Friday 18 March 2011
Libya's Gaddafi given ultimatum
US President Barack Obama has said Libyan government forces must end their offensive against rebel-held towns and pull back - or face military action.
He said the terms of a UN Security Council resolution backing action to defend civilians were "not negotiable".Col Muammar Gaddafi's government has declared a unilateral ceasefire, as attack plans are drawn up against him under the UN resolution.
There are reports government offensives are continuing despite the ceasefire.
Libyan officials have dismissed these as untrue and say international observers are being invited to Libya to verify the situation.
In the rebel-held western city of Misrata, which is surrounded by government forces, residents there told Reuters news agency that there was no sign of a ceasefire and that the city continued to be pounded by bombs and artillery.
And Arabic TV station al-Jazeera reported that pro-Gaddafi forces were advancing quickly towards the eastern rebel stronghold of Benghazi on Friday evening. Its correspondent reported that loyalist forces were clashing with rebels in the towns of al-Magroun and Slouq, about 50km (30 miles) from the city.
The city of Zawiya has already fallen to pro-Gaddafi forces, while there has been fierce fighting in and around Ajdabiya in recent days.
Mr Obama said: "All attacks against civilians must stop. Gaddafi must stop his troops from advancing on Benghazi, pull them back from Ajdabiya, Misrata and Zawiya, and establish water, electricity and gas supplies to all areas."Humanitarian assistance must be allowed to reach the people of Libya.
"Let me be clear, these terms are not negotiable. If Gaddafi does not comply, the international community will impose consequences, and the resolution will be enforced through military action.
"Our goal is focused, our cause is just and our coalition is strong."
The US ambassador to the UN, Susan Rice, told CNN that Col Gaddafi was in violation of the UN Security Council resolution, adopted on Thursday, which called for an immediate ceasefire and banned all flights over Libya.
But Libya's Deputy Foreign Minister, Khaled Kaim, said on Friday evening that Libyan government forces had conducted no military operations since announcing the ceasefire earlier.
"We have had no bombardment of any kind since the ceasefire was declared," he told reporters when asked about reports of continued government operations in Misrata and other parts of the country.
Thursday 17 March 2011
The Five Angels
The Five Angels of the Continents
Samuel Doctorian
16th August 1998 on the Isle of Patmos
This message was transcribed by Ruthanne Garlock from a tape we received in Singapore on August 30th, 1998 from Wee Tiong How. He had just returned from the Isle of Patmos where he attended a prayer retreat with a small group of Singaporeans, and where Samuel Doctorian related this experience to them. We do not personally know Dr.Doctorian (a naturalized American), but his ministry is well spoken of by many of our friends in Singapore.
"I was here alone in a house on the Isle of Patmos for several weeks to pray and seek the Lord. I found a little chapel - St. Nicolas's Chapel - where no one ever goes. I went there and poured out my heart before God. I found a rock on the side of a hill where I would go to sit and pray - meditation and reading the Bible. I ate very little during those days. Several times I went to the cave of John where he saw the great Revelation.
While meditating for one month in this solitary place, I thought, "I wonder if the Lord will ever send a tenth angel?" I'd seen angels nine times before - in England, in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, in Amman, Jordan, in Jerusalem, and angel that delivered a woman from being hanged in upper Egypt; I saw the ninth angel in Beirut in the midst of war. The angel physically awakened me at 3:00 in the morning and told me to get out of the country immediately. I am grateful to the Lord until today - I don't know what might have happened to me if the angel had not come. Heaven will tell that one-day. So I wondered whether I would see an angel for the tenth time. There were times when I was praying when I felt such presence I asked, "Lord, I wonder if an angel is coming now? " But it was not so. One night I even dreamt about an angel. He told me to fly in my dream and I did - but that was only a dream. I wanted to see a real angel, as I had seen nine times before.
On June 20 at 3:50am, here in Patmos suddenly my room was full of light, and there are no lights around here. It is a house all by itself at the end of the road near a monastery. Lo and behold, when I was wide-awake - I saw five beautiful angels. I saw their faces -perfect and human-like, but full of light. I saw their eyes, their hair, their hands.
On my right side were two angels, and when I looked to the left I saw three other angels with wings. They had beautiful white robes falling to the floor - something I can't describe with human words. I wondered why five angels had come, but I was trembling and shaking. I wanted to cry, but I could not. Just before I saw these angels in the Spirit. I had seen myself in a great meeting of multitudes, and I was preaching in English. An interpreter was on my left with dark hair and a grey suit, but I can't remember what language he was speaking. I was prophesying this message: "My church, you preach love, you teach love, but you need to practice love - to show love. There is need of unity in my body. There are many divisions among you. My spirit will not move and work where there is no unity. There is carnality in my church; too much uncleanness in my church. I desire and I want a holy people. I died to made you holy." While I was prophesying in the spirit I was trembling. My eyes opened and I was looking at the great multitude. And suddenly, in the midst of the prophecy, these mighty angels appeared. I went back from the pulpit and thought I was going to fall down. I am now wide-awake, but this is all happening in the spirit. Some power helped me not to fall down and I wondered what was happening.
