For Greece, the terms are a fire-sale of 50 billion euros (43.2 billion pounds) of national assets within four years, a tenfold increase from the original 5 billion euros that premier George Papandreou thought he signed up to a year ago. When the IMF first mooted this sum last month he told the inspectors not to "meddle in the internal matters of the country."

State holdings in Hellenic Post, Hellenic Railways, Athens Public Gas, the Pireaus port authority, Athens airport, Thessaloniki water, and ATEbank, to name a few, will not fetch more 15 billion euros. What next? In return, Chancellor Angela Merkel has agreed to cut the penal interest rate on the EU share of Greece's 110 billion euros loan package by 100 basis points (still penal), and stretch the maturity to 7.5 years.

This does not restore solvency. Greece's debt spiral is too far advanced. The debt load will approach 150 per cent of GDP this year, and debt service costs are 14.4 per cent of tax revenue. Meanwhile, austerity is biting harder. The jobless number jumped almost a full point to 14.8 per cent in January. Youth unemployment hit 39 per cent. For Portugal, the condition is more hairshirt retrenchment, a fiscal squeeze of 5.3 per cent in one year. Pensions, welfare, and health will be cut, following wage cuts already under way. "A descent into Hell," said the Bloco de Ezquerda.

Almost 300,000 youth took to the streets of Lisbon and Oporto on Saturday in a day of wrath by the "Desperate Generation", openly invoking the events of Egypt's Tahrir Square. A wing from the ruling Socialist Party said it would not vote for a "disastrous policy". They said the cabinet did not even know about the cuts imposed by Brussels before Wednesday night. Fiscal tightening of this magnitude in a country with public-private debt of 330 per cent of GDP, an over-valued currency, and reliance on fickle foreign financing, is not a happy prospect.

The 1,421-metre (4,689-feet) Shinmoedake volcano in the Kirishima range saw its first major eruption for 52 years in January. There had not been any major activity at the site since March 1. Authorities have maintained a volcano warning at a level of three out of five, restricting access to the entire mountain. In April last year, the eruption of the Eyjafjoell volcano in Iceland dispersed a vast cloud of ash, triggering a huge shutdown of airspace that affected more than 100,000 flights and eight million passengers.

- 42 survivors have been pulled out of the rubble

- Official death toll hits 1,597, but many hundreds believed to be buried under rubble or washed away by waves

- Toll will soar after around 2,000 bodies were found on the shores of Miyagi prefecture

- Second explosion at nuclear power plant

- Number of people contaminated with radiation could reach 160

- Region hit by hundreds of aftershocks, some up to 6.8 magnitude

- Rescue operation begins but some areas still cut off by road damage and flood waters

- 70,000 people evacuated to shelters in Sendai

Rescue efforts have been hampered by hundreds of aftershocks, and it is feared the final death count could rise sharply once a full picture of the catastrophe emerges. In Minami Sanriku alone, 10,000 people could have died - more than half of the city's population.

It only took a few minutes for the 30ft wave to wash the town away with terrifying force. The locals desperately tried to escape to higher ground. But most did not stand a chance.

It is hard to imagine any life remains among the debris. Where last week fishing boats bobbed in the harbour, it is now impossible to tell where the sea begins and the land ends. One of the few buildings left standing is the town's Shizugawa Hospital but the rest of what was once the town centre is flooded with filthy sea water.

In the city of Sendai, authorities have had to evacuate nearly 70,000 people to shelters. To add to problems, there has been a spate of panic buying as most petrol stations and supermarkets are out of service. At least a million households had gone without water since the quake, and food and gasoline were quickly running out across the coastal regions hit by the tsunami.

Meanwhile, the Bank of Japan tried to support the economy, saying it would inject 15 trillion yen ($183 billion; 114 billion pounds) into the banking system to stabilise markets. Carmaker Nissan was down by 9.5% after it shut all its plants, while Toshiba, whose products include semiconductors and nuclear reactors, fell 16%.

