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>> and now, "bbc world news." >> new pictures to have quake-stricken japanese nuclear plant. japan's central bank injects billions of yen into financial markets for a third day to ease the impact of last week's quake. welcome to bbc news. welcome to our viewers around the globe. britain and france draft a u.n. resolution calling for a no-fly zone. tensions running high. two protesters killed after bahrain declared a state of emergency.

hello and welcome. the japanese government has said workers are trying to stabilize the if you can jet streama plant have been forced to suspend their operations due to increased radiation levels. the chief government spokesman said the reactor may have suffered damage. white smoke has been seen rising from the building. a fire at the plant's number four reactor where spent nuclear rods were being kept has been brought under control. >> smoke rises from the number four reactor at the fukushima power plant believed to have come from a fire from a massive pool holding the fire rods. protected in steel and concrete. in the last few hours, senior government officials described how levels of radio activity at the plant have been fluctuating.

>> at 3:30 p.m., this came down to 96.4. still, the level has come down to the level to cause no harm to human health. >> all six reactors at the complex have problems, but getting information about exactly what the problems are is proving difficult. this is what we think is happening. in reactor one, its outer building exploded saturday. there has probably been a partial melting inside. officials are pumping in seawater. reactor two, perhaps the most worrying, crucially a potential breach inside it. the first possible damage to any of the reactors, it is told this device, which handles excess pressure, may have been breached and could be one source of

leaking radiation. reactor 3 is also in trouble are an explosion of the outer building, perhaps a partial meltdown, high level of radiation has been measured nearby and as we now know reactor four poses a threat as well. in a connector building, a fire did somehow start, although it is now believed to have been put out. a reduced workforce filmed here before the disaster is trying to pump water into the reactors to cool them down, but if that fails, the fear is that there could be a serious radioactive leak and that fear has now reached the wider population. in tokyo, the sense of calm is starting to slip slightly. and it is not just foreigners who are starting to leave but most people have no choice but to stay, and for them, the japanese capital is becoming a strange and unfamiliar place. no one knows exactly how bad

things are. the situation keeps changing. a disaster this large and this complicated simply could not have been prepared for. >> so within the past half-hour, we have been hearing these stricken fukushima nuclear power plants had workers evacuated to a safe area because of fluctuating radiation levels, high radiation levels that have meant the workers had to withdraw to a safe area. they were actually trying to keep the reactors cool. now there is a question mark over how that role will be performed and just a little addition, one of the concern over one of the containment vessels at reactor number three that they could be damaged. japan's central bank has injected billions of dollars into the financial markets for a

third consecutive day. the move worth 3.5 trillion yen. it is aimed at supporting markets that have plunged following the earthquake and tsunami. the nuclear threat adds to the overwhelming challenges they already face. half a million people have been displaced and frequent power ounls have left people in the dark. in sendai, survivors are having to cope with the aftershocks and exposure to radiation. >> amidst the devastation and destruction, there is a new concern and it is carried with a rain that started falling on sendai. because hidden in these drops could soon be another danger. tiny particles blown from the nuclear disaster unfolding 60 miles to the south of here.

it is as if this place has not been battled enough, first the earthquake, then the tsunami that swept through here and now there may be something new to fear. radiation. unlike the previous disasters, you could see it or hear it coming. the tsunami you could hear. it did all of this. it even dumped a cargo ship high and dry on the key side. and people fear if more invisible radiation is released and the wind blows this way, the rain could make it fall here. so the tsunami evacuees whose homes were damaged or destroyed are now sheltering inside. those at sendai's port are in this high school. an army commander took her children and fled it is a waves approached. she said she has been told to stay indoors and not go out in

the rain. she showed us her home. it is relatively unscathed, but there is no electricity. everything is still where it was left as the family escaped. >> i'm worried about the aftershocks. there could be another earthquake. it could all happen again. as for radiation, i've been told it could come down with the rain. i'm really worried about that. >> so in the air over sendai, a city of a million, something ominous. life in this place is still out of kilter. the cues might be orderly but they stretch for a few hundred meters, shops still open and selling food.

sendai's emergency coordinators struggling to cope with the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami. the biggest problem petrol. we don't even have enough for our rescue teams or to deliver food to the shops. so the last thing this place now needs is another disaster. the consequences could be unthinkable. >> let's get some reaction to the latest developments at fukushima power plant. we can speak to james brown, an australian who lives in japan with his wife. he actually lives in the town of fukushima 80 kilometers northwest of the stricken plant. james, just give us your reactions to these latest developments. >> um, well, it is pretty tough and concerning sort of situation as you can imagine.