Then suddenly the first angel on my right side said," We are five angels from the five continents. We are here to give you messages from the five continents of the world." The moment I heard that, I also heard the multitude crying out, "Ohhh, Ohhh, Ohhh;" I believe that multitude saw the angels also. Somehow the Lord showed me that in the days to come, in many parts of the world, God is going to reveal Himself through ministering angels. It's going to happen publicly; it's going to happen in churches - thousands of people seeing angels at the same time. They will be ministering to the Body in these last days. Then came this message from the angels:" What you see and hear, tell it to the nations." So it's not something to keep to myself. Whether they accept it or don't accept it, I have to tell it to the nations.
FIRST ANGEL:
The first angel said:" I have a message for all of Asia." When he said that, in a spilt few seconds, I could see all of China, India, the Asian countries like Vietnam, Laos - I've never been to those countries. I saw the Philippines, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. And then the angel showed me all of Papua New Guinea, Irian Jaya and down to Australia and New Zealand.
"I am the angel of Asia," he said. And in his hand I saw a tremendous trumpet that he is going to blow all over Asia. Whatever the angel said, it's going to happen with the trumpet of the Lord all over Asia. Millions are going to hear the mighty voice of the Lord. Then the angel said, "There shall be disaster, starvation - many will die from hunger. Strong winds will be looked like has never happened before. A great part shall be shaken and destroyed. Earthquakes will take place all over Asia and the sea will cover the earth.
I saw this on June 20. Today is August 16. A few weeks ago I heard the news of villages completely wiped out and washed into the sea in Papua New Guinea. Thousand of lives in great jeopardy. That happened a few weeks ago, and the angel told me it is going to happen all over Asia. "The earth will fall into the sea," I heard the angel say," part of Australia will be shaken. Australia will be divided, and a great part will go under the ocean. "This was frightening - I wondered whether I was hearing right. But the angel said," Millions will die in China and in India. Nation will be against nation, brother against brother. Asians will fight each other. Nuclear weapons shall be used, killing millions." Twice I heard the words, " Catastrophic! Catastrophic!" then the angel said, "Financial crisis will come to Asia. I will shake the world."
I was trembling while the angel was speaking. Then he looked at me and smiled and said," There shall be the greatest spiritual awakening - bondage will be broken. Barriers will be removed. And all over Asia - China - India - people will turn to Christ. In Australia there shall be tremendous revival." I heard the angel of Asia say, " It is the last harvest." Then as if the Lord were speaking, he said," I shall prepare My church for the return of Christ." I was happy with such good news after the message of judgment. All the time the five angels were in my room I could feel their presence - it was tremendous.
SECOND ANGEL:
Then I saw that the second angel had a sickle in his hand, such as is used in harvesting. The second angel said," Harvest time has come in Israel and the countries all the way to Iran." I saw those countries in a few split seconds. "All of Turkey and those [inaudible;] countries that have refused me and refused my message of love shall hate each other and kill one another." I saw the angel raise the sickle and come down on all the Middle East countries.
I saw Iran, Persia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, all of Georgia - Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel, all of Asia Minor - full of blood. I saw blood all over these countries. And I saw fire; Nuclear weapons used in many of those countries. Smoke rising from everywhere. Sudden destruction - men destroying one another.
I heard these words, " Israel, Oh Israel, the great judgment has come." The angel said, "The chosen, the church, the remnant, shall be purified. The Spirit of God shall prepare the children of God." I saw fires rising to heaven. The angel said," This is the final judgment. My church shall be purified, protected and ready for the final day. Men will die from thirst. Water shall be scarce all over the Middle East. Rivers shall dry up, and men will fight for water in those countries." The angel showed me that the United Nations shall be broken in pieces because of the crisis in the Middle East. There shall be no more United Nations. The angel with the sickle shall reap the harvest.
THIRD ANGEL:
Then one of the angels with wings showed me Europe from one end to the other - from the north all the way down to Spain and Portugal. In his hand he had a scale of measurement. I saw him fly over Europe, and I heard the words, " I am grieved. I am grieved. Unrighteousness, uncleanness, ungodliness - all over Europe. The sin has risen to heaven. The Holy Spirit is grieved." I saw the rivers of Europe flooding and covering millions of houses. Millions drown. After seeing this, I read the news a few weeks ago. Czechoslovakia had the worst flooding ever. I also heard that the big river in China is in tremendous danger of thousands of houses being destroyed in flooding. I didn't know all this news until after I had seen the vision and heard what the angels told me.
Suddenly I heard earthquakes all over Europe. " Countries that have had no earthquakes shall be shaken," said the angel. And suddenly, in my spirit, I saw the Eiffel Tower in Paris crumbling falling down. A great part of Germany destroyed. The great city of London - destruction everywhere. I saw floods all over Scandinavia. I looked to the south and saw Spain and Portugal passing through hunger and great destruction.
Many will die from hunger all over Spain and Portugal. I was disturbed by all this news, and I said," Lord, what about your children?" The angel said," I shall prepare them. They shall be looking for the appearing of the Lord. Many will cry to me in those days and I will save them. I shall perform mighty miracles for them and show them My power." So in the midst of great destruction, there will be the grace of God in those countries. I was happy that God has His protection over His children.
