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Earthquake jolts Japan’s northeast coast, cuts power in Tokyo

Published

2 years ago

Farwa

Strong earthquake with a magnitude of 7.3 jolts Japan.
Leaves hundreds of thousands of residents in Tokyo without power.
Authorities warn of aftershocks in Fukushima, Miyagi, Yamagata.

TOKYO: A strong earthquake with a magnitude of 7.3 jolted Japan’s northeast coast on Wednesday and left hundreds of thousands of residents in Tokyo without power.

The tremor, in the same region devastated by the magnitude 9 temblor 11 years ago that triggered the Fukushima nuclear disaster, occurred at a depth of 60 kilometres, 57 kilometres off the coast, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said.

It registered as high as a 6-plus on the Japanese shaking intensity scale in some areas — too strong for people to stand — and rattled buildings in the capital.

The JMA issued a tsunami warning for the region of as high as 1 metre (3.28 ft), with public broadcaster NHK reporting waves of 20 centimetres in some places.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters his government was assessing the extent of any damage after arriving at his office following the tremor, which shook large parts of Japan.

Scattered goods caused by an earthquake are seen at a convenience store in Sendai, Miyagi prefecture, Japan March 17, 2022, in this photo taken by Kyodo. — Reuters

Tokyo Electric Power Company said that around 2 million households were without power, including 700,000 in the capital, and that it was checking the condition of reactors at Fukushima and other plants, public broadcaster NHK reported.

No damage had yet been reported at those or at oil refineries on the coast, government officials said.

The radiation leak from the Fukushima Daichi nuclear power plant was the worst nuclear crisis since the explosion at the Chernobyl facility in Ukraine a quarter of a century earlier.

Authorities warned residents in Fukushima, Miyagi and Yamagata prefectures to expect aftershocks.

Sitting on the boundary of several tectonic plates, Japan experiences around a fifth of the world’s earthquakes of magnitude 6 or greater.

Latest News

The PML-N Punjab chapter convenes today to discuss organizational issues.

Published

3 days ago

Farwa

Former prime minister and leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Nawaz Sharif, has called a meeting of the PML-N Punjab chapter for today (Friday).

The conference was called by PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif, who reportedly gave the president of the party’s Punjab chapter, Rana Sanaullah, a call to call a meeting of the party’s provincial officials.

Nawaz Sharif is now visiting China.

According to sources, Nawaz Sharif’s leadership role and organizational issues inside the PML-N Punjab would be discussed at the meeting. The meeting’s agenda may also include discussions about the possible growth of the federal and Punjabi cabinets.

According to other sources, Nawaz Sharif gave Rana Sanaullah instructions to gather information on political and organizational positions in Punjab as well as to revitalize the party at the local level.

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Punjab Assembly session: Committee on wheat imports is formed by the speaker

Published

3 days ago

Farwa

During the caretaker government, three members of a committee were appointed by Punjab Assembly Speaker Malik Muhammad Ahmad Khan to investigate the import of wheat.

Both sides of the wheat procurement controversy engaged in a fierce debate yesterday during the Punjab Assembly session.

A detailed examination into wheat imports during the caretaker government was required by the legislators, who sharply criticized the government’s wheat strategy.

According to the MPAs, the food minister did not develop any policies for obtaining wheat.

Regarding the wheat procurement problem, the opposition is probably going to hold a protest in the house today, Friday.

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Saad Rafiq: Ali Amin Gandapur’s threat to storm Islamabad is a major issue.

Published

3 days ago

Farwa

Ali Amin Gandapur, the chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, has threatened to storm Islamabad, according to Khawaja Saad Rafique, a former minister and leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N). This is a very serious situation.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa administration has reportedly launched attacks on the federal capital in the past in an attempt to seize Islamabad, according to Saad Rafiq on the social media platform X (previously Twitter).

“However, PTI got nothing and it resulted in creating chaos, hatred and economic destruction,” he continued.

He added, “If the anarchists attack Islamabad to occupy it this time too, it will become impossible for them to return as rulers.”

According to the leader of the PML-N, fascist behavior will no longer be accepted, and the dirty politics of violence, fire, and ransacking will no longer be effective.

The PTI, he said, has to act rationally and refrain from inciting another May 9.