The quake, the strongest to hit the Philippines this year, struck off the coast of Mindanao island at 7:37 a.m. local time, causing widespread panic and disruption across several southern provinces.

Authorities said the death toll rose after at least 17 fatalities were reported in Sarangani province, where a landslide buried homes in the mountainous town of Glan.Rene Punzalan, a disaster mitigation official in Sarangani, said 13 villagers were killed in the landslide, while four others died elsewhere in the province.

The new casualties brought the overall death toll from the earthquake to at least 32.The earthquake damaged buildings, disrupted transportation and displaced thousands of residents. Philippine disaster officials said most fatalities were caused by collapsing structures, landslides and falling debris across the provinces of Sarangani, South Cotabato, Davao Occidental and nearby Balut Island.

In General Santos City, a regional commercial hub with a population of more than 700,000, several buildings were severely damaged or collapsed, including a popular fast-food restaurant. Seven people were reported killed in the city, while police said at least 12 others remained missing.

Search and rescue operations were underway at damaged structures, including a warehouse and commercial buildings, according to emergency responders.President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ordered the suspension of classes in affected areas and directed national disaster agencies to mobilize emergency assistance.

Officials said more than 100 students suffered minor injuries or fainted during school flag-raising ceremonies as the quake struck shortly after public schools reopened following the summer break.The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said the earthquake occurred near Maasim town in Sarangani province at a depth of about 33 kilometers.

The U.S. Geological Survey estimated the depth at 55 kilometers, differences that are common during initial assessments.Authorities recorded multiple aftershocks, including tremors reaching magnitude 6.5, and warned residents to avoid returning to damaged buildings until structural inspections are completed.The quake generated tsunami warnings across parts of the Pacific.

Waves of up to 1.4 meters were recorded along sections of the Philippine coastline, while smaller waves were detected in Indonesia, Palau and Japan.The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center later said the broader tsunami threat had largely passed, prompting Philippine authorities to lift evacuation warnings by mid-afternoon.

The earthquake temporarily shut General Santos International Airport and led to the cancellation of 17 domestic flights, according to aviation authorities.Situated on the Pacific Ring of Fire, the Philippines is among the world’s most disaster-prone countries and frequently experiences major earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and tropical cyclones.

Jaslinda Saludin, 49, was discovered on Saturday in a forested area near the town of Tapah in Malaysia’s Perak state, several kilometers from the location where she was last seen, local media reported.

The experienced hiker had been missing since embarking on a section of the challenging Trans Spencer Chapman trail, a 34-kilometer route that traverses rugged terrain along the Titiwangsa mountain range, which forms the backbone of Peninsular Malaysia.

Saludin was last seen after leaving a rest camp alone to ascend Gunung Batu Putih, commonly known as White Rock Mountain. When she failed to return, authorities launched a large-scale search involving helicopters, specialized rescue teams and indigenous community trackers familiar with the dense rainforest landscape.

Her disappearance quickly became one of Malaysia’s most closely followed rescue operations, generating extensive media coverage and widespread public concern.

According to local reports, Saludin was located by fishermen on Saturday afternoon. She told rescuers she survived by drinking water from rivers and streams and eating berries and other edible plants found in the forest.

Friends and relatives expressed astonishment that she had managed to endure nearly two weeks in the harsh environment.

“When we heard that she had been found safe, it felt like our prayers had been answered. It is truly a miracle,” her friend Hishammuddin Ahmad said.

Following her rescue, Saludin was transported to a hospital for medical evaluation and treatment.

Sabarodzi Nor Ahmad, assistant director of operations at the Perak Fire and Rescue Department, told local media that she suffered relatively minor injuries, including insect bites and wounds to her head, despite her extended ordeal in the wilderness.

The successful rescue highlighted the role played by indigenous Malaysian communities, whose knowledge of the terrain assisted search teams navigating the dense forests of central Malaysia.

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim welcomed the outcome and thanked all those involved in the operation. In a message posted on social media, he expressed gratitude to rescuers and community members who participated in efforts to locate the missing hiker.

Authorities have not yet provided further details on how Saludin became separated from the trail or how she survived for nearly two weeks before being found.

Police said hotel owner Lavkesh Bajaj was taken into custody late Wednesday, hours after the blaze engulfed the Flourish Stay hotel in the capital’s Malviya Nagar area.

Authorities said at least 21 people died in the fire, including several foreign nationals. Two victims have been identified as citizens of Liberia and Mozambique.

