World News: Singer Whitney Houston dies at 48

Singer Whitney Houston dies at 48

By the CNN Wire Staff

February 12, 2012 -- Updated 0334 GMT (1134 HKT)

Whitney Houston sold more than 170 million albums, singles and videos during her career, according to her official website.

Los Angeles (CNN) -- Legendary pop singer Whitney Houston was found dead Saturday at a Beverly Hills, California, hotel, officials said. She was 48.

The entertainer, whose incredible talent was discovered at an early age, was pronounced dead at 3:55 p.m. (6:55 p.m. ET) at the Beverly Hilton hotel despite resuscitation efforts, a police spokesman said.

Beverly Hills Police Lt. Mark Rosen said there were "no obvious signs of criminal intent" and that the cause of her death is being investigated.

Houston's bodyguard found her body, said Courtney Barnes, publicist for hip-hop artist Ray J, who was dating the pop diva.

According to her official website, Houston sold more than 170 million albums, singles and videos. But she also struggled with addiction problems over the years.

Houston, whose hits included "The Greatest Love of All," died on the eve of the 54th annual Grammy Awards at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. She had performed as late as Thursday night at a pre-Grammy event in the area.

Music producer Jimmy Jam, after conversations with those heading up to Sunday's night show, told CNN that he believes the event will change significantly -- including a tribute to the singer.

Houston was set to appear in this year's "Sparkle," a remake of the 1976 hit, which was loosely based on the story of The Supremes. It was her first movie role since 1996's "The Preacher's Wife."

News of her death elicited a flood of reaction from fans and fellow celebrities alike.

Whitney Houston seemed 'in good spirits'

Singer Aretha Franklin said, "I just can't talk about it now. It's so stunning and unbelievable. I couldn't believe what I was reading coming across the TV screen. My heart goes out to Cissy (Houston's mother), her daughter Bobbi Kris, her family and Bobby (Brown)."

Dolly Parton, who wrote "I Will Always Love You," said, "mine is only one of the millions of hearts broken over the death of Whitney Houston. I will always be grateful and in awe of the wonderful performance she did on my song and I can truly say from the bottom of my heart, 'Whitney, I will always love you. You will be missed.'"

Another entertainment legend, Quincy Jones, said he was "absolutely heartbroken" by the news. "She was a true original and a talent beyond compare," he said.

Houston's body of work included a string of Billboard No. 1 hits in the 1980s, including "Saving All My Love for You," "How Will I Know," "The Greatest Love of All," "Where Do Broken Hearts Go," and "I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me.)"

Billboard put her soundtrack to the 1992 movie "The Bodyguard" as one of the top 10 biggest-selling albums of all time. She also starred in the film with Kevin Costner. The soundtrack included the hit,"I Will Always Love You."

Whitney Houston was born on August 9, 1963, in Newark, New Jersey.

Famed music producer Clive Davis reportedly spotted Houston 20 years later in a New York nightclub, signing her on the spot, according to her website. Davis steered Houston's career for more than 25 years, also serving as a mentor.

Just Thursday, Davis told CNN's "Piers Morgan Tonight" that, with Houston, "I saw a depth and a range and soul ... that rarely ranks at the top level. And that's why we've been working together ever since."

The singer's rendition of the national anthem at the 1991 Super Bowl, days into the first Persian Gulf War, earned raves and cemented her place in the American musical landscape.

After "The Bodyguard," Houston went on to appear in several more films in the 1990s, including "Waiting to Exhale."

In 2000, Houston earned her sixth Grammy for best female R&B performance and, a month later, she was named female artist of the decade at the "Soul Train" Music Awards.

Her career stalled, however, in subsequent years as she entered rehab for addiction problems.

Houston took a hiatus for several years before releasing her first album in seven years, "I Look to You," in 2009.

"I just took a break, which sometimes you have to," said Houston. "You have to know when to slow that train down and kind of just sit back and relax for a minute."

In May 2011, Houston got help for her much-publicized struggle with drugs and alcohol, her representative said at the time.

In a 2009 interview with Oprah Winfrey, Houston recalled how her mother arrived one day at her doorstep at her daughter's house with sheriff's officers and a court order in a drug intervention. She talked about doing cocaine and smoking marijuana.

"(My mother) says, 'I have a court (injunction) here,'" Houston said. "Either you do it my way, or we're just not going to do this at all. We are both going to go on TV, and you're going to retire.'"

Houston had a high-profile and tumultuous marriage to Bobby Brown, a former "New Edition" star who has had multiple brushes with the law.

The couple appeared together in the mid-2000s on the reality show "Being Bobby Brown." They had one child together, Bobbi Kristina.

Houston was the cousin of Dionne Warwick, another acclaimed performer. Source: Cable News Network (CNN)

World News: Steve Jobs, Apple founder, dies

Steve Jobs, Apple founder, dies

By Brandon Griggs, CNN

October 6, 2011 -- Updated 0027 GMT (0827 HKT)

Apple CEO Steve Jobs delivers the keynote address at the 2011 Apple World Wide Developers Conference in San Francisco on June 6.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Jobs had battled cancer for years
• Jobs founded Apple when he was 21
• He developed the concept of the personal computer and mouse
• He oversaw the launch of the iPod, iPhone, and iPad

(CNN) -- Steve Jobs, the visionary in the black turtleneck who co-founded Apple in a Silicon Valley garage, built it into the world's leading tech company and led a mobile-computing revolution with wildly popular devices such as the iPhone, died Wednesday. He was 56.

The hard-driving executive pioneered the concept of the personal computer and of navigating them by clicking onscreen images with a mouse. In more recent years, he introduced the iPod portable music player, the iPhone and the iPad tablet -- all of which changed how we consume content in the digital age.

His friends and Apple fans on Wednesday night mourned the passing of a tech titan.

"Steve's brilliance, passion and energy were the source of countless innovations that enrich and improve all of our lives," Apple said in a statement. "The world is immeasurably better because of Steve."

More than one pundit, praising Jobs' ability to transform entire industries with his inventions, called him a modern-day Leonardo Da Vinci.

"Steve Jobs is one of the great innovators in the history of modern capitalism," New York Times columnist Joe Nocera said in August. "His intuition has been phenomenal over the years."

View a time line of Steve Jobs' work

Jobs' death, while dreaded by Apple's legions of fans, was not unexpected. He had battled cancer for years, took a medical leave from Apple in January and stepped down as chief executive in August because he could "no longer meet (his) duties and expectations."

Born February 24, 1955, and then adopted, Jobs grew up in Cupertino, California -- which would become home to Apple's headquarters -- and showed an early interest in electronics. As a teenager, he phoned William Hewlett, president of Hewlett-Packard, to request parts for a school project. He got them, along with an offer of a summer job at HP.

How Steve Jobs grew up

Apple's passionate pitchman

Jobs dropped out of Oregon's Reed College after one semester, although he returned to audit a class in calligraphy, which he says influenced Apple's graceful, minimalist aesthetic. He quit one of his first jobs, designing video games for Atari, to backpack across India and take psychedelic drugs. Those experiences, Jobs said later, shaped his creative vision.

"You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future," he told Stanford University graduates during a commencement speech in 2005. "You have to trust in something: your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life."

While at HP, Jobs befriended Steve Wozniak, who impressed him with his skill at assembling electronic components. The two later joined a Silicon Valley computer hobbyists club, and when he was 21, Jobs teamed with Wozniak and two other men to launch Apple Computer Inc.

It's long been Silicon Valley legend: Jobs and Wozniak built their first commercial product, the Apple 1, in Jobs' parents' garage in 1976. Jobs sold his Volkswagen van to help finance the venture. The primitive computer, priced at $666.66, had no keyboard or display, and customers had to assemble it themselves.

The following year, Apple unveiled the Apple II computer at the inaugural West Coast Computer Faire. The machine was a hit, and the personal computing revolution was under way.

Jobs was among the first computer engineers to recognize the appeal of the mouse and the graphical interface, which let users operate computers by clicking on images instead of writing text.

