Prince William whisks Kate away on a £4,000-a-night tropical honeymoon 'in the Seychelles'

By REBECCA ENGLISH

And they're orf: Kate and William at Buckingham Palace before flying by helicopter for their 'mini-moon'


The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have left for a two-week honeymoon in a secret hideaway in the Indian Ocean.

The newlyweds will stay in an exclusive villa that costs £4,000-a-night and is said to be located on one of the most beautiful and romantic islands in the world.

The Duke and Duchess are believed to have flown out by private jet yesterday before being taken by helicopter from the mainland to the tropical retreat.



Back to work - but not for long. William was spotted returning to the Air and Sea Rescue headquarters at RAF Vally in Anglesey after the wedding


William's car was apparently seen leaving Anglesey, north Wales, yesterday accompanied by a police Range Rover piled high with luggage.

A spokesman for St James's Palace said he would not confirm their honeymoon destination, although according to reports, the couple may have headed for the Seychelles.

The spokesman added William has taken two weeks leave from operational duties.

'The couple have asked that their privacy be respected during their honeymoon.'


Stocking up: Kate was seen shopping for provisions at Waitrose shortly after the celebrations


If the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have chosen the Seychelles for their honeymoon they could well be heading for an idyllic location they visited four years ago - the island of Desroches


A source said: ‘It’s one of the most incredible places you will ever visit and Kate will have the time of her life. It’s everything you could want from a honeymoon destination and more – beautiful beaches, tropical seas and complete privacy.

‘The Prince’s protection officers flew out to check it out and their villa has been booked and confirmed.


The couple were seen taking off from Buckingham Palace the day after their wedding


Like everyone else he works with, Prince William had to apply to take time off before the wedding


The island of Desroches is a paradise just four miles long, about 150 miles south west of the Seychelles' main island, Mahe


source: dailymail

Outrage at screening of dying Princess Diana photo

By MICHAEL SEAMARK


Crash: A photographer is first to reach Diana's smashed up Mercedes in 1997. The public have never seen close-up images of her dying


A shocking paparazzi photograph of a dying Princess Diana is to be screened for the first time in a documentary about her fatal crash.

Unlawful Killing, which will be shown at Cannes this week, is backed by the actor Keith Allen and Mohammed Al Fayed, whose son Dodi died with Diana.


Icon: Diana's fame has meant that her death has been the subject of intense scrutiny. An inquest - held a decade later - found she was unlawfully killed


The 90-minute film will include a graphic black and white close-up of Diana taken moments after the Mercedes carrying the couple crashed in a Paris underpass.

The distressing image, Diana’s blonde hair and features clearly visible, has never been publicly seen in this country.

It will be shown around the world but not in the UK, prompting Allen to say: ‘Pity, because at a time when the sugar rush of the royal wedding has been sending republicans into a diabetic coma, it could act as a welcome antidote.’

Similar pictures shown to the Diana inquest jury had her face heavily pixelated.

Allen, in a piece for the Guardian newspaper last weekend, said: ‘My “inquest of the inquest” film contains footage of Diana recalling how the royals wanted her consigned to a mental institution, and the coroner repeatedly questioning the sanity of anyone who wondered if the crash was more than an accident.’

He said he asked every major UK broadcaster to commission a TV documentary about the inquest but they all refused.


Backers: The film, Unlawful Killing, is being supported by Mohammed Al Fayed, whose son Dodi died with Diana, and left-wing activist and actor Keith Allen, right


He said the film was being premiered in Cannes ‘because British lawyers insisted on 87 cuts before any UK release.

'So rather than butcher the film, we’re showing in France, then the U.S., and everywhere except the UK.’


Getting ready: A screen is prepared on the beach for the 64th Cannes Film Festival in France, which is where the Diana documentary will be shown


Mourned: The gates of Kensington Palace adorned with tributes in 1997


source: dailymail
outrage: a feeling of anger and shock

Can you believe this woman is 65?

By Jill Foster


Defying stereotypes: Hillie Marshall does not look or act how people expect 65-year-old women to


With her thigh-skimming skirts, toned bare, tanned legs and biker boots, 56-year-old Carole Middleton dresses just as fashionably as her daughters.

In the recent picture of her on a shopping trip with Pippa (they favour the same High Street stores), it was tough to tell who was the parent and who the twentysomething daughter.

