Outside of food and energy costs, the core index ticked up 0.2 percent, less than January's 0.5 percent rise. Food prices soared 3.9 percent last month, the biggest gain since November 1974. Most of that increase was due to a sharp rise in vegetable costs, which increased nearly 50 percent. That was the most in almost a year. Meat and dairy products also rose. Energy prices rose 3.3 percent last month, led by a 3.7 percent increase in gasoline costs.

There was little sign of inflationary pressures outside of food and energy. Core prices have increased 1.8 percent in the past 12 months. Still consumers are paying more for the basic necessities. Food costs, meanwhile, are rising. Bad weather in the past year has damaged crops in Australia, Russia, and South America. Demand for corn for ethanol use has also contributed to the increase.

The emperor spoke after technicians were forced to temporarily abandon a quake-crippled nuclear plant. The 9.0 magnitude quake and tsunami has killed thousands of people. TV stations interrupted programming to show the sombre-looking emperor describing the natural disaster as "unprecedented in scale".

The 77-year-old said: "I hope from the bottom of my heart that the people will, hand in hand, treat each other with compassion and overcome these difficult times." Akihito said he prayed that every victim of the quake and tsunami could be saved. Thousands are missing and at least 10,000 feared dead after the disaster, which flattened swathes of the country's north-east coast.

Engineers are meanwhile racing to avert a nuclear catastrophe at the stricken Fukushima Daiichi power plant. On Wednesday morning, yet another fire broke out in one of the reactors, while smoke or steam billowed from another part of the plant. The authorities have been using a helicopter to try to douse the facility. The plant - 220km (140 miles) north of Tokyo - was rocked by the first in a series of explosions on Saturday.

The opening salvo in what unions hope will be a 'summer of strife' will come on March 26, when Labour leader Ed Miliband and shadow Chancellor Ed Balls are expected to join a 200,000-strong Trades Union Congress demonstration on the streets of London. Brendan Barber, general secretary of the TUC, called yesterday for a campaign of 'peaceful civil disobedience' against the Government's attempts to rein in the unprecedented budget deficit.

'I think the coalition needs to reflect on where is their plan B,' Mr Barber said. 'They take a major political risk if they seem to be indifferent to this kind of genuine democratic reaction to what they are doing.'

The Public and Commercial Services union, which represents civil servants, is thought to have around 2 million pounds set aside, while other unions have smaller sums. There is increasing concern in Westminster that unions could bring Britain to a standstill through mass public sector walkouts.

Ministers believe the issue of public sector pensions - which were identified as needing urgent cutbacks in a report for ministers last week - is the biggest potential flashpoint. One union source has been quoted as saying the movement wants to 'unleash hell' on the government. The Cabinet Office is drawing up a secret 'war plan' to deal with a general strike, with strike breakers being lined up to keep vital facilities such as prisons, the Tube and power stations running. David Cameron is also threatening to tear up strike laws to prevent militant trade unions holding Britain to ransom.

Struggling to cope with the aftermath of the Sendai earthquake and tsunami, Japan has an extreme dose of all three. I took a quite sanguine view of the longer term outlook for the Japanese economy in my column for The Daily Telegraph this morning, and although written before the nuclear element to the catastrophe quite suddenly worsened, I still think that on balance this is the way to bet.

None the less, the turn of events at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant adds a potentially much more troubling dimension to the economics of the crisis with very significant implications for the future of energy security, not just in Japan, but across all advanced and even emerging market economies. We've already seen some early signs of fallout with Germany's decision to shut down seven ageing nuclear reactors and put a moratorium on all new nuclear build.

This is almost certainly an hysterical, unnecessary and extreme over-reaction to events in Japan, but is vivid illustration of how a relatively localised event in a far away place can have much farther reaching consequences. It's been more than three decades since the Three Mile Island meltdown on America's east coast, yet only quite recently has the nuclear lobby succeeded in winning back sufficient trust in the safety of their industry to allow for extensive new nuclear build to be sanctioned across the world economy.

Now this. Despite the mitigating circumstances - ageing capacity built on geologically unsound ground - and the evident need for alternatives to hydrocarbon power generation, it's once more going to be an uphill struggle in democratic societies to get the go-ahead for new nuclear capacity. Governments must hold their nerve on nuclear. The Japanese catastrophe is quite bad enough without turning itself into a global energy crisis.