Apple's pioneering Macintosh computer launched in early 1984 with a now-iconic, Orwellian-themed Super Bowl ad. The boxy beige Macintosh sold well, but the demanding Jobs clashed frequently with colleagues, and in 1986, he was ousted from Apple after a power struggle.

Then came a 10-year hiatus during which he founded NeXT Computer, whose pricey, cube-shaped computer workstations never caught on with consumers.

Jobs had more success when he bought Pixar Animation Studios from George Lucas before the company made it big with "Toy Story." Jobs brought the same marketing skill to Pixar that he became known for at Apple. His brief but emotional pitch for "Finding Nemo," for example, was a masterful bit of succinct storytelling.

Share your memories and images of Steve Jobs

In 1996, Apple bought NeXT, returning Jobs to the then-struggling company he had co-founded. Within a year, he was running Apple again -- older and perhaps wiser but no less of a perfectionist. And in 2001, he took the stage to introduce the original iPod, the little white device that transformed portable music and kick-started Apple's furious comeback.

Thus began one of the most remarkable second acts in the history of business. Over the next decade, Jobs wowed launch-event audiences, and consumers, with one game-changing hit after another: iTunes (2003), the iPhone (2007), the App Store (2008), and the iPad (2010).

Observers marveled at Jobs' skills as a pitchman, his ability to inspire godlike devotion among Apple "fanboys" (and scorn from PC fans) and his "one more thing" surprise announcements. Time after time, he sold people on a product they didn't know they needed until he invented it. And all this on an official annual salary of $1.

He also built a reputation as a hard-driving, mercurial and sometimes difficult boss who oversaw almost every detail of Apple's products and rejected prototypes that didn't meet his exacting standards.

By the late 2000s, his once-renegade tech company, the David to Microsoft's Goliath, was entrenched at the uppermost tier of American business. Apple now operates more than 300 retail stores in 11 countries. The company has sold more than 275 million iPods, 100 million iPhones and 25 million iPads worldwide.

Jobs' climb to the top was complete in summer 2011, when Apple listed more cash reserves than the U.S. Treasury and even briefly surpassed Exxon Mobil as the world's most valuable company.

But Jobs' health problems sometimes cast a shadow over his company's success. In 2004, he announced to his employees that he was being treated for pancreatic cancer. He lost weight and appeared unusually gaunt at keynote speeches to Apple developers, spurring concerns about his health and fluctuations in the company's stock price. One wire service accidentally published Jobs' obituary.

Jobs had a secret liver transplant in 2009 in Tennessee during a six-month medical leave of absence from Apple. He took another medical leave in January this year. Perhaps mindful of his legacy, he cooperated on his first authorized biography, scheduled to be published by Simon & Schuster in November.

Jobs is survived by his wife of 20 years, Laurene, and four children, including one from a prior relationship.

He always spoke with immense pride about what he and his engineers accomplished at Apple.

"Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do," he told the Stanford grads in 2005.

"If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on." Source: CNN International 5/10/2011

World News: Norway mourns victims of anti-Islam "Crusader"

SUNDVOLLEN, Norway (Reuters) - Norway mourned on Sunday 93 people killed in a shooting spree and car bombing by a Norwegian who saw his attacks as "atrocious, but necessary" to defeat liberal immigration policies and the spread of Islam.

Candles and flowers are arranged on the ground near the blast site to mourn the victims of a rampage on an island and in the capital Oslo July 23, 2011. (REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay)

In his first comment via a lawyer since his arrest, Anders Behring Breivik, 32, said he wanted to explain himself at a court hearing on Monday about extending his custody.

"He has said that he believed the actions were atrocious, but that in his head they were necessary," Geir Lippestad said.

The lawyer said Breivik had admitted to Friday's shootings at a Labour party youth camp and the bombing that killed seven people in Oslo's government district a few hours earlier.

However, "he feels that what he has done does not deserve punishment," Lippestad told NRK public television.

"What he has said is that he wants a change in society and in his understanding, in his head, there must be a revolution."

Oslo's acting police chief Sveinung Sponheim confirmed to reporters that Breivik would be able to speak to the court. It was not clear whether the hearing would be closed or in public.

"He has admitted to the facts of both the bombing and the shooting, although he's not admitting criminal guilt," Sponheim said, adding that Breivik had said he acted alone.

Police were checking this because some witness statements from the island spoke of more than one gunman, Sponheim said.

NATIONAL TRAGEDY

The violence, Norway's worst since World War Two, has profoundly shocked the usually peaceful nation of 4.8 million.

King Harald and Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg were among mourners at a service in Oslo cathedral, where the premier spoke emotionally about the victims, some of whom he knew.

"This represents a national tragedy," he declared.

Tearful people placed flowers and candles outside the cathedral. Soldiers with guns and wearing bullet-proof vests blocked streets leading to the government district.

Police said Breivik surrendered when they arrived on the small island of Utoeya in a lake northwest of Oslo after he had shot dead at least 85 people, mostly young people attending a summer camp of the youth wing of Norway's ruling Labour Party.

About 650 people were on the island when Breivik, wearing a police uniform, opened fire. Police said it took them an hour from when they were first alerted to stop the massacre, the worst by a single gunman in modern times. [ID:nLDE76M02M]

An inadequate boat and a decision to await a special armed unit from Oslo, 45 km (28 miles) away, delayed the response.

"When so many people and equipment were put into it, the boat started to take on water, so that the motor stopped," said Erik Berga, police operations chief in Buskerud County.

A person wounded in the shooting died in hospital, raising the death toll to 93, Norway's NRK television said. Police say some people remain missing. Ninety-seven people were wounded.

ANTI-ISLAM MANIFESTO

Breivik posted a 1,500-page anti-Islamic manifesto, written in English, on Friday, describing his violent philosophy and how he planned his onslaught and made explosives.

The killings would draw attention to the manifesto entitled "2083-A European Declaration of Independence", Breivik wrote.

"Once you decide to strike, it is better to kill too many than not enough, or you risk reducing the desired ideological impact of the strike," he added.

The manifesto posted by Breivik, a self-styled founder member of a modern Knights Templar organisation, hints at a wider conspiracy of self-appointed crusaders and shows a mind influenced by the fantasy imagery of online gaming.

"The order is to serve as an armed Indigenous Rights Organisation and as a Crusader Movement (anti-Jihad movement)," he writes in the document, chunks of which are cut and pasted from other far-right, anti-Islam documents on the Internet.

Breivik says he is not against immigrants who integrate and reserves a lot of his fury for a liberal European political establishment he views as promoting Europe's destruction.

He hints at a wider conspiracy in the document, saying that the Knights Templar, a medieval order of crusading warrior monks, had been reconstituted in London in 2002.

Breivik attacks the "Islamic colonisation and Islamisation of Western Europe" and the "rise of cultural Marxism/multiculturalism".

A video posted on YouTube called "Knights Templar 2083" showed pictures of Breivik, including one of him in a scuba diving outfit pointing an automatic weapon.

Parliament, in recess until October, is to be recalled for a memorial service. Party leaders will discuss how the attacks would affect campaigning for local elections in September.

"We will have an election, we will have a political debate," said Stoltenberg, premier and Labour Party leader.

"But I believe everyone understands that we have to discuss the form of the debate...to avoid a conflict between the political debate and the need to show dignity and compassion."

Erna Solberg, head of the main opposition Conservative Party, said: "We have to agree the rules of the game."

IMMIGRATION

Norway has long been open to immigration, which has been criticised by the populist Progress Party, to which Breivik once belonged. Labour, whose youth camp he attacked, backs multi-culturalism to accommodate different ethnic communities.

"Norway will keep going. But there will be a Norway before and after the dramatic attacks on Friday," Stoltenberg said.

"But I am quite sure that you will also recognise Norway afterwards -- it will be an open Norway, a democratic Norway and a Norway where we take care of each other."

The attacks have prompted soul-searching in Norway.

At Oslo cathedral, Britt Aanes, a priest aged 42 said the fact that Breivik was Norwegian had affected people deeply.

"In one way, I think it was good that it was not a Muslim terrorist group behind this," she said. It pointed up the complexity of immigration and inter-religious issues for Norwegians, "a small and privileged people", she said.

