single Just Can't Get Enough in Tokyo just a week before the earthquake hit


Fergie and her band members had filmed the video for their latest single Just Can’t Get Enough in Tokyo just a week before the earthquake hit.

Duhamel wrote on his Twitter page after the event, posting: ‘We did it! 4,000+ people pack the beach!

‘The youth of LA mobilized & should be proud. All of u that donated should be proud. Much love. JD.’

Paris also later tweeted: ‘Such a great day today. I love helping make a difference’ and ‘Felt so amazing to support Japan today and run.’


Helping couple: Fergie and her husband Josh Duhamel (right) organised the event after being affected by the devastation caused by the 9.0-magnitued earthquake on March 11


Group involvement: The famous sisters ran amongst the crowd of runners, who were keen to take part in the two mile charity race


She then wrote on Fergie’s Twitter page, writing: ‘Happy Birthday @TheFergie! Love you so much! So proud of all that you have achieved, you are amazing! Love Paris xox…’

Fergie had celebrated her 36th birthday in Las Vegas on Friday night at the Bellagio Resort and Casino.

The charity run has raised over $13,000 (£81,000) so far.

Before the run, Paris and Nicky also quickly popped into Santa Monica's Fred Segal store to do a spot of shopping ahead of their charity effort.


Pounding pavement: Paris put in a good effort as she raced two miles for the charity alongside other LA locals


Before the run: The sisters popped into Santa Monica's Fred Segal store before the race and grabbed another snack in Brentwood Plaza


Dianna Agron Paris Hilton And Fergie Join Josh Duhamel At Tokidoki Relief Run for Japan



RED CROSS RELIEF RUN: HAPPY BIRTHDAY FERGIE


source: dailymail

The Japanese road repaired SIX days after it was destroyed by quake

By MAIL FOREIGN SERVICE

The picture of gaping chasms in a Japanese highway demonstrated the power of the March 11 earthquake.

Now the astonishing speed of reconstruction is being used to highlight the nation’s ability to get back on its feet.

Work began on March 17 and six days later the cratered section of the Great Kanto Highway in Naka was as good as new. It was ready to re-open to traffic last night.


Now you see it...: This stretch of the Great Kanto highway was wrecked by deep chasms in the March 11 earthquake - but was repaired in just six days


Many workers returned to their jobs the day after the quake and subsequent tsunami and some businesses in the worst-hit regions have already reopened.

The Japanese recovery has prompted some investors, including American Warren Buffett, one of the world’s richest men, to declare that the disaster which has left 23,000 dead or missing represents a ‘buying opportunity’ in the money markets.

Meanwhile, mothers in Tokyo were warned yesterday not to give tap water to their babies.

Cars with loudspeakers toured the streets of the capital after levels of radiation from the damaged nuclear plant at Fukushima, nearly 150 miles away, reached more than twice the safety level for children aged a year or less.

Supermarkets were quickly emptied of bottled water in many parts of the city. Parents were also told to ensure that milk was not from cows in the Fukushima district.

Tokyo residents said they had growing concerns about radiation.

‘If they’re saying it’s harmful for children because their bodies are smaller and dangerous iodine can accumulate in their thyroid glands, we can understand that,’ said 29-year-old department store worker Yasuke Harade.

‘But can we really believe it when they say that it’s OK for adults to drink the water? Can we cook our rice in tap water, can we drink tea, coffee? They’re telling us we can, but what is the truth?’

To add to the fears, two strong earthquakes shook the devastated east coast yesterday, and black smoke billowed once again from the crippled plant.

The ‘Fukushima Fifty’, the team of courageous employees working inside the plant, and firemen spraying water on the complex were ordered to evacuate immediately.

It was not known when efforts to restore the plant’s cooling mechanism would be restarted.

The scare followed reports that small amounts of radiation had travelled as far as Iceland.

source: dailymail

A dog's best friend: The loyal spaniel that stayed by its companion's side until they were rescued from tsunami zone

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Loyal to the end: A dog remains at the side of his wounded friend in the wake of the tsunami - miraculously, both survived


This loyal spaniel saved the life of his injured friend who was barely moving by sticking by his side following the tsunami - and leading a group of rescuers to him.

In heartwarming footage, the brown and white dog leads reporters to the injured mud-splattered animal who is lying flat out among the wreckage.

The dog had seemingly stuck by the side of the wounded animal in Arahama, Sendai, for days following the earthquake and tsunami.

TV crews who were filming in the area initially thought the spaniel was guarding a dead dog, before they excitedly realised the injured animal was alive and being protected.

