Powerful winds and towering waves pummeled southern Japan yesterday as typhoon Dianmu headed north toward the country's more densely populated main islands. Officials said three people had died from accidents in stormy seas.
The typhoon had gusts of up to 162km per hour and sustained winds of more than 90km per hour, Japan's Meteorological Agency said.
PHOTO: REUTERS
On Sunday afternoon, it was centered about 1,300km southwest of Tokyo.
The agency classified Dianmu -- "Mother of Lightning" in Mandarin -- as "large and very powerful," and said it could hit Japan's southernmost main island of Kyushu by this morning.
The typhoon had so far caused three deaths, and one person was reported missing near Tokyo.
Police in Shizuoka city, 150km west of Tokyo, found the bodies of two men washed up near the shore early yesterday.
Katsuhisa Kai, 20, and Shintaro Minato, 21 -- both students at the University of Shizuoka -- were believed to have been swept out by rough seas while having a barbecue on the beach Saturday afternoon, a Shizuoka prefectural police spokesman said on condition of anonymity.
Earlier, Japan Coast Guard officials said Noriyuki Shintani, 32, died Saturday while sailboarding in high waves off southern Okinawa island.
Tokyo resident Seiji Ikeda, 73, was missing since late Friday after he went fishing near Kozu island, about 120km south of Tokyo.
Overnight, Dianmu had passed through Okinawa's main island and stormy weather continued to disrupt dozens of flights and some ferry services in the area yesterday.
More than 75 flights in southern Japan had been canceled as well as most ferry services, public broadcaster NHK reported. The Meteorological Agency recorded waves as high as 12m in some areas.
The agency predicted up to 400mm of rain in parts of Kyushu. The typhoon was expected to head farther north in coming days.
A new online voting system aimed at boosting turnout among the Philippines’ millions of overseas workers ahead of Monday’s mid-term elections has been marked by confusion and fears of disenfranchisement. Thousands of overseas Filipino workers have already cast their ballots in the race dominated by a bitter feud between President Ferdinand Marcos Jr and his impeached vice president, Sara Duterte. While official turnout figures are not yet publicly available, data from the Philippine Commission on Elections (COMELEC) showed that at least 134,000 of the 1.22 million registered overseas voters have signed up for the new online system, which opened on April 13. However,
ALLIES: Calling Putin his ‘old friend,’ Xi said Beijing stood alongside Russia ‘in the face of the international counter-current of unilateralism and hegemonic bullying’ Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) yesterday was in Moscow for a state visit ahead of the Kremlin’s grand Victory Day celebrations, as Ukraine accused Russia’s army of launching air strikes just hours into a supposed truce. More than 20 foreign leaders were in Russia to attend a vast military parade today marking 80 years since the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II, taking place three years into Russia’s offensive in Ukraine. Putin ordered troops into Ukraine in February 2022 and has marshaled the memory of Soviet victory against Nazi Germany to justify his campaign and rally society behind the offensive,
ENTERTAINMENT: Rio officials have a history of organizing massive concerts on Copacabana Beach, with Madonna’s show drawing about 1.6 million fans last year Lady Gaga on Saturday night gave a free concert in front of 2 million fans who poured onto Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro for the biggest show of her career. “Tonight, we’re making history... Thank you for making history with me,” Lady Gaga told a screaming crowd. The Mother Monster, as she is known, started the show at about 10:10pm local time with her 2011 song Bloody Mary. Cries of joy rose from the tightly packed fans who sang and danced shoulder-to-shoulder on the vast stretch of sand. Concert organizers said 2.1 million people attended the show. Lady Gaga
CONFLICTING REPORTS: Beijing said it was ‘not familiar with the matter’ when asked if Chinese jets were used in the conflict, after Pakistan’s foreign minister said they were The Pakistan Army yesterday said it shot down 25 Indian drones, a day after the worst violence between the nuclear-armed rivals in two decades. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif vowed to retaliate after India launched deadly missile strikes on Wednesday morning, escalating days of gunfire along their border. At least 45 deaths were reported from both sides following Wednesday’s violence, including children. Pakistan’s military said in a statement yesterday that it had “so far shot down 25 Israeli-made Harop drones” at multiple location across the country. “Last night, India showed another act of aggression by sending drones to multiple locations,” Pakistan military spokesman Ahmed
RSS