Right-wing propaganda aside, America’s teachers are underpaid and need to make more if the United States is to compete internationally, writes Nicholas Kristof at the New York Times . “We should be elevating teachers, not throwing darts at them,” he says. In 1970, a starting public school teacher earned just $2,…
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Hacker hired by senior News of the World executive to intercept emails, BBC documentary says The News of the World phone-hacking scandal is set to reach a new peak of embarrassment for the paper and for Scotland Yard with the naming of the sixth and most senior journalist yet to be implicated in illegal news-gathering. A BBC Panorama programme claims that Alex Marunchak, formerly the paper’s senior executive editor, commissioned a specialist snooper who illegally intercepted email messages from a target’s computer and faxed copies of them to Marunchak’s News of the World office. The embarrassment is heightened by the fact that the target was a former British army intelligence officer who had served in Northern Ireland and was in possession of secrets which were deemed so sensitive that they had been suppressed by a court order. Rupert Murdoch’s News International, which owns the News of the World, has claimed repeatedly that only one of its journalists – the former royal correspondent, Clive Goodman – was involved in illegal news-gathering. When Goodman was jailed in January 2007, Scotland Yard chose not to interview any other journalist or executive on the paper. And Panorama reports that the illegal interception of emails happened in July 2006, when the prime minister’s former media adviser Andy Coulson was editing the paper. Coulson has given evidence to a parliamentary select committee and on oath at a criminal trial, denying that he knew anything of any illegal activity during his seven years at the News of the World. Panorama obtained details of a fax sent to the office of Marunchak on 5 July 2006, apparently containing copies of emails which had been written by Ian Hurst, a former army intelligence officer. Marunchak was then based in the News of the World’s Dublin office, editing the Irish edition. Hurst was believed to be involved in writing a book titled Stakeknife, eventually published under the pseudonym Martin Ingram, which details the alleged involvement of British intelligence in assassinations in Northern Ireland. Hurst had been the subject of court orders obtained by the Ministry of Defence. Panorama traced Hurst and showed him the fax. He confirmed on camera that the emails had come from his computer. “The hairs on the back of my head are up,” he told them. Hurst then contacted a specialist hacker who he suspected was responsible, met him in a local hotel and confronted him, while the BBC secretly filmed the exchange. The hacker – whose name cannot be revealed for separate legal reasons – confessed his role and added: “It weren’t that hard. I sent you an email that you opened, and that’s it … I sent it from a bogus address … Now it’s gone. It shouldn’t even remain on the hard drive … I think I programmed it to stay on for three months.” Hurst then asked the hacker who had commissioned him to do this. The hacker replied: “The faxes would go to Dublin … He was the editor of the News of the World for Ireland. A Slovak-type name. I can’t remember his fucking name. Alex, his name is. Marunchak.” Marunchak declined to answer questions when the BBC confronted him. The BBC claim that Marunchak was introduced to the specialist hacker by Jonathan Rees, the private investigator whose involvement with corrupt police officers was detailed by the Guardian on Saturday. Internal News International records show that Marunchak regularly employed Rees from the late 1990s, and that during 2006, the News of the World paid Rees more than £4,000 for research relating to Stakeknife, the codename for the British intelligence mole inside the IRA whose activities were known to Ian Hurst. Marunchak is the sixth News of the World journalist to be implicated in the affair. Documents published by the Guardian in 2009 include an email containing the transcripts of 35 illegally intercepted voicemail messages, sent by a junior reporter, Ross Hindley, for the chief reporter, Neville Thurlbeck. Paperwork disclosed in court cases suggests that Clive Goodman, Ian Edmondson and Greg Miskiw commissioned phone-hacking. Goodman was jailed; Edmondson has been sacked but not charged with any offence; Miskiw is believed to have been interviewed by police in 2005 but never charged with any offence. Monday’s edition of Panorama includes an interview with Sean Hoare, the News of the World’s former showbusiness writer, who last year told the