Foreign troops enter Bahrain as protests continue

By the CNN Wire Staff

March 15, 2011 -- Updated 0025 GMT (0825 HKT)

Parliamentarians asked King Hamad to enforce a curfew and deploy security forces.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• NEW: U.S., U.N. voice concerns over entry of foreign troops in Bahrain
• Analyst worries that the long-term effect might be to worsen the situation
• Armored vehicles and troops enter Bahrain from Saudi Arabia, a witness says
• Protesters take over the commercial district of the capital

(CNN) -- Foreign troops arrived Monday in the strategically and financially important Persian Gulf kingdom of Bahrain after a month of citizen protests, the Bahraini government said.

Saudi Arabia, Bahrain's giant neighbor to the west, appears to have provided at least some of the troops, who arrived under the banner of the Gulf Cooperation Council.

In a statement, the government described the troops as "coalition forces" but did not say what countries were represented. Their mission was equally vague: "The GCC Peninsula Shield coalition forces arrived in the Kingdom of Bahrain today following recent events, to help protect the safety of citizens, residents and critical infrastructure," it said.

The Saudi state news agency said its government had responded to Bahrain's request for help in view of the importance of security there.

According to the state news agency of the United Arab Emirates, southwest of Bahrain, it too "decided to send a security force to keep the peace in the Kingdom of Bahrain" at that country's request.

Anwar Mohammed Gargash, the UAE minister for foreign affairs, described the move as part of his country's responsibility within the Gulf Cooperation Council to bring "security and stability to the region."

In Paris, after a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the foreign minister of the United Arab Emirates, Abdullah bin Zayed al Nahyan, told reporters that the Bahrain government asked the council to "look at ways to help them to defuse the tension in Bahrain." The U.A.E. is a member of the Gulf Coalition Council, and the minister said his country had sent approximately 500 police officers to Bahrain to assist.

It was not clear how many foreign security troops had entered Bahrain in total. Various parts of the Bahraini government referred CNN questions to other government offices on Monday.

A witness said dozens of armored vehicles and buses full of soldiers crossed Monday afternoon from Saudi Arabia into Bahrain afternoon via the causeway linking the two countries.

The Gulf Cooperation Council comprises six Gulf states -- Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Qatar -- and encourages cooperation among members in a number of areas, including the economy and security.

The Obama administration and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon voiced concerns about the arrival of foreign troops in Bahrain.

"We urge restraint, we urge non-violence in response to non-violent protesters, the respect for the universal rights of people in the region to gather peacefully, to voice their opinions, to have their grievances heard by their governments, and to have greater participation in the political process," said Obama administration spokesman Jay Carney.

A spokesperson for Ban echoed that sentiment.

"The Secretary-General is troubled by the growing violence in the Kingdom of Bahrain that has left many people injured over the past few days," said spokesperson Anne Siddall in a prepared statement. "He notes with concern that troops from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates under the auspices of the Gulf Cooperation Council have reportedly entered the territory of Bahrain today."

"The Secretary-General strongly believes that peaceful means should be adopted to ensure national unity and stability. He appeals to all concerned to exercise maximum restraint and to do everything possible to prevent the use of force and further violence," Siddall's statement read.

Read more about the U.S. and U.N. responses

The movement of forces came on the same day that protesters seized control of a key part of the capital city of Manama, a Human Rights Watch official said.

About 100 demonstrators blocked access to the Bahrain Financial Harbour with barricades such as trash cans and cinderblocks, in effect shutting down the commercial district, Faraz Sanei said.

There was no police presence, he added.

"What we are witnessing in Manama is no peaceful protest," Bahrain's Foreign Minister Khalid al-Khalifa said. "It's wanton, gangster-style takeover of people's lives," he said on Twitter.

A pro-government group of lawmakers was urging the king of Bahrain to impose martial law for three months in the wake of the protests.

The arrival of the troops followed a day of clashes between protesters and security forces that resulted in the hospitalization of more than 1,000 people, human rights activists said.

The protests were the latest in a series that has swept across the Arab world this year, toppling the leaders of Tunisia and Egypt, but it was not clear that any other country had taken the step of calling in foreign troops for help.

