28.04.2025, 14:52 94076

Japan's oldest person dies at 115

Okagi Hayashi, a 115-year-old woman in central Japan recognized as the country's oldest person, died at the weekend from heart failure, the health ministry said Monday, Kyodo reports.

Hayashi, who was born on Sept. 2, 1909, died Saturday morning at a hospital in her hometown of Toki, Gifu Prefecture, according to the ministry and other sources.

She became Japan's oldest person last December following the death of Tomiko Itooka, who lived to the age of 116 and was recognized as the world's oldest person at the time of her death.

Japan's oldest person is now Mine Kondo, a 114-year-old resident of Kota, Aichi Prefecture.
 

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10.07.2025, 16:08 9861

119 confirmed dead in U.S. Texas flooding, death toll to continue surging

The July 4 devastating flooding in central Texas has claimed at least 119 lives as of Wednesday morning, with the death toll widely expected to further climb, local authorities said, Kazinform News Agency reports citing Xinhua.

Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha confirmed that at least 161 people remain missing in the hardest-hit county, including five girls and a counselor from an all-girls summer camp along the Guadalupe River.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott said Tuesday night that at least 173 people were unaccounted for across the state. He has ordered state flags to be flown at half-staff until sunrise on July 14 to honor the victims.

Meanwhile, three people died after flash floods battered the village of Ruidoso in the central southern state of New Mexico on Tuesday, according to New Mexico officials.

According to the National Weather Service, floods kill an average of 113 people per year in the United States over the past decade, accounting for nearly one-sixth of all weather-related deaths.
 

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07.07.2025, 13:00 20361

Death toll from Texas floods rises to 80

Death toll from Texas floods rises to 80
Images | Video screenshot
Up to 80 people have died while more than 40 people remain missing on Sunday, three days after hours of heavy rain led to major flash flooding in the south-central U.S. state of Texas, authorities said Sunday afternoon, Kazinform News Agency reports citing Xinhua.

U.S. President Donald Trump said Sunday he is planning to visit Texas on Friday, hours after signing a major disaster declaration, unlocking key federal resources as search and rescue efforts continue.

Kerr County, the hardest hit among 20 affected counties in the region, alone accounts for at least 68 of the fatalities, including 21 children, Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha said Sunday.

Four other counties have reported a combined total of 12 deaths.

Leitha said 10 girls and one counselor from Camp Mystic were still unaccounted for as of Sunday afternoon, noting search and rescue efforts are still underway.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott said at a press conference Sunday afternoon that at least 41 people were still unaccounted for across the state's flood-impacted area.

He warned that additional heavy rainfall is expected in the coming days, keeping parts of the state at risk for further flooding.
 

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03.07.2025, 12:56 37701

Pakistan flash floods, heavy rain kill 64

Flash floods and heavy rain in Pakistan have killed 64 people and injured 117 in a week, a government agency said Wednesday, WAM reports.

The highest toll was in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, with 23 dead including 10 children, the Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said.

The NDMA said low to moderate rainfall is likely to continue until July 5, after which an active southwest monsoon system, coupled with a westerly wave, is expected to enter the country and generate moderate to heavy rainfall and localised thunderstorms.
 

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26.06.2025, 20:04 79251

Almost 20 killed in stampede at high school in Central African Republic

Nearly 20 people were killed and several others injured in a stampede triggered by a power transformer explosion at Barthelemy Boganda High School in Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic (CAR), on Wednesday, the country's National Assembly said in a statement on Thursday, Xinhua reports.

The National Assembly said the explosion caused panic among exam candidates, resulting in a stampede as they attempted to flee. The victims were taken to various medical facilities in the capital.

We were in the middle of the exam when we heard a loud explosion. Everyone started running in all directions. Several classmates fell and couldn't get back up," said Rufin Pandama, a student who was present at the scene.


The two examination centers at the school were assigned a total of 5,311 candidates. So far, an official and comprehensive casualty report has yet to be released. Local media reported that the accident claimed the lives of at least 29 students.

According to a statement issued Wednesday by the Ministry of National Education, following a technical malfunction earlier in the day, a team from Energie Centrafricaine (ENERCA) was dispatched to carry out repair work. The explosion occurred when power was being restored.