New York Times that Andy Coulson had actively encouraged him to hack voicemail. Hoare tells the programme that the news desk commissioned private investigators to access targets’ bank accounts, phone records, mortgage accounts and health records. The former deputy assistant commissioner of Scotland Yard, Brian Paddick, who believes his own voicemail may have been intercepted on behalf of the News of the World, told the programme “I think that the new investigation should be carried out by an external force and it should be independently supervised. Otherwise, certainly some of the victims of phone-hacking will not be satisfied that the thing has been investigated thoroughly.” In a separate development, the Director of Public Prosecutions, Keir Starmer QC, has taken the unusual step of publicly challenging a senior serving police officer, who has been closely involved in the hacking affair. In a letter published in the Guardian, Starmer accuses the assistant commissioner of the Metropolitan police John Yates of quoting him out of context in attempting to justify evidence which he has given to two parliamentary select committees. In the House of Commons last week, Chris Bryant MP said that Yates had misled the committees by claiming that it is illegal to hack voicemail messages only if they have not already been heard by the intended recipient. This was a key factor in justifying the Yard’s claim that there was only a small number of victims of the News of the World’s activities. Yates wrote to the Guardian defending his position and quoting a sentence from evidence submitted by the DPP’s office to one of the select committees. However, in his letter to the Guardian, Keir Starmer says it was “regrettable” that Yates used this sentence out of context; that the original prosecution did not use this interpretation of the law; and that this interpretation had no bearing on the charges brought or the legal proceedings generally. “The issue simply did not arise,” he writes. News of the World Phone hacking Andy Coulson News Corporation News International Rupert Murdoch Newspapers Nick Davies guardian.co.uk
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WikiLeaks disclosure of classified US files claims first Obama administration scalp as state department spokesman quits The disclosure of hundreds of thousands of classified US documents through WikiLeaks has claimed its first scalp within the Obama administration with the reported resignation of PJ Crowley, the official spokesman at the state department. CNN is reporting that Crowley is abruptly stepping down as the public face of US foreign policy because of his remarks to an MIT seminar last week about the treatment of the suspected source of the WikiLeaks documents, Bradley Manning, in a military jail. Crowley said: “What is being done to Bradley Manning is ridiculous and counterproductive and stupid on the part of the department of defence.” The remarks forced Obama to address the issue of Manning’s regime in the brig at Quantico marine base in Virginia for the first time. The president sought to defend the treatment, which includes Manning being held in solitary confinement in his cell for 23 hours a day and being stripped naked at night. Crowley’s comments, which were picked up by a BBC news correspondent Philippa Thomas as part of a journalism fellowship she is taking at Harvard, broke the united front that the US government had previously maintained over WikiLeaks. Several administration figures, including Crowley’s boss Hillary Clinton, had vowed to aggressively hunt down the leaker of the WikiLeaks trove. Crowley’s reported resignation indicates that the administration has been embarrassed by indications of in-fighting over Manning’s handling as he awaits court martial, which some – including the source of the Pentagon papers, Daniel Ellsberg – have likened to torture . Commentators were quick to point out the apparent double standards within the government. Glenn Greenwald, a Salon reporter who has been outspoken about Manning’s detention, tweeted that “detainee abuse is allowed, speaking out against it isn’t”. Last week Manning gave his own personal account of theconditions in which he is being held, saying that it amounted to harsh treatment that was designed to be punitive even before he had been put on trial. He described being stripped naked every night having made a sarcastic comment to guards about the absurdity of the regime he was under. Manning has been charged with multiple counts relating to the leaking to WikiLeaks of thousands of secret US embassy cables, as well as videos and warlogs from Afghanistan and Iraq. He was arrested last May at a US military base outside Baghdad, where he had been working as an intelligence specialist. Bradley Manning WikiLeaks US politics United States Obama administration Ed Pilkington guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …The protesters-turned-troops that make up the anti-Gadhafi rebellion in Libya may be full of hope and determination, but they are also terribly outgunned and outmanned, and now the disorganized rebellion appears on the verge of collapse, reports the LA Times . Along the 140-mile desert highway from the rebels’ new defensive…