"Temporarily, it should calm the situation," said Simon Henderson, director of the Gulf and energy policy program at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. He noted that the Obama administration has been urging political dialogue but said Monday's move was not what the U.S. president meant.

"Sending in Saudi forces is hardly encouraging political dialogue," Henderson said. "The great danger is, it will actually worsen the situation by encouraging Iran to get involved. Not militarily, probably, but certainly diplomatically and rhetorically."

The underlying concern is that Iran, an overwhelmingly Shiite state, could seize the opportunity to meddle in Bahrain's internal affairs. Bahrain has a Shiite majority population, but its rulers are Sunni.

Saudi Arabia's eastern province is home not only to many of the country's rich oil fields but to its largest concentration of minority Shiite as well. In recent weeks, Shiite demonstrators there have protested the Saudi government, whose leaders are overwhelmingly Sunni.

The Saudi government would presumably be concerned that any uprising by Shiite Muslims in Bahrain could inspire the Shiite population in nearby Saudi Arabia to follow suit.

Protests on Sunday appeared to have been among the most violent since last month, when police tried to clear the capital's Pearl Roundabout, leaving seven people dead, according to demonstrators.

Most of Sunday's injured suffered gas-related injuries, including burns and breathing problems, according to Nabeel Rajab, president of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights. Doctors and nurses were among the injured. At least five people were in critical condition, and at least two people lost their eyes because of bullet injuries, he said.

The government denied accusations Sunday that unjustified force was used against protesters at the harbor, along a key highway and at Bahrain University.

Britain's Foreign Office warned Sunday against all travel to the Gulf kingdom until further notice, saying, "The risk of further outbreaks of violence has increased."

The nation's Independent Bloc of lawmakers called on Bahrain security forces to intervene to protect national security and stability, the Bahrain News Agency reported Sunday. The bloc is composed of the 22 pro-government members of the lower house of the legislature.

"Extremist movements are resorting to escalation and sectarian mobilization, which led to an unprecedented disruption of security and hostile sectarian polarization at health and educational institutions," the group said in a statement.

The members of parliament asked King Hamad to enforce a curfew and deploy security forces across the country.

During protests in the tiny island nation, moderates have been demanding a constitutional monarchy, and hardliners have called for the abolition of the royal family altogether.

CNN's Caroline Faraj, Mohammed Jamjoom and Jenifer Fenton contributed to this report.

Protesters demonstrate in support of WikiLeaks suspect Manning

From Charley Keyes and Larry Shaughnessy, CNN

March 14, 2011 -- Updated 2252 GMT (0652 HKT)

Protesters demonstrate outside the State Department in Washington on Monday. They're calling for the release of WikiLeaks suspect Pfc. Bradley Manning.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Of the fewer than 20 protesters, three stripped to undergarments
• They were protesting confinement conditions for Pfc. Bradley Manning
• Manning has been held at a Marine base in Virginia since July
• He is awaiting a decision on whether he will face a court martial

Washington (CNN) -- Protesters -- some of them virtually naked on a breezy 50-degree March afternoon -- noisily demonstrated outside the State Department and marched to the White House Monday, calling for the release of WikiLeaks suspect Pfc. Bradley Manning.

Manning's case, and details of his detention at the Marine Corps Base in Quantico, Virginia, have drawn new attention in the aftermath of comments by State Department Spokesman, P.J. Crowley, and Crowley's sudden weekend resignation.

Amidst reports that Manning had been forced to sleep without clothing and confined to his cell 23-hours a day, Crowley had criticized how Manning was held at Quantico, calling it "ridiculous and counterproductive and stupid," according to news reports. Crowley was the face and voice of the Obama administration on the full-range of diplomatic issues and is a former Air Force colonel.

Manning has been jailed at Quantico since July and is awaiting a military decision on whether he will face a court martial. He is accused of downloading classified government files that the Defense Department believes are the source of thousands of documents released by WikiLeaks.

President Barack Obama, in response to a question, chose to defend Manning's detention at a Friday news conference, and after that Crowley's hours were numbered, with Secretary of State Clinton accepting his resignation "with regret" Sunday.