you don't know whether to sit and stay and ride it out or take the bolt immediately. >> now you're 80 kilometers northwest of this plant. you're well away from the exclusion zone and also the 10 kilometers where they were asking people to stay indoors. are you confident about the information that you're getting? >> um, i'm confident that you know, i will be minimally affects but the city council here has detected radio activity in the air here just as it has been detected south of us in tokyo, which is a good 150 kilometers away. obviously every area is being affected. >> was this a high amount of

radiation? an amount that is of concern? of course we have been hearing there is radiation within the atmosphere anyway and they were key to stress you get radiation having an x-ray. >> sure but you don't have an x-ray every di, do you? >> no, of course. >> what do you think you're going to do? >> basically looking at our options s of safely getting out of here because you know, there is no petrol. as you mentioned before, gasoline -- the gas stands, three-hour wait for getting anything from them through to, you know, there is a bit of panic with people in certain cities trying to -- that are in that 30-kilometer zone that are hitting the road and there is a lot of people stuck in certain

areas, they become like a parking lot. >> regarding the fuel situation, again, mr. adano mentioned that sand said there is enough fuel in the country to make sure everybody has some. do you think people will heed his advice? >> i hope so. mostly from what i have seen, most people are being very cooperative and very polite in those regards. i've seen a few incidents of analystiness but in the general -- of nastyiness but in the general scheme of things, people are trying to keep calm and orderly but as you can imagine, it is still of great, great concern, this radio activity. >> ok, james brown. thank you for sharing your thoughts. he lives 80 kilometers from the fukushima power plants. thank you.

we have much more on japan coming up. still ahead on bbc news, muammar gaddafi vows he will never leave his homeland and that he will crush his enemy. the european union is reviewing the safety of its nuclear power stations in response to events in japan. germany said its oldest power plants will be taken out of service for several months. >> r this morning in german chancellor announced that seven of the country's 17 nuclear power stations will be shut down for at least three months. in the meantime, the remaining 10 will be tested for safety. the plants that went into operation before the end of 1980 will be sent down for the period of the moratorium. following anti-nuclear

demonstrations in germany over the weekend, the opposition immediately accused her of trying to gain political advantage. local elections will shortly be underway in the german lender. after a meeting of energy experts in brussels, the e.u.'s commissioner went further than chancellor merkel and suggested that europe should consider a nuclear-free future and that all 150 reactors in the region should be given a stress test to ensure they are safe. >> this is a pre-assessment, if you like, of all potential risks in the wake of what has happened in japan. the earthquakes, tsunamis. >> such remarks may not go down that well in france, which prides itself on if you can safety and which relies on nuclear power for 80% of its energy needs. one french manufacturer insisted today their newest reactors would not release radio activity even in the case of a meltdown.

in an issue of such public sensitivity, there appears to be pressure for a nuclear rethink or at least a pause for thought. >> you're watching bbc news. new pictures of the quake-stricken japanese nuclear plants appear to show smoke or steam emitting from the site. staff withdrawing from the if you can jet streama nuclear site due to risk of increased radiation. well, a few lucky people have managed to escape the chaos in japan by going abroad. some travelers tales from j.f.k. airport in new york. >> a routine scene. international arrivals at j.f.k. international airport. but there is nothing routine about the experience turnovers passengers who come from japan.

they left a country scarred by catastrophe. this 11-year-old was evacuated from the sendai disaster zone. >> there was an earthquake in japan. and everything fell and a tsunami came. it was so scary. >> and what happened to you? how did you get out? >> i got out with my friends because i was in the school. so my parents came to pick me up. >> somehow, her family managed to escape. >> we are here. many people -- you take a train and you take a bus and you take a taxi. >> for those waiting for flights back to japan, it is a difficult and unsettling time too. while they have been away, their country has undergone a traumatic experience and they don't know what they will be returning to.

>> we met her just as she was saying goodbye to her sister and mother who live in osaka. >> very worried about them because we are not sure what happened exactly. >> for the japanese passengers, emotions are mixed. relief having left the chaos behind intermingled with concern about what the future holds. >> let's get an update on the latest situation at the if you can jet streama power plant. the news there -- the if you can jet streama power plant. bring us up to dates with the very latest. >> chief cabinet secretary held a press conference about 45 minutes ago. he is concerned that the number three reactor in fukushima,

there was smoke coming out. he said he was looking into what was causing it. he said all the workers at the plant have been evacuated. >> and of course concerns over how to keep those reactors cooled. there was some discussion about whether helicopters should be used. >> indeed. they have been talking about using a helicopter but that does involve some risk because the level of radiation has been fluctuating. that can be quite dangerous as well. the method they have been using is to pump in seawater. basically their cooling systems failed. they have been relying on a battery. that has run out as well. they need to get either power back or need some sort of way of being kept cool. >> now he wouldn't be drawn on the situation with reactor five or six, would he?