"We must open our eyes and not simply think that we can keep all this wealth to ourselves."

Some analysts questioned whether Norway, focused on al Qaeda-type militancy, had overlooked domestic threats.

"While the main terrorist threat to democratic societies around the world still comes from Islamist extremists, the horrific events in Norway are a reminder that white far-right extremism is also a major and possibly growing threat," said James Brandon, research head at London's Quilliam think-tank.

Home-grown anti-government figures have struck elsewhere, notably in the United States, where Timothy McVeigh killed 168 people with a truck bomb in Oklahoma City in 1995.

Grief was still raw for survivors and relatives clustered at a hotel in Sundvollen near Utoeya island. They huddled together, many with bloodshot eyes, at terrace tables.

Inside, a board gave contact details for priests and imams. Pinned to the board was a poem that begins: "Today, today it's not the same. Our shining lights snuffed in out in shame".

(Additional reporting by Walter Gibbs, Anna Ringstrom, Henrik Stoelen, Terje Solsvik, Patrick Lannin, Johan Ahlander, Wojciech Moskwa, John Acher and Ole Petter Skonnord in Oslo, William Maclean in London; Writing by Alistair Lyon; Editing by Jon Boyle)

Copyright © 2011 Reuters

BREAKING NEWS: Fresh quake triggers tsunami warning in Japan

Tokyo (CNN) -- A 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck Japan on Thursday, triggering a tsunami warning for one prefecture.

Workers evacuated the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant following the quake, the Tokyo Electric Power Co. said. Tokyo Electric said it has communication with the plant and the power is still on. There were no immediate reports of damage, it said.

The quake's epicenter was off the coast of Miyagi in northeastern Japan, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

Public broadcaster NHK reported a tsunami warning for Miyagi prefecture, saying people in that area should evacuate away from the shore to a safe place.

NHK also reported a tsunami advisory for Iwate prefecture, saying a tsunami is expected to arrive in coastal regions there as well.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said based on all available data, "a destructive Pacific-wide tsunami is not expected and there is not a tsunami threat to Hawaii."

The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake was centered 41 miles (66 kilomemeters) from Sendai -- one of the areas worst hit by last month's 9.0-magnitude quake -- and 73 miles (118 kilometers) from Fukushima, where a crisis has been under way at the nuclear plant since last month's tsunami.

The quake was centered 207 miles (333 kilometers) from Tokyo, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

It was 15.9 miles (25.6 kilometers) deep, the agency reported.

It took place shortly after 11:30 p.m. local time (10:30 a.m. ET).

World News: Third explosion rocks nuclear plant, radiation level high

* Japan spokesman says radiation from nuclear plant high enough in nearby areas to damage health

* Japan PM tells people within 30km of troubled nuclear power plant to stay indoors

* A spokesman says fourth reactor at damaged nuclear plant on fire, more radiation released

* Quake magnitude upgraded to 9.0, fourth largest since 1900

SOMA (Japan): Radiation spewed from a crippled nuclear power plant in tsunami-ravaged northeastern Japan after a third explosion early Tuesday, in a dramatic escalation of the four-day-old catastrophe, forcing the government to tell people nearby to stay indoors to avoid exposure.

In a nationally televised statement, Prime Minister Naoto Kan said radiation has spread from four reactors of the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant in Fukushima province that was one of the hardest-hit in Friday's 9.0-magnitude earthquake and the ensuing tsunami.

"The level seems very high, and there is still a very high risk of more radiation coming out," Kan said.

This satellite image provided by DigitalGlobe shows the damaged Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear facility in Japan on Monday, March 14, 2011. Authorities are strugging to prevent the catastrophic release of radiation in the area devastated by a tsunami. - APpix

This is the worst nuclear crisis Japan has faced since the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II.

Kan warned there are dangers of more leaks and told people living within 30km of the Fukushima Dai-ichi complex to stay indoors to avoid radiation sickness.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said a fourth reactor at the complex was on fire and more radiation had been released.

He said the reactor, even though it was unoperational, was believed to be the source of the elevated radiation release because of the hydrogen release that triggered the fire.

"Now we are talking about levels that can damage human health. These are readings taken near the area where we believe the releases are happening. Far away, the levels should be lower," he said.

"Please do not go outside. Please stay indoors. Please close windows and make your homes airtight. Don't turn on ventilators. Please hang on your laundry indoors," he said.

"These are figures that potentially affect health, there is no mistake about that," he said.

He said a reactor whose containment building caught fire Monday has not contributed greatly to the increased radiation. The radiation level around one of the reactors stood at 400,000 microsiverts per hour, four times higher than the safe level.

Officials said 50 workers were still there trying to put water into the reactors to cool them. They say 800 other nonessential staff were evacuated.

The death toll from last week's earthquake and tsunami jumped Tuesday as police confirmed the number killed had topped 2,400, although that grim news was overshadowed by a deepening nuclear crisis.

Officials have said previously that at least 10,000 people may have died in Miyagi province alone.

The latest blast happened at 6.10m Tuesday in the plant's Unit 2 near a suppression pool, which removes heat under a reactor vessel.

Meanwhile, The US Geological Survey has upgraded the magnitude of Friday's deadly earthquake in Japan to 9.0

The move came after Japan's Meteorological Agency did the same. It's not unusual for scientists to tweak the magnitude of a giant quake after some number-crunching.

US government scientists originally put the Japan quake at 8.9. The change to 9.0 means that the quake was about 1.5 times stronger than initially thought.

The Japan quake is now the fourth largest in the world since 1900 behind the 2004 magnitude 9.1 Sumatra quake. - AP

Japan earthquake: Meltdown alert at Fukushima reactor

Tokyo: Physics professor says another Chernobyl is highly unlikely. Technicians are battling to stabilise a third reactor at a quake-stricken Japanese nuclear plant, after the latest explosion rocked the facility.

Fukushima Daiichi plant's operators said they could not rule out a fuel rod meltdown, after a cooling system broke. They are frantically injecting more water into reactor 2 after its fuel rods became almost fully exposed. A cooling system breakdown preceded explosions at the plant's reactor 3 on Monday and reactor 1 on Saturday.

The latest explosion, said to have been caused by a hydrogen build-up, injured 11 people, one of them seriously, and sent a huge column of smoke billowing into the air. The operators are playing down any health risk and say the thick containment walls shielding the reactor cores have so far remained intact.

But the US said it had moved one of its aircraft carriers from the area after detecting low-level radiation 160km (100 miles) offshore.

The fuel rod exposure at Fukushima Daiichi number 2 reactor is potentially the most serious event so far at the plant. A local government official confirmed the fuel rods were at one point largely, if not totally exposed; but we do not know for how long. Without coolant around the rods, temperatures can rise to hundreds of degrees Celsius, almost certainly resulting in some melting.

This opens the possibility of a serious meltdown - where molten, highly radioactive reactor core falls through the floor of the containment vessel and into the ground underneath. However, engineers appear to have restored some water flow into the reactor vessel and if they are successful, temperatures will begin to fall again rapidly. Tens of thousands of people have been evacuated from a 20-km exclusion zone around the Fukushima Daiichi plant.

Experts say a disaster on the scale of Chernobyl in the 1980s is highly unlikely because the reactors are built to a much higher standard and have much more rigorous safety measures.

In other developments:

• Two thousand bodies have been found on the shores of Miyagi prefecture, Japanese media are reporting
• The government said it would pump 15 trillion yen ($182bn; £113bn) into the economy to prop up markets, but the Nikkei slumped more than 6%
• Prime Minister Naoto Kan postponed planned rolling powercuts, saying they may not be needed if householders could conserve energy

World News: Widespread destruction from Japan earthquake, tsunamis

Tokyo (CNN) -- The morning after Japan was struck by the most powerful earthquake to hit the island nation in recorded history and the tsunami it unleashed -- and even as the earth continued to twitch with aftershocks -- the disaster's massive impact was only beginning to be revealed.

Rescue efforts began with the first light as military helicopters plucked survivors from roofs and carried them to safety.