Monday morning, Pentagon spokesman Col. Dave Lapan repeated earlier statements that Manning is held in accordance with rules governing all maximum-custody detainees at Quantico, for his protection and the safety of others. He said that Manning is not currently on suicide watch but rather "POI" status, for "prevention of injury."

"Whether his status changes is a matter that's reviewed regularly down at the brig at Quantico," Lapan said.

In the past, because of concerns Manning might harm himself, he had been forced to sleep naked, Lapan confirmed.

"There was a period of time, for several days, where after making a comment that called into question his personal safety that his undergarments were removed from him at night during the sleeping period. He has since been given a sleeping garment to wear at night," Lapan said Monday at the Pentagon.

"During the period that his undergarments were taken from him, he still had bedding, he still had blankets. And he was again in the morning during daylight hours, given his standard issue jumpsuit."

Since then, Lapan said, Manning had been given a tear-proof sleeping garment.

Of the fewer than 20 protesters gathered outside the State Department three men stripped to undergarments -- specifically, athletic supporters -- to protest Manning's sleeping conditions.

One of those, Jay Marx, said he didn't believe the military's statements about Manning's treatment. "They are not protecting him. They are trying to drive him insane," Marx said.

Some of the protesters held up mock jail-cell bars with a banner that read, "Crowley was right: Manning's treatment is 'counterproductive, stupid and ridiculous.'"

Others shouted out march-cadence chants, including "Hillary, Hillary, can't you see? Bradley Manning speaks for me," and "Telling the truth isn't a crime, Bradley Manning shouldn't be doing time."

How Japan's religions confront tragedy

A religious statue in a tsunami-devastated area in Natori city, along the coast.

March 14th, 2011

By Dan Gilgoff, CNN.com Religion Editor

Proud of their secular society, most Japanese aren't religious in the way Americans are: They tend not to identify with a single tradition nor study religious texts.

"The average Japanese person doesn’t consciously turn to Buddhism until there’s a funeral,” says Brian Bocking, an expert in Japanese religions at Ireland’s University College Cork.

When there is a funeral, though, Japanese religious engagement tends to be pretty intense.

“A very large number of Japanese people believe that what they do for their ancestors after death matters, which might not be what we expect from a secular society,” says Bocking. “There’s widespread belief in the presence of ancestors’ spirits.”

In the days and weeks ahead, huge numbers of Japanese will be turning to their country’s religious traditions as they mourn the thousands of dead and try to muster the strength and resources to rebuild amid the massive destruction wrought by last Friday's 9.0 magnitude earthquake and resulting tsunami.

For most Japanese, religion is more complex than adhering to the country’s ancient Buddhist tradition. They blend Buddhist beliefs and customs with the country’s Shinto tradition, which dates back to the 15th century.

“Japanese are not religious in the way that people in North America are religious,” says John Nelson, chair of theology and religious studies at the University of San Francisco. “They’ll move back and forth between two or more religious traditions, seeing them as tools that are appropriate for certain situations.”

“For things connected to life-affirming events, they’ll turn to Shinto-style rituals or understandings,” Nelson says. “But in connection to tragedy or suffering, it’s Buddhism.”

There are many schools of Japanese Buddhism, each with its own teachings about suffering and what happens after death.

“There are many Buddhist explanations of why calamities happen: from collective karma to seeing calamities as signs of apocalypse,” says Jimmy Yu, an assistant professor of Buddhism and Chinese religions at Florida State University. “And perhaps all of them are irrelevant to what needs to be done.”

Indeed, where Christianity, Judaism or Islam are often preoccupied with causes of disaster - the questions of why God would allow an earthquake, for example - Eastern traditions like Buddhism and Shinto focus on behavior in reaction to tragedy.

“It’s very important in Japanese life to react in a positive way, to be persistent and to clean up in the face of adversity, and their religions would emphasize that,” says University College Cork’s Bocking. “They’ll say we have to develop a powerful, even joyful attitude in the face of adversity.”

Japan’s major religious groups are still developing responses to the disaster, but experts say the impulse toward maintaining a positive outlook will likely translate into calls for Japanese to help friends and neighbors clean up and rebuild.

