Groundwater Beneath Fukushima Plant Shows High Radiation Levels

HARI SREENIVASAN: Radioactivity in groundwater beneath a __________ _______ _______ _________ in Japan has measured 10,000 times the __________ _______. That's according to officials with the company that operates the Fukushima Daiichi facility. But they do not believe it has contaminated the _________ ______ _______.

Meanwhile, the Japanese government is looking into new data from the U.N.'s nuclear agency to determine whether to expand the ________ ___________ _____around the plant.

YUKIO EDANO, Japanese chief Cabinet secretary (through translator): Regarding reports from the IAEA that radiation from the soil _________ _________ __________, we believe that this would only be harmful to health if you were exposed to it for long periods of time. So, we are going to __________ ____ _______________to see if there is the possibility of protracted high levels of radiation in the area, and it is necessary to ________ _________ ___________of this and take relevant measures on the basis of this monitoring.

HARI SREENIVASAN: In the wake of Japan's nuclear problems, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is conducting a _____ ____________ ________ of three U.S. nuclear plants.

The plants are in South Carolina, Kansas and Nebraska and have had problems with safety systems or ___________ _________. But the regulator's chairman stressed, all American facilities are operating inside _________ ______________.

At least a dozen people died in Pakistan today when a _________ ____________ hit a convoy carrying a prominent hard-line ________ party leader. The blast went off in the __________ ______ of Charsadda, and wounded at least 20 people. The explosion damaged several shops and a _______ _______. But the politician escaped ___________. It was the second attack to target him in as many days.

In _____ _______today, two former police officers were sentenced for their roles in the ___________ ______of an unarmed man in the aftermath of __________ ________. David Warren was sentenced to 25 years, and Gregory McRae received a 17-year sentence. Warren shot Henry Glover outside a New Orleans _____ _____, and McRae later ________ __ _____ with Glover's body in it. The two men are among 20 officers charged last year with crimes committed in the storm's aftermath.

_________ _______need an extra $____ _______to survive their financial crisis. That was determined after independent banking experts and the Irish Central Bank put four banks through stress tests. And it brings the _______ ________to nearly $100 billion.

We have a report from Faisal Islam of ___________ ___________ ____.

FAISAL ISLAM: Banks will be merged, shut and shrunk, leaving just two ____________ _____________ _______, Bank of Ireland and Allied Irish Banks. The extra black hole came about after another set of ______ ______for the health of the Irish financial system run by the Central Bank governor. It revealed likely future losses of tens of __________ ___ __________, that money likely to come from an already cash-strapped Irish state.

PATRICK HONOHAN, Central Bank of Ireland: __________ ______ _________their own calculations. And I suppose the indications will be, though I ______ _________ ___________, but the indications would be that, at this gain of capital, that we would see __________ ________ __________in all of them.

FAISAL ISLAM: Today's stress tests are intended to ________ __ ______ under market fears of Ireland's _______ _________housing market. If (INAUDIBLE) seem rather ____-__________, falls in house prices of nearly 40 percent and counting explain why.

But it was Ireland's ___________ ___________bust that caused the first round of bank collapses, principally the ________ Anglo Irish Bank, which today announced a 15 billion pound annual loss -- and what _______ _____ _______a bank problem now the burden of all of Ireland's taxpayers.

So, are there any other ways to _____ ____ _________ _____? Ireland's banks will sell some assets, but that may not raise much money. The new government has talked up _______ ____ ___________, the bondholders that lent money to the banks, but shied away from it today. The government was hoping for more ________-____ _______from the European Central Bank, though that didn't _______either.

Tonight, we know the true size of Ireland's ____________ ______ ________, but the long-term solution to pay for it and to end the ______ ______is still up in the air.

HARI SREENIVASAN: The European Central Bank and the __________ ___________ _____praised the Irish plans as comprehensive and a step in the right direction.

Stocks on _____ ________ended the day mixed, as the price of oil jumped to a 30-month high. The _______ ____industrial average lost nearly 31 points to close above 12,319. The ______rose four points to close at 2,781. ____ ________ _______amid concerns over ______, closing above $106 a barrel.

Those are some of the day's major stories.

Date: 2016-04-22; view: 787