tonight japan is devastated by a massive tsunami after the biggest earthquake in the country's history buildings trains and ships of been washed away the official number of dead is one hundred forty two and that number looks set to soar. japan declares emergency as pressure rises the focus shima nuclear plants and sparking risks of a radiation leak the surrounding areas been evacuated. and in other news violent clashes rock libya's colonel gadhafi forces push the rebels back the e.u. says it's not ruling out military action increasing fears of

a possible intervention. it's nine pm very good evening from moscow you're watching the r.t. news channel with me you know in one main story dominating the news tonight the northeast of japan has been swamped by a major tsunami following the biggest earthquake in its history at least one hundred forty two people are reported dead but that figure appears very conservative the real number looks likely to be many many for example police say hundreds of bodies have been found drowned in the city of sendai the capital of the worst hit region the eight point nine magnitude quake off the eastern coast unleashed ten metre high waves which reach miles inland causing huge damage meanwhile there are worrying reports of a radiation leak at the focal cheema nuclear power plant in the northeast of japan

i don't merge and see situation. has been declared at the facility after its system failed authorities are saying the next few hours of the crucial in trying to sort out the problem that's one angle we're looking closely at tonight and as we get the reports of the latest details through from our correspondents and news wires we'll update you well just after the quake hit we had a chance. just after the quake hit sorry about that we had a chance to speak to an eyewitness who was in the capital tokyo. you've got a good book looking i was working at home and suddenly felt slight sharks i didn't know what to do sit at home or leave and the moment i saw a message on the screen of my t.v. it said that in twenty seconds there would be an earthquake there i jumped up and it was shaking i heard a person fences were cracking a little kind of district of the city there weren't many people just only ones with carrots and young parents with children yesterday may need a daughter her little miyagi quake happening as we tried to call her but more

connection was lost although the epicenter was far away from talking oh i thought it was an issue rocked it seemed like everything around me were crashing it was happening all day every time i returned home it started again. has declared a major just nuclear power emergency after the cooling system failed plan to focus shima following that earthquake in the northeast he spoke. earlier he's a u.n. expert about chemical safety he says there is reason for major concern right now. the problem is that she lived very serious because we're talking could both be possible destructionists of the chemical plants and also the atomic storage stations and as to the chemical plant evidently we are having in mind it possible come terminations. of the air and the land with the

toxic chemicals which my. bowing to the agricultural products and as to the nuclear power stations i have to say bed the japanese nation became very sensitive to the problem of fear radioactive pollution of the country year after going back to name the forty five when two first american went on the forms have been exploded all over hiroshima and nagasaki here. well experts are warning that radiation levels are rising at the fukushima nuclear plant and there is a high risk of a leak if the situation is the result of the next few hours dr robert jacobs is a professor of nuclear history and culture at the head russian a place institute he says nuclear power stations are programmed to shut down during major quakes. as apparently happened in one of the fukushima plants

there should be other systems that other cooling systems that then kick in so in theory this is the kind of safety procedures that will avert any kind of any kind of event any kind of nuclear bad but of course one system can fail and other systems can fail as well so what happens with that with the current danger is that these reactors have shut down so they're no longer generating electricity and of course remain very very hot and so those tours need to be cool and if the core if the cooling systems fail then the temperature of the cores can rise and that can lead to a variety of different sorts of incidents in which radiation may be released in the environment these plants are triggered to shut down when or place or to tap it over a certain level so the the automatic and quick shutdown of the plants is the first safety step the second second step is the redundancy of procedures such as cooling procedures so that if there is a failure there will be

a secondary system that they look in so that no system is relied on alone. so to recap the death toll one hundred forty two deaths officially reported injured but as we've been saying that is expected to rise substantially maybe one japanese news agency says yes there are literally tens of thousands unaccounted for tonight the worst hit is the northeastern city of sendai police there say almost every house has been damaged or destroyed the eight point nine earthquake off the japanese coast is in fact the sixth largest ever recorded in the world experts say it's around eight thousand times bigger than the quake which devastated the new zealand city of christchurch last month it sent a ten meter wall of water surging through japan as a result sweeping people buildings and cars in its path a state of emergency has been declared

a nuclear power plant in the northeast of japan after its cooling system failed in a statement the japan atomic industry for and released it asked for prompt action in total the country's got fifty five reactors providing about one third of the nation's electricity we're going to talk to a nuclear campaigner admitted but what she thinks about that under japanese law emergency must be declared if a cooling system fails and that's what reportedly has happened here we're also hearing tonight in the last hour or two there's reportedly been a risk averse radiation leak there officials certainly saying that radiation levels are rising population within a two kilometer and circle around that nuclear plant there are two of them in fact on site have been told to evacuate to leave it there we're also hearing that a second group of people certainly earlier on authorities were saying that a few hours ago they've been told stay inside more details coming through on this