At the same time, Japan’s Buddhist priests will be preoccupied with rituals surrounding death and burial. Japanese Buddhism is often called funeral Buddhism because of its concern with such rituals.

Despite the Japanese penchant for blending their religious traditions - even with Western traditions like Catholicism - the overwhelming majority are buried according to Buddhist custom: cremation and interment in a family plot.

With many bodies swept away in the tsunami, many Japanese will have to come to terms with having to forego that ritual.

After burial, Japanese typically continue to practice rituals around caring for the spirits of the deceased. Most Japanese keep Buddhist altars in their homes, Nelson says, using them to pay tribute to dead ancestors.

“In the days ahead, you’ll see people praying, with hands folded, for the spirits of those killed,” he says. “It goes back to a really early understanding of human spirits and rituals designed to control those spirits, which can take 49 days or, depending on the type of Buddhism, could go on for up to seven years.”

One popular school of Japanese Buddhism, called Amida - or Pure Land - believes in a paradise that spirits of the dead can enter with help from living relatives.

Despite what is likely to be a mass embrace of Buddhist rituals after the earthquake, there may also be some grievances expressed over those traditions.

Many young Japanese have left Buddhism, accusing priests of profiting from grief because of their paid roles in burials. Critics say the priests spend money from funerals on temples without playing a broader role in society.

“The earthquake is an opportunity for Buddhist priests to step up and show they are still relevant,” says Nelson. “Young people just aren’t buying it anymore.”

Gaddafi troops take back cities as world powers talk

Obama says Gaddafi "lost legitimacy…needs to leave"

Tuesday, 15 March 2011

• US & allies "tightening noose" around Gaddafi: Obama

A Libyan university student with his face painted with the pre-Gaddafi flag and the Qatari flag, takes part in a demo in Benghazi

TRIPOLI (Agencies)

Western allies planning for a possible no-fly zone over Libya may find their deliberations overtaken by events, as Muammar Gaddafi's forces close in on the opposition's stronghold of Benghazi with tanks, infantry and air support.

Forces loyal to Gaddafi launched attacks Monday on a key town which rebels have vowed to defend as the U.N. Security Council wrangled over Arab calls for a Libya no-fly zone, with Russia insisting "fundamental questions" remain.

Keeping up the pressure, U.S. President Barack Obama on Monday issued a new warning to Gaddafi, who he said had "lost his legitimacy and ... needs to leave."

European and Arab envoys emphasized the need for urgent U.N. action as Gaddafi's forces advance. But because of the split between world powers, the Security Council would need several days to agree measures, diplomats said.

In Tripoli, the UN's new envoy to Libya, Abdul Ilah Khatib, held talks with Foreign Minister Mussa Kussa to demand an end to the violence and access for humanitarian relief efforts, the world body said.

Regaining control of cities

Revolutionaries in Ajdabiya said four shells had crashed west of the town while a former officer who defected from Gaddafi's air force said there had been air strikes.

Former colonel Jamal Mansur also said rebels had regained a foothold in Brega, 80 kilometers (50 miles) to the west, which the Libyan army said it captured on Sunday.

Ajdabiya guards vital roads north along the coast to the capital of Benghazi and east across the desert to the oil port of Tobruk, which has given the protesters control of eastern Libya up to the Egyptian border.

The lightly-armed revolutionaries have been pushed back some 200 kilometers by superior forces in the past week and are now only 170 kilometers from Benghazi, Libya's second city with a population of around one million.

On the western front, Gaddafi's forces entered the town of Zuwarah after clashes with rebels in which at least one person was killed, a witness and pro-Gaddafi source said.

Libyan army spokesman Colonel Milad Hussein said in Tripoli that government forces were "marching to cleanse the country" of insurgents, whom he called "rats and terrorists."

But state television in Tripoli said former Libyan soldiers like Mansur who defected to the protesters would be pardoned if they surrender to government forces.

Mansur admitted the protesters were seriously ill-equipped and warned they could turn to urban guerrilla warfare.

"We are asking the West to carry out targeted strikes on military installations" as proposed by France.

