Fukushima horse breeder braves high radiation levels to care for animals

Tokue Hosokawa's horses used to be well-known for their appearances in TV dramas, commercials, films and local festivals. Photograph: Kazuma Obara for the Guardian

Until March 2011, Tokue Hosokawa had only to peer through the window of his home in Iitate village to confirm that all was well with his 100-year-old family business.

The 130 or so horses that once roamed this sprawling farm in Fukushimaprefecture have sustained three generations of Hosokawa's family. Some were sold for their meat – a local delicacy – but his animals were better known for their appearances in commercials, period TV dramas and films, and local festivals celebrating the region's samurai heritage.

For decades, the 62-year-old horse breeder barely registered that his farm was just 25 miles north-west of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear powerplant. But the rural idyll was shattered on the afternoon of 11 March 2011, when the facility was hit by a towering tsunami that caused meltdowns in three of its reactors.

Even as people living in the path of the plant's radioactive plume were fleeing in their thousands, Iitate's 6,500 residents remained in their homes, convinced by official assurances that the village was safe.

But two and half years after the accident, Iitate has become a nuclear ghost town. When Hosokawa looks out of his window these days, it is at empty, irradiated fields.

Like several other farmers in Fukushima, Hosokawa ignored a government order to exterminate all of his horses and cows. "I told them that if the animals had been suffering from an infectious disease, then I'd have them destroyed," he said. "But not for something like this.

"Just after the accident one of the horses gave birth. When I saw that foal get to its feet and start feeding from its mother, I knew there was no way I could leave."

The order to evacuate Iitate did not come until weeks after the meltdown, as local authorities debated the risk posed to the village, which had only recently been voted one of Japan's most picturesque places. Rather than acting as a shield, the mountain forests surrounding Iitate had trapped radioactive particles, turning the village into a repository for dangerously high levels of contamination.

Hosokawa, short and wiry with the weathered complexion of a man who spends most of his waking hours outside, sent his wife and their daughter, Miwa, to safer parts of the prefecture.

But, unable to bear the thought of leaving his animals to starve, he stayed put and joined the handful of residents who continue to live in the contaminated homes they were ordered to abandon.

Although the evacuation order in parts of Iitate has been partially lifted to allow residents to visit during the day, radiation levels are still too high for a permanent return.

Last week, visiting officials from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) urged the government to prepare displaced residents from Iitate and other contaminated towns and villages for the grim news that cleaning up their former homes will take much longer than expected.

The IAEA report was published soon after Japanese officials admitted that the 5tn yen (£31.7bn) decontamination effort was woefully behind schedule. "We will have to extend the cleanup process, by one year, two years or three years. We haven't decided for sure yet," said Shigeyoshi Sato, an environment ministry official in charge of decontamination.

As Iitate's population plummeted in the spring of 2011, Hosokawa managed to find new homes for more than 80 of his horses. Then, in January this year, he noticed that several among the 30 that remained, mainly foals, had become unsteady on their feet.

Within weeks, 16 had died in mysterious circumstances. Autopsies on four of the horses found no evidence of disease and tests revealed caesium levels at 200 becquerels per kilo – twice as high as the government-set safety limit for agricultural produce, but not high enough to immediately threaten their health.

Hosokawa recently began legal action against the plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power [Tepco], claiming 200m yen (£1,269,534) compensation for the loss of the horses he was forced to sell or give away. The animals that died last winter are not included.

Tepco agreed to pay him 10m yen for the loss of 39 horses he could prove were born on the farm, but refused to compensate him for the rest. The family refuses to back down. "No matter how long it takes," said Miwa, "we will keep on fighting."

The 30 or so animals left behind are sustained by feed paid for with donations, many of them sent anonymously, from horse lovers around Japan. One woman turned up on their doorstep with a million yen in cash. Hosokawa repays their generosity with gifts of Fukushima's famed peaches.

He estimates that he has lost about 100m yen in income since March 2011: the compensation the family received for the enforced evacuation has already been spent on uncontaminated feed from the US and Australia. "There was nothing left for the family," he said.