FORTH ANGEL:
Now we go to Africa. I saw the fourth angel with wings fly over Africa, and I could see from Capetown in the south all the way to the north of Cairo - I saw all the countries there, more than fifty of them. The angel of Africa had a sword in his hand - a tremendous, sharp sword. Suddenly I heard him say, " Innocent blood has been shed. Divisions amongst the people generations far from the Lord - they have killed one another, thousands of people. I have seen my faithful children in Africa, and I shall reward all the faithful in the continent of Africa. I shall bless them abundantly. I shall control the weather - scorching and burning of the sun in some parts. Great rivers shall dry up, and millions will die from starvation. In other parts, flooding. Foundations shall be shaken. My sword shall judge the unrighteous and the bloodthirsty. So many earthquakes shall happen that rivers shall flow different directions in the continent, flooding many villages." I saw great pieces falling from the sky over different parts of Africa " There shall be trembling of the earth like has not been seen since the creation. None shall escape the sword of the Lord." I saw the River Nile drying up. It is the god of Egypt. Fishes dead and stinking all over Egypt. A great part of the middle of Africa will be covered with water - millions dying. "Lord," I said, "It is all bad news. All destruction. Any good news?" The Lord said, "The final day has come. Judgment day is here. My love has been refused now, and the end has come." I was shaking and trembling. I thought I cannot bear it.
FIFTH ANGEL:
Then I saw the last angel flying over North and South America - all the way from the North Pole down to Argentina. >From the east of the U.S.A. to California. I saw in his hand a bowl. The angel said he would pour out over these countries the judgments that were in the bowl. Then I heard the angel say, "No justice anymore. No righteousness. No holiness. Idolatry. Materialism. Drunkenness. Bondage of sin. Shedding of innocent blood - millions of babies being killed before they are born. Families are broken. An adulterous generation. Sodom and Gomorrah is here. The days of Noah are here. False preachers. False prophets. Refusing of my love. Many of them have the imitation of religion, but denying the real power.
When I heard all that, I begged the angel, "Can you not wait for a little while? Don't pour it. Give a chance for repentance." The angel said, "Many times God has spared and has spoken, but they have not listened. His patience has come to an end. Beware, the time has come. They have loved money and pleasure more than they have loved Me." As the angel began to pour from the bowl in his hand, I saw tremendous icebergs melting. When that happened I saw floods all over Canada and North America - all the rivers flood; destruction everywhere. I heard the world market collapsing with mighty earthquakes, and New York skyscrapers were tumbling - millions dying.
I saw ships in the ocean sinking. I heard explosions all over the north country. I saw the angel pouring over Mexico and two oceans joining together- the Atlantic and the Pacific. A great part of north Brazil covered with water, the Amazon River turning into a great sea. Forests destroyed and flooded. Major cities in Brazil destroyed; earthquakes in many places. As the angel poured, great destruction took place in Chile and Argentina as never before. The whole world was shaking. Then I heard the angel say," This will happen in a very short time." I said, "Can't you postpone? Don't pour these things out all over the globe." And suddenly I saw the five angels standing around the globe lifting up their hands and their wings towards heaven and saying, "All glory to the Lord of heaven and earth. Now the time has come and He will glorify His Son. The earth shall be burned and destroyed. All things shall pass away. The new Heaven and New Earth shall come. God shall destroy the works of the devil forever. I shall show My power - how I will protect My children in the midst of all this destruction.
Be ready for that day, for the Lord has come.
My room was full of light from the brightness of the angels. Then suddenly they ascended up to heaven. As I looked up I saw the angels go in five directions. I know they already have started their duties. For more than an hour I could not move. I was wide-awake, trembling from time to time. I said, " Lord, shall I leave Patmos now?" He said, "No, I brought you here for a purpose." I said," The message from the angels all over the world is not good news. It is judgment, punishment, destruction, devastation. What will people say about me? I've always been a preacher of love, peace and good news." The angel said," It is our message. You are the instrument, the channel. What a privilege that God has chosen you to give this message to the nations. "I said," Lord, Thy will be done." To God be the glory.
Scripture Reference: 1 Thess 4:13-18; 5:1-11; Hebrews 12:22-29; Peter 3:1-13
The Power of Nature
Check this site out.
It contains high quality pictures of the recent destruction in Japan.
God Bless.
http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2011/03/earthquake-in-japan/100022/
It contains high quality pictures of the recent destruction in Japan.
God Bless.
http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2011/03/earthquake-in-japan/100022/
U.N. Security Council approves no-fly zone in Libya
United Nations (CNN) -- Joyous Libyan rebels in Benghazi erupted with fireworks and gunfire after the U.N. Security Council voted Thursday evening to impose a no-fly zone and "all necessary measures" to protect civilians.
The opposition, with devoted but largely untrained and underequipped units, has suffered military setbacks this week. It has said such international action was necessary for it to have any chance of thwarting Moammar Gadhafi's imminent assault on the rebel stronghold.
"We're hoping and praying that the United Nations will come up with a very firm and very fast resolution and they will enforce it immediately," said Ahmed El-Gallal, a senior opposition coordinator, before the vote.
"We should not arrive too late," French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said at the U.N.
UN approves no-fly zone in Libya 
Libyan army pushes forward 
Libyan amb. still hopeful for airstrikes 
Frustration and anger in Benghazi The resolution was approved with 10 votes, including those of the United States and the United Kingdom.
There were no opposing votes on the 15-member council, but China, Russia, Germany, India and Brazil abstained. Germany said it was concerned about a protracted military conflict.
U.N. member states can "take all necessary measures ... to protect civilians and civilian populated areas under threat of attack in the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, including Benghazi, while excluding a foreign occupation force," according to the resolution.
It was not immediately clear just how the international military operation and possible strikes against the Libyan military would unfold. The no-fly zone prohibits Libya's air forces from entering certain zones within the country.
