Death toll from Indonesia's Flores earthquake rises to 47
The death toll from a 7.7-magnitude earthquake and several strong aftershocks that struck off the coast of Flores Island in eastern Indonesia has risen to 47, the country's National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) said Saturday.
In its latest update, the BNPB said at least 346 houses have been damaged, including 157 that were severely damaged, 41 moderately damaged, and 148 slightly damaged.
The earthquake also damaged public facilities, including 87 educational facilities, 18 health facilities, five places of worship, and six government offices, according to the agency.
Melki Laka Lena, governor of East Nusa Tenggara province, told a press conference in Kupang on Saturday that some roads were cut off or blocked by landslides.
Israeli airstrikes kill 11 in southern Lebanon, sparking condemnation from Lebanese leaders
Eleven people were killed and several others wounded on Saturday in two Israeli airstrikes on southern Lebanon, which Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said sent a "clear message" against the ongoing negotiating track, according to Lebanese sources.
Lebanese broadcaster Al-Jadeed TV reported that four people were killed and nine others wounded after an Israeli airstrike hit a two-story building in the town of Deir Al Zahrani in the Nabatieh District.
Separately, in the town of Ansar in the same district, an Israeli airstrike on a house killed seven people and wounded several others, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry. The victims included three children and two women.
The strikes came amid renewed Israeli airstrikes and heavy shelling in Nabatieh and nearby villages, prompting hundreds of residents to flee toward the southern city of Sidon, according to local reports.
Chinese embassy condemns Japanese politicians' Yasukuni Shrine moves as serious challenge to postwar int'l order
A spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Japan said Saturday that Japanese political leaders' latest moves involving the notorious Yasukuni Shrine constitute a serious challenge to the victorious outcomes of World War II and the post-war international order.
Responding to questions over Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's ritual offering to the war-linked shrine, as well as visits to the shrine by several cabinet ministers and senior politicians, the spokesperson said the Chinese side firmly opposes and severely condemns the moves, and has lodged solemn representations and a strong protest with the Japanese side.
The Yasukuni Shrine is a spiritual tool and symbol of Japanese militarism's foreign wars of aggression which enshrines 14 convicted Class-A war criminals who bear direct responsibility for the country's war of aggression, the spokesperson said.
The relevant actions of Japanese officials and politicians openly stand in opposition to historical justice and human conscience, and seriously challenge the fruits of World War II and the post-war international order, the spokesperson added.
S. Korean president Lee calls for dialogue with DPRK to formally end Korean War, pursue peaceful coexistence
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung on Saturday called on South Korea and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) to respect each other, refrain from unnecessary confrontation, and pursue peaceful coexistence and shared growth.
In his address marking the 81st anniversary of the Korean Peninsula's liberation from Japanese colonial rule, Lee unveiled a roadmap for peaceful coexistence with the DPRK, calling for dialogue among the directly concerned parties to officially end the Korean War and transform the Korean Peninsula's unstable armistice into a peace regime.
The proposal builds on Lee's pledge at last year's Liberation Day ceremony that Seoul would respect the DPRK's system, rule out unification by absorption and refrain from hostile acts. Lee said that he was setting out steps to put those principles into practice.
Lee called on the two Koreas to respect each other and avoid unnecessary confrontation, while gradually reducing hostility in their perceptions, norms and institutions. He said he hoped the two sides could sit down together to explore ways toward peaceful coexistence and shared growth.■