The 8.9-magnitude temblor, which was centered near the east coast of Japan, killed hundreds of people, caused the formation of 30-foot walls of water that swept across rice fields, engulfed entire towns, dragged houses onto highways, and tossed cars and boats like toys. Some waves reached six miles (10 kilometers) inland in Miyagi Prefecture on Japan's east coast.

"The earth shook with such ferocity," said Andy Clark, who said he had gotten used to earthquakes during his 20 years in Japan but never experienced what he felt Friday at the airport outside Tokyo. "I thought things were coming to an end ... it was simply terrifying."

Buildings shook, heaved and collapsed by the score, and numerous fires ignited.

Hundreds more people were missing, Japanese media reported, citing local and national police. Tens of thousands of people were displaced, according to Japan's Kyodo News Agency.

Prime Minister Naoto Kan said the "enormously powerful" earthquake had caused "tremendous damage over a wide area."

Gallery: Massive quake hits Japan

Map: 8.9 earthquake hits Japan

Witness deals with quake terror

Cars ablaze in wake of Japan quake

The quake, which struck at 2:46 p.m. (12:46 a.m. ET), prompted the U.S. National Weather Service to issue tsunami warnings for at least 50 countries and territories.

The epicenter of Friday's main quake was located off Miyagi Prefecture, about 230 miles (370 kilometers) northeast of Tokyo, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

Also in Miyagi, officials reported that a train had derailed and authorities had lost contact with four trains in coastal areas, Kyodo reported, citing the East Japan Railway Company.

Six million households, more than 10% of the total in Japan, were without electricity, said Japan's ambassador to the United States, Ichiro Fujisaki.

In Tokyo, rail service was suspended overnight, elevated highways were shut early Saturday and surface streets remained jammed as commuters -- thousands of whom had spent the night in shelters -- tried to get to their homes in outlying areas.

Video aired by Japanese broadcaster NHK showed extensive fires in Miyagi and in the port city of Hakodate, in the southern part of Hokkaido island in northern Japan. An oil refinery was burning in Chiba Prefecture near Tokyo, according to NHK. And Kyodo News said fires could be seen in extensive areas of Kesennuma in Miyagi.

Aerial views of Kesennuma showed plumes of white smoke emanating from the center of the city and large, black areas the flames had already traversed.

In the city of Minamisoma in Fukushima Prefecture, all that was left of many structures were their foundations. Only concrete and steel buildings appeared to have withstood the wash. No people were visible in the streets of the town, whose population on Friday had been 70,000.

And a dam in Fukushima Prefecture failed, washing away homes, Kyodo reported. There was no immediate word of casualties, but the Defense Ministry said 1,800 homes were destroyed.

The National Weather Service sent a warning to 50 countries and territories it said could be affected by the tsunami.

Scores of aftershocks jarred the country Saturday, punctuated by a pair of strong earthquakes in the early morning, including one with a magnitude of 7.1 and another with a magnitude of 6.8.

Victims of quake head to shelter

Tsunami demolishes Japan's north coast

A day of destruction in Japan

Japan rail system comes to a halt

A leak occurred in an atomic power plant in northeast Japan, a spokesman for Japan's nuclear agency said Saturday. Cooling equipment stopped working when generators failed in the quake, and the temperature inside the plant in the Fukushima prefecture had risen; officials lowered the pressure inside the plant hangar by venting it, said spokesman Kazuo Kodama.

But high levels of radiation led officials to suspend the release, NHK said. Alternative plans were being evaluated, the broadcaster said.

Citing Japan's nuclear safety agency, Kyodo said radiation levels were 1,000 times above normal in the the control room of the facility's reactor.

An evacuation order was extended to people who live within 10 kilometers (6 miles) of the plant, named Fukushima Daiichi, about 160 miles (260 kilometers) north of Tokyo.

The agency said the radiation amount posed no immediate threat to the health of nearby residents, Kyodo reported.

Cooling problems also appeared to have affected to another of the Tokyo Electric Power Company's nuclear facilities.

Kyodo reported the power company alerted authorities that the cooling system at three units of another plant in the same prefecture. That prompted Japanese authorities to add that plant to its emergency list, along with the another plant, Kyodo said.

Prime Minister Kan inspected the plant and the rest of the affected region from a helicopter.

The government ordered the evacuation of residents nearest the plant as efforts to keep it cool after it was shut were initially hampered.

Japanese public broadcaster NHK reported Saturday that the death toll is more than 900, with about 700 others reported missing. Earlier Saturday the nation's Kyodo News News Agency, citing police, reported that the death toll was 433, with at least 784 missing.

The official death toll is likely to rise as authorities continue rescue and relief efforts in the worst-hit areas. Kyodo predicted the death toll would surpass 1,000.

Japan's nuclear worries

Tsunami devestates Sendai

CNN reporter: This quake was different

iReporter captures Japanese quake

RELATED TOPICS

• Earthquakes
• U.S. Geological Survey

The news agency, citing Japan's defense forces, also said 60,000 to 70,000 people were being evacuated to shelters in the Sendai area of Miyagi Prefecture.

The prime minister said an emergency task force had been activated, and he appealed for calm. The government dispatched 8,000 troops to assist in the recovery effort and asked for U.S. military assistance, according to Kyodo.

A spokesman for the U.S. military bases in Japan said all service members were accounted for and there were no reports of damage to installations or ships.

By early Saturday, more than 50 countries had offered help, said Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. U.S. President Barack Obama offered his condolences and said the United States was standing by to help "in this time of great trial."

The U.S. Navy initiated reconnaissance flights to map the disaster zone and was moving the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan into position to assist the Japanese government with relief efforts, defense officials said.

Images from Japanese media and CNN iReporters showed smoke pouring from buildings and water rushing across fields, carrying away entire structures.

"I wasn't scared when it started ... but it just kept going and going," said Michelle Roberts, who lives in central Tokyo. "I won't lie, it was quite scary. But we are all OK. We live on the third floor, so most everything shook and shifted."

The quake toppled cars off bridges and into waters underneath. Waves of debris flowed like lava across farmland, pushing boats, houses and trailers in their paths.

The quake also disrupted rail service and affected air travel. Hundreds of flights were canceled, Kyodo said. Some 13,000 people were stranded at the Narita airport, and 10,000 were stuck at the Haneda airport, the news agency said. Flights into and out of both airports had resumed Saturday.

At Tokyo Station, one of Japan's busiest subway terminals, shaken commuters grabbed one another to stay steady as the ground shook. Dazed residents poured into the streets, and offices and schools were closed. Children cried.

"This was larger than anyone expected and went on longer than anyone expected," said Matt Alt, who lives in Tokyo.

"My wife was the calm one. ... She told us to get down and put your back on something, and leave the windows and doors open in case a building shifts so you don't get trapped."

The magnitude of the earthquake and its shallow depth -- 15.2 miles (24.5 kilometers) -- created a lot of energy, said Shenza Chen of the U.S. Geological Survey.

The impact was felt far and wide. In McKinleyville, California, a wave swept three men into the Pacific Ocean as they were reportedly trying to take photos of the incoming tsunami waves, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.

Two of the men returned to shore, but one died, officials said.

Japanese government officials said large tsunami waves were still a risk to coastal Japan, and they urged residents in coastal areas to move to higher ground.

The tsunami brought waves of nearly 7 feet to a harbor in Maui, authorities said, but other areas reported lower levels.

On the U.S. mainland, wave heights from Alaska to California ranged from less than a foot to more than 8 feet. The highest measurement, 8.1 feet, was at Crescent City, California.

Tsunamis are a series of long ocean waves that can last five to 15 minutes and cause extensive flooding in coastal areas. Sometimes, the waves hit in succession -- often the highest not being the first, CNN meteorologist Ivan Cabrera said.

Humanitarian agencies were working with rescue crews to reach people affected by the earthquake and tsunami.

"When such an earthquake impacts a developed country like Japan, our concern also turns to countries like the Philippines and Indonesia, which might not have the same resources," said Rachel Wolff, a spokeswoman for World Vision.

Wolff said her agency is helping people in Japan and teaming up to help others in countries along the path of the tsunami.

