Japan's saying it will be nine months before they've finished containment of the Fukujima reactors.. but according to sources on site, that's a somewhat optimistic timeline..
There continue to be leaks, draining into the Pacific.. and still spreading worldwide... the last figures showed the water's around Fukujima were 65 hundred times over the danger level.. and this will continue for months yet to come..
Again one must wonder if this enough radiation to truly have an effect on western States and British Columbia... Alaska is exceedingly close in relative terms, and would be the first to report unhealthy levels.. Of course, the same applies to Russia..
Of course it's all a matter for the currents...and perhaps soon, the courts..

One has to wonder.. David Cameron has stately that the UK 'would not land troops' in Libya.. as the civilian casualty count mounts in Misrata. The UK is having urgent talks with UN officials, about the need for what might amount to an extended mandate..
The rebel Council is somewhat bemused, that NATO fighters haven't targeted the long range cannon and rocket launchers Gadaffi has set against them.. yet there appears to be a mood of caution among NATO command.. Fewer sorties are being flown... fewer government targets destroyed.
Humanitarian groups are saying that not only is there a crisis in Misrata after 5 weeks of bombardment.. low reserves of meds and hospital staff.. That 80 percent of those killed in these attacks, have been civilian..
It is blatantly obvious what the will of the rebels is, and they will stand their ground, with fears of a massacre if government troops enter the city... and wait to see what NATO can do to help them...

An interesting sidebar to the troubles in North Africa... France closed their borders to Italian trains for a while, to stem the flow of migrants from Africa, who had been given temporary travel permits.. which would allow them to move freely among several EU countries.. Italy said the move by France was reprehensible, and a clear infringement of the Schengen Act.. However, France, already financially wobbly, said immigrants should be able to prove the ability to work.. show a skill which would ensure welfare rolls don't swell...
France eventually lifted their restrictions on travel, but it's one of the problems the EU is going to have to deal with... the attitude of those countries most sought out by migrants.. and the weight their presence will have on the citizens of these countries..

Also very interesting is what's happening in the American tonado belt.. 62 touchdowns in North Carolina, following three days of torrential rains.. Oklahoma, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and Virginia have also been hit with some areas reporting hail the size of grapefruit.. So far, 43 people have been killed as a result of these storms..
Take a step back and look at this past year... tectonic shifts near Japan triggers an horrendous tsunami...Eastern Australia's been flooded out on a couple of occasions.. a failed monsoon in Asia.. It's been quite a start to the decade...