Continue reading …Google yesterday released its first satellite pictures of Japan taken since Friday’s quake, revealing in stark detail before-and-after views of Kamaishi, maps indicating which roads remain passable, and other images of the massive devastation. Google also set up a Picasa gallery full of before-and-after images from around the northeast region…
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Theatre Royal Haymarket, London Sienna Miller may be the box-office draw, but Trevor Nunn’s magnificent revival of Terence Rattigan’s 1942 play is an ensemble achievement. And that seems appropriate for a play that is a tribute to the collective spirit of wartime bomber crews and their partners. Given the circumstances, you’d hardly expect a debate about the morality of the air offensive: what the play provides, with Rattigan’s characteristic flair for understatement, is a deeply moving portrait of people at war. The action is set in a Lincolnshire hotel lounge in the autumn of 1941: it’s where the RAF pilots and crews hang out before and after their raids on German territory. But Rattigan uses a personal dilemma as a way of exploring the group ethos. Peter Kyle, an ageing Hollywood star, has turned up in the hope of reclaiming the one true love of his life, the recently married Patricia. She, however, is faced with a conflict. Who needs her more? Kyle, whose career is on the skids, or her pilot husband, Teddy, whose breezy manner conceals shattered nerves? But the private drama is played out against the background of a bombing raid which is “not exactly a piece of cake”. Rattigan allows himself one sentimental piece of plotting; and the final act of renunciation has strong echoes of A Tale of Two Cities, which he and Gielgud had adapted in 1935. But the occasional romanticism is counterbalanced by Rattigan’s genius for barely expressed emotion. A simple exchange of goodbyes between a tail-gunner and his wife, as he leaves for a raid, brings a lump to the throat. And, as the men fly off to face possible death, the wife of a Polish pilot says to Patricia: “This is the first time you’ve been here for a do, isn’t it?” In one sense, Rattigan’s plays are an attack on the English vice of emotional containment. But he also understood its dramatic power and, watching this play, it struck me that Rattigan learned that from his own wartime RAF experience. Nunn’s production, using interpolated film of the flight take-off, beautifully captures both the sense of danger and its boozy, raucous aftermath. And the performances are impeccable. Sienna Miller looks suitably strained, tense and taut as the agonised Patricia and James Purefoy admirably conveys the sense of exclusion felt by the movie star caught up in wartime action. Sheridan Smith is also quite stunning as a former barmaid who now finds herself a countess because of her marriage to the Polish pilot: Smith never overdoes the brassiness and there is a heart-stopping moment when her features light up as she learns, from a letter, how much she was loved by her missing-in-action husband. But all the acting is first-rate, from Harry Hadden-Paton as Patricia’s secretly terrified husband to Clive Wood as the bluff squadron leader who, in one of the play’s few overtly patriotic lines, says: “My God, we do owe these boys something, you know.” It is typical of Rattigan that this is delivered almost as an aside; and it is precisely that embarrassed English emotional hesitancy that makes this play so overwhelmingly moving. Rating: 4/5 Terence Rattigan Theatre Sienna Miller Michael Billington guardian.co.uk
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Footage of the blast at the Fukushima Daiichi No 1 nuclear plant in north-east Japan which is under a state of emergency after the earthquake and tsunami