Weighing no-fly zone

A no-fly zone may not make a decisive military difference, but could make a difference. The sooner it is done, the better

British PM David Cameron

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Feb. 28 that the U.S. and NATO allies were considering a no-fly zone. Since then, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the United Nations Security Council have failed to decide on taking any kind of military action. And the Arab League didn't give its support until March 12, by which time the protesters were losing ground.

Gaddafi has taken advantage of that indecision, launching an offensive that has pushed the revolutionaries back from town after town.

British Prime Minister David Cameron and French President Nicolas Sarkozy have been the most forceful advocates for a no-fly zone as a way to limit Gaddafi's forces and protect civilians. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has been wary of the commitment, as has the Obama administration.

"A no-fly zone may not make a decisive military difference, but could make a difference," Cameron said in London on Monday. "The sooner it is done, the better, because the effect it will have will be so much the greater."

A senior Libyan opposition figure, Mahmoud Jibril, met with Clinton in Paris on Monday and extended rebel requests beyond a no-fly zone to include air strikes to disable three Gaddafi- controlled airfields, supplies of combat material, and other measures, according to a U.S. official who briefed reporters on the condition his name not be used.

The U.S. official said afterward that the administration is trying to determine what actions Arab nations may take to support the protesters.

"While the Arab League has called for a no-fly zone to be imposed over Libya, a move seen as crucial to winning U.N. endorsement, Arab countries have made it clear that they don't intend to take part and may not contribute significantly to paying its costs. It would be carried out by the international community and by those countries who are able to impose it, like the NATO countries, for instance," the Arab League's ambassador to the U.S., Hussein Hassouna, said in an interview with Bloomberg Television March 8.

Libya Live Blog - March 15

By Al Jazeera Staff in

Africa

on March 14th, 2011.

Show oldest updates on top

As the uprising in Libya continues, we update you with the latest developments from our correspondents, news agencies and citizens across the globe. Al Jazeera is not responsible for content derived from external sites.

Blog: Feb17 - Feb18 - Feb19 - Feb20 - Feb21 - Feb22 - Feb23 - Feb24 -

Feb25 - Feb26 - Feb27 - Feb28 - Mar1 - Mar2 -Mar 3 - Mar4 - Mar5 -

Mar6 - Mar 7 - Mar8 - Mar9 - Mar10 - Mar 11 - Mar12 - Mar13 - Mar14

AJE Live Stream - Special Coverage: Libya Uprising - Twitter Audio - Tweeting revolutions

(All times are local in Libya GMT+2)

• Timestamp:

  8:37am

  As Gaddafi finds himself increasingly isolated internationally, he still has at least a few friends far away.
  
  The Associate Press reports that Venezuela's Hugo Chavez, Cuba's Fidel Castro and Nicaragua's Daniel Ortega have been foremost in opposing US and NATO military involvement.

  They have suggested that reports of atrocities by Gaddafi's troops are overblown or unproven.
  
  Chavez praised the African Union for appointing a commission of leaders to travel to Libya for talks - an effort in line with his own peace proposals.
  
  But the left-leaning governments of Argentina and Brazil have condemned Gaddafi's crackdown on opposition.

• Timestamp:

  8:14am

  Libyan 'rebel capital' threatened - check our latest news story on the situation in Libya

• Timestamp:

  8:11am

  British newspaper Guardian reports that the Libyan rebels are urging west to assassinate Gaddafi as his forces near Benghazi.

• Timestamp:

  7:41am

  Two young Libyans whose rap music is being broadcast to the front line by rebel Benghazi radio hope they are helping to maintain the morale of fighters outgunned by Gaddafi forces.
  
  "Rap does not physically change things, but it invigorates the soul of people fighting and sends a message to all Libyans," 16-year-old Imad Abbar, sitting perched on a paint can in the patio of his home in Benghazi, told AFP news agency.
  
  Hamza Sisi agreed, and the lyrics - in Arabic - he wrote for their rap song "Shamat Al-Medina", or "Candles of the City", say all:
  
  The candles of the city shine to tell the world what we want,
  The candles of the city won't rest and won't give up,
  The blood of the fighters is our own,
  We won't surrender until the regime falls.

• Timestamp:

  5:50am

  In Libya, Colonel Gaddafi's forces in the east are continuing to push the rebels back.
  
