Japan earthquake: ‘Race against time’ to save dozens still trapped under rubble

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5 months ago

January 4, 2024

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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.

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Rishi Sunak faces calls for UK to follow Spain, Norway and Ireland in recognising Palestinian state

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37 mins ago

May 28, 2024

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Rishi Sunak faces calls for UK to follow Spain, Norway and Ireland in recognising Palestinian state

Rishi Sunak is facing calls for the UK to recognise the state of Palestine, on the day that Ireland, Spain and Norway officially do so.

The Scottish first minister and Scottish National Party (SNP) leader John Swinney has written to both the prime minister and Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer urging them to “do the right thing” and “immediately” recognise a Palestinian state.

He said the SNP would force a binding vote at Westminster after the general election if they failed to do so.

Mr Swinney said recognition would offer “hope” that a “durable political solution” was possible between Israel and Palestine.

“I am calling on the UK to follow the lead of Ireland, Norway and Spain by immediately recognising Palestine as a state – and if Rishi Sunak will not do it now, Keir Starmer must commit to doing so on his first day in Downing Street.”

The Palestinian ambassador to Ireland has also urged the UK government to recognise Palestine.

Speaking to Sky News, Dr Jilan Wahba Abdalmajid said: “The British have a very strong hand in the injustice that happened to the Palestinians, so I think it’s important that one of those countries that should recognise the right of Palestinian self-determination is the British government.”

Dr Abdalmajid referred to Britain’s involvement in the establishment of the state of Israel, including the 1917 Balfour Declaration, in which the British government of David Lloyd George announced its support for a “national home for the Jewish people” in Palestine.

“Justice must prevail,” said the ambassador. “I think it’s very important for the British government to see this and try to correct what happened in 1917, and during the Mandate when they encouraged colonisation in Palestine.”

The trio of countries which today will start recognising the Palestinian state have faced the diplomatic wrath of Israel since the move was announced last week.

Their ambassadors have been formally reprimanded by Tel Aviv, and were filmed by Israeli media as they were asked to watch video footage from the 7 October Hamas attack, something the Irish government deems “unacceptable”.

The Israeli foreign minister, Israel Katz, posted a video on X showing footage of Hamas militants interspersed with traditional Irish music, footage of Irish dancing and the slogan “Hamas: Thanks Ireland”.

Similar videos, tailored to Spain and Norway, were also posted.

Addressing the taoiseach, Mr Katz wrote: “Ireland, if your goal was to reward terrorism by declaring support for a Palestinian state, you’ve achieved it. [Irish Prime Minister] Simon Harris, Hamas thanks you for your service.”

It’s a point of view firmly rejected by the Irish. Speaking in Brussels with his counterparts from Spain and Norway, the Irish foreign minister Micheal Martin said: “Some have framed our decision to recognise the State of Palestine as a move to impose an outcome on the parties, or as somehow a reward for terror.

“Nothing could be further from the truth. We have recognised both the State of Israel and the State of Palestine precisely because we want to see a future of normalised relations between the two peoples.”

But members of Ireland’s small Jewish community are sceptical. Former justice minister Alan Shatter told Sky News the move was political theatre.

“It’s about as relevant as New Zealand announcing that they now recognise that the government of the Republic of Ireland rules the entirety of the island of Ireland,” he said.

“Of course, that wouldn’t change the reality on the ground. And probably if that did happen, the Irish government would look askance and think everyone in New Zealand has gone mad.”

Others say they fear the move could fuel anti-semitism. Maurice Cohen, chairman of the Jewish Representative Council of Ireland, said that “latent anti-semitism is now becoming blatant anti-semitism”.

“The experience [for Jews in Ireland] has always been ‘cead mile failte’ [‘a hundred thousand welcomes’]. There was an outstretched hand for us and for other people.

“But now we find, very simply, that that hand is curling into a fist and we don’t know where that is going.”

Palestinians in Ireland are expected to gather outside Leinster House, the home of the Irish parliament, today as speeches are made.

“This gives them hope,” said Dr Abdaljamid. “This gives them some light after this dark tunnel.