The quake was the latest in a series around Japan this week.

On Wednesday, a 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Honshu, the country's meteorological agency said. Early Thursday, an earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.3 struck off the same coast.

Friday's quake is the strongest earthquake in recorded history to hit Japan, according to U.S. Geologic Survey records. The previous record was an 8.6-magnitude earthquake that struck near the Chubu Region near southwestern Honshu on October 28, 1707, that may have killed 5,000 people, CNN meteorologist Sean Morris said.

That quake generated a 33-foot (10-meter) tsunami wave, and some scientists believe the quake may have triggered the eruption of Mount Fuji 49 days later, Morris said.

The world's largest recorded quake took place in Chile on May 22, 1960, with a magnitude of 9.5, the USGS said. Source: CNN World News

World News: New quakes rock tsunami-devastated Japan

SENDAI, Japan: Huge earthquakes rocked northeastern Japan on Saturday, a day after a giant temblor set off a powerful tsunami that killed hundreds of people, turned the coast into a swampy wasteland and left two nuclear reactors dangerously close to meltdown.

The United States Geological Survey said a strong earthquake struck just before noon in the sea in virtually the same place where the magnitude 8.9 quake on Friday unleashed one of the greatest disasters Japan has witnessed - a 23-foot (7-meter) tsunami that washed far inland over fields and smashed towns.

Saturday's magnitude 6.8 quake was followed by a series of temblors originating from the same area, the USGS said.

It was not immediately known whether the new quakes caused any more damage.

All were part of the more than 125 aftershocks since Friday's massive quake, the strongest to hit Japan since officials began keeping records in the late 1800s.

It ranked as the fifth-largest earthquake in the world since 1900 and was nearly 8,000 times stronger than one that devastated Christchurch, New Zealand, last month, scientists said.

The official death toll stood at 413, while 784 people were missing and 1,128 injured. In addition, police said between 200 and 300 bodies were found along the coast in Sendai, the biggest city in the area of the quake's epicenter.

An untold number of bodies were also believed to be lying in the rubble and debris. Rescue workers had yet to reach the hardest-hit areas.

"The flood came in from behind the store and swept around both sides. Cars were flowing right by," said Wakio Fushima, who owns a convenience store in this northern coastal city of 1.02 million people, 80 miles (125 kilometers) from the quake's epicenter.

Smashed cars and small airplanes were jumbled up against buildings near the local airport, several miles (kilometers) from the shore.

Felled trees and wooden debris lay everywhere as rescue workers coasted on boats through murky waters around flooded structures, nosing their way through a sea of detritus.

"The tsunami was unbelievably fast. Smaller cars were being swept around me and all I could do was sit in my truck," said truck driver Koichi Takairin, 34, who was pinned in his four-ton vehicle and later escaped to a community center.

His rig ruined, he joined the steady flow of mud-spattered survivors who walked along the road away from the sea and back into city. Smoke from at least one large fire could be seen in the distance.

But basic commodities were at a premium. Hundreds lined up outside of supermarkets, and gas stations were swamped with cars.

The situation was similar in scores of other towns and cities along the 1,300-mile-long (2,100-kilometer-long) eastern coastline hit by the tsunami.

Japan also declared its first-ever states of emergency for five nuclear reactors at two power plants after the units lost cooling ability in the aftermath of the earthquake, and workers struggled to prevent meltdowns.

Two of the reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi plant in Futaba town were in danger and could face a meltdown if all possible safety procedures fail.

Authorities said the breakdown happened after the quake knocked out power, turning off the water supply needed to cool the system.

Although a backup cooling system was being used, Japan's nuclear safety agency said pressure inside the reactor had risen to 1 1/2 times the level considered normal.

Authorities said radiation levels had jumped 1,000 times normal inside Unit 1 and were measured at eight times normal outside the plant.

They expanded an earlier evacuation zone more than threefold, from 3 kilometers to 10 kilometers (2 miles to 6.2 miles). About 3,000 people were urged to leave their homes in the first announcement.

Japan gets about 30 percent of its electricity from nuclear power plants. Authorities warned citizens to be prepared for severe power cuts. More than 1 million households across Japan, mostly in the northeast, still didn't have access to water.

In Sendai, as in many areas of the northeast, cell phone service was down, making it difficult for people to communicate with loved ones.

The tsunami swept inland about 6 miles (10 kilometers), and beyond that most buildings appeared undamaged from the outside.

TV footage showed several people standing on the roof of a three-story building in Miyagi prefecture (state), surrounded by mud. A man waved a big white flag, and a woman was lifting two pink umbrellas, signaling for help.

Elsewhere, aerial footage showed military helicopters lifting people on rescue tethers from rooftops and partially submerged buildings surrounded by water and debris. At one school, a large white "SOS" had been spelled out in English.

"The energy radiated by this quake is nearly equal to one month's worth of energy consumption" in the United States, USGS scientist Brian Atwater told The Associated Press.

The entire Pacific had been put on alert - including coastal areas of South America, Canada and Alaska - but waves were not as bad as expected.

President Barack Obama pledged U.S. assistance following what he called a potentially "catastrophic" disaster.

He said one U.S. aircraft carrier is already in Japan and a second was on its way. A U.S. ship was also heading to the Marianas Islands to assist as needed, he said.

Most trains in Tokyo started running again Saturday after the city had been brought to a near standstill the day before.

Tens of thousands of people had been stranded with the rail network down, jamming the streets with cars, buses and trucks trying to get out of the city.

The city set up 33 shelters in city hall, on university campuses and in government offices, but many spent Friday night at 24-hour cafes, hotels and offices.

Japan's worst previous quake was a magnitude 8.3 temblor in Kanto that killed 143,000 people in 1923, according to the USGS. A magnitude 7.2 quake in Kobe killed 6,400 people in 1995.

Japan lies on the "Ring of Fire" - an arc of earthquake and volcanic zones stretching around the Pacific where about 90 percent of the world's quakes occur, including the one that triggered the Dec. 26, 2004, Indian Ocean tsunami that killed an estimated 230,000 people in 12 countries.

A magnitude-8.8 quake that shook central Chile in February 2010 also generated a tsunami and killed 524 people. Source: The Star Malaysia

World News: Widespread destruction from Japan earthquake, tsunamis

Tokyo (CNN) -- The morning after Japan was struck by the most powerful earthquake to hit the island nation in recorded history and the tsunami it unleashed -- and even as the earth continued to twitch with aftershocks -- the disaster's massive impact was only beginning to be revealed.

The 8.9-magnitude temblor, which was centered near the east coast of Japan, killed hundreds of people, caused the formation of 30-foot walls of water that swept across rice fields, engulfed entire towns, dragged houses onto highways, and tossed cars and boats like toys. Some waves reached six miles (10 kilometers) inland in Miyagi Prefecture on Japan's east coast.

Buildings collapsed by the score, and numerous fires were ignited.

Hundreds more people were missing, Japanese media reported, citing local and national police. Tens of thousands of people were displaced, according to Japan's Kyodo News Agency.

Prime Minister Naoto Kan said the "enormously powerful" earthquake had caused "tremendous damage over a wide area."

The quake, which struck at 2:46 p.m. (12:46 a.m. ET), prompted the U.S. National Weather Service to issue tsunami warnings for at least 50 countries and territories.

The epicenter of Friday's main quake was located off Miyagi Prefecture, about 230 miles (370 kilometers) northeast of Tokyo, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

Gallery: Massive quake hits Japan

Map: 8.9 earthquake hits Japan

Witness deals with quake terror

Cars ablaze in wake of Japan quake

Also in Miyagi, officials reported that a train had derailed and authorities had lost contact with four trains in coastal areas, Kyodo reported, citing the East Japan Railway Company.

Japanese broadcasters showed video of collapsed buildings and reported widespread power outages and transportation disruptions. In Tokyo, rail service was suspended overnight, elevated highways were shut early Saturday and surface streets remained jammed as commuters -- thousands of whom had spent the night in shelters -- tried to get to their homes in outlying areas.