Sales of Geiger counters have gone through the roof in Germany in recent days, and people have been buying so many iodine pills that medical experts have warned of the health risks of taking them. It only makes sense, said the Federation of German Pharmacists, "if there is a radioactive cloud directly over Germany."

Judging by the near-panic with which Europe's largest nation is responding to the Fukushima incident, one might assume that a toxic cloud had already arrived. The whole world is anxiously watching the video footage showing plumes of smoke rising from the stricken plant, and questions are being asked in most countries about the safety of nuclear power.

But the reaction has been strikingly angst-ridden in Germany, which is over 5,500 miles away from Japan. The Japanese, one could be forgiven for thinking, are facing their plight with a lot more stoicism than the Germans. The fear is driven in part by the evident similarities between the two highly developed, industrial nations, both known for their technological prowess and rigorous safety standards. If it can happen in Japan, then it could certainly happen here, say Germans, who have a high level of respect for Japanese engineering.

German commentators have proclaimed the end of nuclear power as a global source of energy - even as China and India reaffirmed their commitment to invest heavily in new plants to satisfy their surging energy needs.

Questions persisted for decades about the ability of the Mark 1 to handle the immense pressures that would result if the reactor lost cooling power, and today that design is being put to the ultimate test in Japan. Five of the six reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi plant, which has been wracked since Friday's earthquake with explosions and radiation leaks, are Mark 1s.

"The problems we identified in 1975 were that, in doing the design of the containment, they did not take into account the dynamic loads that could be experienced with a loss of coolant," Bridenbaugh told ABC News in an interview. "The impact loads the containment would receive by this very rapid release of energy could tear the containment apart and create an uncontrolled release."

The situation on the ground at the Fukushima Daiichi plant is so fluid, and the details of what is unfolding are so murky, that it may be days or even weeks before anyone knows how the Mark 1 containment system performed in the face of a devastating combination of natural disasters.

But the ability of the containment to withstand the events that have cascaded from what nuclear experts call a "station blackout" - where the loss of power has crippled the reactor's cooling system - will be a crucial question as policy makers re-examine the safety issues that surround nuclear power, and specifically the continued use of what is now one of the oldest types of nuclear reactors still operating.

The most obvious way would be through tax bills, if Europe agrees to ride to the rescue and help Greece deal with its mounting public and foreign debts. It is not yet clear what leaders of eurozone nations have agreed to do, but one thing is certain: any assistance will come at a cost that will ultimately have to be borne by taxpayers in the nations that contribute.

European citizens, both those within and those outside the eurozone, would even have to contribute indirectly if the International Monetery Fund was to get involved, since it is funded by a charge - known as a "quota" - paid by member nations. But their contribution would have been reduced proportionally with contributions made by non-European countries. In other words, the financial burden would have been more widely shared.

So the reasons why people outside Europe should care are broadly the same as the reasons why the Greeks should care. Going forth, they too are facing slower wage growth, rising taxes and rising retirement ages as governments everywhere - in the eurozone, the UK, the US and Japan - start slashing their debts.

"The consequence of a political crisis would worsen the risks for our economy and lead to intervention," he said. Portugal is burdened with high levels of debt, and is struggling to avoid an international bail-out similar to those of Greece and the Republic of Ireland. The government of Prime Minister, Jose Socrates, unveiled the latest in a series of austerity measures last Friday.

The plans, which included cuts to health and welfare budgets, were meant to reassure investors and fellow European Union members that it can meet its debt obligations without the need for outside help. However, the austerity package has met with fierce opposition, and the prime minister has warned that if the measures fail to win support, his country may be forced into a bail-out.

The main opposition party has now decided to formally oppose the plans which could lead to political deadlock. This could bring down the current minority government forcing a general election. "I have been fighting to avoid this scenario for six months," Mr Socrates told Portuguese television.

Ratings agency Moody's has decided to downgrade Portugal's sovereign debt rating by two notches from A1 to A3. "The cost of market funding is likely to remain high until the deficit has been reduced to a sustainable level and the prospects for economic growth have improved," it said in a statement. The downgrade will make it more expensive for Portugal to raise money on the international money markets. Moody's has also given a negative outlook on the new rating, which means its rating could be downgraded further.