Libyan Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled Kaim, speaking in Tripoli, told reporters after the vote that the country will safeguard civilians and its territorial integrity.
He called on the international community to send a fact-finding missing to the African nation, but not lend material support to rebels.
A few dozen pro-Gadhafi supporters chanted, "Down with the U.N. Down with Britain. Down with the United States."
The U.S. military does not view a no-fly zone as sufficient to stopping Gadhafi.
Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz told a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Thursday that establishing such a zone "would not be sufficient" to stop the gains made by Gadhafi.
Schwartz told the committee that establishing a no-fly zone would take "upwards of a week."
Gadhafi's son, Saadi, told CNN Thursday evening that troops will change their tactics and take up positions around Benghazi Saturday or Sunday and assist people fleeing from the city.
The younger Gadhafi said there will be no large-scale assault. Instead police and anti-terrorism units will be sent into the rebel stronghold to disarm the opposition. Unspecified humanitarian groups can help with the exodus of civilians from Benghazi, Saadi Gadhafi said.
In a radio address aired on Libyan state TV, Gadhafi criticized residents of Benghazi and called them "traitors" for seeking help from outsiders.
Libyan rebel: We've seen heavy gunfire 
Friedman predicts more unrest in Mideast 
Gadhafi forces move in on opposition RELATED TOPICS
U.S. military officials have said that a no-fly zone would typically be enforced by fighter jets whose speed and altitude make it difficult to target Gadhafi's helicopters and that it would not halt the heavy artillery the regime is using on the ground.
The resolution condemns the "gross and systematic violation of human rights, including arbitrary detentions, enforced disappearances, torture and summary executions." It details enforcement of an arms embargo against Libya, the freezing of assets and a ban on certain flights.
"The United States stands with the Libyan people in support of their universal rights," said U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice.
The resolution deplores the use of mercenaries by Libyan authorities, expresses concern about the safety of foreign nationals and demands an immediate cease-fire. Kaim said the Gadhafi government supports a cease-fire, but is working out certain details.
The Arab League's U.N. ambassador, Yahya Mahmassani, said two Arab countries would take part in a no-fly zone operation, but he was not sure which two.
British Foreign Secretary William Hague said the U.N. vote shows the need for Libyan citizens "to have a more representative government."
Earlier Thursday, Libyan state TV said that the rebel capital of Benghazi would soon come under attack.
Gadhafi said that his forces would enter Benghazi to rid the city of those "traitors" and that his forces will search everyone for weapons. He added that his forces gave amnesty to those who gave up their weapons in the city of Ajdabiya. "We will not allow further bloodshed among Libyans," Gadhafi said.
"Search for the traitors, for the fanatics. Show them no mercy. We will look for them behind every wall," Gadhafi said. "This farce cannot go on."
There were air strikes on Benghazi's airport Thursday, with three blasts hitting the site about 30 kilometers (about 18 miles) outside the city.
The opposition has been using the airport to launch its own air strikes, using a handful of jets that rebels have managed to get off the ground, opposition leaders said.
It is not clear that Gadhafi's ground forces are actually within striking range of Benghazi, but they have been fighting their way in that direction for several days.
State TV claimed Thursday that Gadhafi's forces were in control of Ajdabiya, on the road to Benghazi, a claim disputed by opposition leaders.
El-Gallal, speaking from eastern Libya, said "morale is high" and people do not want to leave strongholds because Gadhafi "is willing to kill everybody here."
The government forces have taken control of the eastern and western gates to the city and are trying to breach the inside, opposition leaders said. The opposition says it controls the southern entrance.
The opposition says it has a handful of jets that are no match with Gadhafi's superior air power and a pair of Russian-made "Hind" attack helicopters.
Ajdabiya is the last major point between pro-government forces and Benghazi. If it is retaken by pro-Gadhafi forces, it would give access to roads leading to the heart of the opposition's base.
In remarks to the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, William Burns, the under secretary for political affairs at the State Department, said Gadhafi's forces are only about 160 kilometers outside Benghazi.
"They've made advances, taking full advantage of their overwhelming military superiority in military firepower," Burns said.
He expressed fear that Gadhafi, now isolated by the world community, could turn to terrorism again.
"I think there is also a very real danger that if Gadhafi is successful on the ground, that you will also face a number of other considerable risks as well: The danger of him returning to terrorism and violent extremism himself, the dangers of the turmoil that he could help create at a critical moment elsewhere in the region," Burns told the committee.
Japan hails the heroic 'Fukushima 50'
In Japanese disaster films they like heroes who sacrifice everything for the greater good - stoic, determined, refusing to back down in the face of adversity or even certain death.
These are the qualities the country admires.
Now the newspapers here have a new band of heroes to lionise - the workers, emergency services personnel and the scientists battling to save the Fukushima nuclear plant, their fellow citizens and themselves.
We know little about them, except for the few whose relatives have spoken to the Japanese media.
One woman told the papers her father, who had worked for an electric company for 40 years, had volunteered to help.
He was due to retire in September.
"The future of the nuclear plant depends on how we resolve this crisis," he was reported to have told his daughter. "I feel it's my mission to help."
The small group of workers who stayed at the site as the conditions worsened were dubbed "The Fukushima 50" - although now it is thought there are maybe twice that many working there.
Rick Hallard, who worked in the British nuclear industry for more than 30 years, says the pressure on them will be immense, but that they will probably not feel it until it is over.
