Japan braces for potential radiation catastrophe

Prime Minister Naoto Kan urged people within 30 km (18 miles) of the facility north of Tokyo to remain indoors and conserve power amid the world's most serious nuclear disaster since the Chernobyl disaster in Ukraine in 1986.guess handbags
As concern about the crippling economic impact of the nuclear and earthquake disasters mounted, Japanese stocks fell as much as 14 percent before ending down 9.5 percent, compounding a slide of 7.6 percent the day before. The two-day fall has wiped some $620 billion off the market.
The French Embassy in Tokyo warned in an 0100 GMT advisory that a low level of radioactive wind could reach the capital -- 240 km (150 miles) south of the plant -- in about 10 hours.
Radiation levels in the city of Maebashi, 100 km (60 miles) north of Tokyo were up to 10 times normal levels, Kyodo news agency said. Only minute levels were found in the capital itself, which so far were "not a problem", city officials said.
"The possibility of further radioactive leakage is heightening," a grim-faced Kan said in an address to the nation. "We are making every effort to prevent the leak from spreading. I know that people are very worried but I would like to ask you to act calmly."
There were two explosions on Tuesday at two of the reactors at the nuclear facility after days of frantic efforts to cool them. Japan told the U.N. nuclear watchdog a spent fuel storage "pond" was on fire and radioactivity was being released "directly" into the atmosphere.
Levels of 400 millisieverts per hour had been recorded at the plant, the government said. Exposure to over 100 millisieverts a year is a level which can lead to cancer, according to the World Nuclear Association.
Japan announced a 30-km no-fly zone around the reactors.
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Despite pleas for calm, residents rushed to shops in Tokyo to stock up on supplies. Don Quixote, a multi-storey, 24-hour general store in Roppongi district, sold out of radios, flashlights, candles and sleeping bags.
In a sign of regional fears about the risk of radiation, China said it was strengthening monitoring of the area and Air China said it had canceled flights to Tokyo.
But the blasts could expose the population to longer-term exposure to radiation, which can raise the risk of thyroid and bone cancers and leukemia , he said. Children and fetuses are especially vulnerable.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano, talking of levels of radiation at the Fukushima Daiichi plant's No. 4 reactor, said: "There is definitely a possibility that this could affect people's bodies."
Many of the worrying milestones mapped out by experts have been passed, with some workers having left the complex and people living within 30 km told to stay indoors. power balance
There have been a total of four explosions at the plant since it was damaged in last Friday's massive quake and tsunami. The most recent were blasts at reactors No. 2 and No. 4.
There was a real possibility of a leak in the No.4 reactor container, which houses the nuclear fuel rods, according to Murray Jennex, a professor at San Diego State University in California.
Concerns center on damage to a part of the reactor core known as the suppression pool, which helps cool and trap the majority of cesium, iodine, strontium in its water. The nature of the damage was unclear, as was its impact on the containment structure, a thick steel vessel that surrounds the core.
Jennex said the crisis in Japan, the only nation to have suffered a nuclear attack, was worse that the Three Mile Island disaster of 1979.

Kobe scores 26 points as Lakers rout NBA-best Spurs

It technically wasn't the worst for the San Antonio Spurs, though it often looked that way.
The Lakers may not catch the NBA's winningest team for the No. 1 seed in time for the playoffs, but they guess handbags handed the Spurs a blunt reminder that the Western Conference is still theirs to surrender, beating San Antonio 99-83 in a blowout Sunday.
Bryant, who finished with 26 points, didn't make much of it.
"I don't think it's that big of a message that we sent today," he said.
It was the seventh straight victory for the Lakers, who are playing as well as any point this season. Coach Phil Jackson concedes that San Antonio's 6½-game lead in the West may be too big to overcome with 18 games left. But the Lakers still made a few marks.
One is emphatically ending San Antonio's franchise-record home winning streak at 22 games. Another is beating the Spurs for the first time in three tries, including last month's stunning loss in Los Angeles when Antonio McDyess tipped in the game-winner at the buzzer.
Bryant, for his part, didn't show any excitement in winning this round. 2011 guess handbags
"Why should I be?" he said.
Instead, Bryant sought to keep the lopsided win in perspective.
"We know we're capable of having games like this and San Antonio knows we're capable of having games like this," he said. "It just as easily could go the other way around."
Tony Parker led the Spurs with 14 points. He was their only starter in double figures; Tim Duncan scored two points and Manu Ginobili scored six.
"They hit us in the mouth from the beginning and by the time we realized it, it was the ninth round and we were down on the scorecard," Spurs guard Gary Neal said.
Pau Gasol scored 21 points and Andrew Bynum had 17 rebounds for the Lakers, who can match their longest win streak of the season with a victory at Atlanta on Tuesday.
It's part of arguably the toughest stretch this season for the Lakers, who are still out to prove they're the NBA's best despite trailing the Spurs all season. The Lakers will also play at Miami and at Dallas before coming home to face Orlando on March 14.
By the time the Magic leave Los Angeles, the Lakers will have faced four of the NBA's top seven teams in a span of eight days.
Jackson called it the best the Lakers have played all season against this caliber opponent.
"We need to be at our peak later on," Gasol said. "Not right now."
The last Spurs loss at the AT&T Center had been to Dallas on Nov. 26. But that 103-94 defeat wasn't anything like this.
Bryant finished 12 for 25 and had seven rebounds. His only blemish was a technical foul in the second quarter after getting tangled up with Ginobili, leading to a brief exchange of stares and words.
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Ron Artest rushed between the two and pulled Bryant away. It was Bryant's 14th technical foul this season, though he stands at 12 after having two rescinded. The NBA issues a one-game suspension after 16 technical fouls.
The last time the Spurs and Lakers met was in Los Angeles on Feb. 3, when the Spurs won 89-88 on McDyess' tip-in as time expired. Jackson had his video staff pull that clip before this one and remind his team of a game Jackson said they should've won.

Retail sales in February rose in categories ranging from clothing to furniture

Figures released by MasterCard Advisors' SpendingPulse, which tracks spending in all forms including cash, show clothing sales rose 6 percent, with increases in men's, women's and teen clothing. Chanel sunglasses 2011
Furniture sales rose 4 percent, the fourth consecutive monthly increase for that category, one of the hardest-hit during the recession.
"The momentum we've been seeing over the past several months is more or less continuing to hold," said Michael McNamara, vice president of research and analysis at SpendingPulse.
However, he said that if gas prices continue to rise — the national average gasoline price passed the $3.15 mark last month for the first time since 2008 — it could put a damper on spending.
"That's one of the things on the watch list," McNamara said.
Luxury sales excluding jewelry rose 1.7 percent, a slower pace for a sector that recovered more quickly than others post-recession. But McNamara said that could be just because luxury spending shifted to jewelry during the month because of Valentine's Day. He didn't give a monthly figure for jewelry but said the category was up.summer fashion
Online sales rose 13.2. percent, continuing to outpace physical store sales. Higher gas prices actually could help online sales, McNamara said, if more people decide to shop at home.
Electronics and appliance sales fell 4.1 percent. Electronics sales overall have been hurt by drastically lower prices for flat-panel televisions.
More details on February spending will come Thursday when major retailers, including Target Corp. and Macy's Inc., report their sales at stores open at least a year.guess handbags
The International Council of Shopping Centers expects revenue in stores open at least one year will rise 2.5 percent to 3 percent industrywide.
"February has definitely been a rollercoaster ride for retailers as weekly sales continue to bounce back and forth," said Michael Niemira, ICSC vice president of research and chief economist, in a note last week.