The AP news agency said government supporters later broke up the rally by punching and attacking the protesters. A Facebook group, The Syrian revolution against [President] Bashar al-Assad 2011, is said to have called the march. A similar appeal on Facebook last month failed to bring protesters to the streets, but critics blamed a heavy security presence for the failure of that campaign.

Tuesday's march started after noon prayers in the old town of Damascus and fanned out to neighbouring streets, the witness told the BBC. He said the security forces did not use force against the protesters, but detained six of them. He added that more people were expected to join demonstrations after the evening prayers. A video posted on YouTube appeared to show the protest, with hundreds of marchers chanting slogans calling for freedom and an end to the emergency laws.

Calls for protests in Syria surfaced on Facebook after Egyptian activists succeeded in overthrowing President Hosni Mubarak last month after weeks of street demonstrations. Syria - like Egypt - is ruled through emergency law and suffers from high poverty and unemployment. Critics say corruption and cronyism are rife in Syrian business and political circles.

President Bashar al-Assad - who came to power in 2000 after three decades of rule by his father Hafez - has moved slowly to open up the economy, but his administration does not tolerate any dissent. There are thousands of political prisoners in Syrian jails, and major opposition groups are banned. The government also blocks access to several internet sites and maintains strict control of the media.

About half of the existing cables running across the Pacific are damaged and "a lot of people are feeling a little bit of slowing down of Internet traffic going to the United States," said Bill Barney, chief executive of Hong Kong-based cable-network operator Pacnet. He declined to name the damaged cables operated by other companies, but said Pacnet's cable system connecting Japan to the US isn't damaged so far.

Most international Internet-data and voice phone calls are transmitted as pulses of light via the hundreds of undersea fiber-optic cables. The cables, which can cost hundreds of millions of dollars, are typically owned by consortia of telecom companies, who share costs and capacity. While the clusters of glass fibers are enclosed in protective material, they remain vulnerable to undersea earthquakes, fishing trawlers and ship anchors. There are also many choke points around the globe, where a number of cables converge.

While the extent of the damage to undersea cables is unclear and financial losses unknown, operators said they are undergoing an inspection and looking to expedite restoration. More than 5,000 people have been confirmed dead or missing because of the quake and ensuing tsunami, according to Kyodo News. Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan has called the earthquake and its aftermath the biggest crisis in Japan's post-war history.

According to a Kyodo News survey, local governments in the devastated areas are unable to contact up to 30,000 residents. The Fire and Disaster Management Agency said the number of buildings that were completely or partially destroyed stood at more than 70,000 as of 11 pm Monday. Efforts to address the unprecedented damage and to secure the lives of survivors were under way in various sectors. Prime Minister Naoto Kan said at a morning meeting of the government disaster headquarters that emergency workers have so far rescued 15,000 survivors.

About 550,000 people had evacuated by Monday to about 2,600 shelters in six prefectures, but water, food and fuel are in short supply in various locations where they have taken refuge, while the capacities of some shelters have reached their limits.

Moreover, the Japan Meteorological Agency said the quake-hit Tohoku region will be hit by snow or rain on Wednesday, calling on evacuees to take care amid the cold weather which is expected to continue until Friday. The weather agency also warned of continued aftershocks. On Monday, a total of five such quakes measuring up to lower 5 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale of 7 were felt in Ibaraki, Miyagi, Fukushima and Nagano prefectures.

Major automakers and department store chains suspended their operations. Among them, Toyota Motor Corp will halt production at all domestic plants through Wednesday, which will cut its production by 40,000 units. Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings Ltd closed its seven department stores in Tokyo and the vicinity. Communication failures continued mainly in quake-hit Miyagi and Iwate prefectures, with 566,000 phone lines and 216,300 fiber-optic connections remaining out of service as of 5 pm Monday.

The blast tore through the unit 2 structure at the Fukushima Daiichi complex and a hole has been found in the container. Japanese cabinet secretary Yukio Edano has told a press conference there is also currently a fire in unit 4 reactor. Prime minister Naoto Kan said radiation has spread from the reactors and that anyone living less than 20km away from the facility should leave the area. He said that those within the 20 to 30km radius should stay inside as the risk of a nuclear leak is rising. Mr Edano said efforts are being made to cool down all of the reactors using water injection but that radiation levels could affect people's health.