Continue reading the main story
“Start Quote
End Quote Maeda AkihiroIf that place explodes, it's the end for all of us, so all I can do is send them encouragement”
"They'll be focusing on the key risks and threats," he says. "They will have a very clear idea of what their priorities are."
'Life on the line' On Wednesday the government raised the legal limit of radiation they could be exposed to from 100 to 250 millisieverts.
That is more than 12 times the legal dose for workers dealing with radiation under British law.
But you would need to be exposed to a dose probably twice that maximum before you would expect to see the so-called "early effects" people associate with radiation sickness, like a lowering of white blood cells.
People living close to the plant are being checked for radiation as they evacuate You would need a level of exposure in the region of 1,000 millisieverts before you might feel nauseous or feel ill.
The "late effects" of exposure to radiation may not occur for many years. It can increase the likelihood you will develop cancer, but this is only an increased possibility, not a certainty.
The person in charge of the operation will likely be some distance from the reactors, Mr Hallard says.
"You need to be remote from the event to enable you to think," he says, "so that you don't miss things or react too quickly."
"It's important to take the pressure off the person in charge."
The workers might be faceless heroes for the moment, but their bravery has won them the admiration of many Japanese.
"They are sacrificing themselves for the Japanese people," says Fukuda Kensuke, a white collar worker in Tokyo. "I feel really grateful to those who continue to work there."
Continue reading the main story
Fukushima Daiichi: What went wrong
- Reactor 1: Was first to be rocked by an explosion on Saturday; fuel rods reportedly 70% damaged
- Reactor 2: There are fears a blast on Tuesday breached a containment system; fuel rods reportedly 33% damaged
- Reactor 3: Explosion on Monday; smoke or steam seen rising on Wednesday; damage to roof and possibly also to a containment system
- Reactor 4: Hit by a major blaze (possible blast) on Tuesday and another fire on Wednesday
"They're putting their life on the line," agrees Maeda Akihiro. "If that place explodes, it's the end for all of us, so all I can do is send them encouragement."
The Japanese Self Defence pilots who have been flying the helicopters used to "water-bomb" the plant on Thursday, to try to help cool the fuel rods, have been restricted to missions lasting less than 40 minutes at a time, to try to restrict their exposure to radiation.
The Japanese Prime Minister, Naoto Kan, has paid tribute to all those involved in the efforts to stabilise conditions at the nuclear plant, describing how they are "making their best effort without even thinking twice about the danger".
When this crisis is over, some of the stories of individual heroism will start to emerge. Several of those battling to cool the fuel rods have been injured.
It must be hardest for their families, who sit and wait at home, not knowing what dangers their loved ones are facing, what damage they might have suffered and what problems might result in the years ahead.
"I didn't want him to go," one man's wife told a Japanese paper. "But he's been working in the nuclear industry since he was 18 and he's confident it's safe."
Cable reaches Japan nuclear plant
ngineers at Japan's stricken Fukushima nuclear power plant have managed to lay a cable to reactor 2, the UN's nuclear watchdog reports.
Restoring power should enable engineers to restart the pumps which send coolant over the reactor.
Workers at Fukushima have been battling to prevent fuel in the reactors from overheating since Friday's magnitude 9.0 quake and subsequent tsunami.
The confirmed death toll from the disaster has risen above 5,600.
More than 9,500 people are missing and tens of thousands of people are living in temporary shelters.
Continue reading the main story 
For a while now it has appeared that delivering electrical power to Fukushima Daiichi power station offered the best hope of stabilising things.
Provided that the station's electrical systems are intact and its pumps are still functional, it should become possible to pump water back into the fuel storage ponds in reactor buildings 3 and 4, and to improve the flow into the damaged reactors themselves.
But it is also possible that the earthquake, tsunami, fires and explosions have knocked out some of this equipment.
Provided power can be restored across the complex, it appears possible that Fukushima Daiichi could be back under control within a few days.
Analysis
Provided that the station's electrical systems are intact and its pumps are still functional, it should become possible to pump water back into the fuel storage ponds in reactor buildings 3 and 4, and to improve the flow into the damaged reactors themselves.
But it is also possible that the earthquake, tsunami, fires and explosions have knocked out some of this equipment.
Provided power can be restored across the complex, it appears possible that Fukushima Daiichi could be back under control within a few days.
US President Barack Obama has said he is confident the "strong, resilient" people of Japan will recover from the crisis and that the country will emerge stronger than before.
The atomic crisis was triggered when the power supply to Fukushima was damaged by the natural disaster and back-up generators failed.
The Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco), which runs the plant, has been attempting to connect it to the main grid via a 1-km (0.6-mile) electricity cable.
Once power is restored, engineers should be able to re-activate the pumps which send coolant through the reactors and the pools where spent fuel rods are stored.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said the cable had reached the site by 1730 local time (0830 GMT) on Thursday, and that engineers planned to reconnect power to the reactor once workers have finished spraying seawater over reactor 3.
Tepco warned the process of reconnecting power could take up to 15 hours.
Helicopters and water cannon have been dumping seawater over the Fukushima reactors, to try to prevent fuel rods melting.
Video footage had suggested most of the water had been falling outside the target buildings, but a Tepco spokesman said it appeared the operation had had some success.
"When we poured water, we monitored steam rising from the facility. By pouring water, we believe the water turned down the heat. We believe that there was a certain effect," he said.