A Toshiba competitor, Hitachi, also fell 16% and shares in Tokyo Electric Power Company fell by 24%. Honda, Japan's third-largest carmaker, fell 9.1%.

With production stopped in a number of major factories and therefore the demand for power reduced, the price of oil fell. Brent crude lost 2.4% to $111.16, a two-week low, whilst US light, sweet crude fell by $1.37 to $99.79. But industrial and materials companies gained on hopes they will be in demand once Japan starts rebuilding. Construction company Kajima rose 17.9% and Nishimatsu Construction soared 21%.

On an "ultimate risk" basis that includes the potential loss on derivatives and credit guarantees of different kinds, the figure rises to $2.51 trillion as of September 2010, well above the headline figure of $1.76 trillion in cross-border loans. The sheer scale highlights the systemic dangers if the EU fails to stabilize the debt crisis.

Eurozone leaders agreed to boost the lending power of the EU bail-out fund on Friday, but Germany vetoed proposals for a debt buy-back scheme or an activist policy of bond purchases. The BIS, the central bank of central banks, said in its quarterly report that Germany had $569 billion of exposure to the quartet, France $380 billion, and the UK $431 billion.

Hours after the explosion, the government confirmed that Fukushima Daiichi plant's No 2 reactor had suffered a loss of its cooling function. Officials said that water levels at the reactor were dropping, but added that efforts were under way to prevent what would be the plant's third explosion since Saturday.

As officials battled to cool off the overheating reactors, elsewhere rescue workers found 2,000 bodies on shores in two locations in Miyagi prefecture, the area hit hardest by last Friday's fearsome tsunami. The discovery dramatically increased the estimated death toll, with more than 10,000 people already unaccounted for in the prefecture. The official fatality count stands at 1,647, but the figure is expected to rise significantly in the coming days.

The prime minister, Naoto Kan, said 15,000 people had been taken to safety as part of a rescue effort involving tens of thousands of Japanese troops and teams of experts from several countries, including Britain and China.

The economic impact of the disaster became clearer on Monday when Tokyo stocks suffered big losses, while car manufacturers announced they would suspend production at plants across the country. The Bank of Japan, meanwhile, pumped 15 billion yen into the financial system to ensure liquidity for private lenders.

Polling for the campaign launch shows that 61 per cent would like a referendum on whether Britain should remain within the European Union, with just 25 per cent against. A majority of supporters of all three parties back the idea. It means support for a referendum on the EU is more than double the level for the referendum on changing Britain's voting system planned for May 5.

Voters will now be invited to sign up to the 'People's Pledge', promising to only support candidates at the next election who vow to support a referendum. The pledges will be registered by constituency on the campaign's website - allowing MPs and rival candidates to see the level of support in their area. The aim is to focus initially on the 100 most marginal seats, where campaigners believe their number of supporters could quickly exceed the majorities of serving MPs.

Prominent Left-winger Mark Seddon, director of the campaign, said the initiative had the potential to tap into 'huge latent demand' for a referendum. He added: 'Our message is simple - if you believe that the people, and not politicians, should decide the UK's relationship with the EU, sign the People's Pledge.'

As a result, the effective lending capacity of the European Financial Stability Facility will be increased to the full 440 billion euros, from a current level of around 250 billion euros. That should ensure that the fund is capable of bailing out any euro zone states beyond Greece and Ireland that require assistance, with Portugal seen as the next most likely country to need financial help, and possibly Spain after that.

The leaders also agreed to lower the interest rate and lengthen the maturity on loans extended to Greece, reducing the rate by 100 basis points to bring it into line with IMF lending. The term on the 110 billion euros of EU/IMF loans was lengthened to 7.5 years from three, giving Athens more time to repay.

"Pricing of the EFSF should be lowered to better take into account debt sustainability of the recipient countries," Herman Van Rompuy, the president of the European Council, told reporters after the summit of the leaders concluded. While Portugal, which is currently paying around 7.5 percent on its 10-year bonds, is regarded as a candidate for a bailout, it reiterated on Saturday that it did not need help and had no intention of asking the EU for assistance.