Carole, a mother of three, has the enviably slim figure of someone half her years — and she’s clearly not ready to slip into ‘comfortable’ middle age quite yet.

Likewise, Hillie Marshall has the kind of glamorous look that many a 20-year-old would envy.


She admits that when men come into the dating agency she runs asking to meet young women, they are taken aback when she reveals her own age. Hillie is not some nubile young woman, but a 65-year-old mother-of-two from West London, who looks at least a decade younger than she really is.

‘People have a stereotyped image of what a 65-year-old mother should look like — short, greying hair, conservative clothes and a cardigan,’ she says.

‘But that’s not for me. I go shopping with my 30-year-old daughter in Topshop, Primark and H&M, and we often swap clothes. It’s not that I’m trying to be young; I just don’t think about getting old. I live life the way I always have.’

Both Hillie and Carole Middleton are part of a fast-growing trend of women (and men) living ‘agelessly’.

Madonna, at 52, is still lithe, while Helen Mirren, 65, made Vogue’s most glamorous list despite being of pensionable years. And Sarah Jessica Parker didn’t allow a minor thing like her advancing years (she’s 44) to stop her becoming a parent — even if that did mean relying on surrogacy.

The ‘ageless generation’ are never too old to find a new lover, start up a new business or have a baby. In fact, they’re ready for anything — except death.

Now, in a new book about the phenomenon, Time magazine’s Catherine Mayer terms these ‘ageless’ individuals ‘The Amortals’.

‘Amortality may not be a word you’re familiar with — yet — but you’re bound to recognise some of the symptoms, perhaps even in yourself,’ says Mayer. ‘Do people say you don’t act your age? Maybe you aren’t even sure how someone your age should act.

‘Did you start your first business at 17 or was it at 70? Are you always taking up new activities, tackling new challenges and enjoying pursuits that your contemporaries have put aside — from rock climbing to rock music?

‘Amortals are challenging some of the prejudices and structures associated with all the phases of life, and especially their middle and later years.’

More like sisters: Carole Middleton looked the double of her daughter Pippa on a recent shopping trip


Indeed, although Shakespeare wrote about the ‘seven ages of man’, life expectancy in Elizabethan times was below 40. Nowadays, Mayer suggests we should have perhaps ten, 12 or even 15 stages of our lives, given the average man will live until his late 70s and the average woman to her early 80s.

The average lifespan has increased by 30 years across the world in the past century.

Medical advances and healthier diets have enabled the number of centenarians to rise from a few thousand in 1950 to 340,000 globally in 2010. In 40 years, that figure is projected to reach nearly six million.

So, what has caused this shift?

Genes may play a part in how healthy we are, how young we look and how long we live, but amortality, Mayer argues, is a state of mind.

It is society, she says, which is re-writing the rules of what it means to be 40, 50, 60 or beyond. As Mark Twain once said: ‘Age is mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.’

During research for her book, Mayer asked people from a wide variety of different professions and cultural backgrounds to tell her the age they were and the age they felt. Many told her they felt decades younger than their actual ages.

Mayer empathises. She says: ‘At 50, I’m still hyperactive, still compelled to accept dares and push myself to sample new experiences, however daunting. I compulsively fill every moment and then complain to my husband and friends that I’m too busy.

‘Give me more leisure time and I’d spend as much of it as possible in the vivid, busy undersea world, with my 82-year-old father, another amortal.

He took up diving at the very end of his 60s and, like my mother, still works, at least when he’s on dry land.’

Mayer’s father is a theatre historian; her mother a freelance arts publicist.

So how can you attain amortality? Power, fame and wealth, Mayer says, all help their owners to stay as young as the person they feel.

Actress Demi Moore, 48, has never looked better and has a handsome and successful husband (who’s 15 years her junior) to boot — actor Ashton Kutcher.

Demi dresses like her daughters, and looks just as fresh and, frankly gorgeous, as they do.

It may take more work, but she’s willing to put in the hours in the gym, the trips to the beautician and — if the rumours are to be believed — visits to the cosmetic surgeon.

‘The rich have a better chance at longer life spans, and importantly, health spans, than the poor, although bad diets and sedentary ways are eroding this advantage,’ Mayer explains.

Young at heart: Madonna, 52, right, and Helen Mirren, 65, are still glamorous


But it’s not just the rich — the desire for amortality has trickled down to the woman on the street.