Witnesses said some trapped guests jumped from upper floors onto mattresses placed below as flames spread through the building. Several survivors were hospitalized with severe burns and injuries sustained while escaping.

The incident has renewed concerns over fire safety standards in India, where deadly building fires are frequently linked to inadequate safety measures and poor enforcement of regulations.

In a separate incident on Thursday, four people were killed in a fire that broke out in an intensive care unit at a hospital in Muzaffarpur, in the eastern state of Bihar, local officials said.

Police and emergency officials responded after Fukushima Steel Works reported that two employees had been attacked by a bear in the Sasakino district of Fukushima City. Security camera footage released by the company showed a black bear chasing a worker near an entrance before knocking him to the ground and moving further into the facility.

The bear subsequently injured a second employee at the steel works and later attacked another male worker at a separate company nearby, according to the Fukushima City Fire Department. An elderly woman living in the neighborhood was also injured in the attacks.

Authorities said the three male victims, all company employees, suffered minor injuries, while the woman, in her 80s, sustained moderate injuries. None of the injuries were considered life-threatening.

As of Tuesday afternoon, the bear had not been captured and was believed to remain inside the grounds of a nearby company. Police officers maintained a perimeter around the site while carrying long poles and other equipment as the search continued.

The incident prompted precautionary measures in the area, including the closure of two nearby schools. Noda Elementary School shifted classes online and advised residents to avoid unnecessary travel while the animal remained at large.

The attack comes amid a sharp rise in bear-related incidents across Japan. The Environment Ministry said 13 people were killed in more than 230 bear attacks in 2025, the highest annual toll recorded in the country.

Growing bear populations, combined with demographic changes in rural Japan, have contributed to the increase in encounters, according to government officials and wildlife experts. Many affected regions face shrinking and aging populations, resulting in fewer trained hunters and wildlife management personnel.

In March, the government estimated Japan’s bear population at approximately 57,800 animals and adopted a management roadmap aimed at controlling numbers in areas of heightened human-bear interaction. The plan calls for tripling the number of municipal bear-control staff to 2,500 within five years and doubling the number of bear traps deployed nationwide.

Concerns over bear activity have also spread beyond traditionally affected rural areas. Recent sightings have been reported in Tokyo’s western suburbs, including the popular hiking region of Okutama, where local authorities have increased trapping efforts and issued public alerts.

The government has expanded public-awareness campaigns urging hikers, foragers and outdoor enthusiasts to monitor bear warnings and avoid activity during dawn and dusk, when bears are typically most active.

Environment Ministry guidance advises people who encounter a bear to remain calm, avoid sudden movements and refrain from running. In the event of an attack, the ministry recommends curling into a protective position and shielding the neck to reduce the risk of fatal injuries.

Five of the seven villagers initially stranded inside the cave have already been rescued, while multinational teams from Laos, Thailand, Malaysia, Finland, Japan, Indonesia, France and Australia continue efforts to reach the remaining two.

Rescuers are pumping water from the cave and exploring possible dry passages and air shafts that could provide access to the missing individuals, who are believed to be trapped deeper inside the flooded system.

The group reportedly entered the cave in search of valuable minerals before a flash flood sealed their exit, triggering a major international rescue operation.

Nearly 600 children with suspected or confirmed measles have died since March, while hospitals across the country are struggling to cope with hundreds of new admissions each day. Medical facilities remain under severe pressure as doctors attempt to isolate infected patients and prevent further transmission.

Health experts fear large-scale population movement during the Eid holidays could accelerate the spread of the highly contagious disease, particularly in rural areas with limited access to healthcare services.

The outbreak has overwhelmed pediatric wards in several hospitals, prompting renewed calls for expanded vaccination efforts and stronger public health measures to contain the crisis.

The blast occurred around 11:00 a.m. at the company’s research and development site, which works on advanced weapons technologies, rocket systems and aerospace projects.

Hanwha Aerospace CEO Son Jae-il said the accident may have occurred during the cleaning of equipment used in rocket propellant production, where explosive residue could have remained on tools.

The company pledged a comprehensive review of its safety procedures following the deadly incident. Political parties also announced they would scale back election campaign activities ahead of local elections as a mark of respect for the victims.

The incident occurred on Tuesday at the Nippon Dynawave Packaging plant in Longview, where a massive storage tank containing a highly caustic industrial chemical ruptured during an early morning shift change, triggering a large-scale emergency response and search operation.

