Death toll nears 40 from northern Japan earthquake

Japan Ground Self-Defense Force personnel shift through debris as they search for missing persons at the site of a landslide triggered by a powerful earthquake in Atsuma town, Hokkaido, northern Japan, Friday, Sept. 7, 2018. (Yusuke Ogata/Kyodo News/AP)
Updated 09 September 2018
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Death toll nears 40 from northern Japan earthquake

  • All but four of the victims are from the community of 4,600 people
  • It took two days to restore electricity to most of the island of 5.4 million people

TOKYO: Japanese authorities say 37 people have been confirmed dead from a powerful earthquake that struck the northern island of Hokkaido last week.
The Hokkaido government said Sunday that two people remain missing and one other person has no vital signs. Rescue workers are using backhoes and shovels to search for the missing in a tangle of dirt and the rubble of homes left by multiple landslides in the town of Atsuma. All but four of the victims are from the community of 4,600 people.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited a hard-hit area of Sapporo, the main city in Hokkaido.
The magnitude 6.7 earthquake before daybreak Thursday knocked out power and train service across Hokkaido. It took two days to restore electricity to most of the island of 5.4 million people.


US VP says Venezuela can only sell oil if it serves US interests

Updated 08 January 2026
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US VP says Venezuela can only sell oil if it serves US interests

  • The United States controls Venezuela’s ‍purse ‍strings, Vance said

WASHINGTON: US Vice President JD Vance, in remarks ​due to air later on Wednesday, said Venezuela can only sell its oil if it serves the interests ‌of the ‌United States.
Vance ‌told ⁠Fox ​News’ “Jesse ‌Waters Primetime” show that the United States — which carried out strikes against the South American country and ⁠captured its president over ‌the week — controls Venezuela’s ‍purse ‍strings.
“We control the ‍energy resources, and we tell the regime, you’re allowed to sell the ​oil so long as you serve ⁠America’s national interest, you’re not allowed to sell it if you can’t serve America’s national interest,” Vance said.
Excerpts of the interview were released before it aired.