Main news of March 12

A roundup of what has happened in the past 24 hours

WORLD

* Arab League foreign ministers voted to ask the UN Security Council to impose a no-fly zone over Libya

* The radiation level near the Fukushima Number One nuclear power station rose to 1,015 mircrosieverts per hour, the prefecture said

* Earthquake-stricken Japan asked Russia to increase energy supplies and Moscow is ready to deliver up to 150,000 tons of liquefied natural gas and increase gas supplies, Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin said

RUSSIA

* Japanese authorities are preparing to hand out iodine, which helps protect the body from radioactive exposure, to residents in the area near the nuclear power plants hit by a massive earthquake

* Russian Alexei Shumilov became the first person to buy two iPad 2 tablets at the New York City's flagship Apple store on Fifth Avenue after hours of waiting

BUSINESS

* China completed the construction of its first underwater railway tunnel that enables trains to run at the fastest speed in the world under the water