Bad debts in the European banking system continue to undermine efforts to get on top of the broader crisis, exacerbating sovereign debt problems. Many analysts say the sovereign debt crisis cannot be resolved without a solution to the bad banking debts, which could involve debt restructuring.

As eruptions continued at two spots, seismic activity grew more vigorous and poisonous sulfur dioxide gas emissions peaked at 10,000 tons per day, over 30 times last weekend's levels, before dropping off again by more than half, according to scientists at the US Geological Survey.

The 2,000-degree Fahrenheit molten lava from Kilauea's summit and the newly ruptured Kamoamoa fissure have destroyed 78 acres of rain forest since Saturday and buried 162 acres of park land. The ground around the eruptions has continued to collapse, and forests downwind of the fissure were choked with volcanic fumes that are toxic to the vegetation, said Mardie Lane, an official at the Hawaii Volcano Observatory.

Kilauea is one of five volcanoes that formed the Big Island, officially known as the island of Hawaii. Periodic eruptions of the volcano have destroyed 213 homes since the volcano emerged from a period of dormancy in 1983. The latest episode began with the 370-foot collapse of the floor of the Pu'u O'o crater and opening of the 535-yard long Kamoamoa fissure on March 5.

And then there is the surveillance and intimidation. Yet demonstrations have been gathering momentum throughout Saudi Arabia. It was reported that police opened fire on protests in the eastern provinces - home to the Shia minority - on Thursday night. We went to the eastern town of Dammam to meet the families of political prisoners - some of whom have been held without trial for up to 16 years.

Opposition activists say there are some 30,000 political prisoners in Saudi Arabia, the government puts the figure at one third of that. We didn't know we were being followed by the security forces, and after we had finished filming we were arrested and our tapes taken from us. The message is clear - people should not protest, and if they do, journalists should not report it.

On Friday, I was due to meet one of the demonstration organisers who said he would accompany me to see the protests. But an hour before the rally was due to begin, I received a text message. "My emails and mobile phone are being monitored. I cannot meet you. I am sorry. This is a sad day for Saudi Arabia." Demonstrations are illegal in the autocratic kingdom of Saudi Arabia, a country with no legal political parties or mass movements that has been governed by the House of Saud for 80 years.

The government claims people have no need to demonstrate because they have a method of government that works. But one opposition spokesman described his country to me as "a police state masquerading as a theocracy". Helicopters hovered overhead, there were road blocks and cars being searched, hundreds of police cars and thousands of police - but not a demonstrator in sight.

Libyan rebel forces have meanwhile suffered fresh setbacks including the loss of the key oil port of Ras Lanuf. Reports suggested that the rebel front line had been pushed back even further back, towards the town of Ujala. The Arab League vote for a no-fly zone was opposed only by Syria and Algeria, reports from the Cairo meeting said.

Nato has previously cited regional support for the idea as a key condition before it could possibly go ahead. The US welcomed the Arab League's call, saying it strengthened the international pressure on Colonel Gaddafi and support for the Libyan people. The BBC's Jon Leyne in Benghazi says there are fears the battle for Misrata could be even nastier than the one for Zawiya, which finally fell on Friday after days of fierce fighting. Misrata is a much bigger city than Zawiya, with a population of some 300,000 people, and one rebel leader has already said he fears a massacre, our correspondent says.

In Benghazi itself the mood in the city remains defiant, says the BBC's Pascale Harter: many wounded fighters are returning but other residents are heading for the front line.

About 170,000 people have been evacuated from the area near the plant. Meanwhile, police have warned that the death toll in tsunami-hit Miyagi prefecture alone could exceed 10,000. Officials previously said that more than 2,000 people died or were missing following Friday's earthquake and tsunami.