Women in their 40s and 50s are 15 times more likely than their mothers to use self-tanning products and 14 times more likely to use anti-wrinkle creams. Their global spending on cosmetics has risen by £1.9  billion over the past ten years.

‘We’re all taking up yoga and popping our supplements to stave off old age.

Then there’s the across-the-board popularity of shops such as Zara, Gap, Topshop and H&M, which appeal to women from the ages of 14 to 60-plus.

‘The meanings of age have become elusive and visual clues untrustworthy,’ Mayer explains. ‘Children dress like louche adults, while their parents slouch around in hoodies.’

Attitude also plays a huge part. ‘If we don’t think of ourselves as old, we won’t think ourselves into being old,’ says Mayer. Look at the fiftysomethings at festivals with their children — the whole family wearing Gap parkas and Converse trainers.

‘My 60-year-old mother is talking about going to a festival this year,’ says 33-year-old copywriter Olive, from London. ‘And she’s constantly on social website Facebook, messaging her friends who are all 20 years younger, posting songs — along with photos of herself on the beach in a bikini.

‘I cringed at first, but she looks great, and she’s happy, so why not?’

But isn’t all this just an attempt to deny the reality of the loudly ticking clock?

Mayer says our perceptions of ageing have come adrift, as early death has all but disappeared in the developed world. ‘Unlike past generations, who saw death on a daily basis — whether it be the stillbirth of a child or a parent killed off by consumption, plague or war — today we can often be middle-aged before we see death up close.

Confident: Demi Moore, 48, right, has a toy boy Ashton Kutcher and looks as young as her daughter Rumer Willis, left


‘Even then, it’s usually in the sanitised surroundings of a hospice or hospital.

‘Polite societies don’t dwell on death. We’re expected to dab our eyes and get on with the business of living,’ Mayer explains. Perhaps this is illustrated best by Simon Cowell who, as a typical amortal, shows no signs of slowing or settling down even though he is over 50, and says: ‘I can’t go to funerals. I find it very difficult to deal with that kind of reality.’

Other amortals avoid looking death in the face by embarking on an affair. ‘If there’s one thing that really drives amortals, it’s the impulse to blot out thoughts of our own mortality,’ says Mayer. ‘And passion, especially if spiced by drama and intrigue, proves a great distraction.’

How can death be around the corner if we’re, like 77-year-old Joan Collins, revitalised by the love of a man 30 years our junior? Once, asked if the age gap between her and her fifth husband, Percy, 46, bothered her, Joan shrugged: ‘If he dies, he dies.’

But does she really feel oblivious? ‘I honestly never give it a second thought. He’s just Percy. His age is the last thing on my mind.’

Joan has said she is determined to live to 100. But money can’t buy eternal life, no matter how ‘youthful’ your attitude and whatever the cosmetic surgeons or supplement manufacturers are forever telling us.

According to Mayer: ‘Genes, environment and dumb luck’ determine how long we live and in what condition.

‘Embracing old age isn’t a bad thing, if that means appreciating your accrued wisdom and feeling comfortable in our loosening skins,’ she says.

‘But amortals are often in denial about ageing and death and may become angry and depressed when confronted with reality.’

This is one of the perils of amortality. And Mayer freely admits that non-amortals may laugh behind the backs of amortals and their behaviour.

But, she says: ‘Dignity is overrated. If you’re the kind of person given to muttering “act your age, not your shoe size”, beware. Conforming to outdated, restrictive ideas about age is just as damaging.’

She describes one experiment by the renowned Harvard psychology professor Ellen Langer that found that dressing old can make you feel and behave older.

‘Most people try to dress appropriately for their age, so clothing in effect becomes a cue for ingrained attitudes about age,’ explained Langer.

‘But what if this cue disappeared? We found that people who routinely wear uniforms as part of their work life, compared with people who dress in street clothes, missed fewer days owing to illness or injury, had fewer doctors’ visits and hospitalisations, and had fewer chronic diseases.’

Last year, the BBC re-ran another experiment of Ellen Langer’s in which several celebrities all in their 70s and 80s were asked to ‘go back in time’ and live in a house decorated as if it were 1975. They had to dress in kipper ties and kaftans, only discuss news events from that particular decade, and to all intents and purposes live as though they were still only in their 40s.

The results were remarkable. Their mental faculties improved drastically and so did their physical health.

The oldest housemate, actress Liz Smith, 88, was able to walk without her sticks for the first time since a stroke had affected her two years previously.