This summer, Miwa, 27, quit her job in Fukushima city to help her father rescue what little is left of their business. But with no end in sight to the evacuation order and a shortage of people willing to take on his remaining horses, Hosokawa reluctantly accepts that the farm's days may be numbered.

"We can't give these horses the same life as they had before the nuclear disaster, and no one wants to buy them," he said. "We can't make a living from them, but unless we feed them they will die."

As Fukushima's long and bitter winter draws in, the Hosokawas again fear the worst. "We don't know why the foals died, only that they died in winter," Miwa said. "I'm worried that we'll find more dead horses this winter."

Almost three years on, one of the few signs of human activity in Iitate is the crews of workers who have the near-impossible task of cleaning up the village's contaminated landscape. As quickly as they remove irradiated soil from around homes, schools and other public buildings, rain washes more radioactive particles down from the mountainous forests that cover much of Fukushima prefecture.

Few are convinced by official assurances that their village will again be fit to live in. "Our neighbours have all gone," Miwa said. "They're scattered all over the place. I don't even know where most of them are. The only people who say they'll come back are old. There's nothing here for people with young children." Fellow rebel farmers aside, Hosokawa's only companions are his daughter and the salespeople who frequently cold call with offers of "anti-radiation" pills.

"Life here has been very hard for everyone since the disaster," he said. "Most of the people I know want to return, but because of the radiation they know that they never will. This place is awash with tears. It's a village with no tomorrow."

UK economy grows by 0.8% – the fastest pace in three years

Britain's economy is growing at its fastest rate in more than three years after a 0.8% increase in national output in the quarter to September.

The first stab at estimating the state of the economy from the Office for National Statistics found that activity had increased across the board with production, construction, services and agriculture all registering growth.

Despite the expansion – the second strong quarterly performance in a row – the level of gross domestic product remains 2.5% lower than it was when Britain's deepest post-war recession began at the start of 2008.

The ONS said national output had grown by 1.5% between the third quarter of 2012, when the economy was boosted by the London Olympics and Paralympics, and the third quarter of 2013. Output increased by 1.4% in agriculture, 0.5% in production, 2.5% in construction and 0.7% in services. The data is likely to be revised as more detailed information about the economy becomes available.

The chancellor, George Osborne, said: "This shows that Britain's hard work is paying off and the country is on the path to prosperity." The GDP figures were in line with City predictions and were the strongest performance since the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition came to power in the spring of 2010. Ministers believe the growth figures will enable them to seize the political initiative over the coming months, while Labour will insist that increased activity has not been accompanied by higher living standards.

Activity in the service sector, which makes up more than 75% of the economy, is now above its pre-recession peak, but output in construction and production remain more than 12% lower.

Howard Archer, UK economist at IHS Global Insight, said: "The GDP data are very encouraging, not only showing the growth rate picking up further to 0.8% quarter-on-quarter but also showing decent positive contributions from all output sectors. While the dominant services sector remains very much key to the economy's performance, it is important that manufacturing and construction achieve healthy expansion as well if sustainable robust growth is to occur."

Nancy Curtin, chief investment officer at Close Brothers Asset Management, said: "We now have further confirmation that the UK has shaken off the last vestiges of economic stagnation, placing George Osborne in a position of strength ahead of the autumn statement. With a strong reading from Q3 GDP, we can look forward to further growth, leaving previous fears of a triple-dip recession firmly in the shadows and undermining any further calls for more QE

Report: Nexus 5 to debut on Oct 31

Anticipation is building over when Google will finally release the LG Nexus 5 with Android 4.4 KitKat.

It will make its formal debut on Thursday to US customers through the Google Play store, according to a source close to Canadian tech blog MobileSyrup.

Canadians may get their hands on the phone a week later on either November 7 or 8. The tipster claims multiple carriers are in line to support the smartphone including Rogers, Bell, TELUS, Koodo, and Virgin Mobile.

After blowing past previously rumored arrival dates, the ballyhooed Nexus 5 is expected to break cover any day. The past few weeks have given way to multiple dates for the LG smartphone, ranging from the vague "October" to more-specific days and weeks.

