Nearly three-quarters of Japanese companies support abandoning nuclear power after last year's Fukushima disaster, although a majority set the condition that alternative energy resources must be secured, a Reuters poll showed on Friday.

The poll offers fresh evidence of the deep public distrust of nuclear power, the role of which the government is reconsidering after the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami that wrecked the Fukushima nuclear plant, triggering a radiation crisis that caused mass evacuations and widespread contamination.

British MPs and members of the European Parliament have signed a letter from South Asian anti-nuclear groups to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh expressing "deep concern" over human rights and environmental issues around the controversial Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNPP) which they argue "violates" the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)’s safety guidelines.

An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 4.8 hit eastern Japan on Friday, shaking buildings in the capital Tokyo.

There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries, and no tsunami warnings were issued.

On March 11 last year Japan's northeast coast was devastated by a magnitude 9 earthquake, the strongest recorded in the country, and a massive tsunami, which triggered the world's worst nuclear crisis in 25 years. The disaster left up to 20,000 dead or missing.

The Asia-Pacific region may be home to some of the world’s fastest growing economies including China, Japan, India and Indonesia. But, last year at least, it also was the most vulnerable to natural disasters that hampered expansion and disrupted trade.

The United Nations Economic and Social Survey of the Asia Pacific, a report released Thursday, says Asia Pacific sustained damages and losses of $266.8 billion out of $366 billion globally in 2011 — the worst year in history for catastrophes.

Scientists from 15 countries are calling for a better political response to the provision of water and energy to meet the challenge of feeding a world of 9 billion people within 30 years.

The joint statement by some of the world's leading science academies was issued on Thursday ahead of the G8 summit in the United States. It is part of the annual lobbying effort aimed at focusing the attention of world leaders on issues the scientific community regards as crucial.

Concerned about the serious threat posed by huge toxic material left in Union Carbide’s Bhopal plant after the 1984 gas tragedy, the Supreme Court on Thursday summoned top officials of the Union and MP government to suggest measures for its early disposal.

A bench of Justices G.S. Singhvi and S.J. Mukhopadhyaya sought the presence of Union environment and chemical secretaries and Madhya Pradesh’s secretary for “Bhopal gas tragedy rehabilitation department” on Friday to give “assistance” to the court as how 350 tones of toxic waste deposited in Carbide plant should be disposed off as early as possible.

Barring an unexpected turnaround, Japan this weekend will become a nuclear-free nation for the first time in more than four decades, at least temporarily.