Click to play
Barack Obama: "The Japanese people are not alone"
Another spokesman said on Thursday that aerial observations of reactor 4 indicated it did contain some water.
"We have not confirmed how much water was left inside but we have not had information that spent fuel rods are exposed," he said.
Earlier, senior IAEA official Andrew Graham said the situation at Fukushima had not deteriorated, but could yet do so. He described the situation at "reasonably stable".
The head of the IAEA, Yukiya Amano, is heading to Tokyo to be briefed by Japanese officials.
Survivors' misery Japan has imposed a 20-km (12-mile) exclusion zone around Fukushima and has urged people living up to 30km away to stay indoors. Some countries have advised their nationals in Japan to stay up to 50km away.
Tens of thousands of people are still struggling with the after effects of last Friday's massive quake, which triggered a tsunami that swept away whole towns in minutes.
In areas of the north-east badly hit by the tsunami, bitter winter weather has added to the misery of survivors, though more supplies are now reported to be reaching them.
Japan's Kyodo news agency quoted rescuers as saying that the search for victims had expanded over a wider area as access had improved with the clearance of debris.
The number of people now known to have died in the twin disaster stands at 5,692 with 9,506 people listed as missing.
But Kyodo reports that the official toll is based on names registered with police, and that the true figure could be in the tens of thousands.
About 380,000 people are currently still in temporary shelters, many sleeping on the floor of school gymnasiums.
Many foreign countries are evacuating their nationals from northeast Japan, or advising them to leave the country entirely.
The crisis has also continued to affect the markets - the benchmark Nikkei index fell 3.6% in early Thursday trading in Tokyo, shortly after the yen briefly hit the highest level against the US dollar since World War II.
Life expectancy on the rise 'despite obesity epidemic'
Life expectancy in the UK is on the rise, along with the rest of Europe, despite fears over the impact of obesity, a population expert has said.
Analysing trends from the past 40 years, Professor David Leon credited a decline in deaths from heart disease for the continued rise.
People in the UK are also living longer than those in the US, he says.
His analysis is published in the International Journal of Epidemiology.
Professor Leon, from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, points out that in the last five years most European countries have been going in a "positive direction" for the first time in decades.
Despite concern that health problems arising from obesity would affect life expectancy in high-income countries, such as the UK, there is no evidence of this to date.
Professor Leon said that deaths from cardiovascular disease in the UK have seen, "some of the largest and most rapid falls of any Western European country, partly due to improvements in treatment as well as reductions in smoking and other risk factors."
But he admits that it may to be too soon to see the impact of increasing obesity rates.
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End Quote Prof David Leon LSHTMWe are yet to see the impact of a generation of people who have been obese from childhood through to adulthood”
"We are yet to see the impact of a generation of people who have been obese from childhood through to adulthood. We can't predict how that will affect life expectancy figures in the future."
"We are definitely seeing type-2 diabetes occurring more in teenagers due to obesity, but this is not immediately being translated into mortality rates."
"This is because of decreased rates of cardiovascular disease and concerted efforts to reduce risk and modify weight," Professor Leon said.
In 2007, the US was found to be at the same level for life expectancy as the lowest of any Western European country (Portugal for males and Denmark for females).
Its life expectancy rate for women has been increasing at a much slower pace than Western Europe since the 1980s.
Life expectancy in the US was 78 years in 2007, compared with 80 years in the UK.
Professor Leon writes: "This observation underlines that gross domestic product (GDP) and health care expenditure per capita are not good predictors of population health within high-income countries."
The latest figures from 2009 show that life expectancy in the UK is 82.6 years for women and 78.4 years for men.
Japan holds the line in nuclear plant crisis
Tokyo (CNN) -- Efforts to cool one of the reactors at a quake-damaged Japanese nuclear power plant have been "somewhat effective" since authorities turned helicopters, fire trucks and police water cannon on the facility, its owner said early Friday.
Japanese military helicopters dumped tons of water on the No. 3 reactor housing, including its spent fuel pool, at the Fukushima Daiichi plant until after midnight Thursday, the Tokyo Electric Power Company reported. Earlier, fire and police trucks turned their hoses on the No. 3 reactor housing for more than an hour, TEPCO reported, and the subsequent steam and lowered radioactivity levels indicated progress.
Experts believe that boiling steam rising from that pool, which contains at least partially exposed fuel rods, may be releasing radiation into the atmosphere.
In Vienna, Austria, a senior official of the International Atomic Energy Agency told reporters the situation remains serious, but there had been "no significant worsening" Thursday.
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Map: Fukushima Daiichi The damage to the nuclear reactors at Fukushima Daiichi has raised the specter of a multiple nuclear meltdown -- the nightmare scenario more common in movies than in reality in which fuel rods cannot be cooled and the reactor's core melts. In the worst-case scenario, the fuel can spill out of the damaged containment unit and spread radioactivity and cancer-causing isotopes through the air and water.
Radiation levels at the plant dipped Thursday evening, but remained high after spiking Thursday morning to nearly 3.8 millisieverts per hour -- more than a typical resident of a developed country receives in a year. But Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency said 17 of 18 workers checked Thursday morning tested normal, and the one who received a higher dose of radiation required no medical treatment.
"The radiation levels of individual workers are being properly managed by limiting their time in or close to the reactors," Hidehiko Nishiyama, NISA's deputy director-general, told reporters.