  That's as the UN's security council has again discussed imposing a no-fly zone in the country - but with no firm outcome.
  
  But as Nick Clark reports from Libya, time is running out for a population that has a proud legacy dating back thousands of years.

• 1:24am

  Ali Errishi, a former Libyan minister, spoke to Al Jazeera about the situation in Libya.

  We are frustrated, the UN should live up to its moral and legal obligations, and do what is right, we are disappointed with the US for not exercising leadership.
  
  People went out to demonstrate peacefully, they were then faced with bullets and with air bombardment. We had to defend ourselves. This fight has been imposed upon us.
  
  The Libyan people made up their mind, it is either victory or death, the rest of the world should know, that there is no room for negations because the other side left no room for negotiations.

Japan in crisis: Live blog

By Al Jazeera Staff in

Asia

on March 14th, 2011.

A boy walks through the rubble of Rikuzentakata in northern Japan [Picture: Reuters]

Show oldest updates on top

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

Blog: Mar11-12 - Mar13 - Mar14

(All times are local in Japan GMT+9)

• Timestamp:

  3:48pm

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

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

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

  3:31pm

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

• Timestamp:

  3:12pm

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

• Timestamp:

  3:05pm

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

• Timestamp:

  2:34pm

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

• Timestamp:

  2:27pm

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

• Timestamp:

  2:05pm

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

  Al Jazeera's Stefanie Dekker reports.

• 1:22pm

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

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

• Timestamp:

  12:43pm

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

• Timestamp:

  10:33am

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

• Timestamp:

  10:30am

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

• Timestamp:

  9:30am

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

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

• Timestamp:

  8:46am

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

• Timestamp:

  8:45am

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

• Timestamp:

  8:21am

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

• Timestamp:

  6:18am

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

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

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

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

• Timestamp:

  6:11am

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

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

• Timestamp:

  5:50am

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

  This one shows Japan's nuclear power stations.

  

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

  

• Timestamp:

  5:21am

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

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

• Timestamp:

  5:12am

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

• Timestamp:

  4:55am

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

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

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

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

• Timestamp:

  4:25am

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

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

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

• Timestamp:

  4:10am

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

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

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

• Timestamp:

  3:30am

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

• 3:14am

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

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

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

• Timestamp:

  2:55am

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

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

  

  [Picture: Reuters]

• Timestamp:

  2:45am

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

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

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

  It is the elderly who have been hit the hardest.

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

  Snow is expected within the next few days.

• Timestamp:

  2:15am

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

  One Tocqueville Finance fund manager said:

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

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

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

• Timestamp:

  1:48am

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

  

  [Picture: Reuters]

• Timestamp:

  1:40am

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

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

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

• Timestamp:

  1:15am

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

• 1:09am

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

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

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

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

• Timestamp:

  12:51am

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

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

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

• Timestamp:

  12:44am

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

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

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

• Timestamp:

  12:22am

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

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

  However, Japanese safety officials told the IAEA:

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

• Timestamp:

  12:02am

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

summary

Saudi soldiers sent into Bahrain

Saudi troops and police from UAE deployed to Gulf neighbour to help protect government facilities after weeks of unrest. Last Modified: 15 Mar 2011 04:05 GMT