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Foreign secretary moves to end speculation he has ‘lost his mojo’ after attacks on handling of Libya crisis William Hague has dismissed claims he has “lost his mojo” and is ready to resign as foreign secretary. Hague has faced questions about his appetite for frontline politics and criticism of his handling of the Libyan crisis. In an interview with the Sunday Telegraph , he sought to end speculation about his future and David Cameron’s support for him. “If some of the people who write about mojo came with me for a week, they would drop dead on their feet,” he said. “The prime minister is extremely supportive and so are the vast majority of Conservative MPs. People had better get used to the idea.” Earlier this week, senior Liberal Democrat Sir Menzies Campbell openly questioned Hague’s commitment to the job. “I am not sure just how enthusiastic he is about this business,” Campbell said. “It is very, very hard … It is a very, very demanding job.” Challenged about his commitment the following day, Hague fuelled speculation by saying only that he would remain in the job for “an extended period of time”. Referring to events in the Middle East and north Africa, Hague said: “These are historic and momentous events that are taking place. “I say to you very seriously that all of us who have taken on the job of shouldering responsibilities at this time will see those responsibilities through for an extended period of time in the face of any criticism or setbacks.” Asked whether Hague’s position in government was under threat, the prime minister’s official spokesman said Cameron was not planning a Cabinet reshuffle “any time soon”. The foreign secretary has been criticised over the botched SAS mission to make contact with Libyan rebels, uncertainty over the government’s position on the imposition of a no-fly zone, the slow start to the evacuation of British nationals and his mistaken suggestion that Colonel Muammar Gaddafi had fled to Venezuela. William Hague Conservatives Liberal-Conservative coalition Foreign policy Libya guardian.co.uk
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Rebels driven out of town of Brega under heavy bombardment as pro-regime forces advance towards Benghazi Muammar Gaddafi’s forces were routing Libyan rebels in the east of the country today, driving the revolutionaries into full retreat from the town of Brega with a rain of rockets and shelling. The rebel army fled in hundreds of pick-up trucks, many with machine guns mounted on the back, and saloon cars back toward the nearest major town of Ajdabiya. Some of the revolutionaries, many of whom are young men with no previous combat experience, appeared close to panic. Many of the remaining civilians in the area fled with them. The rapid advance by pro-regime forces came as Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, prepared to travel to the region to meet representatives of the Libyan rebels’ revolutionary council. Clinton’s trip follows an unprecedented Arab League call for western military intervention to assist the embattled rebels. The call has increased pressure on Barack Obama to throw Washington’s full weight behind efforts to oust Gaddafi before it is too late. Suliman Refadi, a doctor fleeing Brega hospital, said the town came under intense bombardment. “They shot 40 to 60 rockets at the same time. The sky was raining with rockets, with shrapnel. There was heavy artillery. Then they advanced,” he said. “It was impossible to stay.” Refadi said that among the victims was a seven year-old boy who lost part of his skull and brain and who he expected to die. He said he also saw four civilians, three men and a woman, dead beside the road. The regime’s assault came after it seized control of the strategic oil town of Ras Lanuf yesterday. With the opposition line broken, Gaddafi’s forces appeared to have little trouble moving on Brega about 90 miles along the road towards the rebel capital of Benghazi. It is not clear if the revolutionary forces will be able to make a stand in Ajdabiya, which sits on an important intersection where the main coastal road divides. If the town falls, Gaddafi’s army would be able to move on Benghazi and head toward towns closer to the Egyptian border, notably the major oil city of Tobruk. In what is seen as a crucial week both diplomatically and militarily for Libya, Clinton is due to spend two days in Egypt and Tunisia starting on Tuesday, the first visits by the US secretary of state since the recent popular uprisings. Officials from the Benghazi-based rebel council are expected to travel to meet her. The exact venue and timing of the meeting has not been disclosed. The Obama administration has so far blocked British and French moves to impose a no-fly zone over Libya to curtail Gaddafi’s attacks on rebel forces and civilians. One stated reason for its reluctance is concern that the US has little first-hand knowledge of the embattled rebel groups, which have been asking for western military assistance with increasing urgency in recent days. Speaking at a press conference on Friday, Obama expressed caution about dealing with the