‘The moral of the story?’ says Mayer. ‘It’s healthier to be mutton dressed as lamb than mutton dressed as mutton.’


source:dailymail

The big day was a week ago, but for the brands Kate wore, celebrations are only just beginning

By LIZ JONES

Sell out: Demand has surged for bridal dresses like the Alexander McQueen gowns Kate wore


All eyes have swivelled to the new Duchess of Cambridge to take up the baton and help our fashion industry limp out of the recession.

Becoming the unofficial style ambassador is the best job Kate can be doing for our morale and the economy.

But every brand (and they were all British) involved in the wedding, in however small a way, has seen sales go through the roof.

By far the biggest surge in orders has come from the U.S. We can expect these to increase when Kate goes there on her first official tour in the summer.


In demand: The perfumee Kate wore was Illuminum's White Gardenia Petals


THE FRAGRANCE
On her wedding day, Kate wore White Gardenia Petals from Illuminum, created by British ‘nose’ Michael Boadi.

The clean, fresh scent has a note of coconut bursting into ylang ylang, lily of the valley and jasmine, with amber wood as the base note.

Demand is so high there is a waiting list of customers longing to smell like the royal bride.

White Gardenia Petals costs £70 and is available exclusively from roullierwhite.com

THE EARRINGS
While Kate’s tiara was made by Cartier and borrowed from the Queen, her stunning earrings were a gift from her parents.

The diamond-set oak leaves with a pear diamond drop and pave-set diamond acorn were inspired by the new Middleton coat of arms.


Unavailable: Robinson Pelham won't be making anymore earrings like the Duchess', despite requests


BRIDESMAID DRESSES
Having designed children’s wear for 30 years, Marlborough-based Nicki Macfarlane is renowned for her exquisite outfits for bridesmaids and pageboys. She made the four young bridesmaids’ dresses: ballerina length, box-pleated ivory silk satin gazar, layered over organza, wild silk and petticoats.

They were handmade in Wiltshire and Kent, given an English lace trim and embroidered with the child’s name.



Pretty: The young bridesmaids, pictured with Maid of Honour Pippa Middleton in an Alexander McQueen design, wore handmade dresses by Nicki Macfarlane while their shoes were by the Rainbow Club


BRIDESMAID SHOES
Rainbow Club, based in Exeter, has been designing, making and hand-dyeing wedding shoes since the mid-Eighties.

Kate’s bridesmaids wore classic Mary Janes in satin, embellished with a Swarovski crystal buckle. Sales manager Richard Coles says: ‘We’ve been run off our feet, with people calling from all over Europe and the U.S.’

Why did Kate choose this little firm of 30 employees?

‘For the quality. We guarantee we will dye a shoe to match the exact colour of the dress. The Royal Wedding shoes were a special shade of ivory.’

Children’s bridesmaid shoes start at £30, rainbowclub.co.uk


THE HATS

Vivien Sheriff is a milliner who has her atelier in a decidedly unglamorous farm building in Wiltshire.

She made the famous fascinator worn by Kate on her first royal engagement in February, and was commissioned by 53 guests to make bespoke pieces.

Every piece is handmade by a team of six. An elaborate headpiece can cost up to £1,000. Since the wedding, online sales have doubled.


Best foot forward: Kate stepped into married life wearing LKBennett wedges


'The Kate': The shoes have been re-issued in her name

COURT SHOE WEDGES

The day after the wedding, Kate teamed a wintry blue Zara dress with a cropped black blazer and LK Bennett Greta wedges, £150. This prompted the chain to reissue the style, renaming it the Kate. It will be available in June, but already has a waiting list.

The Kate effect has meant sales of all wedges have soared at Topshop, Hobbs and even Christian Louboutin.


source: dailymail

Pippa plc: Kate's little sister sets her sights on making a splash in business

By REBECCA ENGLISH

Fearless: Miss Middleton dives into the water in Ibiza in previously unseen pictures


She may have been a bridesmaid at the royal wedding, but Pippa Middleton is clearly not cut out to play second fiddle for long.

Her dazzling appearance on William and Kate’s big day has brought the 27-year-old an army of fans and dozens of online ‘appreciation’ sites.

And now it seems she intends to capitalise on her new public profile – by starting her own party planning business.