Television footage showed Saudi troops entering Bahrain in armoured vehicles [REUTERS] Hundreds of Saudi troops have entered Bahrain to help protect government facilities there amid escalating protests against the government. Bahrain television on Monday broadcast images of troops in armoured cars entering the Gulf state via the 26km causeway that connects the kingdom to Saudi Arabia. The arrival of the troops follows a request to members of the Gulf Co-Operation Council (GCC) from Bahrain, whose Sunni rulers have faced weeks of protests and growing pressure from a majority Shia population to institute political reforms. The United Arab Emirates has also sent about 500 police to Bahrain, according to Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, the Emirati foreign minister. The US, which counts both Bahrain and Saudi Arabia among its allies, has called for restraint, but has refrained from saying whether it supports the move to deploy troops. "We urge our GCC (Gulf Co-operation Council) partners to show restraint and respect the rights of the people of Bahrain, and to act in a way that supports dialogue instead of undermining it," Tommy Vietor, the White House spokesman, said. Interestingly, the Pentagon said neither Gates nor Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff who also recently visited Bahrain, had been given any indication that Saudi or other forces from the region would deploy to Bahrain. Iran, meanwhile, has warned against "foreign interferences". "The peaceful demonstrations in Bahrain are among the domestic issues of this country, and creating an atmosphere of fear and using other countries' military forces to oppress these demands is not the solution," Hossein Amir Abdollahian, an official from the Iranian foriegn ministry, was reported by Iran's semi-official Fars news agency as saying. 'Solidarity move' Abdel al-Mowada, the deputy chairman of Bahrain's parliament, told Al Jazeera that it was not clear how the Saudi force would be deployed but denied the troops would become a provocation to protesters. "It is not a lack of security forces in Bahrain, it is a showing of solidarity among the GCC," he told Al Jazeera. "I don't know if they are going to be in the streets or save certain areas ... [but protesters] blocking the roads are no good for anyone, we should talk. "The government is willing to get together and make the changes needed, but when the situation is like this, you cannot talk." The Saudi troops arrived less than 24 hours after Bahraini police clashed with demonstrators in one of the most violent confrontations since troops killed seven protesters last month. Opposition groups, including Wefaq, the country's largest Shia movement, have spoken out against the use of foreign troops. "We consider the entry of any soldier or military machinery into the Kingdom of Bahrain's air, sea or land territories a blatant occupation," Wefaq said in a statement. 'Urgent distress call' Speaking to Al Jazeera from Bahrain, Matar Ebrahim Matar, an opposition MP, said: "These are not security forces, they are military forces. There is a big difference between the two. "The fact is, they are coming with those military forces to face unarmed people in Bahrain, and that is the reason Bahrainis are sending an urgent distress call to the UN through their political parties. "The political parties are supporting the dialogue, and they are waiting for initiatives from Crown Prince Salman [bin Hamad Al-Khalifa]. But the government has not provided any proposal. Until now all the terms set by the royal family are vague." Nabeel Rajab, from the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, told Al Jazeera that the Saudi troops would be opposed by the protesters. "This is an internal issue and we will consider it as an occupation," he said. "This step is not welcomed by Bahrainis. This move is not acceptable at all. It is a repressive regime supported by another repressive regime." Already, as reports circulated about the Saudi force's arrival, hundreds of protesters had gathered behind makeshift checkpoints around the Pearl Roundabout, the scene of much of the protest in Bahrain. Nevertheless, in a sign that the opposition and Bahrain's royal family could still find a solution, the opposition groups said they had met the crown prince to discuss the mechanism for national dialogue. Salman offered assurances on Sunday that dialogue would address key opposition demands, including giving parliament more power and reforming government and electoral districts. Qatari PM's remarks Speaking to Al Jazeera about Monday's Gulf troop deployment, Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabr Al-Thani, the Qatari prime minister and foreign minister, said: "There are common responsibilities and obligations within the GCC countries. "The arrival of Saudi and UAE troops in Bahrain is in line with a GCC defence agreement that calls for all members to oblige when needed and to fully co-operate." He did not rule out the possibility of a Qatari presence, saying: "To be honest, we always have had Qatari peacekeeping troops. We have troops in Eritrea [in east Africa] to keep the peace between that country and Djibouti. "We are committed to adhering to the GCC agreement. At the moment we have peacekeeping troops. We don't have a full force there, but this is up for discussion. "What I want to say is that the situation is Bahrain is very sensitive and we wish that peace will prevail in the streets of Bahrain. I think that the call from the next-in-line to the throne in Bahrain for dialogue is a sincere call, and should be regarded seriously by all sections." Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim said "if we want the talks and dialogue to succeed, then we need to calm the situation in the streets. This can be achieved by the withdrawal of everybody from the streets." Referring to the Bahraini Shia parties' opposition to the military intervention, he said: "As I said, dialogue is the only way to solve everything, and this cannot be achieved under the tense circumstances. Therefore I advise the protesters to retreat. This is a genuine invitation that will lead to a serious dialogue that will lead to concrete results in Bahrain."

Source: Al Jazeera and agencies