Video aired by Japanese broadcaster NHK showed extensive fires in Miyagi and in the port city of Hakodate, in the southern part of Hokkaido island in northern Japan. An oil refinery was burning in Chiba Prefecture near Tokyo, according to NHK. And Kyodo News said fires could be seen in extensive areas of Kesennuma in Miyagi.

Aerial views of Kesennuma showed plumes of white smoke emanating from the center of the city and large, black areas the flames had already traversed.

In the city of Minamisoma in Fukushima Prefecture, all that was left of many structures were their foundations. Only concrete and steel buildings appeared to have withstood the wash. No people were visible in the streets of the town, whose population on Friday had been 70,000.

And a dam in Fukushima Prefecture failed, washing away homes, Kyodo reported. There was no immediate word of casualties, but the Defense Ministry said 1,800 homes were destroyed.

The National Weather Service sent a warning to 50 countries and territories it said could be affected by the tsunami.

Scores of aftershocks jarred the country Saturday, punctuated by a pair of strong earthquakes in the early morning, including one with a magnitude of 7.1 and another with a magnitude of 6.6.

Radioactive material may have leaked from an atomic power plant in northeast Japan, a major electric company said Saturday, according to a news agency report.

Citing the Tokyo Electric Power Co., Japan's Kyodo News Agency said that radioactive substances may have seeped out of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear reactors, about 160 miles (260 kilometers) north of Tokyo.

And cooling problems appeared to have spread to another of the Tokyo Electric Power Company's nuclear plants.

Tsunami waters engulf town

Witness: Japan quake unlike any before

Refinery ablaze after quake

Moment of the Japan quake

Kyodo reported the power company alerted authorities that the cooling system at three units of the Fukushima Daini plant -- which is distinct from the Fukushima Daiichi reactors -- also failed. That prompted Japanese authorities to add that plant to its emergency list, along with the Fukushima Daiichi plant, Kyodo said.

The agency also reported Saturday that the same agency ordered the power company to release a valve in the Fukushima Daiichi plant's "No. 1" building, to relieve growing pressure.

Citing Japan's nuclear safety agency, Kyodo said radiation levels were 1,000 times above normal in the the control room of the facility's "No. 1."

Prime Minister Kan told reporters he would board a helicopter to inspect the plant and the rest of the affected region from a helicopter.

The government had ordered the evacuation of residents nearest the plant as efforts to keep it cool after it was shut were initially hampered.

The confirmed death toll stood at 202 in nine prefectures, not counting the 200 to 300 bodies -- apparently drowned -- found in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, Kyodo said, citing police. It reported that 673 people were unaccounted for.

But NHK, also citing police, said at least 427 people were confirmed dead and more than 740 were missing across several prefectures.

Kyodo predicted the death toll would surpass 1,000.

The news agency, citing Japan's defense forces, also said 60,000 to 70,000 people were being evacuated to shelters in the Sendai area of Miyagi Prefecture.

The prime minister said an emergency task force had been activated, and he appealed for calm. The government dispatched 8,000 troops to assist in the recovery effort and asked for U.S. military assistance, according to Kyodo.

A spokesman for the U.S. military bases in Japan said all service members were accounted for and there were no reports of damage to installations or ships.

CNN reporter: This quake was different

iReporter captures Japanese quake

Breakdown of tsunami warnings

Quake rocks Japan supermarket

RELATED TOPICS

• Earthquakes
• U.S. Geological Survey

U.S. President Barack Obama offered his condolences and said the United States was standing by to help "in this time of great trial."

The U.S. Navy initiated reconnaissance flights to map the disaster zone and was moving the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan into position to assist the Japanese government with relief efforts, defense officials said.

Two search-and-rescue teams, totaling more than 140 people, were en route, the U.S. Agency for International Development said.

Images from Japanese media and CNN iReporters showed smoke pouring from buildings and water rushing across fields, carrying away entire structures.

"I wasn't scared when it started ... but it just kept going and going," said Michelle Roberts, who lives in central Tokyo. "I won't lie, it was quite scary. But we are all OK. We live on the third floor, so most everything shook and shifted."

The quake toppled cars off bridges and into waters underneath. Waves of debris flowed like lava across farmland, pushing boats, houses and trailers. About 4 million homes had no power in Tokyo and surrounding areas.

The quake also disrupted rail service and affected air travel. Hundreds of flights were canceled, Kyodo said. Some 13,000 people were stranded at the Narita airport, and 10,000 were stuck at the Haneda airport, the news agency said. Flights into and out of both airports had resumed Saturday.

At Tokyo Station, one of Japan's busiest subway terminals, shaken commuters grabbed one another to stay steady as the ground shook. Dazed residents poured into the streets, and offices and schools were closed. Children cried.

Residents said that although earthquakes are common in Japan, Friday's stunned most people.

"This was larger than anyone expected and went on longer than anyone expected," said Matt Alt, who lives in Tokyo.

"My wife was the calm one. ... She told us to get down and put your back on something, and leave the windows and doors open in case a building shifts so you don't get trapped."

Richard Lloyd Parry said he looked through a window and saw buildings shaking from side to side.

"Central Tokyo is fine from what we see, people are calm ... and not going inside buildings," he said.

Such a large earthquake at such a shallow depth -- 15.2 miles (24.5 kilometers) -- creates a lot of energy, said Shenza Chen of the U.S. Geological Survey.

The impact was felt far and wide. In McKinleyville, California, a wave swept three men into the Pacific Ocean as they were reportedly trying to take photos of the incoming tsunami waves, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.

Two of the men returned to shore, but one died, officials said.

Japanese government officials said large tsunami waves were still a risk to coastal Japan, and they urged residents in coastal areas to move to higher ground.

The tsunami brought waves of nearly 7 feet to a harbor in Maui, authorities said, but other areas reported lower levels.

On the U.S. mainland, wave heights from Alaska to California ranged from under a foot to over 8 feet. The highest measurement, 8.1 feet, was at Crescent City, California.

Tsunamis are a series of long ocean waves that can last five to 15 minutes and cause extensive flooding in coastal areas. A succession of waves can hit -- often the highest not being the first, CNN meteorologist Ivan Cabrera said.

Humanitarian agencies were working with rescue crews to reach people affected by the earthquake and tsunami.

"When such an earthquake impacts a developed country like Japan, our concern also turns to countries like the Philippines and Indonesia, which might not have the same resources," said Rachel Wolff, a spokeswoman for World Vision.

Wolff said her agency is helping people in Japan and teaming up to help others in countries along the path of the tsunami.

The quake was the latest in a series around Japan this week.

On Wednesday, a 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Honshu, the country's meteorological agency said. Early Thursday, an earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.3 struck off the same coast.

Friday's quake is the strongest earthquake in recorded history to hit Japan, according to U.S. Geologic Survey records. The previous record was an 8.6-magnitude earthquake that struck near the Chubu Region near southwestern Honshu on October 28, 1707, that may have killed 5,000 people, CNN meteorologist Sean Morris said.

That quake generated a 33-foot (10-meter) tsunami wave, and some scientists believe the quake may have triggered the eruption of Mount Fuji 49 days later, Morris said.

The world's largest recorded quake took place in Chile on May 22, 1960, with a magnitude of 9.5, the USGS said. Source: CNN.com

BREAKING NEWS: Major tsunami damage in Northern Japan after 8.9 quake (Updated)

TOKYO (AP) - A powerful tsunami spawned by the largest earthquake in Japan's recorded history slammed the eastern coast Friday, sweeping away boats, cars, homes and people as widespread fires burned out of control.

Authorities said at least 32 people were killed. The magnitude 8.9 offshore quake was followed by at least 19 aftershocks, most of them of more than magnitude 6.0. Dozens of cities and villages along a 1,300-mile (2,100-kilometer) stretch of coastline were shaken by violent tremors that reached as far away as Tokyo, hundreds of miles (kilometers) from the epicenter.

People at a book store react as the store's ceiling falls in Sendai

A tsunami warning was issued for the entire Pacific, including areas as far away as South America, the entire U.S. West Coast, Canada and Alaska.

Japan's Fire and Disaster Management Agency said at least 32 people were killed.