The dog was later rushed to the vets in Mito, while the loyal dog was taken to a nearby shelter.

The crews thought the white dog was dead but shout excitedly 'Yes! Yes! He is alive' as they spot his head moving.


Warding off danger: The brown spaniel-cross tried to keep a news crew away as he guarded his injured friend


Faithful: Despite surviving a natural disaster, the dog showed no fear as he tried to protect his friend


The crews were shocked to discover that the apparently dead dog has survived.

In an English translation, the reporter apparently says: 'We are in Arahama area. Looks like there is a dog. There is a dog. He looks tired and dirty. He must have been caught in the tsunami. He looks very dirty.

'He has a collar. He must be someone's pet. He has a silver collar. He is shaking. He seems very afraid.

'Oh, there is another dog. I wonder if he is dead.'

Another person off camera asks: 'Where?'

The reporter continues: 'Right there. There is another dog right next to the one sitting down. He is not moving. I wonder. I wonder if he is alright.'


Protector: After barking at reporters, the dog returns to his fellow canine's side


The voice off-camera says: 'The dog is protecting him,' with the reporter replying: 'Yes. He is protecting the dog. That is why he did not want us to approach them. He was trying to keep us at bay.

'I can't watch this. This is very difficult to watch. Oh. Look. He is moving. He is alive. I am so happy to see that he is alive.

'Yes! Yes! He is alive. He looks to be weakened. We need them to be rescued soon. We really want them rescued soon.

'Oh good. He's getting up. It is amazing how they survived the tremendous earthquake and tsunami. It's just amazing that they survived through this all.'



Miracle: The weaker dog begins to stir and his friend puts a comforting paw around him


Both dogs have now been rescued, according to a Facebook post by Kenn Sakurai, president of a dog and cat food firm which aids animal rescue operations.

'The one which came close to the camera is in the better condition,' he explained.

'The othere white, gray and black was weak. So it is in the vet clinic in Ibaraki Prefectre.The other dog is in the shelter of the same area.

'But please know that those two are just the tip of the iceberg. There are more and we need help.'


Ultimate Loyalty: Japanese Dog Refuses to Leave Injured Friend Behind


source: dailymail

Dark days in ghost town of Tokyo

By RICHARD SHEARS

Ghost town: A landmark crossroads in Tokyo's Ginza district is eerily dark and empty as people stay indoors after warnings about a radioactive cloud from the stricken nuclear plant 150 miles away


It is one of the great cities of the world, home to 13million and as advanced as any metropolis on the planet.

Now Tokyo, usually so full of life by day and night, has the aura of death about it.

Its lights have been cut, supermarket shelves are empty, there are queues for everything and aftershocks come every day.

You could find a few die-hard Brits and other expatriates who wouldn't leave their beers on the counter in the party-time district of Roppongi for any threatening radioactive cloud, but mostly Tokyo has become eerily quiet. Nobody wants to venture out and the streets are deserted.

Everyone, it seems, shares the opinion that something very bad is happening at the Fukushima nuclear power plant 148 miles away, and nobody wants to risk breathing the air.

The British government has joined other nations in urging its citizens to leave the country whatever way they can, including banding together to join a charter flight. Other Britons trapped in the tsunami-stricken Sendai area have been offered the chance of being driven to Tokyo on a chartered bus.

But it will be a long journey because the vehicle will have to skirt around the nuclear power plant which stands between Sendai and the capital.

Some Britons have taken their own steps to get out of Tokyo, among them 23-year-old Kezia Poole, an English language teacher from London who has lived in Japan for 13 months.

'I'm flying to the Australian Gold Coast tomorrow,' she said. 'I'll sit back and breathe in the clean, fresh air. It's just not worth waiting around in Tokyo listening to officials telling us this and telling us that.'


Dimmer: Buildings in Tokyo turn down the lights as part of electricity saving efforts to avoid massive power outages and, right, its usual neon shine


She leaves behind a city in fear – a city that was plunged into darkness last night as electricity was cut to conserve power following the massive loss of production at Fukushima.

In Roppongi, the red-light district which is usually thick with crowds, where English girls play hostess to deceitful Japanese husbands, there was hardly a customer in sight.

A British hostess, who would give her name only as Jenny, was already on her way home before midnight, when usually business is thriving.

'They've said I can leave early,' the blonde, heavily wrapped in leather and furs, said in her north country accent. 'A lot of us haven't seen much of the news – how bad is it, then?'