Pippa is determined to continue with her 'business plan' despite being 'furious' when topless holiday pictures of her emerged recently


Soaking up the rays: Pippa relaxes on her Uncle Gary's yacht


Playful: Pippa climbs back aboard as William jokingly grabs Kate; right, the sisters relax on deck, with Kate using her camera


Sunshine days: William, in red shorts, with Pippa (left), Carole, in green bikini, and other holiday guests


Yesterday, as pictures emerged of her enjoying an idyllic holiday with family and Prince William on her uncle Gary Goldsmith’s yacht in Ibiza some years ago, she was said to be ‘furious’ that images of her topless had also been published.

But although she sees the topless photos as a betrayal by friends exploiting her fame, she is determined to continue with her ‘business plan’.

A friend said: ‘She is really buoyed by her success and is hoping to start her own party planning business.’ Photographs showing the new Duchess of Cambridge’s younger sister partying in her underwear several years ago have also been circulating.


Heir in the air: Watched by Carole, Kate, James (in the patterned shorts) and Pippa, William attempts a backflip from the boat...


... but the young royal finishes with an ungainly belly-flop into the water


Making waves: The Prince failed to match Pippa's graceful aquatic display


After leaving college, Pippa set up an online magazine, Party Times, on the back of the Middletons’ business.

The source said: ‘Her aim is to branch out into organising events. I am sure she’ll be able to use new-found royal contacts to drum up business.

The Middletons have started to take action to have the racy pictures withdrawn.


source: dailymail

Was a 3am balcony leap the reason Prince Harry looked a tad under par at the Abbey?

By CHARLOTTE GRIFFITHS

Best foot forward: Prince Harry arrives at Westminster Abbey... but is said to have hurt his ankle eight hours earlier after leaping from the Goring Hotel veranda


As he stood at his brother’s side in Westminster Abbey waiting for the bride to arrive, Prince Harry drew more than a few questioning glances.

Despite his smart military uniform, the young Royal appeared a little jaded, with his hair askew and a definite look of someone who had not had enough sleep.

Now a possible answer to the question of why Harry seemed a touch under par on Royal Wedding day has emerged.


Unusual exit: How Harry is said to have left the Goring Hotel hours before his appearance as best man at his brother's wedding


Sources have revealed that the best man was out socialising until 3am – eight hours before the wedding.

And he is said to have left the party venue with an athletic leap from a balcony which saw him land awkwardly on one ankle.

The scene of the raucous goings-on was The Goring, the hotel which the Middleton family had taken over in the days before the wedding on Friday, April 29.

On the Thursday evening, a group of the young Royal circle had congregated in a bar there and were enjoying themselves heartily.

The festivities came to an end only at 3am when a young copper-haired reveller casually jumped off a veranda balcony, landing with a clumsy thump on a lawn 6ft below – to roars of laughter from his friends.


Proud moment: Prince Harry accompanies his big brother down the aisle for the wedding


According to sources, that reveller was the athletic Harry, whose looming day of duty had not stopped him sharing a few drinks with friends.

An onlooker said: ‘Harry was with Pippa Middleton and Chelsy Davy among other friends for some pre-wedding drinks.

'He was the life and soul of the party until the early hours.

‘People were surprised to see him there so late before one of the biggest wedding days of the decade, and even more surprised when he jumped off the balcony – and landed with a thump.

'He had struggled to climb up the railings to get into position, so when he jumped over the edge he did so rather unsteadily and landed awkwardly next to a flower bed.

‘He flinched for just a moment before he stood up, rubbing his ankle. Then he looked up, smiled and waved to a roar of cheers before disappearing on to the lawn where there was a secret exit.

‘People were laughing and joking that his fall could have seen him walking through Westminster Abbey the following morning with a broken leg. At one point it was thought he’d twisted his ankle.

A spokesman said: ‘Prince Harry had a private dinner with his brother, Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall. What he did after that is a private matter.’


source :dailymail

Revealed: How Prince William ensured he kept his cool on the big day... thanks to his tailor

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Specially made: Prince William's wedding outfit was customised from a heat-absorbent material to prevent him passing out in the Abbey


Prince's wedding outfit was made of special heat-absorbing material so he didn't faint at the Abbey


Prince William had his wedding uniform made of special heat-absorbing material, to prevent him passing out at Westminster Abbey.

And his brother Harry had a tiny Velcro compartment sewn into his wedding uniform to keep the ring safe.