A utility company in northeastern Japan reported a fire in a turbine building of nuclear power plant. "The earthquake has caused major damage in broad areas in northern Japan," Prime Minister Naoto Kan said at a news conference. Even for a country used to earthquakes, this one was of horrific proportions. It unleashed a 23-foot (7-meter) tsunami that swept boats, cars, buildings and tons of debris miles inland.

Large fishing boats and other sea vessels rode high waves into the cities, slamming against overpasses. Upturned and partially submerged vehicles were seen bobbing in the water. Waves of muddy waters swept over farmland near the city of Sendai, carrying buildings, some on fire, inland as cars attempted to drive away. Sendai airport, north of Tokyo, was inundated with cars, trucks, buses and thick mud deposited over its runways. Fires spread through a section of the city, public broadcaster NHK reported.

The tsunami roared over embankments, washing anything in its path inland before reversing directions and carrying the cars, homes and other debris out to sea. Flames shot from some of the houses, probably because of burst gas pipes. "Our initial assessment indicates that there has already been enormous damage," Chief government spokesman Yukio Edano said. "We will make maximum relief effort based on that assessment." He said the Defense Ministry was sending troops to the quake-hit region. A utility aircraft and several helicopters were on the way. A large fire erupted at the Cosmo oil refinery in Ichihara city in Chiba prefecture near Tokyo and was burning out of control with 100-foot (30 meter) -high flames whipping into the sky.

In northeastern Japan's Miyagi prefecture, a fire broke out in a turbine building of a nuclear power plant. Smoke was observed coming out of the building, which is separate from the plant's reactor, and the cause is under investigation, said Tohoku Electric Power Co. the company said. There have been no reports of radioactive leaks or injuries, the company said. Several nuclear plants elsewhere along the coast were also partially shut down, with no reports of leakage. Also from Miyagi prefecture, NHK showed footage of a large ship being swept away and ramming directly into a breakwater in Kesennuma city.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the 2:46 p.m. quake was a magnitude 8.9, the biggest earthquake to hit Japan since officials began keeping records in the late 1800s. A tsunami warning was extended to a number of Pacific, Southeast Asian and Latin American nations, including Japan, Russia, Indonesia, New Zealand and Chile. In the Philippines, authorities said they expect a 3-foot (1-meter) high tsunami.

The quake struck at a depth of six miles (10 kilometers), about 80 miles (125 kilometers) off the eastern coast, the agency said. The area is 240 miles (380 kilometers) northeast of Tokyo. In downtown Tokyo, large buildings shook violently and workers poured into the street for safety. TV footage showed a large building on fire and bellowing smoke in the Odaiba district of Tokyo. The tremor bent the upper tip of the iconic Tokyo Tower, a 333-meter (1,093-foot) steel structure inspired by the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

In central Tokyo, trains were stopped and passengers walked along the tracks to platforms. NHK said more than 4 million buildings were without power in Tokyo and its suburbs. Large numbers of people waited at Tokyo's Shinjuku station, the world's busiest train station, for service to resume so they could go home. TV announcers urged workers not to leave their offices to prevent injuries in case of more strong aftershocks. Osamu Akiya, 46, was working in Tokyo at his office in a trading company when the quake hit.

It sent bookshelves and computers crashing to the floor, and cracks appeared in the walls. "I've been through many earthquakes, but I've never felt anything like this," he said. "I don't know if we'll be able to get home tonight."Footage on NHK from their Sendai office showed employees stumbling around and books and papers crashing from desks. It also showed a glass shelter at a bus stop in Tokyo completely smashed by the quake and a weeping woman nearby being comforted by another woman.

Several quakes had hit the same region in recent days, including a 7.3 magnitude one on Wednesday. Hiroshi Sato, a disaster management official in northern Iwate prefecture, said officials were having trouble getting an overall picture of the carnage. "We don't even know the extent of damage. Roads were badly damaged and cut off as tsunami washed away debris, cars and many other things," he said.

Tokyo's main airport was closed. A large section of the ceiling at the 1-year-old airport at Ibaraki, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) northeast of Tokyo, fell to the floor with a powerful crash. Dozens of fires were reported in northern prefectures of Fukushima, Sendai, Iwate and Ibaraki. Collapsed homes and landslides were also reported in Miyagi.

Japan's worst previous quake was in 1923 in Kanto, an 8.3-magnitude temblor that killed 143,000 people, according to USGS. A 7.2-magnitude quake in Kobe city in 1996 killed 6,400 people. Japan lies on the "Ring of Fire" - an arc of earthquake and volcanic zones stretching around the Pacific where about 90 percent of the world's quakes occur, including the one that triggered the Dec. 26, 2004, Indian Ocean tsunami that killed an estimated 230,000 people in 12 nations. A magnitude-8.8 temblor that shook central Chile last February also generated a tsunami and killed 524 people. Source: The Star Malaysia 11/3/2011

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80CH_XkpSCE&feature=player_embedded#at=145

World News: New, better, slimmer, iPhone unveiled

SAN FRANCISCO: The next iPhone comes out June 24 and will have a higher-resolution screen, longer battery life and thinner design.

CEO Steve Jobs opened Apple Inc.'s annual conference for software developers Monday by demonstrating the iPhone 4, which will cost US$199 or $299 in the U.S. with a two-year AT&T contract, depending on the capacity. The iPhone 3GS, which debuted last year, will still be available, for $99. Some of the mystery surrounding Apple's latest creation had been punctured in April, when the tech blog Gizmodo bought a lost iPhone prototype for $5,000 and posted pictures of the unit.

Apple demanded it back, and authorities have been investigating whether a Gizmodo editor broke any laws. "Stop me if you've already seen this," Jobs said Monday as he started his demo. The iPhone 4 is sleeker and more advanced than the original iPhone that came out in 2007. Like the iPhone 3GS, it comes in black or white, though it has a more angular look. Its front and back are covered with glass, and it is rimmed with stainless steel that acts as part of the phone's antenna. It is about three-eighths of an inch thick; the iPhone 3GS is nearly half an inch.

It can shoot high-definition video, catching up to some other smart phones. It has a gyroscope in addition to other sensors, to enable more advanced motion-sensing applications, such as games and mapping services. The display on the iPhone remains 3.5 inches (8.9 centimeters) diagonally, but Jobs noted that it can show four times as many pixels - the individual colored dots that make up an image - as the previous screen.

That makes for a sharper appearance. One of the most noticeable changes is the iPhone's new camera on the front that can be used for videoconferencing, in addition to a five-megapixel camera and a flash on the back. For now, the videoconferencing function, FaceTime, works only if both parties to the call have an iPhone 4 and are connected over Wi-Fi rather than a cell phone network. Jobs indicated that FaceTime will eventually work over cellular networks, saying Apple needs to "work a little bit" with wireless providers to make it "ready for the future."

The battery on the new iPhone will allow up to seven hours of talk time - an improvement over five hours on the last model. It can handle up to six hours of Web browsing over cellular networks or 10 hours over Wi-Fi. The new phone will run the latest version of Apple's mobile software, now called iOS4, which Apple unveiled in April to offer such features as the ability to operate more than one program at a time. Older iPhones and iPod Touch devices will be able to get iOS4 as a free download June 21, though not all features will work on them.

New applications for the device will include a version of the popular game Farmville and one from Netflix that lets people watch streaming video where they left off on their TV. Apple is trying to tighten the links between the iPhone and its iPad tablet, which came out April 3. It is releasing a version of its iBooks e-reading application for the iPhone, which means people could buy an e-book from Apple on either device and read it on either one as well. Michael Gartenberg, a partner at analyst firm Altimeter Group, said the iPhone upgrade puts pressure on smart-phone makers that use Google's Android operating software.

Android, which was first released on a phone in 2008, has been gaining popularity as major phone makers such have Motorola Inc. have relied on the software for iPhone rivals such as the Droid. "I think Apple knows how to teach people about things they don't yet know they want," he said. Meanwhile Apple Inc. CEO Steve Jobs was thwarted Monday in his attempt to show off how clearly the newest iPhone displays Web pages, apparently because too many people were clogging the airwaves at the conference where he was on stage.