Two previous explosions occurred in buildings housing unit 1 and 3 reactors following last Friday's massive earthquake and tsunami. The latest blast occurred after cooling water dropped repeatedly in unit 2, with the nuclear fuel rods partially exposed - risking an overheat of up to a temperature of 2,200 degrees Celsius. Damage to the hermetically-sealed reactor container dramatically increases the risk of serious radiation leaks.

The ex-deputy director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) told Sky News that the Daiichi unit 2 reactor may still deteriorate even more. "I think the situation is still very, very grim - we are by far not over the worst," Olli Heinonen said. The troubles at the Daiichi plant compound the immense challenges faced by the Tokyo government as it struggles to send relief to hundreds of thousands of people along the country's north-east coast.

A top Japanese official said the fuel rods in all three of the most troubled nuclear reactors at Daiichi appeared to be melting. Of all these troubles, the drop in water levels - risking overheating and meltdown - at unit 2 still has officials the most worried. "Units 1 and 3 are at least somewhat stabilised for the time being," Ryohei Shiomi, of Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, said. "Unit 2 now requires all our effort and attention."

In the west, government forces have moved into the rebel-held town of Zuwara and are shelling Misrata city. But the focus has also moved east to Ajdabiya, the last town before the rebel base in Benghazi. It seems rebel fighters have been hiding inside the oil installation in Brega in the daytime, in the belief that the government does not want to shell the facility, says the BBC's Jon Leyne in Benghazi.

Opposition sources are also saying there are divisions within the government ranks, with some troops apparently reluctant to fire on civilians, our correspondent adds. UN envoy Abdul Ilah Khatib has met Libyan Foreign Minister Moussa Kusa in the capital, Tripoli.

In the meeting, Mr Khatib, a former Jordanian foreign minister, reiterated demands for an end to the violence and requested access for humanitarian groups, a UN spokesman said. Foreign ministers of the G8 industrialised nations are discussing the crisis in Paris - but the BBC correspondent there says it is already clear that there are divisions over whether any intervention would be effective.

More than 1,000 Saudi troops rolled over the causeway that links it to the island kingdom and the United Arab Emirates also said it would send 500 police at the request of Bahrain's rulers after weeks of protests against the government and royal family. Over 60 percent of Bahrainis are Shi'ites who complain of discrimination at the hands of the Sunni royal family. Calls for the overthrow of the monarchy have alarmed the Sunni minority, which fears that unrest could serve non-Arab Shi'ite power Iran.

Iran, which sits across the Gulf from Bahrain, sharply criticised the Saudi intervention. "The presence of foreign forces and interference in Bahrain's internal affairs is unacceptable and will further complicate the issue," Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said at his weekly news conference in Tehran.

The United States has urged Saudi Arabia, the world's top oil exporter and a key US ally in the Gulf Arab region, to show restraint, though analysts said the escalation showed the limits of US influence when internal security was threatened. In a sign that security in Bahrain could deteriorate, the US State Department advised against all travel to the island due to a "breakdown in law and order."

The intervention by Gulf Arab troops is highly sensitive in a region where tensions soared after the 2003 US invasion of Iraq overthrew a Sunni dictator and ushered in a Shi'ite-dominated government. Accusations already abound of Iranian backing for Shi'ite activists in Bahrain - charges they deny.

The most serious damages were near Kealakekua Bay and Kailua-Kona on the Big Island. Haleiwa and Keehi Lagoon on Oahu, as well as areas of Maui and Molokai, also lost significant value. At least 25 boats sank at Keehi Lagoon, and an undetermined number of homes may have been destroyed along the Big Island's west coast beyond the two previously reported, including one that floated out to sea.

No one was killed or injured during the tsunami, which arrived in Hawaii early Friday morning as a result of a magnitude 9.0 earthquake in Japan. "It's in the millions in terms of property, but it's very small in terms of personal injury and deaths. Of course, we're very, very fortunate," said Governor Neil Abercrombie.

Additional losses may pile up because thousands of Japanese tourists have already canceled vacations to Hawaii since the tsunami, dealing a crushing blow to the state's tourism-dependent economy. "The economic consequences will be severe for us," Abercrombie said. "It's going to be terrible. It's going to be rough. It's something we have to come to grips with."