Benghazi council, which France alone has recognised as Libya’s legitimate successor government. The opposition was “just getting organised”, Obama said. Clinton’s talks are intended to give the US a better picture of who it may be dealing with if Gaddafi falls. Catherine Ashton, the EU’s foreign policy chief, is also in the region and was due to hold talks about the no-fly zone proposal with the Arab League in Cairo today. It was not immediately clear whether Ashton would also seek to make contact with the Libyan rebels. Like the US, the EU has demanded Gaddafi’s resignation and an end to the violence but has so far stopped short of endorsing military intervention. With events moving fast on the ground, it seemed increasingly possible that the diplomatic initiatives would come too late to save the Libyan uprising, a fear apparently shared by the Arab League. Its unanimous weekend decision to ask the UN security council to impose a no-fly zone over Libya was seen as an extraordinary step, given historical opposition by the 22-nation bloc to western intervention in the region. The move was also a risky one for Arab leaders who face popular dissent at home. Syria and Algeria reportedly argued strongly against the decision in private discussions, insisting on a clause saying any western forces should withdraw as soon as the crisis abated. Amr Moussa, the Arab League secretary general, said: “Our goal is to protect the civilian population in Libya after what has been reported of attacks and casualties in a very bloody situation.” Describing Gaddafi’s government as “illegitimate”, the League has suspended its membership and begun talks with the rebels, although it has not extended formal recognition to the Benghazi council. Pressure on Obama to drop US objections to a no-fly zone has been increased by the Arab League decision highlighting “serious crimes and great violations” by the Libyan regime and by a statement by Mustafa Abdel Jalil, head of the Benghazi revolutionary council. Jalil claimed at the weekend that if Gaddafi’s forces, which have gained the upper hand in the fighting in recent days, succeeded in taking Benghazi, it would result in “the death of half a million people”. The US, Nato and the EU say that military intervention would be justified if there were demonstrable need to prevent criminal atrocities on the ground, if there were a sound legal basis (such as a new UN security council resolution) and if there were strong regional support. Some US officials have expressed doubts as to whether a no-fly zone would make any difference to the outcome, since most of the regime’s attacks use ground troops or artillery. William Hague, the foreign secretary, suggested in a statement yesterday that the requirement for regional support had been all but satisfied. Hague said that the outcome of the Arab League meeting showed “Gaddafi’s actions do not have support in the region”. “In brutally repressing a popular uprising by his own people, it is clear he is isolated and ignoring the will of the international community … The Arab League call for a NFZ [no-fly zone] is very significant and provides important regional support to the option of creating a NFZ,” he said. The White House said the Arab League’s declaration of support was an “important step”, but did not say whether it viewed it as definitive. Attention may soon shift to the UN security council, where British and French diplomats have reportedly drawn up a draft resolution on a no-fly zone, although it has yet to be circulated. The Arab League statement could be significant in reducing Chinese and Russian opposition to a new resolution authorising limited intervention. Both countries, veto-wielding members of the security council, continue to express reservations. “Middle Eastern countries should handle their affairs themselves and should not be subject to outside interference,” vice-foreign minister Zhai Jun said during a tour of the region. Robert Gates, the US defence secretary, who last week questioned the wisdom of imposing a no-fly zone, appeared to soften his position at the weekend. Gates said: “A little bit too much has been read into some of my remarks last week,” Gates said. “If we are directed to impose a no-fly zone, we have the resources to do it. This is not a question of whether we or our allies can do this. We can do it. The question is whether it’s a wise thing to do. And that’s the discussion that’s going on at a political level.” Libya Middle East Muammar Gaddafi Arab and Middle East protests Chris McGreal Simon Tisdall guardian.co.uk
