A powerful 7.6-magnitude earthquake struck off northern Japan on Monday, triggering a tsunami of up to 40 centimetres in coastal communities in the region, the Japanese Meteorological Agency said. The agency said the magnitude quake struck just east of Aomori, the northernmost prefecture of Japan's main Honshu island, and just south of Hokkaido island. It said a tsunami of 40 centimetres struck the Hokkaido prefecture town of Urakawa and the Aomori prefecture port of Mutsu Ogawara. Several people were injured at a hotel in the Aomori town of Hachinohe, public broadcaster NHK reported. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, in a brief comment to reporters, said the government set up an emergency task force to urgently assess the extent of damage. ¿We are putting people's lives first and doing everything we can," she said. Nuclear power plants in the region were conducting safety checks, NHK reported. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
08 December,2025 09:58 PM IST | Tokyo | APMore than 30 people were killed and at least 20 others injured in a bomb explosion in eastern Congo after a confrontation between the Congolese army and a pro-government militia, despite a recently signed peace deal being hailed as a significant step towards stability, news agency AP reported. Residents and civil society representatives told AP that soldiers of the FARDC (the Congolese army) and members of Wazalendo, a militia group that has been supporting the army against insurgents, exchanged fire before an explosion rocked Sange town in South Kivu on Sunday evening. Eastern Congo, particularly the region bordering Rwanda, remains one of the world’s most volatile conflict zones, with more than 100 armed groups battling for control of mineral-rich territories. The Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group is among the most prominent. More than 7 million people have been displaced, according to officials. The deadly blast occurred less than a week after a US-brokered peace agreement was finalised in Washington to end the fighting between the Congolese armed forces and the M23 rebels. However, residents, civil society groups and analysts say hostilities have continued on the ground. “FARDC soldiers were coming from the front lines and wanted to reach the city of Uvira,” said Faraja Mahano Robert, a civil society leader in Sange, adding, “Once in Sange, they were ordered not to proceed, but some disagreed. That’s when they started shooting at each other, and then a bomb exploded, killing many people.” Many residents have since fled towards Burundi for safety, eyewitnesses said on Monday. “This morning we woke up a little better, but people are still leaving the Sange area,” said Amani Safari, a local resident, adding, “To the east of the town, there were clashes between the Wazalendo and the FARDC; two FARDC soldiers were killed around 7:30 AM.” Another resident, David Kaserore, said: “It’s difficult to distinguish between the enemy and the FARDC, as they are killing all the civilians. We demand that the government end this war. We are tired.” The Congolese army has not yet responded to AP’s requests for comment. Meanwhile, Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi accused Rwanda in a speech before parliament on Monday of violating the peace agreement and “organising the plundering of our natural resources and destabilising our institutions”. Tshisekedi and Rwandan President Paul Kagame met US President Donald Trump in Washington last week to endorse the peace accord, described by the White House as a “historic” step. The pact builds upon an initial agreement signed in June. “The very next day after the signing, units of the Rwandan Defence Forces conducted and supported heavy weapons attacks launched from the Rwandan town of Bugarama, causing significant human and material damage,” Tshisekedi alleged, terming the incident an “aggression by proxy” and rejecting claims that the conflict is an internal rebellion. Despite the agreement, residents say fighting in South Kivu has intensified over the past week. Both the M23 rebels and Congolese forces have repeatedly accused one another of violating the ceasefire drawn up earlier this year. Earlier in 2025, M23 captured Goma and Bukavu, two strategically significant cities in eastern Congo, in one of the biggest escalations of the conflict. According to UN experts, the rebel group is backed by nearly 4,000 Rwandan troops and has, at times, threatened to advance as far as the Congolese capital, Kinshasa, nearly 1,600 km away. (With AP inputs)
08 December,2025 09:11 PM IST | Congo | mid-day online correspondentNew York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani posted a video to social media on Sunday explaining immigrants' right to refuse to speak to or comply with agents from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, days after federal agents carried out a raid in Manhattan. In the video, Mamdani vowed to protect the city's 3 million immigrants, saying, 'We can all stand up to ICE if you know your rights.' He explained that people in the US can chose not to speak to federal immigration agents, film them without interfering and refuse their requests to enter private spaces. ICE agents cannot enter spaces like a home, school or private area of a workplace without a judicial warrant signed by a judge, Mamdani said. "ICE is legally allowed to lie to you, but you have the right to remain silent. If you're being detained, you may always ask, Am I free to go?' repeatedly until they answer you," said Mamdani, who will be sworn in as mayor on Jan 1. His comments came a week after demonstrators gathered as ICE attempted to detain people on Canal Street near New York's Chinatown. A similar immigration sweep in the same neighbourhood last October was also met with protests. "New York will always welcome immigrants, and I will fight each and every day to protect, support, and celebrate our immigrant brothers and sisters," Mamdani said in Sunday's video. Weeks earlier, Mamdani had a surprisingly cordial Oval Office meeting with President Donald Trump, whose administration is carrying out federal immigration enforcement operations in several US cities, most recently in New Orleans. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