Meanwhile, engineers got an emergency diesel generator for Unit 6 running that was supplying energy to Units 5 and 6 for use in cooling the spent-fuel pools, a spokesman for the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency said Friday. Water injection to the spent fuel pool was continuing.
Also, officials gave confusing reports about the status of a new cable intended to restore power to unit No. 2. The International Atomic Energy Agency, citing "Japanese authorities," said the power cord had reached the unit and that it would be connected once spraying of water on the No. 3 reactor building had been completed.
But a TEPCO spokesman in the Tokyo bureau told CNN that the electrical line had not been connected, though officials hoped to get it connected by the end of Friday.
In four helicopter water drops Thursday morning, little water appeared to hit the No. 3 reactor building. Video aired on NHK showed that only one of the loads appeared to drop directly on the building.
Friday's earthquake and tsunami caused damage at four of the six reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi plant, located on the northern coast of the Japanese island of Honshu. Restoring power would help get the plant's pumping systems going again, to try to get water to the reactors and their adjacent pools for housing spent fuel.
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Thursday's efforts were focused on the No. 3 reactor, the sole damaged unit that contains plutonium along with the uranium in its fuel rods. But high concerns remained about the spent fuel pool at reactor No. 4, where the IAEA said no water-temperature data has been received since Monday and a U.S. official said Wednesday appeared to contain no water.
"The current situation at units 1, 2 and 3, whose cores have suffered damage, appears to be relatively stable," said Graham Andrew, a top aide to IAEA Director-General Yukiya Amano. "Unit 4, in particular, remains a major safety concern."
Gregory Jaczko, the head of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, told a congressional committee Wednesday that there was "no water" in the No. 4 pool, resulting in the emission of "extremely high" levels of radiation. But Japanese authorities disputed Jaczko's assertion, citing information gathered from a helicopter flight over the plant. A TEPCO official said Thursday that there was some water in the No. 4 spent fuel pool, "But we do not know how much water."
The Union of Concerned Scientists has warned that a mixed-oxide fuel like the kind used in reactor No. 3 could cause more harm than regular uranium fuels, since it has a lower melting point and can produce other radioactive elements. But Andrew said the IAEA did not consider the presence of mixed-oxide fuel in reactor No. 3 an especially significant concern, since plutonium is also a byproduct of the fuel used in other reactors.
Rebecca Johnson, founder of the London-based Acronym Institute for Disarmament Diplomacy, which promotes international security, disarmament and arms control, told CNN that Japanese engineers were "flying by the seat of their pants now ... Everything they try goes wrong. They're focusing on reactors, then spent fuel becomes damaged," Johnson said. "They've just got to get water in there, keep the water pumping."
And nuclear engineer Arnie Gundersen told CNN that the effort will likely need to be sustained "for months, if not years."
"What's pushing the firemen back is the radiation that's coming from the spent fuel pool," he said. If the spent fuel rods in that pool are uncovered, "There's an awful lot of gamma rays flooding that site, forcing the workers to say further away."
The U.S. Nuclear Energy Institute, a trade association for the American nuclear power business, said aerial photographs of the site backed up the Japanese assessment. The steel liner of the coolant pool remained intact, but the surrounding wall had collapsed on one side, it reported.
Nishiyama acknowledged that some data from the Daiichi plant may not be reliable as the quake knocked down power on site, rendering measurement equipment unstable. He was quick to defend how the government has handled information on the nuclear plant.
Public health officials say the release of radiation from a meltdown can cause immediate and long-term health problems, including radiation poisoning and cancer. About 200,000 people living within a 20-kilometer (12-mile) radius of the plant have been evacuated; those living 20 to 30 kilometers from the site have been told to remain inside, and Japan has banned flights over the area.
Tests in the city of Fukushima, 80 kilometers (50 miles) from the plant, found radiation measuring above the average reading but still well below the level considered harmful to humans. Small, harmless amounts of iodine -- a potential byproduct of a nuclear meltdown -- were found in the city's water.
Citing Fukushima Prefecture officials, Kyodo News reported Thursday that about 10,000 people had been screened for radiation exposure the previous day at evacuation centers and medical offices.
Koichi Shiga described the town of Minamisoma, 25 kilometers from the plant and site of the Hotel Iseya, which he owns, as ghostly quiet with most all shops closed and empty streets. Electricity and water were still flowing, though evacuation efforts had been hampered by a paucity of gasoline.
"People have not evacuated, they are staying at home," Shiga told CNN. "There was a ration of 10 liters of gas, and I saw a long line of people."
Several countries, including the United States, have called for a broader safety range, urging their citizens in Japan to evacuate or at least stay indoors if they live within 80 kilometers of the Fukushima Daiichi plant.
One positive development is that winds have been blowing from the northwest, helping push emitted radiation off to sea. Still, at least 20 people have fallen ill due to possible radiation contamination, in addition to 19 injured and two missing at the plant, according to the IAEA.
'Heartbroken' Obama offers support to Japan
Washington (CNN) -- U.S. President Barack Obama said Thursday that he was "heartbroken" over events in Japan but was offering resources to help the Japanese recover as well as to keep U.S. citizens out of harm's way.
In a statement at the White House, Obama noted that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Wednesday called for U.S. citizens to evacuate to beyond a 50-mile radius of the stricken plants in northeastern Japan.