It's worth pointing out that the handset is not yet delayed; we've never been given an official time frame in the first place.

Google has historically introduced its new Nexus products and Android releases with a press conference or YouTube broadcast. We might hope to see save the date e-mails or teasers surface in the coming days, giving fans and enthusiasts something to look forward to.

"It's always the same here"

Sergio Ramos is adamant that referee Undiano Mallenco's performance didn't do Real Madrid any favours at Camp Nou. "It's a while since Barça has been up against the ropes and Real Madrid managed it. The penalty against Cristiano Ronaldo was very clear, a big effort was made and Barça was time-wasting at the end of the match. I'm sad but proud," he said.

From one Captain to another: Brazilian Marcelo - who was wearing the captain's armband before handing it over to Sergio Ramos and who came on and replaced him as a substitute - was perhaps the most critical of the referee. "We didn't play the perfect game, but we put up a fight and we did everything in our power to win. What wasn't in our power didn't go in our favour," he said in clear reference to Undiano Mallenco.

The Brazilian complained that this isn't the first time Real Madrid has suffered at the hands of the ref in the Camp Nou: "It always happens here, it's the same old story. The two penalties were clear. I'm not the only one who thinks so either, the whole world saw it. They should watch the game again on the telly. Then they'd see the penalties, the throw-ins, the fouls, the yellow cards. It's always the same here. I'm not trying to say we lost because of the ref, but the whole world saw what happened."

Is Nadia Hussain walking to the end of her modeling career?

Model and entrepreneur does not like the new faces in the fashion industry.

KARACHI: 

Nadia Hussain has her finger in too many pies it seems. For someone who started with an undergraduate degree in dental medicine, she is now a model, actor and entrepreneur dabbling in shoe, lawn and prêt wear designing. 

She has recently also announced that she will open the Nadia Hussain Salon and Clinic hopefully by December on E-street right next to Peng’s.

We wonder how she is juggling these responsibilities together having a family, and sat down to chat with her about how she plans to survive highly competitive markets.

“There’s a lot of competition,” she admits, adding that Nabila is also in the neighbourhood. “I will hire trained professionals because there isn’t much training that I can provide myself. But I am taking haircut and colour classes at Pivot Point because at the end of the day, my name will be associated with the salon,” she explains.

With her height and confidence on the ramp, Nadia is a delight to see at fashion shows. But at 34 and after three children, it can’t be easy to be on top in an industry where the models are young and lean. Nadia, however, feels her body is “right on track”, and says she follows a strict diet and workout routine.

“When women run into me and ask how I lost so much weight, I tell them it’s because I worked really hard to get here. There can be no other way apart from strict exercise and diets,” she says.

When asked if she’s going to give up modeling altogether, she makes a startling confession. “If I quit, it will be because of the new models and not anything else,” she says, adding that new entrants in the fashion industry are “ruining its image”.

“It’s sad because the girls that used to be in the industry when I started modeling came from good families, were educated and had personalities. And they weren’t doing it for the money.”

Today, she says, modeling has become an easy avenue to earn extra cash. “Most of all, they just lack personality and I don’t want to associate with any of them. You keep hearing stories of them getting drawn into suspicious activities.”

Nadia also says that while she got along with her old colleagues well, she now finds herself secluded from the crowd, especially at fashion shows.

“I actually [have to] force myself to bond with the new girls. I want to retire and this is very much the reason why,” she sighs, adding that she prefers to hang out with Iraj if she is backstage. “I just can’t take this anymore. I am moving into a lot of things and I hope they keep me pre-occupied and perhaps give me a good enough reason to just quit.”

Juggling work and motherhood

“Shoes I’m not doing anymore and lawn is more of a project-based thing. It’s just two seasons a year,” she explains, adding that finalising designs takes two months at most. She says she is not currently acting or giving time to exhibiting her pret wear.

“My plan was to stock my collection at my salon,” she says. “Recently on a show, they were short of one designer. So I offered my collection – that’s how people got to know about my pret wear.” She then went on to showcase her work at Islamabad Fashion Week.