Tailor Russell Kashket, who was responsible for making 2,000 royal wedding uniforms, has spoken for the first time since a confidentiality agreement lapsed after the nuptials.


Hands-on approach: The Prince worked closely with the tailors to get the look he wanted for the wedding


More than 350 members of the Kashket military tailoring staff in north London made the outfits, which also included the drum majors' gold state coats, Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment dress, and uniforms for all five Footguards regiments.

'It was difficult to make it all without anyone knowing what it was for,' Mr Kashket said. "We had to use a pseudonym.'

Prince William met with Mr Kashket several times to discuss the design. 'He was very concerned about the heat because he knew all the cameras and lights would make it very hot in the Abbey,' Mr Kashket said.

'We worked together to get the look he wanted while using material to absorb the heat and make sure he didn't pass out in front of two billion people across the world.'


Cunning: Prince Harry kept the ring in this secret compartment sewn into his wedding uniform


Marlon Kashket said: 'The prince has an excellent physique so he really did justice to our tailoring skill. We had a last-minute rush when the palace asked us if we could incorporate some device that would hold the ring.'

Ceremonial military garments such as these do not have pockets and there was concern that, if Prince Harry waved to the crowd on his way to the Abbey, then the ring might be lost.

'To solve the problem we decided to sew a tiny secret compartment into the scarlet cuff sealed with Velcro. This kept Catherine's ring safe.'



Smart: The wedding ring remained safe as Prince Harry - also in military uniform - walked Pippa Middleton up the aisle at Westminster Abbey


source: dailymail

'They've lost control': French claim Japan is hiding full scale of nuclear disaster as emergency teams desperately fire water cannon at reactors from

By David Derbyshire


-Workers battling nuclear meltdown evacuated today after radiation levels increased
-Police water cannon commandeered to spray complex
-Attempts to dump water on reactors by helicopter fail
-6.0 magnitude aftershock off Chiba, east of Tokyo, causes further tremors today
-In Europe, 500 bone marrow transplant centres put on standby to treat victims from Japan
-The plant rocked by second fire in No 4 unit and two more explosions, bringing the total to four
-France’s Nuclear Safety Authority ranks crisis second only in gravity to Chernobyl in 1986

Damaged: This dramatic pictures shows for the first time the damage wreaked upon the Fukushima plant which was today shrouded in smoke and steam bellowing from the damaged third and fourth reactors


Japan's stricken nuclear power plant was abandoned today, as soaring radiation forced emergency workers to flee for their lives and authorities were reduced to spraying reactors with water cannon from afar.

All 50 emergency workers who had been fighting to keep overheating reactors cool were pulled back 500 yards from the complex as radiation levels became too dangerous.

And in an extraordinary attack, the French government accused the Japanese of losing control of the situation and hiding the full scale of the disaster.

Military helicopters made a failed attempt to drop water on the reactors from above, amid desperate efforts to cool nuclear fuel. Police water cannons usually used in riot control were even requested to spray the site from long range.

The emergency teams had been pumping sea water into reactors using fire engines, but those efforts are thought to have stopped as the workers were pulled out.

Fears of 'an apocalypse' were raised by European officials as radiation levels soared . In another attack, French Industry Minister Eric Besson said:'Let's not beat about the bush. They have visibly lost the essential of control (of the situation). That is our analysis, in any case, it's not what they are saying.'

In a sign of mounting panic, Cabinet Secretary Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano has already warned that the long-range cooling efforts may not work.

He said: 'It's not so simple that everything will be resolved by pouring in water. We are trying to avoid creating other problems.' The emergency workers are reportedly preparing to return to the complex.

Destroyed: Damage after an earthquake and tsunami at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, 240 km (150 miles) north of Tokyo, is seen in this satellite image taken 9:35 am local time (0035 GMT)

Crisis: A cloud of white smoke can be seen rising from the nuclear power plant today as workers battling to control the chaos were evacuated after soaring radiation levels

Desperate measures: A Japanese military helicopter scoops water from the Pacific, which it later attempted to drop on overheating reactors


More than 140,000 residents within 19 miles of the plant were ordered to stay indoors - in addition to the 180,000 already evacuated from the immediate area. Terrified families clogged roads as they tried to flee.

And The French government urged its nationals living in Tokyo to leave the country or head to southern Japan due to the risk of radiation from an earthquake-crippled nuclear power plant to the north of the capital.

