Nat'l treasure building damaged, Buddha statue stolen in Nara
February 5, 2006A national treasure building at Horyuji Temple in Nara Prefecture was found damaged and a replica of a Buddha statue stolen on Sunday, police said. According to the Nara prefectural police, a male employee at the temple on Sunday morning found wooden frames of a window in the Nishimuro building cut and removed, and a 74-centimeter-tall replica of a Buddha statue stolen.
Memorial held for 10th anniversary of Hokkaido tunnel disaster
February 5, 2006Relatives and friends of 20 people killed in a massive rock fall in a highway tunnel in 1996 in Hokkaido gathered near the disaster site Sunday to hold a memorial ceremony ahead of the 10th anniversary of the accident on Friday. Some 20 relatives and friends of the victims, including Tetsuo Homma, 55, who lost his 17-year-old son Atsushi in the accident, offered incense and prayers at the alter set at the venue for the joint Buddhist service in the town of Furubira.
2 seniors die in residential fire in Osaka Pref.
February 5, 2006Two elderly people died in a residential fire Sunday morning in Toyonaka, Osaka Prefecture, police said. They are Toru Ishii, 89, and Mariko Yoneda, the 78-year-old sister of his wife, Akemi. The 83-year-old wife suffered burns on her face and other parts of her body.
Egyptian ferry carrying 1,400 sinks, at least 195 dead
February 5, 2006An Egyptian passenger ferry carrying around 1,300 passengers and 100 crew members sank in the Red Sea on Thursday night, with Reuters news service reporting that 195 bodies have been recovered by Saturday. Rescue workers have saved 400 people, but about 800 more, most of them Egyptian workers returning from Saudi Arabia, are missing and feared dead.