Nuclear situation 'grave' Japan PM warns

Japan's prime minister has warned the situation at the country's quake-hit nuclear power plant remains "unpredictable" after officials said they suspected a breach in the reactor core of a unit at the complex. "The current situation is still very unpredictable. We're working to stop the situation from worsening. We need to continue to be extremely vigilant," Naoto Kan said on Friday. He also praised emergency workers at the Fukushima Daiichi plant in northeastern Japan, which was hit by a massive earthquake and tsunami two weeks ago, for "risking their lives" in the battle to control the situation. Earlier, officials from the plant's operator said there was possible damage at reactor number three at the complex, meaning more radioactive contamination may have leaked into the environment. "It is possible that the pressure vessel containing the fuel rods in the reactor is damaged," a spokesman from Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) told the AFP news agency. Read more...