Jobs tried three times during his keynote to do a side-by-side comparison of the iPhone 4's screen resolution versus its predecessor's. He was trying to call up The New York Times' Web page, but it wouldn't load because too many devices in the room were operating over Wi-Fi, swamping the frequency. Jobs switched to backup phones for the demonstration, but he was still stymied. "Well jeez, I don't like this," Jobs groused. He abandoned the demo while staffers investigated.

Technological glitches at technology conferences are common, but less so at Apple's carefully choreographed events. Last month at a demonstration of Google Inc.'s Internet television technology, Google representatives had trouble showing how easy it was supposed to be to switch back and forth between browsing Web content and TV programming. Google pleaded with attendees to shut off their wireless connections, as did Jobs on Monday. He asked bloggers and other people in the room to turn off their wireless connections and put their computers on the floor. "I think bloggers have a right to blog, but if we want to see the demos we're going to have to do it," he said. The demos immediately after that went smoothly. But a later demo of a video-calling feature that requires a wireless Internet connection was sluggish at times. - AP

World News: If You Were a Billionaire for Five Hours

by Robert Frank
Thursday, April 1, 2010

provided by

When Paul Fischer checked his bank account Friday night, he had a happy surprise. His balance had exploded to $88,888,888,888.88. A very lucky number indeed, and close to $89 billion. Of course, the balance was a technical error by SunTrust Bank (NYSE: STI), which quickly fixed the problem. It also may have occurred in other accounts.

"You say, 'Eighty-eight billion, what can I do with that?'" said Mr. Fischer, who owns a jewelry concessionaire for Florida theme parks. "Maybe a handful of us could have brought down SunTrust Bank." Mr. Fischer had other ideas as well. Before the problem was fixed, he asked a SunTrust rep if he could move the money to an interest-bearing account until it was reclaimed and donate the interest to charity. Total interest: more than $7.3 million. The bank said no. The money was stripped out of his account by Saturday morning.

"It's all gone. I'm poor again," he said. "I was a billionaire for five hours." This kind of bank error happens frequently. But Mr. Fischer raises an interesting question: What if, for five hours, you truly did have $89 billion? What would you do with the money? The ground rules are that you would have to give the money back — and whatever you bought or invested with it — after five hours. Source: The Wall Street Journal 02/04/10

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My Comments: Imagine this incident also happening in the United States. Tell yourself, if you have about 88 billion and not millions in your bank account and that's when you find out when you withdraw the money without you yourself deposit any moeny into the bank? Don't you feel happy about it? Well, if for me, I would be in happy shocked and I just realize I just had been a billionaire and guess what, with 88 billion, you can actually do a lot of things already. Just resign from your work and then just concentrate with the investment or even you can take over a business to lead and you are much richer from now on. Well, lucky you Mr. Fisher for for at least holding the money for at least 5 hours. How nice if I could be FOREVER! :)

World News: Massive earthquake hits Chile, over a few hundred thousands feared dead

CONCEPCION, Chile (Reuters) - One of the world's most powerful earthquakes in a century pounded Chile on Saturday, killing more than 300 people as it toppled buildings and triggered tsunamis that ravaged a port town and threatened Pacific coastlines as far away as Japan. Buildings caught fire, others crumbled and bridges collapsed across swathes of central Chile, but the initial death toll was relatively low from a quake many times stronger than the one that devastated Haiti last month. An apartment block with up to 200 people inside collapsed in Concepcion, the closest major city to the epicentre, and rescue officials said they were unsure how many escaped. Overturned cars lay scattered below a fallen overpass in the capital Santiago and telephone and power lines went down across the narrow country, making it difficult to assess the full extent of the damage and loss of life.

Chile's government said more than 300 people were killed in the 8.8-magnitude quake, which struck at 3:34 a.m. (0634 GMT), sending people rushing from their beds and onto the streets in fear, hugging each other and crying. "It came in waves and lasted so long. Three minutes is an eternity. We kept worrying that it was getting stronger, like a terrifying Hollywood movie," said Santiago housewife Dolores Cuevas. It was the fifth-largest earthquake since 1900 and dealt a serious blow to the economy and infrastructure of the world's No. 1 copper producer and one of Latin America's most developed and stable countries. The quake halted operations at two oil refineries and two major copper mines and Chile's government said an estimated half a million homes were severely damaged.

In Concepcion, a city of 670,000 people, some residents whose homes were wrecked pushed their belongings in shopping carts on the streets. Water and electrical services were down and many residents camped outdoors, fearful after a series of big aftershocks. "I've been told I lost all of my furniture, my TV, my refrigerator, but it doesn't matter to me. I'm just happy my family is safe," said Francisco Luna, a 42-year-old air-conditioner repairman. Chilean officials said the number of deaths was unlikely to increase dramatically, and a U.S. Geological Survey researcher attributed the low toll to Chile's solid building standards.

TSUNAMI

A tsunami swept into the port town of Talcahuano, causing serious damage to port facilities and lifting fishing boats out of the water. Television pictures showed shipping containers strewn around and flooded streets in the port, one of the most important in southern Chile. President Michelle Bachelet said a huge wave hit the Juan Fernandez islands, an archipelago where Scottish sailor Alexander Selkirk was marooned in the 18th century, inspiring the novel Robinson Crusoe. "There was a series of waves that got bigger and bigger, which gave people time to save themselves," pilot Fernando Avaria told TVN television by telephone from the main island. But at least four people were killed and 13 others were missing on the island, a local official said. Fifteen hours after the quake struck Chile, the tsunami reached Hawaii's Big Island, where residents and tourists were evacuated from low-lying coastal areas. The tsunami warning was later lifted for Hawaii, but Japanese officials said a wave up to 3 meters (10 feet) high could hit the country's Pacific coast and warned residents to evacuate coastal areas. The U.S. Geological Survey said the earthquake struck 70 miles (115 km) northeast of Concepcion at a depth of 22 miles (35 km). It said an earthquake of magnitude 8 or over can cause "tremendous damage." The Jan. 12 quake that devastated Haiti's capital Port-au-Prince and killed well over 200,000 people was measured as magnitude 7.0.

CAPITAL DAMAGED, MINES SHUT

Chile's capital of Santiago, about 200 miles (320 km) north of the epicentre, was also badly hit. The international airport was closed for at least 24 hours as the quake destroyed passenger walkways and shook glass out of doors and windows. Codelco, the world's largest copper producer, suspended operations at its El Teniente and Andina mines, but reported no major damage and said it expected the mines to be up and running in the "coming hours." Production was halted at the Los Bronces and El Soldado copper mines, owned by Anglo American Plc, but Chile's biggest copper mine, Escondida, was operating normally. Chile produces about 34 percent of world supply of copper, which is used in electronics, cars and refrigerators. In Concepcion, at least 12 buildings caught fire and rescue workers pulled 22 people from the rubble of the 15-storey apartment block that pancaked onto itself. Some residents looted pharmacies and a collapsed grains silo, hauling off bags of wheat, television images showed. At least 269 prisoners took advantage of the quake to escape from a prison about 250 miles (450 km) south of Santiago, police said. Twenty-eight of the inmates were captured and three shot.

"It was like we were being shaken around in a box," said Claudia Rosario, a 27-year-old receptionist in Temuco, 175 miles (280 km) south of Concepcion. She said residents there were without water and electricity. An eight-year-old boy and a man were killed in the northern Argentine city of Salta when a powerful aftershock caused walls to collapse, officials said. In 1960, Chile was hit by a 9.5-magnitude earthquake, one of the biggest ever recorded. It devastated the city of Valdivia, killed 1,655 people and spawned a tsunami that engulfed the Pacific Ocean, taking another 200 lives in Japan, Hawaii and the Philippines. President Barack Obama called Bachelet on Saturday and said the United States stood ready to help Chile. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was due to visit Chile on Tuesday on a Latin America tour. (Additional reporting by Helen Popper, Kevin Gray, Guido Nejamkis and Juliana Castilla in Buenos Aires; Alonso Soto in Santiago; Editing by Stuart Grudgings and Kieran Murray)

Copyright © 2008 Reuters