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• Up to 10,000 feared dead in Miyagi prefecture alone • Cooling system fails at a second nuclear plant • Japan PM: “worst crisis since WWII” • 190 people exposed to radiation • Original quake upgraded to magnitude 9 • Over 250 aftershocks so far • NEWS: Japan nuclear crisis worsens Here’s a summary of events today so far: • The original earthquake to hit Japan has been upgraded to a magnitude of 9.0 • The struggle to control a nuclear crisis at two power stations continues . Officials said there is a risk of a second explosion at the Fukushima power station but Yukio Edano, chief cabinet secretary, said the facility could withstand the impact. Technicians are battling to cool a third reactor after a blast at reactor one on Saturday. Technicians are pumping sea water into the reactor in a bid to prevent a nuclear meltdown. The size of the evacuation zone around Fukushima is now 20km. • The Japanese prime minister has called the disaster the worst crisis since WWII . There are also reports that up to 10,000 are feared dead in the Miyagi prefecture alone and up to 190 people exposed to radiation after cooling system fails at a second nuclear plant. • More than 250 aftershocks have rocked Japan since the original earthquake on Friday. The US Geological Survey said 30 of these were in excess of magnitude 6 . Japan’s meteorological agency said there was a 70% chance of a magnitude 7 aftershock striking in the next three days. • The huge rescue effort now includes 100,000 Japanese soliders, around 40% of its armed forces. International rescue teams are heading towards the region including a UK team. Tokyo’s vice-mayor said 44,000 meals of crackers, 643,000 of instant rice and 57,000 units of condensed milk are on their way to the disaster area, along with 384,000 blankets and 9000 portable toilets. • Stories of rescues and tragedies are beginning to emerge, including from Hiromitsu Shinkawa, a 60-year-old man rescued after being swept out to sea with only his roof as a makeshift raft. Our correspondent Jonathan Watts in Miyagi prefecture interviewed Harumi Watanabe who said she was unable to rescue her elderly parents from their house before the wave hit. • The UK Foreign Office has set up contact numbers for assistance for British nationals and has advised against all non-essential travel to Japan. It has also issued information about the status of Japanese airports. 12.07pm: A gallery of remarkable images from the Guardian’s Dan Chung who is in tsunami-ravaged Shiontona. 11.54am: Associated Press has this report from Banda Aceh in Indonesia of the reactions of survivors of the 2004 tsunami watching the pictures of the devastation in Japan: Tears streamed down Maisara Mucharam’s face as she watched aerial shots of the tsunami pummeling Japan’s coast and remembered the day, six years ago, when her youngest daughter was ripped out of her arms by the heavy salty sea. Survivors of the 2004 tsunami that started off Indonesia sat glued to their TV sets, stroking each other’s hands, as images of last Friday’s disaster in northern Japan flashed repeatedly across the screen. “I heard someone screaming and ran to see what was going on,” said Mucharam, who also lost her husband and two other daughters. “I tried, but couldn’t stop watching,” the 38-year-old said, her voice trembling. “It was exactly the same, except they have this horrible footage, events unfolding right before your eyes.” 11.41pm: The full piece from our Asia environment correspondent Jonathan Watts who is in Shintona, Miyagi prefecture talking to survivors and relief workers is live. Here’s some of it: The nearby bay is filled with cars, concrete and half-sunken homes that have floated away from their foundations. A railway line has been ripped from the ground and twisted vertically like a garden fence. Cars and motorbikes lie broken and so roughly re-parked by the tsunami that some balance precariously on their bonnets. Emergency and media helicopters buzz overhead and the bereaved sob by the side of the road. The air is rich with the rotting smell of disaster and death. Self-defence force personnel and rescue workers search for bodies amid the the mud. Their work is sporadically interrupted by earthquake alerts and tsunami warnings, but they do not have to look far. When found the dead are wrapped in blue tarpaulins and laid on military stretchers. In Shintona their numbers rose as quickly as the dozen or so rescue workers were able to find and carry them. “We have found 50 bodies today and there’ll be more,” said an officer in the self defence forces as his team took a quick lunchbreak. “We’re putting more efforts into rescue elsewhere as there is very little chance of anyone surviving here.” 11.33am: Japanese prime minister Naoto Kan has urged Cabinet members to ensure “maximum efforts” are made to save as many people as