International
Japan Quake Death Toll Rises To 94 With 222 Missing
Hampered by bad weather and damaged roads, Japanese rescuers searched Friday for 222 people still missing four days after a devastating earthquake as the death toll approached 100.
Two elderly women were pulled from the rubble on Thursday, but hopes of finding other survivors after the 7.5 magnitude quake on New Year’s Day were fading with rain, snow and falling temperatures forecast in the coming days.
Thousands of rescuers from all over Japan have been battling aftershocks and roads littered with gaping holes and blocked by frequent landslides in the central Ishikawa region to reach hundreds of people in stranded communities.
On Thursday afternoon, 72 hours after the quake, the two older women were miraculously pulled alive from the remains of their homes in Wajima, one of them thanks to a sniffer dog.
The port city of Wajima on the Noto Peninsula was one of the worst hit, with a pungent smell of soot still in the air and faint columns of smoke visible from a huge fire that destroyed hundreds of structures on the first day.
“I was relaxing on New Year’s Day when the quake happened. My relatives were all there and we were having fun,” Hiroyuki Hamatani, 53, told AFP amid the burnt-out cars, wrecked buildings and fallen telegraph poles.
“The house itself is standing but it’s far from livable now… I don’t have the space in my mind to think about the future,” he told AFP.
Grief
Authorities said on Friday afternoon that 222 people were unaccounted for, down from an earlier count of 242, including 121 in Wajima and 82 in Suzu.
The death toll was raised to 94 from 92, with 464 people injured. The dead included a junior high school boy visiting his family, reports said.
Around 30,000 households were without electricity in the Ishikawa region, and 89,800 homes there and in two neighbouring regions had no water.
Hundreds of people were in government shelters.
“We are doing our best to conduct rescue operations at the isolated villages… However, the reality is that the isolation has not been resolved to the extent that we would like,” regional governor Hiroshi Hase said Friday.
In the town of Anamizu, Sang and his four fellow Vietnamese compatriots have no heating or water in their damaged house. The toilet was full of bricks.
“We were cooking when it happened. We all dashed out of the house,” the 32-year-old told AFP.
“We had no internet connection on the day of the earthquake, but it resumed yesterday. We were able to contact family in Vietnam,” he said.
“What we need now is something to eat and drink.”
The Suzu area was also devastated, with fishing boats sunk or lifted like toys onto the shore by tsunami waves that also reportedly swept one person away.
Noriaki Yachi, 79, fought back tears after his wife was pulled from the rubble there and confirmed dead, the Asahi Shimbun daily reported.
“My life with her was a happy one,” Yachi said.
Japan experiences hundreds of earthquakes every year and most cause no damage, with strict building codes in place for more than four decades.
Earthquakes have hit the Noto region with intensifying strength and frequency over the past five years.
The country is haunted by a massive 9.0 magnitude undersea quake in 2011, which triggered a tsunami that left around 18,500 people dead or missing.
It also swamped the Fukushima atomic plant, causing one of the worst nuclear disasters in history.
AFP
International
Trump kicks off his ‘Board of Peace,’ as war clouds loom on Iran
Trump, who has sharply curtailed foreign aid, said that the United States would contribute $10 billion to the initiative whose goals include rebuilding Gaza, which was reduced to rubble by two years of war between Hamas and Israel.
Image credit : AFP
President Donald Trump on Thursday promised $10 billion for a new “Board of Peace,” an amorphous new institution focused first on Gaza that is being launched just as he threatens Iran with war.
While US warplanes and aircraft carriers headed toward Iran on his orders, Trump welcomed some two dozen allies from around the world to the gleaming Washington building of the former US Institute of Peace, which has been gutted and renamed after the 79-year-old Republican.
Trump, who has sharply curtailed foreign aid, said that the United States would contribute $10 billion to the initiative whose goals include rebuilding Gaza, which was reduced to rubble by two years of war between Hamas and Israel.
“Together we can achieve the dream of bringing lasting harmony to a region tortured by centuries of war, suffering,” said the realtor-turned-president, who has previously spoken improbably of building tourist resorts in Gaza.
Trump did not explain exactly where the money would go and his “Board of Peace” has drawn wide criticism for its opaque nature.
Trump will wield veto power over the “Board of Peace” and can remain its head even after leaving office, while countries that want to stay on permanently rather than enjoy a two-year stint will need to pay $1 billion.
In a rambling speech in which he denounced domestic opponents, highlighted stock market gains and hailed his prowess in endorsing foreign leaders during elections, Trump said he wanted to pursue more peace deals.
Bellarmine Chatunga Mugabe, the youngest son of the late former Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, has been arrested following a shooting incident at his residence in the upscale Hyde Park suburb.
According to reports from South African media outlets including eNCA and IOL, as well as Gauteng police investigations, an employee—described variably as a security guard or gardener—was shot during an apparent dispute at the property.
The victim is in critical condition and receiving medical treatment.Police responded to the scene, where Mugabe was reportedly taken into custody in connection with the shooting.
Some unconfirmed social media accounts and early reports mentioned police negotiators attending amid claims the suspect had barricaded himself, but he was subsequently arrested.
This marks the latest in a series of legal troubles for Bellarmine Chatunga Mugabe, who has previously faced charges related to assault in Zimbabwe, including incidents involving security personnel and law enforcement.
The investigation by the South African Police Service (SAPS) is ongoing, with more details expected as the case develops. Authorities have not yet released an official statement on charges or motives.
The incident has drawn significant attention online and in regional media, given the family’s prominent political legacy.
A powerful explosion devastated the Abundant Life Fellowship Church in this rural community on Tuesday morning, February 17, 2026, leaving five people—including the church’s pastor and four firefighters—critically injured, authorities said.
The blast occurred around 10:25–10:30 a.m. at the church located on State Route 12 in the Town of Boonville, Oneida County, approximately 50 miles northeast of Syracuse. Emergency responders were initially dispatched after reports of a strong gas odor inside the building.
According to New York State Police, a preliminary investigation indicates that four individuals were in the church basement when the furnace activated, triggering the explosion.
A fifth person a firefighter was on the first floor attempting to ventilate the structure and was thrown against a wall by the force of the blast.
The injured have been identified as:
– Brandon Pitts, 43, pastor of Abundant Life Fellowship Church
– David Pritchard Jr., 60, Boonville Fire Chief
– Allan Austin, 67, Boonville Fire Department firefighter
– Nicholas Amicucci, 43, Boonville Fire Department firefighter
– Richard Czajka, 71, Boonville Fire Department firefighter
All five victims were transported to regional hospitals, including Upstate University Hospital and Wynn Hospital, where they remain in critical but stable condition.
The explosion caused catastrophic damage to the church building, which officials now consider “destroyed.”
Thick black smoke billowed from the site following the blast.
State police emphasized that there is no indication of criminal activity at this time, and the incident appears to stem from a propane or gas-related issue in the heating system.
The investigation is ongoing.Community members and first responder agencies have expressed support for the injured and their families as recovery efforts continue.
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