“We have recovered the ninth and final missing employee of this incident,” Longview Fire Department Chief Brad Hannig told reporters, confirming the end of the recovery effort.

Authorities had earlier reported two fatalities immediately following the accident, while nine workers remained unaccounted for amid difficult search conditions inside the industrial complex.

According to officials, the accident involved a 900,000-gallon tank holding a substantial quantity of white liquor, a chemical solution widely used in paper production. The tank ruptured after what authorities described as an implosion, releasing large volumes of the substance within the facility.

White liquor is a highly alkaline mixture containing sodium hydroxide and sodium sulfide. In the pulp and paper industry, it is used to break down wood chips into pulp, a key step in paper manufacturing.

The scale of the tank and the hazardous nature of the chemical complicated rescue and recovery efforts throughout the week, prompting a major response from local emergency services.

The facility is operated by Nippon Dynawave Packaging, a U.S.-based subsidiary of Japan’s Nippon Paper Group. According to company information, the plant manufactures paper-based packaging products and produces approximately eight billion single-serve containers annually for customers across North America, Asia and other international markets.

Authorities have not yet released details regarding the cause of the tank failure. Investigations into the incident are expected to examine operational procedures, equipment integrity and workplace safety conditions at the facility.

The accident ranks among the deadliest industrial incidents in Washington state in recent years and is likely to intensify scrutiny of chemical storage and safety practices within the pulp and paper manufacturing sector.

The men have been trapped for 10 days inside the cave after entering the site to search for valuable minerals before rising floodwaters blocked their exit. Five survivors were located alive on Wednesday, while two members of the group remain unaccounted for.
Rescuers successfully evacuated the first survivor on Friday after a complex operation through submerged and narrow cave passages.

Officials said the remaining four men were not yet ready for extraction and that efforts were continuing to lower water levels and improve conditions for a safe evacuation.

“One person has made it out safely, and we will not stop until the remaining four make it home too,” Thai cave diver Norrased Palasing, who is participating in the operation, said in a social media post on Saturday.
Video footage released by rescuers showed the first survivor emerging from flooded tunnels with assistance from divers before being wrapped in a thermal blanket and moved to safety.

Authorities did not identify which of the five survivors was evacuated.

The trapped villagers have been supplied with water, soft food and emergency blankets, though footage recorded inside the cave indicated their physical condition had deteriorated during the prolonged ordeal.

The rescue operation has drawn specialists from Laos, Thailand, Japan and Malaysia, with Indonesian, French and Australian experts also reported to have joined the effort. Several members of the international team previously participated in the high-profile 2018 rescue of a youth football team trapped in a cave in northern Thailand.

Rescuers face difficult conditions inside the cave system. According to Thai rescue worker Kengkaj Bongkawong, teams must navigate more than 200 meters of narrow, twisting, flooded passages before reaching a submerged tunnel that leads to the trapped men.

The operation is complicated by poor visibility, confined spaces and the challenge of guiding survivors with no diving experience through underwater sections of the cave. Video released by rescuers showed divers instructing the trapped men on the use of breathing equipment and underwater survival techniques ahead of their evacuation.

Search efforts for the two missing villagers are expected to focus on deeper sections of the cave beyond the area where the survivors were found.

Rescue officials said the area is heavily flooded, increasing the risks for divers conducting the search.
The cave is located in the mountainous province of Xaisomboun, approximately 120 kilometers north of the Lao capital, Vientiane.

The accident occurred on a road linking the Swat region with Peshawar after a passenger bus suffered a mechanical fault and was forced to stop along the roadside. Passengers had exited the vehicle and were waiting nearby when an approaching van veered into the crowd and struck both the stranded travelers and the parked bus.

Bilal Ahmad Faizi, a rescue official, said at least 17 people were killed in the collision, while more than 10 others sustained injuries. He added that three of the injured were in critical condition.

Muhammad Ali, a doctor at a local hospital treating victims from the crash, confirmed the death toll.
Emergency responders transported the injured to nearby medical facilities as authorities worked to identify victims and determine the circumstances that led to the van losing control.

Many of those involved in the accident were traveling home ahead of Eid, one of the most significant religious holidays in the Muslim calendar, a period that typically sees a sharp increase in road traffic across Pakistan.

Fatal road accidents remain a persistent challenge in the country, where authorities and safety experts have long cited weak enforcement of traffic regulations, excessive speeding, inadequate road safety measures and reckless driving as major contributors to high casualty rates.