possible, Kyodo news agency has reported . He has also met the heads of the Tokyo Electric Power Company , which runs the Fukushima nuclear plant, and Toshiba , which supplied some of the equipment used in the facility, to discuss the crisis. Electricity providers have warned that consumers could face a week or more of rolling electricity black-outs from tomorrow, due to the shortages caused by shutting down power plants. “There is a high possibility that service areas of Tokyo Electric and Tohoku Electric will face an abnormal situation in which a great deal of supply shortage will occur,” the industry minister Banri Kaieda told reporters. His ministry has urged large firms to restrict their use of air conditioning, neon lighting and hot water to help conserve the supply. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano has said the government will use its contingency funds of some 200bn yen ($2.44bn) to pay for the relief effort. But Kyodo says the president of the opposition Liberal Democratic Party has said it will meet the government to discuss a possible temporary tax increase to fund relief work. 11.13am: Associated Press is reporting that Japan’s prime minister has called the disaster the worst crisis since World War II when two nuclear bombs were dropped of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. He has urged country to unite. 10.59am: The UK Foreign Office is advising against all non-essential travel to Tokyo and the North East of Japan . It has set up contact numbers for assistance: British nationals in Japan who require assistance should contact the Foreign Office helpline in London: +44 20 7008 0000 (from Japan) or 020 7008 0000 (in the UK). You can also e-mail the Foreign Office on japan.earthquake@fco.gov.uk or skype (text not call) on “fcojapan”. It has issued the following information about the status of Japanese airports: Sendai – Closed Sado – Closed Iwate-Hanamaki – Closed Misawa – Closed NRT/Tokyo Narita – Open, although flights to and from the airport are experiencing some disruptions. There are some train and bus services to the airport but traffic is heavy and serious disruptions in travelling to Narita continue. 1700 people are currently at Narita airport; airport authorities are distributing sleeping bags and food. HND/Tokyo Haneda – Open, though flights are subject to cancellation. UKB/Kobe Airport – Open KIX/Osaka – Open KIJ/Niigata – Open Amori – Partially open Akita – Partially open Misawa – Partially open Yamagata – Partially open Shonai – Partially open Odate Noshino – Partially open Fuksushima – Partially open 10.40am: The Tokyo Electric Power Company which operates the Fukushima Daiichi and Fukushima Daini nuclear power stations has confirmed that a crane operator has been killed at the Daini plant . The operator was trapped in the crane operating console of the exhaust stack and was transferred to the ground at 5:13pm on Saturday and confirmed the death at 5:17pm. In an update early on Sunday morning , the International Atomic Energy Agency said that four workers had been injured by the explosion at Unit 1 reactor of the Daiichi plant . In addition, one worker was exposed to higher-than-normal radiation levels that fall below the IAEA guidance for emergency situations. And at Fukushima Daini, four have been injured. 10.06am: This map from the US Geological Survey shows the aftershocks that have hit the region since Friday. There have been over 250 aftershocks , with 30 of those in excess of magnitude 6. 9.47am: Justin McCurry in Tokyo reports that Japan’s meteorological agency on Sunday upgraded last Friday’s earthquake from magnitude 8.8 to 9.0 , although it is still referring to this estimate as an “interim value”. It occurred 130km off the Pacific coast of Tokoku region at a depth of 24km. It is advising people to be vigilant for further tsunamis, landslides and further building collapses. It is also warning that there is a 70% chance of a magnitude-7 aftershock striking the country in the next three days.There will be a 50% risk over the three subsequent days. 9.39am: Japan’s Daily Yomiuri has this powerful eyewitness piece on the “hellish sight” of Kesennumma in Miyagi prefecture, hit by quake, tsunami and fires: Black smoke belched from fires that continued to spread even after daybreak in this city on the Sanriku Coast with a population of 75,700. All but the platform of Minami-Kesennuma Station on the JR Kesennuma Line was swept away by tsunami as if it had never existed. Also hit by tsunami, the city’s central community center near the station was flooded to the second-floor ceiling, forcing people evacuated there to stay overnight on the third floor, community center officials said. Many wrecked cars and trucks lay amidst heaps of rubble, while broken houses were swept down the Okawa river along the JR line. The water continued to ebb and flow with waves from the sea. 9.36am: In a a small indication of the massive relief effort now underway, Tokyo vice-mayor @inosenaoki says 44,000 meals of crackers, 643,000 of instant rice and 57,000 units of condensed milk are on their way to the disaster area, along with 384,000 blankets and 9000 portable toilets. 