“The Palestinian people see that we are seen, we are heard by Ireland, by Spain, by the whole world actually who protest since the 7th of October. We are not alone in this world. I mean it’s very important.”

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Rafah: Was Biden’s red line crossed? By most measures, yes. By Biden’s measure – probably not

Published

37 mins ago

May 28, 2024

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Rafah: Was Biden’s red line crossed? By most measures, yes. By Biden’s measure - probably not

Just over two weeks ago, President Biden drew a clear red line for his “old friend Bibi”.

He told Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu not to go into Rafah.

“If they go into Rafah, I’m not supplying the weapons… to deal with that problem,” he told CNN.

It was widely interpreted as the moment the American president was no longer going to be taken for a ride by Netanyahu.

But then Netanyahu’s soldiers entered Rafah. They avoided the city centre though, thus allowing Biden the wiggle room to say his line hadn’t been crossed.

Israeli forces instead took over the border crossing on the edge of the city, cutting off a key transit point to Egypt and with it, the ability to get aid in and injured people out.

Since then, Israeli military operations have continued daily but did not, the White House said, constitute “going into Rafah”.

Pushed on what appeared to be an increasingly elastic red line, Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, told us last week that there was “no mathematical formula” for working out when it had been crossed.

“What we’re going to be looking at is whether there is a lot of death and destruction from this operation or if it is more precise and proportional,” Sullivan said from the White House podium.

Then, on Sunday night, dozens of Palestinians were not just killed but burnt alive, decapitated, maimed in an attack on a displaced people’s camp on the edge of Rafah.

Bushra Khalidi from Oxfam said of the scene: “There are no more words… we saw images of children blown to pieces, burnt to crisp, and I’m sorry to be graphic but that is what we saw.”

Gaza’s civilian casualties are either a “mistake”, or “a consequence of war”, or “Hamas’s fault”.

Often the civilian killings are seen by Netanyahu’s government and its supporters to be the proportional or acceptable cost of taking out Hamas commanders.

The justification is frequently packaged up as self-defence – despite stiff criticism from international bodies and eminent legal authorities.

This time, in Rafah, Prime Minister Netanyahu said that two Hamas commanders accused of carrying out attacks in the West Bank were killed, but “a technical failure” led to 40+ civilians being killed.

Remember Jake Sullivan’s parameters set out last week? “Precise and proportional… a lot of death and destruction.”

Unquestionably there was horrific death and destruction on Sunday night. It seems mad even to have to point this fact out.

“Precise and proportional”? Well, it will take some considerable verbal acrobatics for President Biden to conclude that what happened in Rafah was either proportional or precise.

So watch the American president over the next 24 hours.

I suspect he will say that his red line has not been crossed. He will indicate that the strike, devastating though it was, did not constitute a red-line-crossing ground force smashing into Rafah.

Why? Because he would have to follow through on his threat to cut off military aid.

And if he did that, he would face an overwhelming chorus of opposition among politicians on Capitol Hill and key donors just months before the US election.

Congress incidentally is poised to invite Netanyahu to address a joint session.

As he has so many times before, President Biden thought his “old friend Bibi” would listen to him.

But the idea that Netanyahu is listening to anything President Biden is saying is stretching credibility to its limit.

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Papua New Guinea: More than 2,000 people buried alive in landslide – as ‘major destruction’ hampers rescue efforts

Published

37 mins ago

May 28, 2024

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Papua New Guinea: More than 2,000 people buried alive in landslide - as 'major destruction' hampers rescue efforts

More than 2,000 people have been buried by a massive landslide in northern Papua New Guinea, the country’s disaster agency has said.

The landslide levelled the mountainous Kaokalam village in Enga Province – about 370 miles (600km) northwest of the capital Port Moresby.

It hit the Pacific nation at around 3am local time on Friday (6pm on Thursday UK time), and the United Nations had earlier said it estimated 670 people had been killed. Local officials had initially put the number of dead at 100 or more.

The Papua New Guinea national disaster centre said the landslide had buried more than 2,000 people.