>> he did say they are trying to make sure that those two other reactedors remain cool. because initially, all the issues were happening around number one to number three reactors which all had an explosion over the last few days. we then heard about the number four reactor. the roof is cracked and there was some damage being found and then we heard that it was on fire yesterday and then again this morning. at about 6:00 a.m. this morning. that fire has been -- but the situation doesn't seem to be under control just yet. >> of course, the situation with the nuclear power plants of absolute great concern but also the economy is of great concern too. japan's central bank has injected billion s of dollars into financial markets. talk us through what they hope to achieve. >> indeed. initially on monday, they

injected about $184 billion. the bank of japan and then announced an additional injection of almost $100 billion and then announced another injection of about $40 billion this morning. basically the central bank is pumping money into the banking system so that people and companies here can still borrow money easily in this economy, which seems very fragile, but i should say that the impact of all of o these incidents on the economy, initially say said the earthquake itself wouldn't have a huge impact but now we have had a tsunami and now we have this nuclear power plant, having all of these issues. economists are saying that this could have a much bigger impact on the country. the economy, one analyst at goldman sachs saying that the cost to restoring the country from all of these incidents could be up to 200 billion. >> the very latest from tokyo.

thank you for that update. let's get some other news now. britain and france have tabled a draft resolution at the u.n. security council which would impose a no-fly zone on the country. meanwhile, there has been another day of fierce fighting between colonel gaddafi's forces and the rebels. he has again been seen on television promising his supporters the rebellion will be crushed. we are at the nun new york with more of the security council resolution. >> this resolution may have seemed a long time coming but some here expressed surprise that trance and britain decided to introduce it now. france and britain said they felt compelled to act because of the urgency over the situation. the resolution would ban all flights in libya and they would take all necessary action to enforce is compliance with that ban. the arab league has made a

request for this mover. to emphasize the importance of this regional backing, the lebonese ambassador helped to draft the resolution to the security council but the supporters faced a tough crowd. russia and china among others have expressed strong reservations. the americans who are wary of being drawn into another war, have not declared their position yet and we understand that council members peppered the lebonese ambassador with questions about what the arab league has in mind and concern about foreign military intervention and that position was not entirely clear. the lebonese ambassador said he hoped that the no-fly zone would be deterrent enough so that force wouldn't have to be used. we understand he is going back to the arab league. the questions will no doubt continue when negotiations begin in a few hours time. >> just a day after troops from

saudi arabia were invited to help control protests, bahrain has declared a state of emergency. at least two people died. >> this is the city of fear. vigilante checkpoints and barricades. bahrain tonight is a country on edge. this tiny kingdom was meant to host the formula 1 grand prix this month. in some neighborhoods now it is impossible to driver to the end over the street. if the arrival of saudi forces was meant to diffuse tension, it has had the opposite effect. >> the protesters appear undaunted both by them and by the king's declaration of a state of emergency. >> these young men are jites. they are the majority. they are the main force behind weeks of protests demanding

democratic reform. now they set up neighborhood protection groups. >> that's why i was -- i would pay my blood for my country, for my children. i don't want them to -- >> earlier in the day, state-run television announced the bahraini army was charged with taking all necessary measures to ensure peace and security. all see what has been happening here as it collects its breath. >> this behavior will not go unpunished. a call on all citizens and residents to be calm. cooperate with the security forces so they can achieve their mission, to protect peace and protect the property and the interests over the nation. >> at the hospital, casualties being rushed in. an ambulance we are told was shot at this a suburb where

there has been trouble tonight. inside, chaos, as they struggle to cope. this man was wounded by shotgun pellets and his doctors said by live fire. >> they want to shut your mouth by killing you. there is no other way. >> to them people here. there are -- they hijacked -- they -- we shoot it on us. >> there is little doubt now that more tears and blood will be shed. >> the egyptian government has dissolved its secret police which have been blamed for human rights -- the protest movement forced president mubarak out of

office last month. hillary clinton said she applauds the move by the government. thousands of people have been demonstrating across the palestinian territories calling for political unity between their rival government hamas and fata. they want an end to the deadlock that has divided medicine palestinians over five years. -- divided palestinians over five years. >> let's remind you to have breaking news we received from the if you can -- fukajima power plants. there are fluctuating levels of radiation and concerns that the levels are no longer safe to the employees have been withdrawn and white smoke has been seen

from one of the reactors there. the latest from fukushima power plant. >> hello and welcome. >> see the news unfold, get the top stories from around the globe and click-to-play video reports. go to bbc.com/news to experience the in-depth, expert reporting of "bbc world news" online. >> funding was made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu. newman's own foundation. the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation. and union bank. >> union bank has put its global expertise to work for a wide range of companies.

what can we do for you? >> "bbc world news" was presented by kcet los angeles.