9.19am: Our correspondent Jonathan Watts is in Shiontona, Miyagi prefecture. He has been speaking to survivors of the tsunami. One woman, Harumi Watanabe said she rushed home from work to save her elderly parents but was unable to get them out of the house quickly enough. “There wasn’t time to save them. They were old and too weak to walk so I couldn’t get them in the car in time,” she said. When the wave hit the house, her mother and father were ripped from her grasp and dragged under-water. “I stood on the furniture, but the water came up to my neck. There was only a narrow band of air below the ceiling. I thought I would die,” said Watanabe. Early indications are that older people will make up a high proportion of the dead because they were unable to act on the tsunami warnings in time. “There are many old people here. We have evacuation drills, but people could not get to the meeting place in time. The tsunami was beyond our expectations. We must reflect on our shortcomings,” said Jiro Saito, head of the local disaster countermeasures committee. Watts reports that further round the coast in Minami Shirazu, close to 10,000 people are reportedly missing after the town was engulfed by the tsunami. The full story will be online shortly. 8.50am: Agence France Presse has more details of the extraordinary story of the 60-year-old man rescued after being swept 15km out to sea by the tsunami: A Maritime Self-Defence Force destroyer rescued 60-year-old Hiromitsu Shinkawa after discovering him floating on a piece of roof in waters off Fukushima Prefecture, two days after the disaster struck. The man, from the city of Minamisoma which has been virtually obliterated, was swept out along with his house after the massive tsunami tore into Japan’s northeast following a 8.9-magnitude earthquake on Friday. He is conscious and in “good condition” after his rescue which took place around 12:40 pm (0340 GMT), ministry officials said, adding that he was transported to hospital by helicopter. “I ran away after learning that the tsunami was coming,” Shinkawa told rescuers according to Jiji Press. “But I turned back to pick up something at home, when I was washed away. I was rescued while I was hanging to the roof from my house.” 8.40am: These remarkable interactive graphics from ABC in Australia and the New York Times use before-and-after pictures of the disaster zone to demonstrate the extent of the devastation. Another New York times interactive allows you to zoom in on a scene of devastation in Sendai, northern Japan. This interactive map help convey the scale of the disaster. 8.31am: One very welcome piece of good news: astonishingly, a 63-year-old man was rescued after his home was swept 15km out to sea by the tsunami, Japanese media are reporting. Rescuers in a helicopter spotted him waving from the rooftop near Futabacho, Fukushima prefecture. 8.19am: Good morning, we’re continuing our live coverage as Japan tackles the aftermath of Friday’s devastating 8.9 magnitude earthquake and the ensuing tsunami. Tokyo has doubled the number of rescuers to 100,000 and is still struggling to control the crisis at two nuclear power stations. The developments today: • Up to 10,000 people may have died in Miyagi prefecture, a police official there has told broadcaster NHK. Miyagi was the area worst-hit by the double disaster. The previous estimate of the death toll was around 1,800, although police had said they were unable to make contact with 9,500 people in the devastated town of Minamisanriku. • Japan is still struggling to control the crisis at two nuclear power plants damaged in Friday’s huge earthquake and tsunami. The emergency cooling system has failed at another reactor . • As many as 190 people may have been exposed to radiation. Potentially unsafe levels have been detected in 22 people. • Aftershocks also continue to hit the region , with two tremors of 6.2 magnitude earlier today. • Millions remain without power and drinking water and reports from the disaster zone suggest many survivors are struggling to find food. • International rescue teams are arriving in Japan. You can read yesterday’s live coverage here . Japan earthquake and tsunami Japan Tania Branigan James Randerson guardian.co.uk
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