The French embassy in Tokyo said in a statement that its advisory applied with immediate effect to those French nationals who were not obliged to remain in the city. It added that it had asked Air France to mobilise planes currently in Asia to evacuate French citizens, and two were already on their way.

On Tuesday, a fire broke out in the same reactor's fuel storage pond - an area where used nuclear fuel is kept cool - causing radioactivity to be released into the atmosphere. TEPCO said the new blaze erupted because the initial fire had not been fully extinguished.

The turn of events caused European energy commissioner Guenther Oettinger to warn that Tokyo had almost lost control of events. ‘There is talk of an apocalypse and I think the word is particularly well chosen,’ he told the European Parliament.

But just before 4am this morning the Japanese government said that the fire which had raged for around seven hours had been brought under control.

The Japanese government later ordered emergency workers to withdraw from its stricken nuclear power complex today amid a surge in radiation.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said the workers, who have been dousing the reactors at the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant with seawater in a frantic effort to stabilise their temperatures, had no choice but to pull back from the most dangerous areas.

Screening: A woman is checked with a Geiger counter at a public welfare centre in Hitachi City, Ibaraki

Extreme measures: There are temporaryradiation cleaning shelter, set up by across the affected area including Nihonmatsu city in Fukushima

Potentially exposed: Women, one holding her dog, are scanned for radiation at a temporary evacuation centre for residents living near the Fukushima plant


'The workers cannot carry out even minimal work at the plant now,' Mr Edano said, as smoke billowed above the crippled complex. 'Because of the radiation risk we are on stand-by.'

Mr Edano warned that helicopters drafted in to tackle the nuclear spills may not work. He said: 'It's not so simple that everything will be resolved by pouring in water. We are trying to avoid creating other problems,' he said.

'We are actually supplying water from the ground, but supplying water from above involves pumping lots of water and that involves risk. We also have to consider the safety of the helicopters above,' he said.


Testing: Workers in protective white suits screen worried evacuees at a radiation contamination centre yesterday


Life and death: A woman reacts to news that a relative has died, left, and a baby is checked for signs of radiation, right


The alarm spread worldwide. In Europe, some 500 bone marrow transplant centres were put on standby to treat any victims from Japan. And in India, officials demanded that imported Japanese goods be screened for radiation contamination.

The plant was yesterday rocked by a fire and two more explosions - bringing the total to four. One damaged the concrete and steel walls protecting reactor 2 – as concerns grew that the casing could split and potentially send out a cloud of dangerous radiation.

Aftershocks continue to hit the country, and a 6.0 magnitude tremor struck in the Pacific just off Chiba prefecture, east of Tokyo, today, raised concerns that further damage would be caused to the already-weakened container walls of four reactors at the Fukushima plant.

Hajimi Motujuku, a spokesman for Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO), said the outer housing of the containment vessel at the No 4 unit at the complex caught fire.

Bustle: Passengers wait to leave at the Tokyo International Airport, some on any plane they can

Chaos: Smoke and steam billows from the damaged third and fourth reactors at the Fukushima plant, while right, hundreds of drivers desperate to flee the region pile on to the roads

At risk: Evacuees from the 18-mile radius around the plant are screened for radiation exposure at a testing centre yesterday


Efforts to cool overheating reactors were temporarily suspended after the levels were deemed dangerous to human health.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said the workers, who were dousing the reactors with seawater in a frantic effort to stabilize their temperatures, had no choice except to withdraw.

'The workers cannot carry out even minimal work at the plant now,' Edano said. 'Because of the radiation risk we are on standby.' Radiation levels had gone down later in the day but it was not immediately clear if the workers had been allowed back in.

Meanwhile, France’s Nuclear Safety Authority said the disaster now equated to a six on the seven-point international scale for nuclear accidents, ranking the crisis second only in gravity to Chernobyl in 1986.


The authority’s chief Andre-Claude Lacoste said: ‘It is very clear that we are at a level six. We are clearly in a catastrophe.’

In desperation, Tokyo Electric Power, which is responsible for the Fukushima plant, asked U.S. helicopters to drop water on to the building in an attempt to cool a reactor, as radiation levels are too high for people to approach it.

Levels at the site peaked at a dangerous 400 millisieverts yesterday – four times the level that can trigger cancer. However, they had fallen again by the end of the day. Japan ordered a 30-mile no fly zone over the exclusion zone to stop the spread of radiation.


Source:dailymail