The accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant has drawn comparisons to the Chernobyl disaster in 1986. According to some experts, while they are very different, the consequences could be as bad or worse if authorities in Japan fail to prevent a meltdown.
The 56-year-old comedian and actor was fired on Monday after he tweeted a series of jokes about the earthquake and tsunami in Japan.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said on Tuesday that radioactivity is being released directly into the atmosphere from the Unit 4 reactor at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi plant.
Brent crude fell below $110 a barrel for the first time in nearly three weeks on Tuesday as a deepening nuclear crisis in Japan and rising radioactivity levels heightened risk aversion across financial markets.
Japan's Nikkei share average plunged 10.6 percent on Tuesday, posting the worst two-day rout since 1987, as hedge funds bailed out after reports of rising radiation near Tokyo. Many mutual funds were left on the sidelines, leaving them poised to dump shares into any rebound.
An evidently impressed Kevin Rose, founder of Digg, has shared an e-mail from a friend who works for Apple in Japan shedding light on the ways in which the tech giant stepped up and helped people caught off guard by Friday's earthquake.
Stock index futures dropped sharply on Tuesday, with futures for the S&P 500 down 2.8 percent, Dow Jones futures down 2.5 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures down 2.6 percent at 0935 GMT (5:35 a.m. ET), on mounting fears over Japan's nuclear crisis.
U.S. stock futures point to a sharply lower opening for Wall Street Tuesday, following slump in European and Asian stock markets amid fears of a nuclear disaster in Japan.
The March 11 earthquake has plunged Japan into a state of nuclear crisis as fresh reports of blasts at nuclear plants pour in every few hours. The live slideshow contains photos of the blast with details.
The Bank of Japan on Tuesday continued to flood the money market with cash while top policymakers sought to contain a sharp sell-off in Tokyo stocks with reminders they kept a close watch over market moves and assurances about the economy's overall health.
Brent crude fell by as much as 2.2 percent to below $112 as a deepening nuclear crisis in Japan and rising radioactivity levels heightened risk aversion across financial markets.
World stocks hit 2-1/2 month lows on Tuesday and oil fell and the yen surged after reports of rising radiation near Tokyo triggered a 10 percent fall in Japanese stocks, hurting risky assets across the board.
Texas Instruments said it expects loss of revenue in the first quarter and second quarter as the Japan earthquake caused substantial damage to its Miho plant in the country.
Japanese auto major Mazda Motor Corporation will extend the production suspension at its Hiroshima and Hofu plants until March 20 following Friday's earthquake.
Japan has confirmed that a fire at the spent fuel storage pond at an earthquake-hit reactor of Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant was extinguished on March 15 at 02:00 UTC, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said.
Japanese stock markets slumped for the second day on Tuesday on escalating fears of a nuclear crisis after a radiation leak was detected at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant and residents were warned to stay indoors.
Rock star Bryan Adams exhorted the world's musicians to organize a concert for Japan, which is reeling from the worst disaster in recent history.
Prices for key technology components extended gains on Tuesday, as damage at Japanese plants and infrastructure caused by Friday's devastating earthquake and tsunami threatens to disrupt the global manufacturing chain longer than many had expected.
Japanese Auto major Honda Motor Co has said that all production activities are suspended at the following Honda plants, the carmaker said in a statement.
Shares and other risky assets from the Australian dollar to commodities such as copper and oil slumped on Tuesday while safe-haven assets like U.S. Treasuries rallied as Japan's nuclear crisis worsened.
Japan has informed the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that a spent fuel storage pond at an earthquake-damaged reactor is on fire and radioactivity is being released directly into the atmosphere, the Vienna-based U.N. atomic watchdog said.
Japanese stocks plunged 12 percent on Tuesday on reports of rising radiation levels near Tokyo and lurched toward their biggest loss since the 1987 crash, in a panic selloff likely to compound the economic impact on the quake-stricken country.