In a video address, CAR President Faustin-Archange Touadera declared a three-day national mourning period starting Thursday, in memory of the victims of the tragic explosion.

The president extended his heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families, teachers, and the broader educational community affected by the tragedy, and announced the launch of a judicial investigation to determine the exact cause of the incident and identify those responsible.
 

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26.06.2025, 12:21 79011

Six dead in southwest China flooding

As of 11 a.m. Thursday, six people have died due to severe flooding in Rongjiang County, southwest China's Guizhou Province, according to local flood control authorities, Xinhua reports.

Since Tuesday, the county has been hit by a severe flood not seen in 50 years, with water levels in several rivers rising rapidly. The peak flow reached 11,360 cubic meters per second.

The flood has inundated many low-lying areas and caused significant damage to infrastructure in several townships, resulting in blocked roads, disrupted communications, and stranded residents.

Currently, the water level in the county seat has fallen below the warning level. Efforts are focused on dredging, draining water, preventing epidemics, disinfecting affected areas, initiating post-disaster recovery, and searching for trapped individuals.
 

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26.06.2025, 10:23 78786

Vietnam abolishes death penalty for crimes against state, bribery, drugs

Vietnam will end capital punishment for eight categories of serious crime - including embezzlement, attempts to overthrow the government and sabotaging state infrastructure, Al Jazeera reports citing local media.

The state-run Vietnam News Agency reported on Wednesday that the country’s National Assembly unanimously passed an amendment to the Criminal Code that abolished the death penalty for eight criminal offences.

Starting from next month, people will no longer face a death sentence for bribery, embezzlement, producing and trading counterfeit medicines, illegally transporting narcotics, espionage, "the crime of destroying peace and causing aggressive war", as well as sabotage and trying to topple the government.

The maximum sentence for these crimes will now be life imprisonment, the news agency said.

Those who were sentenced to death for capital offences before July 1, but have not yet been executed, will have their sentences commuted to life imprisonment, the report said.

The death penalty will remain for 10 other criminal offences under Vietnamese law, including murder, treason, terrorism and the sexual abuse of children, according to the report.

During a National Assembly debate on the proposed criminal code amendment last month, the issue of dropping the death sentence for drug trafficking was the most contentious.
 

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25.06.2025, 22:34 84981

China allocates 100 million yuan to support flood-hit Guizhou

China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said Wednesday that it has allocated 100 million yuan (about 13.95 million U.S. dollars) to assist disaster relief efforts in southwest China's Guizhou Province, Xinhua reports.

Guizhou has been affected by a severe flooding disaster, and the national commission for disaster prevention, reduction and relief launched a Level-IV emergency response on Tuesday.

The fund will be used to restore vital infrastructure and public services in Guizhou, such as roads, flood control systems, hospitals and schools, the NDRC said.

An additional 100 million yuan has been earmarked for the provinces of Guangdong and Hunan, located in south and central China, respectively, to restore normal production and living order as soon as possible, the NDRC added.

China has a four-tier emergency response system for flood control, with Level I being the most severe.
 

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24.06.2025, 22:29 92491

Chinese scientists achieve new efficiency record in solar-to-hydrogen conversion

Researchers at Tianjin University in China have made significant progress in solar-powered hydrogen production by developing a semi-transparent photoanode that achieves a record solar-to-hydrogen conversion efficiency of 5.1 per cent, TV BRICS reports.

This advancement represents a key step towards scalable "artificial leaf" technology, which harnesses solar energy to split water into hydrogen and oxygen in an environmentally friendly manner.

The team, led by Professor Wang Tuo from the School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, tackled the limitations of unbiased solar water splitting systems that generate hydrogen without needing external voltage. Their novel photoanode, made from indium sulfide successfully balances the challenge of maintaining both conductivity and light transparency.

Wang explained that their semi-transparent design accelerates the water oxidation process while allowing more photons to reach the photocathode, reducing energy losses. The device surpassed the conventional 5 per cent efficiency benchmark, marking the highest performance for silicon photocathode systems paired with inorganic photoanodes.

Looking ahead, the researchers believe that with further refinement, this technology could lead to cost-effective and durable artificial leaves.
 

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