Rescue teams in Japan face a “race against time” to find survivors after at least 73 people were killed following a 7.6-magnitude earthquake in the region.
Dozens of people are believed to still be trapped under collapsed buildings after Monday’s quake, which was followed by a 4.9 magnitude aftershock early on Wednesday.
According to Japanese authorities, 39 deaths were reported in Wajima city, 23 in Suzu, the other deaths were reported in five neighbouring towns.
More than 300 people have been injured, at least 25 of them seriously.
The precise number of those trapped remains unknown, with military personnel, firefighters and canine units urgently sifting through rubble ahead of predicted cold temperatures and heavy rain.
The first 72 hours after an earthquake are especially critical, according to experts, and the prospects for survival greatly diminish after three days.
“More than 40 hours have passed. This is a race against time, and I feel that we are at a critical moment,” Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters on Wednesday.
However, severed roads, damaged infrastructure, and the remote location of the peninsula is making it hard to reach some communities.
Heavy rainfall and cold temperatures forecast is leading to worries about landslides, which could further damage what is left of homes.
Officials also warned it is possible that even bigger quakes could hit the region.
Desperate calls for aid
More than 33,000 people have evacuated their homes and some areas remain without access to water, electricity or mobile phone signal, according to officials for Ishikawa prefecture.
Mayors of the hardest-hit cities – Suzu and Wajima – urged the government to clear roads and deliver aid swiftly.
“Even those who narrowly escaped death can’t survive without food and water,” Masuhiro Izumiya, the mayor of Suzu, a town of about 13,000 near the quake’s epicentre, said.
“We haven’t received a single loaf of bread.”
Shigeru Sakaguchi, the mayor of Wajima, said he was grateful for the government’s efforts but had received only 2,000 meals for some 10,000 evacuees so far.
Prime Minister Kishida said at a national disaster response meeting that the government opened a sea route to deliver aid to more remote areas.
The Chinese foreign ministry also said on Wednesday it was willing to provide any necessary help to the country.
Fury disputed his loss after the match, saying: “I believe I won that fight. I think he won a few rounds but I won the majority of them.
“His country is at war, so people are siding with the country at war. Make no mistake, I won that fight in my opinion.
In response Usyk said he was “ready for rematch,” but later added: “I don’t think about rematch now, I want to rest.”
Fury came under early pressure, with Usyk taking the centre of the ring with an aggressive offensive from the start.
At one point Fury was pushed against the ropes and started laughing as Usyk applied pressure.
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The “Gypsy King” looked relaxed as he moved around the ring in the early rounds and picked his shots.
But after Usyk landed a right hook in the ninth round it looked as if Fury was in serious trouble.
The Ukrainian followed up by unloading freely but somehow the bookmakers’ favourite stayed on his feet and was given a standing 10-second count saved by the bell.
It left Fury struggling through the final three rounds as Usyk chased him around the ring.
The 37-year-old Ukrainian became the first boxer to hold all four major heavyweight belts at the same time and the first undisputed champion in 24 years.
He’s the best fighter of a generation, there’s nothing left
There’s something very special about Oleksandr Usyk and it’s something all brilliant sports people have: the ability to find that extra bit of grit, to dig a bit deeper, when the battle is slipping away.
It’s exactly the character he showed, coming back at Fury in the 7th and 8th rounds, with some impressive shots, to take the sting out of any Fury resurgence and to swing momentum back his way. And enabling him to go for the kill in that brilliant 9th round. Fury looked stung, he looked confused and he was lucky the referee didn’t stop the fight there and then.
It was amazing that Fury made it to the end. That took courage. But it’s hard to see how he’s going to recover from this. It’s going to hurt. He says he wants to invoke the rematch clause and go again, but will he really want to?
Will Usyk want to? He’s the best fighter of a generation, there’s nothing left to prove. No fighter has ever won the undisputed cruiserweight championship of the world and followed that with the undisputed heavyweight crown. He can take four belts back to Kyiv safe in the knowledge that it’s unlikely anyone will be able to match that achievement anytime soon.
Last night, Fury weighed in at 262lbs (18st 10lbs) – nearly three stone heavier than Usyk, who clocked in at a career heaviest of 223lbs (15st 13lbs).
Fury refused to look at his opponent during a news conference on Thursday, but did not back down at the weigh-in last night, where the pair almost came to blows before being separated by their entourages.
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Enter the Cossack warrior and ‘Gypsy King’
Usyk arrived into the ring first, dressed as a Cossack warrior.
Fury entered to songs by Barry White and Bonnie Tyler, with the “Gypsy King” spending several minutes dancing on stage before the song changed to Holding Out For A Hero.
Anthony Joshua watched from the ringside, knowing he could meet the winner early next year.
A member of Israel’s three-man war cabinet has threatened to resign from the government if it does not adopt a new plan for the war in Gaza.
The move by Benny Gantz escalates a divide within Israel’s leadership more than seven months into the war.
Israel is yet to accomplish its stated goals of dismantling Hamas and returning scores of hostages abducted during the attack on 7 October.
Mr Gantz, a long-time political rival of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has now set out a six-point plan that includes the return of hostages, ending Hamas’ rule, demilitarising Gaza and establishing an international administration of civilian affairs.
Mr Gantz’s plan also supports efforts to normalise relations with Saudi Arabia.
He said if it is not adopted by 8 June he will quit the government.
His departure would leave Mr Netanyahu even more beholden to far-right allies who have taken a hard line on negotiations over a ceasefire and the release of hostages, and who believe Israel should occupy Gaza and rebuild Jewish settlements there.
“If you choose the path of fanatics and lead the entire nation to the abyss – we will be forced to quit the government,” Mr Gantz has said.
The centrist politician joined Mr Netanyahu’s coalition and the war cabinet in the early days of the conflict.
Mr Gantz’s six-point plan comes days after Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant, the third member of the war cabinet, openly said he has repeatedly pleaded with the other two members to decide on a post-war vision for Gaza.
Mr Gallant said this should involve the creation of a new Palestinian civilian leadership.
It comes as Mr Netanyahu is under growing pressure on multiple fronts.
Hardliners in his government want the military offensive on Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah to press ahead with the goal of crushing Hamas.
However, Israel’s most important ally, the US, and others have warned against the offensive on a city where more than half of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million had sheltered.
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Hundreds of thousands have now fled Rafah and Israel’s allies have threatened to scale back support over the humanitarian crisis.
US national security adviser Jake Sullivan will be in Saudi Arabia and Israel this weekend to discuss the war and is scheduled on Sunday to meet with Mr Netanyahu, who has declared that Israel would “stand alone” if needed.
Meanwhile, many Israelis are accusing Mr Netanyahu of putting political interests ahead of all else. They also want him to agree a deal to free the hostages and stop the fighting.
There was fresh frustration Friday when the military said its troops in Gaza found the bodies of three hostages killed by Hamas in the 7 October attack.
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Father of hostage ‘relieved’
The latest talks in pursuit of a ceasefire, mediated by Qatar, the United States and Egypt, have brought little progression.
A vision for Gaza beyond the war is also uncertain.
The conflict started after Hamas militants carried out an attack on Israel on 7 October – killing 1,200 people and capturing around 250 hostages.
Israel says around 100 hostages are still captive in Gaza, along with the bodies of around 30 more.
The Israeli offensive has killed more than 35,000 Palestinians in Gaza, according to its Hamas-run health ministry, while hundreds more have been killed in the occupied West Bank.