Nadia also doesn’t claim to be Supermom who is always around to look after the house and kids. “My kids are old enough to eat by themselves and my mother-in-law is always around, too,” she explains.

“I’m out from 10am till around 5pm but I have a lot of family support and that’s why it works.” Nadia is grateful that her mom is involved with the kids and says that her mother-in-law and husband help out a lot, as well. “At least I know they are not alone or ever left completely with the maids.”

“If I’m out of town or busy with fashion shows, then my husband pitches in,” she admits. “I don’t think I have to be sitting there at the table when they are having lunch or dinner. A lot of women work from 9am to 5pm, so it’s not something which is completely uncommon.

Manchester United boss Moyes open to Zaha loan

The 20-year-old is yet to play a single minute of Premier League football since joining the Red Devils, and the manager has now admitted a temporary move is an option

Manchester United manager David Moyes has admitted he could send Wilfried Zaha out on loan in January in search of regular first-team football.

The 20-year-old is yet to taste Premier League football after joining up with the United squad in the summer - with his sole outing for his new side coming in the Community Shield.


Goal revealed on October 2 that Zaha would prefer a move to Newcastle if the chance for a temporary move is afforded to him, and Moyes is now seemingly open to such a switch.

"I've said if I couldn't get him a game I would look at it in January," he is quoted as saying by The Sun. "I really thought when he came in he needed to be here for six months to see how we work.

"There is competition in the wide areas with Nani, Antonio Valencia, Ashley Young, Adnan Januzaj and even Shinji Kagawa - that makes it one of the areas where we are strong.

"It's not because Wilf has not done enough, it's because we have got big, big competition and there are a lot of players to give some playing time to.

"Unfortunately we've not been able to do that with Wilf. If I can't do a lot for him by January then I will look at it. We've not had the right opportunity to introduce him as much as we'd like but he's very much in my pla
n

Prince Charles in no hurry to become king

Queen Elizabeth has started easing up on her official duties and Prince Charles has been picking up the slack. PHOTO: FILE

LONDON: Prince Charles’ passion in life is his charitable work and he wants to get as much done as he can before becoming king when, in the words of an aide, “the prison shades” close, according to Catherine Mayer, editor-at-large of the US magazine Time.

After months of research involving rare access to the Prince of Wales, 64, and to several of his residences, as well as interviews with more than 50 aides, friends and critics, Mayer has written a long profile of the heir-to-the-throne in the magazine.

In an accompanying essay giving Mayer’s personal point-of-view on the prince, she seeks to dispel the perception sometimes reflected in media coverage that Charles is impatient to become monarch.

“I found a man not, as caricatured, itching to ascend the throne, but impatient to get as much done as possible before, in the words of one member of his household, ‘the prison shades’ close,” Mayer writes in the online essay.

The aide’s quote was seized on by numerous British newspapers but Mayer told the BBC they had “sexed up” her article and Charles himself had not used the word “prison”. “Prince Charles’ passion lies with the charitable empire he has built up, and all of his initiatives,” she said.

In his own comments to Mayer, Charles seeks to convey that passion to a sometimes sceptical public.

“We’re busily wrecking the chances for future generations at a rapid rate of knots by not recognising the damage we’re doing to the natural environment, bearing in mind that this is the only planet that we know has any life on it,” he says.

Charles hints at a degree of frustration at not always being understood or trusted by the public, saying that he takes joy in his wife Camilla and his new grandson Prince George, “which is what this is all about”.

He then adds: “It’s everybody else’s grandchildren I’ve been bothering about, but the trouble is if you take that long a view, people don’t always know what you’re on about.”

Mayer writes that since 87-year-old Queen Elizabeth has started easing up on her official duties and Prince Charles has been picking up the slack, he accepts these additional duties “joylessly”.

The profile says he believes in the monarchy as a force for good but accepts that people might question its relevance.

“He prefers not to focus on his accession, which, after all, means losing his mother. And far from itching to assume the crown, he is already feeling its weight and worrying about its impact on the job he has long been doing,” the profile says.