Death toll in Yamagata derailment reaches 3
December 25, 2005The death toll in a train derailment in Shonai, Yamagata Prefecture, on Sunday evening rose to three, and possibly four, early Monday with two persons pulled from the wreckage -- a young woman who was pronounced dead and a man who appeared not to be breathing, authorities said. All six cars of the express train Inaho No. 14, which was heading to Niigata from Akita, derailed just after it crossed a bridge where it was hit by extremely strong winds.
Rival AUM factions to hold separate seminars
December 25, 2005Two rival factions of the religious cult known formerly as AUM Shinrikyo plan to hold separate seminars for lay followers from Dec. 29 to Jan. 3, intelligence authority sources said Sunday. AUM ''representative'' Fumihiro Joyu, 43, has been distancing himself from the cult's operations since October 2003, but at the seminar he will hold plans to preach for the first time in two and a half years, they said.
M5.2 quake jolts N. Pakistan, no reports of casualties
December 25, 2005A moderate earthquake with a magnitude of 5.2 jolted northern Pakistan on Sunday, but no reports of casualties or damage have been received, officials said. The Meteorological Office in the northwestern city of Peshawar said the quake, which occurred at 1:02 p.m., was centered about 200 kilometers northeast of Peshawar.
22-year-old Japanese tourist missing in Turkey since early Nov.
December 25, 2005A Japanese university student went missing in Turkey in early November while visiting the country for sightseeing, the Consulate General in Istanbul said Saturday. Nothing has been heard of Sotaro Matsukura, a 22-year-old Seijo University senior from Tokyo's Setagaya Ward, since he checked out of a hotel in Istanbul on Nov. 2, the consulate general said. The hotel said it has a record of his stay.