“The landslide buried more than 2,000 people alive and caused major destruction to buildings, food gardens and caused major impact on the economic lifeline of the country,” an official from the national disaster centre said in a letter to the United Nations.

Earlier, Serhan Aktoprak, head of the United Nations’ International Organisation for Migration mission on the island nation, said the figure of 670 deaths was based on calculations by local officials that more than 150 homes had been buried. The previous estimate was 60 homes.

“They are estimating that more than 670 people [are] under the soil at the moment,” he said.

However, Mr Aktoprak added: “Hopes to take the people out alive from the rubble have diminished now.”

More than 4,000 people were likely impacted by the disaster, humanitarian group CARE Australia said earlier.

It said the area was “a place of refuge for those displaced by [nearby] conflicts”.

The update comes as Australia said it was preparing to send aircraft and other equipment to help at the site of the landslide.

Papua New Guinea is Australia’s closest neighbour and Australia has been the most generous provider of foreign aid to its former colony, which became independent in 1975.

Poor weather and overnight rains in the South Pacific nation’s mountainous region have sparked fresh fears the rubble could become dangerously unstable.

Little chance of more survivors being found

Nicole Johnston

Asia correspondent

@nicole_reporter

It’s proving extremely difficult for emergency crews to reach the communities affected by the landslide which hit in the early hours of Friday when most people would have been sleeping.

The area is remote, mountainous and largely undeveloped.

The most recent footage from the scene shows local people having to resort to using basic shovels and sticks to try to clear the mud which has buried homes.

The main access road has also been damaged, so crews are trying to clear that to help much-needed aid reach the scene.

Helicopter crews, including the military of one of Papua New Guinea’s closest allies, Australia, are also attempting to reach the area from the capital Port Moresby.

The situation is complicated further by tribal tensions which often spill over into violence, including fighting over the weekend.

A landslide of this sort would be a disaster in any country but for Papua New Guinea, this is a real catastrophe, with little chance of more survivors being found.

China has said it will provide assistance for disaster relief and post-disaster reconstruction.

“We believe that the people of Papua New Guinea will be able to overcome difficulties and rebuild their homeland at an early date,” foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said at a daily news briefing.

The King said he and the Queen were “deeply shocked and saddened” to learn of the landslide “and the tragic loss of so many lives, homes and food gardens”.

In a statement he said: “I have witnessed at first-hand and have great admiration for, the extraordinary resilience of the peoples of Papua New Guinea and the Highlands. I have faith that your communities will come together to support the survivors and the recovery in these heartbreaking circumstances.

“My wife joins me in sending our most heartfelt condolences to the families and communities who have suffered so much as a result of this appallingly traumatic event. Papua New Guinea is very much in our special thoughts and prayers.”

About six villages were affected by the landslide in the province’s Mulitaka region, according to Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

Three bodies were pulled from an area where 50 to 60 homes were destroyed. Six people, including a child, were pulled from the rubble alive, the UN’s Papua New Guinea office said.

But hopes of finding more survivors were diminishing.

The landslide left debris up to eight metres deep across 200 sq km (77 sq miles), cutting off road access, which was making relief efforts difficult. Helicopters were the only way to reach the area.

Survivors searched through tonnes of earth and rubble by hand looking for missing relatives while a first emergency convoy delivered food, water and other provisions on Saturday.

In February, at least 26 men were killed in Enga Province in an ambush amid tribal violence that prompted Prime Minister James Marape to give arrest powers to the country’s military.

Mr Marape has said disaster officials, the defence force and the department of works and highways were assisting with relief and recovery efforts.

Papua New Guinea, with a population of around 10 million, is a diverse, developing nation of mostly subsistence farmers with 800 languages. There are few roads outside the larger cities.

It is located on the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire, the arc of seismic faults around the Pacific Ocean where much of the world’s earthquake and volcanic activity occurs.

In March, the country was hit by a 6.9-magnitude earthquake.

The US and Australia are building closer defence ties with the strategically important nation, while China is also seeking closer security and economic ties.