the authorities also saying that the next few hours are crucial you're also seeing pictures their oil and gas refinery. of the horrendous fires that have been witnessed today along the coast and there in great japan as well a devastating day for the country. while russia's far east has been braced for any tsunamis with people going to higher ground but the worst danger appears to have passed let's talk about that side of the story catches the dark skin off and we go high again the russian territory that lies of course closest to the epicenter of today's quake the carolines how have people been faring there what reports have been coming back for the cool islands are right here in the me before just several moist miles north of japan and previously one of these islands was hit by eat we need a way to know you guys around you kind of easy on stories buildings frankly nobody was killed or injured in that incident and local infrastructure was not damaged as

well but your stories did manage to evacuate around eleven thousand people to higher ground in the entire region and also declared a state of emergency now the local emergency services and rescuers are or on the high alert getting ready for any possible scenario troop you go up anything that is good a similar situation in the entire northern pacific region. and is the only remaining risk now to russia's eastern mainland or is that danger passed earlier on friday the work force all for more possible tsunamis hitting the russian course line and was the cruel violence now of these risks equines but there is still a possibility of aftershocks so president meeting with the defense ordered a local emergency services and rescue services to be ready for any type of

a situation you can immediately face also ordered the emergencies ministry to get ready to help japan in this horrific. disasters. of course were really to help our neighbors in overcoming these threats of the severe earthquake a state of emergency has also been declared on our soil on the coral islands in the seattle region were all necessary measures must also be taking to prevent damage and loss of life the tsunami has already reached our shores and we must all be consolidated it's time now ordering the region sees minister to present a plan of assistance to japan. for emergencies ministry has already announced its six jets really all stand my which are ready to transport doctors rescuers medical equipment even a mobile hospital to help japan all is needed at the moment is an official request from japanese authorities. face

a bring yourself today there unfortunately. more news coming through we're hearing from japanese media maybe i think the n h a k a news channel but certainly the japanese media report coming through now that the death toll is now confirmed at least three hundred fifty souls tonight but unfortunately judging by the pictures we've seen and those reports coming through from the the beach near that coastal town where the epicenter of the quake was it could be that that will go up substantially also reports earlier on today of a train that was unaccounted for we haven't heard any more about that and also a boat with one hundred people on board that had been washed out to sea in that extremely big way to say since we get more about it we'll let you know what we've heard about the russian angle their loans the eastern coast of russia how that was affected thankfully not too bad countries across the pacific area though including south america the u.s.

to indonesia were put on alert for any tsunamis heading their way but while the first waves have now reached america's mainland the major threat there appears to have passed as well again a little bit of brightness in all the disaster today are u.s. correspondent garniture canon has the latest from the u.s. . when the tsunami waves have hit the u.s. mainland the u.s. west coast specifically the states of oregon california and washington have been on high alert since early friday morning the tsunami there did not cause any serious damage those were just strong waves on six feet high on average that's the height of a tall person evacuations nevertheless it's been earlier ordered in parts of washington and oregon scientists look knowledge they overstated the threat with defended their actions saying they took the proper steps and learned the lessons of the two thousand and four indonesian tsunami that killed thousands of people who didn't get enough nor ning the fears of tsunami causing any serious damage in the u.s.

mainland really diminished after the waves hit the islands of hawaii this morning waves of about six feet again were recorded there and again there have been no reports of destruction there in hawaii roadways and beaches were empty is the tsunami struck the state which had hours to prepare sirens sounded throughout the night and residents in coastal areas were sent to refuge areas and community centers and schools while tourists were moved to higher floors of hotels and those are the reports that we're getting and people all waited. there also saying people waited in long lines stocking up on gas bottled water canned food and generators but none of these was needed because the waves of have lost their destructive power along the way from the epicenter of the earthquake which of course was off the coast of japan but still the tsunami warning is in place of the united states and the west coast although we have seen some live pictures from california and it

looks quite calm there the coast there we're also getting reports from alaska where a dozen small communities were on a word but then again there were no reports of damage from a wave just over five feet in the state of washington the same thing experts say that tsunami is unlikely to cause. damage in the u.s. but they also say the aftershocks cannot be underestimated so everyone is still on alert here. as for marty's going to count there were those who've been reporting a nuclear power of motion see has been declared after the cooling system failed at a plant in fukushima following the earthquake the latest we're getting from officials there saying again vajra news agency that quote there is no risk to the environment or humans from the radioactive vapor so i guess that may mean it's contained don't know we'll be trying to find out more about that for you they have been saying all night that the next couple of hours are crucial because of the