There was no one in the whole of Tokyo who could tell her that, and even if they did, would it be the truth?
For the words coming from the lips of government spokesmen and the Tokyo Electric Company officials who have been holding daily press conferences carry mixed messages: 'We are working at the problem, the radiation is not harmful to humans, you should stay indoors and keep the windows closed, the levels have gone up, the levels have gone down, we've managed to pour water on the rods and that should cool them, the radiation has gone up again.'



No man's land: The normally bustling streets of the dynamic city are virtually deserted


Darkness falls: The usually brilliantly lit skyline has been shrouded in darkness to conserve scant resources of electricity as the crisis continues


Little wonder that many businesses sent their workers home early in the hope of beating the evening rush hour.

The result was long queues at stations for trains, many of which were suddenly cancelled because of fears that rolling blackouts would affect services.

'I just want to be with my children right now,' said an insurance company secretary waiting in the biting cold in a long queue.

'I don't know if my train is running, there are no cabs available and I have no other means of getting home. Everyone wants to leave Tokyo, or at least be home with their families because of the uncertainty.' Some, braving the cold and whatever they feared might be carried in the air, stood in front of public TV sets to watch government officials trying to explain what was happening at Fukushima. Their reaction was sceptical.

'We're living in modern times. We have robots in the factories, our technology is world famous and yet we end up pouring buckets of water on a nuclear plant,' said one office worker.

'This is taking us back years. We're going to be in darkness for a long time.' Whether he meant darkness at night because of power cuts or darkness because of what lies ahead for the nation, didn't seem to matter.

It is going to be dark in Tokyo and up the coast, where hundreds of thousands shiver and cry for everyone and everything they have lost, for a very long time to come.


Business is slow: A taxi driver reads a newspaper as he waits for a fare on an empty street


Contrast: An evacuee from a junior high school studies under the light of a kerosene stove at a makeshift shelter in stricken Ofunato


Eerie: People weave their way between blacked out high rises. Tokyo faces at much as six months of blackouts



What a contrast: While the streets of Tokyo are empty, the city's airports are packed with residents hoping to get away


source: dailymail

'Please continue to live well': Fukushima Fifty 'on suicide mission' to battle N-plant meltdown send haunting messages to families... as radioactive s

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Dangerous work: officials wearing protective clothing and respirators head towards the Fukushima nuclear plant


Japan was today rallying behind the anonymous nuclear emergency workers at the stricken Fukushima power plant - as heartbreaking details of their plight emerged.

The 180 workers face soaring radiation levels as they make ever more desperate attempts to stop over-heating reactors and spent fuel rods leaking more radiation into the atmosphere.

Some experts have speculated that they may be engaged in a suicide mission - or at least could suffer serious health problems for the rest of their lives - as helicopters and police riot control trucks are used to dump water on the reactors and exposed nuclear fuel storage pools.

National television has interviewed relatives of the workers, who the plant operators insist on keeping anonymous, with one woman saying her father had accepted his fate 'like a death sentence'.

A woman said her husband continued to work while fully aware he was being bombarded with radiation. He sent her an email saying: 'Please continue to live well, I cannot be home for a while.' The workers are known as the Fukushima Fifty because they rotate into contaminated areas in teams of that number.


Desperate efforts: Steam billows from the over-heating reactor number three at the Fukushima nuclear plant today


Another email shown by newsreaders said: 'My father is still working at the plant ... they are running out of food...we think conditions are really tough. He says he has accepted his fate much like a death sentence.'

One girl tweeted: 'My dad went to the nuclear plant, I 've never seen my mother cry so hard. People at the plant are struggling, sacrificing themselves to protect you. Please dad come back alive.'

One lone woman worker, Michiko Otsuki, this week spoke up for her 'silent' on a Japanese social networking site to insist that they were 'not running away' as the crisis intensified.

She wrote in a blog translated by The Straits Times: 'People have been flaming [plant operators] Tepco,' she said. 'But the staff of Tepco have refused to flee, and continue to work even at the peril of their own lives. Please stop attacking us.'

'As a worker at Tepco and a member of the Fukushima No. 2 reactor team, I was dealing with the crisis at the scene until yesterday (Monday).'


Preparing to go in: Fire engines and workers in white suits wait in a carpark near Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant today


Devastated: The badly damaged reactor four at the Fukushima nuclear plant. Green machinery can be seen through the ruined wall


'In the midst of the tsunami alarm (last Friday), at 3am in the night when we couldn't even see where we going, we carried on working to restore the reactors from where we were, right by the sea, with the realisation that this could be certain death,' she said.

