Login Edit Feedback Blasts, fire escalate Japan's nuclear crisis

SENDAI: Explosions and a fire at Japan's quake-hit nuclear plant unleashed dangerous levels of radiation on Tuesday, sparking a collapse on the stock market and panic-buying in supermarkets. Tokyo stocks, which were punished on Monday in a frantic sell-off that sent indexes around the world sliding, plummeted another 14 percent Tuesday before paring some losses and ending 10.55 percent down. In towns and cities, fearful citizens stripped shelves of food and water, prompting the government to warn that panic-buying could hurt its ability to provide aid to areas devastated by Friday's massive quake and tsunami. But scared Tokyo residents filled...