- TD Bank to pay more than $3 bn to US in money-laundering case
- SAfrica prosecutors drop criminal complaint against president
- 'Good opportunity': Nagelsmann upbeat despite Germany's long injury list
- Hurricane whips up bitter US election battle
- Cameroon bans media talk of president's health amid rumours
- NFL MVP Jackson and rookie phenom Daniels set for showdown
- Chad's capital under threat as floodwaters rise
- Lebanon state media says Israeli strikes hit central Beirut
- No answers on strike on reporters in Lebanon one year on: watchdog
- Ramharack picks four wickets as Windies beat Bangladesh in Women's T20 World Cup
- France's City of Light switches to climate-resilient power cables
- Djokovic hails Nadal 'legacy' as Alcaraz in 'shock' over retirement
- Obama hits campaign trail for Harris
- Delta eyes Election Day travel pullback as profits climb
- Djokovic tells Nadal: 'Your legacy will live forever'
- Ethel Kennedy, wife of RFK, dead at 96
- Zelensky denies ceasefire with Russia under discussion on trip
- Florida battered by hurricane, floods but spared 'worst-case scenario'
- After long fight for glory, Nadal leaves with a legacy of memories
- Home hopes Zheng and Wang through to last-eight in Wuhan Open
- UN peacekeepers say Israel fired on Lebanon HQ, injuring 2
- UK's William and Kate in first joint public engagement since cancer treatment
- Alcaraz out as top players pay tribute to Nadal at Shanghai Masters
- Racing's Farrell 'not thinking' about British and Irish Lions
- Alcaraz, Sinner pay tribute to 'unbelievable' Nadal at Shanghai Masters
- Over 200 women in legal talks with Harrods over Fayed abuse claims
- After K-pop, K-novels? South Korean Nobel win sparks joy, hope at home
- After Nadal exit, Djokovic left to rage against dying of the light
- A very stiff breeze: BBC says sorry for 20,000 kph wind forecast
- Triple centurion Brook happy to break Dad's club record
- Zelensky touts 'victory plan' against Russia in Macron talks
- Musk finally unveiling his long-promised robotaxi
- UN peacekeepers accuses Israel of firing on Lebanon HQ
- London's Frieze art fair goes potty for ceramics
- Southgate taking year out from coaching
- US, Europe stocks fall on US inflation data
- Zelensky meets Macron in Paris as part of European tour
- Hurricane Milton shreds Florida stadium roof
- UN probe accuses Israel of seeking to 'destroy' Gaza healthcare
- US consumer inflation eases to 2.4% in September
- England in sight of victory after Brook's triple hundred
- Juventus readmitted to ECA after failed Super League revolt
- World number 2 Alcaraz knocked out of Shanghai Masters by Machac
- Leaders of Egypt, Eritrea, Somalia meet amid regional tensions
- Klopp's Red Bull decision 'ruined life's work' say Dortmund fans
- Han Kang wins South Korea's first literature Nobel
- S. Korea's Nobel winner Han Kang a modest, thought-provoking writer
- Hurricane Milton tornadoes kill four in Florida amid rescue efforts
- The almost impossible job: Beating Rafael Nadal at the French Open
- New French government faces key test with budget plan
RBGPF | 4.03% | 63.35 | $ | |
CMSC | 0.12% | 24.55 | $ | |
RYCEF | 0% | 6.9 | $ | |
SCS | -3.58% | 12.58 | $ | |
CMSD | 0.08% | 24.7 | $ | |
BCC | -2.49% | 138.93 | $ | |
NGG | 0.42% | 65.91 | $ | |
RIO | 0.79% | 66.875 | $ | |
GSK | -2.72% | 39.175 | $ | |
AZN | -0.85% | 76.85 | $ | |
RELX | -0.69% | 46.39 | $ | |
BCE | -1.6% | 32.785 | $ | |
BP | 1.13% | 32.345 | $ | |
JRI | 0.03% | 13.224 | $ | |
VOD | -0.26% | 9.705 | $ | |
BTI | -0.75% | 35.215 | $ |
Japan says New Year quake damage could cost $17 billion
The cost of the damage wreaked by a huge New Year's Day earthquake that killed at least 236 people in central Japan could reach $17.6 billion, a government official said Friday.
The magnitude-7.5 earthquake and its aftershocks devastated parts of Ishikawa prefecture on the Sea of Japan coast, toppling buildings, ripping up roads and sparking a major fire.
Damage in Ishikawa and two neighbouring regions is likely to cost between 1.1 trillion yen ($7.4 billion) and 2.6 trillion yen ($17.6 billion), according to a government estimate.
A cabinet office official confirmed the figures, which were calculated using data from past major earthquakes and reported to a government economic meeting on Thursday.
But even the top estimate is much less than the 16.9 trillion yen damage caused by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in northeastern Japan.
That disaster left around 18,500 people dead or missing and triggered a meltdown at the Fukushima atomic plant, the world's worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl.
Authorities on Thursday revealed detailed reconstruction plans for Ishikawa, where snow and badly damaged roads have complicated relief efforts in the quake's aftermath.
They include improvements to shelters for evacuees along with subsidies for rebuilding factories and ports as well as attracting tourists to the area.
Japan sits on the Pacific "Ring of Fire", an arc of intense seismic activity that stretches through Southeast Asia and across the Pacific basin.
The country is regularly hit by quakes and has strict construction regulations intended to ensure buildings can withstand strong tremors.
But many structures are older, especially in rapidly ageing communities in rural areas like those hardest hit in the New Year's quake.
Y.Kobayashi--AMWN