problem with the building pressure there after one of the cooling generators broke down didn't work properly. quakerly are on as i mentioned the country in total has fifty five reactors providing about one third of the nation's electricity an important point let's talk them live to kate hudson head of the plane for nuclear disarmament in london very good evening to you thanks so much for being with us you heard the figures there i mean people need electricity every day an earthquake of a magnitude of this hardly ever happens all the other stations there we're hearing automatically shut down as they were designed to do so i guess any wrestling to the nuclear stations a sholay worth it aren't they at the end of the day of people power. well people do need need power but in a situation where there are so many sustainable energy safe energy alternatives now being developed when you see the possible risks associated here. and of course the

great dangers associated with nuclear waste vast amounts of human has weight as an organization. is just not worth it. course the obvious interjection you say that when there isn't actually very reliable at the end of the day neither is from the sun solar power again great if you live in a hot country so what are these efficient and reliable alternative energy sources you're talking about well i think you're underestimating both of those things have been solar power is very highly developed both germany and japan in fact do have very high levels of sustainable energy usage of course the way of power hydroelectric power of various sorts there's also carbon capture and storage and all kinds of new you kinds of biofuels so there really are many many options to senate and in britain we feel very strongly that our government's current government's pursuing of new build nuclear power stations is absolutely crazy as

yes we have those safe storage method devised called the large amount of nuclear waste which we already have and of course this situation in japan very clearly serves to underline the dangers both britain and japan have some things in common one of which is that our nuclear power stations ours are built on the shoreline because of the need for water passing through the nuclear power station for cooling purposes in the current situation where climate change and other kind of natural emergencies whether emergencies things like earthquakes can lead to the tsunamis or can lead to a rise in water level this present. great dangers now that situation in japan i think and as i understand from nuclear activists there in japan is actually extremely dangerous if they cannot cool the core radioactive core of that reactor

then you run the risk of meltdown and then you run the risk of fire massive radioactive release and a situation like chernobyl or worse and here in britain of course people are very concerned about chernobyl because there are parts of britain where which still cannot be used cultural and food production because of the dangers so it's a very serious situation in japan our hearts go out to the japanese people but it's a very serious situation no elsewhere in the world. and i take it up soon everything you say but i'm going to play devil's advocate here because how could you this is this this earthquake is that it is the biggest in japan's recorded history it's a very very thankfully very very rare event everything about life involves risks it's all about building nuclear power stations maybe they shouldn't be by the council should be in london how can you legislate against drove you don't know what's around the corner so if i just want to be devil's advocate there has been no

loss of life caused by this leak at a nuclear power station or any others despite this massive earthquake all the other seem to hold up well so in fact your argument there's a major danger seems to be undermined by the fact that we have seen and witnessed. well it depends how much risk people are prepared to take. about the figures around chernobyl but many incredible well respected scientists believe that tens if not hundreds of thousands of people have been affected by the radiation there and there's a big new report research report come out from the german government quite recently which talks about the health consequences of nuclear power stations even without a disaster high incidence of leukemia clusters amongst babies and infants and that's without an accident there are so many dangers to so again like so good when there are so many alternatives it seems crazy to go ahead with it taking what

you say about many would say times have moved on safety standards have moved on the where the build nuclear power stations moved on unfortunately we're out of time but kate hudson head of the campaign for nuclear disarmament of london we do appreciate you being on the program thanks for your thank you. for what we're coming back to the those awful events in japan shortly as we get more details let's turn to the other big story of course now and turn our attention to libya the european union says it's keeping a military option open when it comes to the crisis there but only if it has the backing of the u.n. an arab league now that emergency summit in brussels e.u. leaders showed political support for libya's opposition council but stopped short of official recognition bushell's been following events. e.u. leaders at the summit here in brussels have backed libya's opposition council will fall and short of officially recognizing the rebels as the legitimate rulers of that country it comes off the angle of merkel the chancellor of germany said

gadhafi should go now and that she go longer recognizes him as the country's ruler but there are growing concerns that have not been stopped by this summit of military force in libya the czech president said that even the imposition of a no fly zone over libya as backed by the u.s. and u.k. means war with that country with all the consequences that would entail and germany's interior minister went further saying that there is no prospect of military intervention be it by nato or the e.u. for the time being russia strongly opposes the aerial bombardments of held areas of libya as proposed by president sarkozy of france and the country's deputy foreign minister says it opposes any usual natural use of force against anyone we can now hear from russia's envoy to nato into regarding. first of all relevant committees which should gather the facts only the facts on the table the un