Millions remain without electricity and authorities are stepping up relief efforts as the scale of the tragedy becomes clearer. The BBC's Rachel Harvey, who is north of the city of Sendai, says piles of debris and vehicles have been strewn over a wide area by the tsunami, with the roofs of houses poking through in places. Officials announced that the number of troops helping with rescue work in the region would be doubled to 100,000.

The Japanese government has sought to play down fears of a radiation leak at the Fukushima plant. But the plant's operators, Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco), said radiation levels around the plant had now risen above permissible limits. Government spokesman Yukio Edano acknowledged it was possible that a meltdown had occurred at reactor 3.

The BBC's Chris Hogg in Tokyo says a meltdown at reactor 3 would be potentially more serious than at the other reactors, because it is fuelled by plutonium and uranium, unlike the other units which carry only uranium. Experts say as long as authorities can keep fuel rods in the core covered with water, they should be able to avoid a major disaster.

Reports from the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology in Italy estimated the 8.9 magnitude quake shifted the planet on its axis by nearly 4 inches (10 centimeters). The temblor, which struck Friday afternoon near the east coast of Japan, killed hundreds of people, caused the formation of 30-foot walls of water that swept across rice fields, engulfed entire towns, dragged houses onto highways, and tossed cars and boats like toys. Some waves reached six miles (10 kilometers) inland in Miyagi Prefecture on Japan's east coast.

The quake was the most powerful to hit the island nation in recorded history and the tsunami it unleashed traveled across the Pacific Ocean, triggering tsunami warnings and alerts for 50 countries and territories as far away as the western coasts of Canada, the US and Chile. The quake triggered more than 160 aftershocks in the first 24 hours - 141 measuring 5.0 magnitude or more.

The Japanese quake comes just weeks after a 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck Christchurch on February 22, toppling historic buildings and killing more than 150 people. The timeframe of the two quakes have raised questions whether the two incidents are related, but experts say the distance between the two incidents makes that unlikely.

Babies created with the therapy - called three-parent IVF - would inherit 98 per cent of their DNA from their 'real' parents. The rest would come from a female donor. The scientists say the donor genes would not alter the children's appearance or personality, but would stop them dying from painful diseases of the heart, liver and brain.

But the revelation has horrified embryo campaigners who accused doctors of 'meddling around with the delicate building blocks of life'.

It also raises questions about parental rights and whether the donor parent would have any say in the upbringing of a child. Health Secretary Andrew Lansley has asked the fertility watchdog, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, to investigate the safety of the technique. If MPs back the change, it could be introduced in 12 months.

The creation of three-parent babies raises a host of ethical and safety concerns, according to Dr David King, director of the secular pressure group Human Genetics Alert. By tampering with the genetic make-up of human embryos - and making changes that can be passed on to future generations - doctors are crossing a line, he said. 'It is altering the genetic constituents of every cell in the child's body,' he said. 'If it's a girl, then those changes will be passed down to all her descendants.'

Caron said that he still believes that critically low oxygen levels in the water caused the sardines to suffocate, but it's possible the toxin may have been one explanation for why they crowded into the marina. The California Department of Fish and Game has blamed the die-off on oxygen deprivation and is also testing fish for toxins at its animal forensics laboratory. Results are not expected until next week.

Domoic acid is often found in the stomach of fish that have been feeding on plankton during toxic algae blooms. The toxin has been linked to neurological disorders, illnesses and deaths in seabirds, sea lions, sea otters and whales. Caron's lab is working to determine if the poisoning was caused by a toxic algae bloom spotted off Redondo Beach on Wednesday.

The presence of the toxin in the sardines could lead to health complications for pelicans, gulls and other sea life that have been feasting on the dead fish. "There were tons of birds feeding on these fish and it's conceivable that we'll see some bird mortality as a result," Caron said. The fish died late Monday and carpeted the water's surface the next morning, stacking up to 2 feet deep in some places. Crews have already scooped and hauled away more than 85 tons of fish to a composting center where they will turn into fertilizer.