That figure exceeds the 12.4-mile evacuation radius and 18.6-mile shelter radius called for by the Japanese government. Obama said the stricter U.S. recommendation was "based upon a careful scientific evaluation."
He also noted that the government has authorized the voluntary departure of family and dependents of U.S. officials in northeast Japan, and he called on all U.S. citizens in Japan "to carefully monitor the situation."
The crisis poses little risk to people in the United States, he said.
"Whether it's the West Coast, Hawaii, Alaska or U.S. territories in the Pacific, we do not expect harmful levels of radiation," he said. "That's the judgment of our Nuclear Regulatory Commission and many other experts."
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Baby born in quake-devastated Japan He added that public health experts do not recommend that people in the United States take precautionary measures beyond staying informed.
Though U.S. nuclear plants "have undergone exhaustive study and been declared safe for any number of extreme contingencies," Obama said that, in light of the disaster, he has asked the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to carry out a comprehensive review of the plants.
Meanwhile, the United States is "working aggressively" to offer support, with search-and-rescue teams and disaster-response teams and members of the U.S. military working in Japan. "To date, we have flown hundreds of missions to support the recovery efforts and distributed thousands of pounds of food and water."
He added, "We're sharing with them expertise, equipment and technology so that the courageous responders on the team have the benefit of American teamwork and support."
Earlier, during a visit to the Japanese Embassy, Obama said he was "heartbroken" over the events.
"I'm going to be making a statement, communicate how heartbroken we are of this tragedy," he said at the Embassy, where he met with Ambassador Ichiro Fujisaki and signed a book of condolences.
"Please know that America will stand by one of its greatest allies during this time of need," he wrote. "Because of the strength and wisdom of its peoples, we know that Japan will recover, and indeed will emerge stronger than ever."
Outside the embassy, flags hung at half-staff.
Washington's attention to the disaster came as thousands of Japanese settled, perhaps indefinitely, into shelters as the government scrambled to avert a wider nuclear disaster and foreigners sought to get out of the nation.
Foreign nationals formed long lines at the Tokyo immigration office for permits to temporarily leave, and the U.S. Defense Department authorized the voluntary departure of some relatives of servicemembers stationed in Japan.
The State Department said Americans may still be inside the 50-mile evacuation zone. "I would be surprised if we don't (have Americans in the zone) because we have literally thousands of names of Americans who reside in Japan," Deputy Assistant Secretary of State James Pettit said Thursday. "It would be hard to believe some of them do not live within that zone."
The State Department was sending a fleet of 14 buses to Sendai, Japan -- north of the evacuation zone -- to evacuate perhaps as many as 600 Americans who may still be in one of the areas hardest hit by the earthquake and tusunami and having difficulty traveling because of road damage.
"Those buses are en route, the consular teams are up in that area. They are getting out the word where the rallying points are," Undersecretary of State Patrick Kennedy said Thursday. He said the Americans were private American citizens either living or touring in Japan at the time of the disaster.
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Kennedy said there were conflicting numbers of how many Americans were in Japan when the earthquake and tsunami hit, with some estimates as high as 550,000.
"They are all guesses," Pettit said.
The potential number of U.S. military evacuees is "in the thousands," Pentagon spokesman Col. Dave Lapan said, adding that the authorization applies only to relatives living on the island of Honshu -- site of the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant -- and will not cover those who are simply visiting.
The United States has also authorized $35 million in humanitarian assistance for Japan, Lapan said, and the U.S. military is sending a nine-member team specializing in responding to nuclear hazards to advise the Japanese government. The team can assess radiation damage and advise on cleanup, among other capabilities.
In the hardest-hit parts of the country, thousands of people, many of them frail and elderly, settled into shelters not knowing when they might be able to leave.
They busied themselves with the ordinary: standing in line for lunch, or arranging the few belongings they salvaged before water washed away their homes.
Meanwhile, the scope of the tragedy grew as the National Police Agency reported that more than 5,000 people had died and nearly 10,000 were missing since Friday's monster 9.0-magnitude quake, which unleashed a tsunami, which sparked a nuclear disaster.
The government tried furiously to cool nuclear reactors in its latest bid to avert a wider disaster. Helicopters, fire trucks and police water cannon dumped or shot water on the No. 3 unit at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
Stocks dropped Thursday in Japan. The Nikkei 225 index, a measure of stocks traded in Tokyo, was down 454 points, or 5%, before rebounding and ending a nervous trading day down 131 points, or 1.4%.
On Thursday morning, Japanese forces made four helicopter passes in about a 20-minute span, dropping 7.5 tons of seawater each time on the facility's No. 3 unit in an attempt to cool its overheated spent fuel pool. Video of the operation on public broadcaster NHK showed that only one of the loads appeared to drop directly on the building. Experts say that steam rising from that pool, which holds at least partially exposed fuel rods, may be releasing radiation into the atmosphere.
But hours later, the Tokyo Electric Power Company, which runs the plant, said the efforts would continue.
A Japanese government spokesman, Noriyuki Shikata, tried to allay fears of an imminent meltdown. "We have not seen a major breach of containment" at any of the plant's troubled nuclear reactors, he said.
A meltdown occurs when nuclear fuel rods cannot be cooled and the nuclear core melts. In the worst-case scenario, the fuel can spill out of the containment unit and spread radioactivity through the air and water.
That, public health officials say, can cause both immediate and long-term health problems, including radiation poisoning and cancer.
Authorities also have banned flights over the area.
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