security council can lead to any serious discussion on the matter so far there have been no such facts we have only been journalists reports from the conflict zone on the whole we consider the situation very complex and it very much resembles the civil conflict which is a real danger when militarily intervening in the affairs of a foreign state in which mean duffy thanks to the with everything from what could easily become the most popular figure in the islamic world with an air of martyrdom around him so skepticism against military intervention is libya is growing stronger colonel moammar gadhafi says he will fight back against any foreign military intervention and even rebels have said they would not like to see that as it may turn the tide of public opinion against them so there's considerable hostility to military intervention both outside the country and within it as well. let's take a look at some other news to explosion from the residential area northeast of moscow our own. investigators are already linking it to another explosion just days ago

the sort of story these two explosions went off in the apartment block behind me here now is a little confused as to exactly where that explosions took place the latest we've heard is that one take place. on the other one near the guys there was some reports that perhaps one was in a car and it's a couple that we know that the bombs were. two hundred. t.n.t. and think they nailed the next who shot now no one was. killed. to the building but just days after they should have been in another part of most i know that explosion took place in a bus shelter. and. investigators now believe that the two explosions and want to wednesday i could perhaps be linked to

at base explosions contained some looking at is to investigate looking to see whether the some of the people behind it now there are unconfirmed reports. that he lived in this apartment building something that they are going to be looking at as to he's behind it again after the blast the wednesday there were unconfirmed reports that investigators considered that it was like the terrorists from the. open house. he said but we know that investigators believe in the name and there's a possibility that the plot from wednesday on the take stations. furthur let me bring up to date now then on the main story of the day the official number of dead in japan's earthquake and tsunami is rising it's now officially three fifty souls and as i say it is rising fast the northeast of the country has been hit by huge waves caused by the biggest earthquake in nearly one hundred fifty years that tokyo's been affected too with millions hit by power cuts in its transit systems

comes with complete halt its most worrying now the damage caused to the fukushima nuclear plant in the northeast of japan the pressure inside that reactor officials say is rising raising fears of a radiation leak latest from japan's nuclear safety agency saying to reduce that pressure radioactive vapor may have to be released although this saying stressing it will pose no risk to humans or the environment we'll continue our coverage of the japanese quake and the subsequent tsunami here on r.t. let's take a break from that coverage and head over to business affairs for the latest from moscow after this quick break.

hello and welcome to business japan's economy is said to suffer significantly after being hit by one of the biggest earthquakes in the last one hundred years along with massive blackouts the country's infrastructure is paralyzed some companies like toyota and sony have already halters operations so early to gauge the impact the exact economic impacts but central bank has already stepped up efforts to provide ample liquidity however japanese stocks reacted negatively with major losses in the final minutes of trading on friday the benchmark nikkei index and see there ending the week of five week low one point seven percent also lost ground reaching its lowest level in two weeks against the dollar but has managed to recover after that stocks also fell as investors sought an assurance from certainty that the quake comes a day after the dow's biggest one day drop since august therefore there was a modestly negative opening in the u.s. at first but now we actually see the dow and nasdaq come back into positive ground

despite worries over the global economy that's limited gave us all continues to fall as japan's refiners shut down processing plants japan is the world's largest crude consumer. russian stocks therefore declined for a third day because of oil for linking russia's main revenue earner just to remind you the r.t. has ended friday's trading down roughly one percent whereas the most exposed birds of a percent of. the russian equity market had a relatively challenging week we started off at fifty two week highs with oil prices at fifty two week highs and then after that risk aversion reappeared a lot of western investors are concerned about the downgrade in the credit ratings in greece and spain by moody's they're concerned about the instability in the middle east in how about me i mean oil prices stay elevated for higher than it was longer than expected and thirdly they're concerned about the economic follow from

this giant earthquake and accompanying tsunami in japan. shareholders and voted on friday it's elect a new board with the results expected to strengthen tycoon position in the battle for control of the world's largest nickel mine up first a business daily battle must be reported that but that raised twenty five percent stake in the us to nearly thirty percent in the last two major shareholder interests and which are controlled by and they're going to ask they've been vying for three years to gain control over the nickel producer so say both but i mean i'm getting past that may hold talks of ending their feud after the meeting official results of voting are not due until monday and say corp was not as become the first a corporation to complete its reorganization on friday the company successfully registered as an open joint stock company on the same change in status will help the company get more efficient focus on achieving business results. that's it for now kevin is back with

a recap of what's going on in japan just after this short break you stay with us. down the official t. allocation your money from i pod touch from the.