'The machine that cools the reactor is just by the ocean, and it was wrecked by the tsunami. Everyone worked desperately to try and restore it. Fighting fatigue and empty stomachs, we dragged ourselves back to work.'

'There are many who haven't gotten in touch with their family members, but are facing the present situation and working hard.'


source: dailymail

Get out of Tokyo: Foreign Office tells all Britons to leave toxic radiation zone as Japanese 'lose control' of stricken reactor

By JASON GROVES

Chaos: Passengers crowd Mar Haneda International Airport outside Tokyo as foreigners scramble to flee the country amid radiation fears


17,000 British nationals could be evacuated as last ditch efforts are made to stop nuclear catastrophe

Rich scramble to book private jets out the country as fleeing passengers pack Tokyo airport

French say Japanese have 'visibly lost essential control' as they urge their citizens to get out

Plans are being drawn up to evacuate every British national in Japan amid mounting fears of a nuclear catastrophe. Thousands of Britons were last night warned to leave Tokyo and all other areas under threat of radiation poisoning.



Last ditch: A Japanese military helicopter - silhouetted top left - dumps water onto reactors 3 and 4 at Fukushima nuclear plant


The advice – echoed by other countries around the world – followed a meeting of the Cabinet’s emergency Cobra committee to discuss the meltdown-threatened Fukushima nuclear plant.

It heightened suspicions that the crisis at the plant – already ranked the second-worst nuclear disaster after Chernobyl – is worse than the Japanese authorities have publicly let on. Yesterday ‘last-ditch’ efforts were continuing at Fukushima to prevent a catastrophe with a Japanese army helicopter dumping water onto troubled nuclear reactor.


Collecting water: The Self-Defense Forces's helicopter scoops seawater on Japan's northeast coast en route to the Fukushima plant


A CH-47 Chinook helicopter began dumping seawater on the damaged reactor of Unit 3 at the Fukushima complex at 9.48am local time, said defense ministry spokeswoman Kazumi Toyama. The aircraft dumped at least four loads on the reactor, though much of the water appeared to be dispersed in the air.

The dumping was intended both to help cool the reactor and to replenish water in a pool holding spent fuel rods, Toyama said. The plant's owner, Tokyo Electric Power Co., said earlier that the pool was nearly empty, which might cause the rods to overheat.

Last night an official at Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency said that radiation levels at the plant had fallen steadily over the past 12 hours.



However, ministers were due to hold further talks last night on whether an immediate evacuation from Japan should be considered.

About 17,000 British nationals are thought to be in the country, mostly in Tokyo. Last night’s Foreign Office warning stopped short of ordering them to leave the country – a diplomatic gesture which will be welcomed by the Japanese government.

But officials conceded that in reality most Britons will have few options but to leave Japan if they want to heed the advice.

Thousands of Japanese citizens are already fleeing Tokyo for the south.

Officials yesterday insisted there was no significant risk to human health in Tokyo, which is less than 140 miles south of Fukushima.

But Europe’s energy chief Guenther Oettinger warned the huge plant was ‘effectively out of control’ – sparking fears of a meltdown, which could send a radioactive cloud into the atmosphere.


He warned of ‘further catastrophic events, which could pose a threat to the lives of people on the island’. Mr Oettinger predicted the dire situation could take a further turn for the worse ‘within hours’.

The Japanese public was also unconvinced by its government’s reassurances. The mayor of Minimisoma, which is 12 miles from the Fukushima plant, said: ‘We weren’t told when the first reactor exploded, we only heard about it on television. The government doesn’t tell us anything. We are isolated. They’re leaving us to die.’

The Foreign Office insisted there was ‘no real human health issue’ outside the 20-mile exclusion zone surrounding the plant.



But it warned that panic caused by the crisis meant there were ‘potential disruptions to the supply of goods, transport, communications, power and other infrastructure’ in Tokyo.

Officials confirmed that contingency plans were being drawn up for an airlift of British nationals if the crisis worsens. Talks have already been held with airlines about laying on extra flights.

The warning came as the Japanese authorities made increasingly desperate attempts to contain the crisis at the Fukushima plant.

Helicopters deployed to dump water on the plant were pulled out amid concerns about soaring radiation levels.

Officials were considering using water cannon – normally used to control riots – in a desperate bid to cool the overheating reactors, which have suffered a series of explosions.



Escape: residents gather up their belongings and form a queue as they wait to board a bus out of Sendai, north eastern Japan, yesterday





source :dailymail