08 December,2025 08:50 AM IST | New York | APUS President Donald Trump and the First Lady arrived on the red carpet at the Kennedy Center Honours in Washington DC, where the president commented on his administration's tariff policy, emphasising national security benefits. Speaking on tariffs, Trump said, "We have tremendous flexibility with the current system. It's unbelievable for national security. I've ended eight wars, largely because of trade and because of tariffs." He added, "If we go the other tariff route, it won't give you the same pure national security." As Trump highlighted what he sees as the security advantages of tariffs, his comments came ahead of a key Supreme Court ruling on whether he exceeded presidential authority in imposing broad duties. In the coming weeks, the justices are expected to determine whether Trump violated federal law by using emergency powers to launch sweeping tariffs during his second term. Since returning to office in January, the president has repeatedly applied and reinstated tariffs on various trading partners, raising costs on products including appliances, lumber and electrical components. A coalition of companies and trade organisations has challenged the approach, arguing Trump misused the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) by treating it as a blanket tool for tariffs. In a post on Truth Social, Trump addressed the looming Supreme Court decision, insisting he has alternative options if his current strategy is restricted. "While the United States has other methods of charging TARIFFS against foreign countries, many of whom have, for YEARS, TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF OUR NATION, the current method of Tariffing before the United States Supreme Court is far more DIRECT, LESS CUMBERSOME, and MUCH FASTER," he wrote. Trump also asserted broad presidential powers over national security and foreign policy, saying he had "settled 8 Wars in 10 months because of the rights clearly given to the President of the United States." To ensure the tariff strategy continues even if the court limits existing measures, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has been preparing a fallback plan. His proposed "plan B" would use other statutory authorities combined with tougher actions on economic competition. "We can recreate the exact tariff structure with 301s, with 232s, with the I think they're called 122s," he said, referring to three separate provisions governing trade actions. Section 301 targets unfair foreign trade practices, Section 232 permits tariffs on imports that threaten national security, and Section 122 allows short-term tariffs or quotas in balance-of-payments emergencies. Bessent warned that if the Supreme Court overturns the current tariffs, it could result in "massive refunds" owed to companies that paid them. He added that the government may have to return significant amounts already counted as federal revenue, creating fiscal and administrative challenges for the Treasury. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
08 December,2025 08:48 AM IST | Washington | ANIPresident Donald Trump on Sunday claimed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy 'isn't ready' to sign off on a US-authored peace proposal aimed at ending the Russia-Ukraine war. Trump was critical of Zelenskyy after US and Ukrainian negotiators completed three days of talks on Saturday aimed at trying to narrow differences on the U.S. administration's proposal. But in an exchange with reporters on Sunday night, Trump suggested that the Ukrainian leader is holding up the talks from moving forward. 'I'm a little bit disappointed that President Zelenskyy hasn't yet read the proposal, that was as of a few hours ago. His people love it, but he hasn't,' Trump claimed in an exchange with reporters before taking part in the Kennedy Centre Honours. The president added, "Russia is, I believe, fine with it, but I'm not sure that Zelenskyy's fine with it. His people love it it. But he isn't ready.' To be certain, Russian President Vladimir Putin hasn't publicly expressed approval for the White House plan. In fact, Putin last week had said that aspects of Trump's proposal were unworkable, even though the original draft heavily favoured Moscow. Trump has had a hot-and-cold relationship with Zelenskyy since riding into a second White House term insisting that the war was a waste of US taxpayer money. Trump has also repeatedly urged the Ukrainians to cede land to Russia to bring an end to a now nearly four-year conflict he says has cost far too many lives. Zelenskyy said Saturday he had a 'substantive phone call' with the American officials engaged in the talks with a Ukrainian delegation in Florida. He said he had been given an update over the phone by US and Ukrainian officials at the talks. 'Ukraine is determined to keep working in good faith with the American side to genuinely achieve peace,' Zelenskyy wrote on social media. Trump's criticism of Zelenskyy came as Russia on Sunday welcomed the Trump administration's new national security strategy in comments by the Kremlin spokesman published by Russia's Tass news agency. Dmitry Peskov said the updated strategic document, which spells out the administration's core foreign policy interests, was largely in line with Moscow's vision. 'There are statements there against confrontation and in favour of dialogue and building good relations,' he said, adding that Russia hopes this would lead to 'further constructive cooperation with Washington on the Ukrainian settlement.' The document released Friday by the White House said the US wants to improve its relationship with Russia after years of Moscow being treated as a global pariah and that ending the war is a core US interest to 'reestablish strategic stability with Russia.' Speaking on Saturday at the Reagan National Defense Forum, Trump's outgoing Ukraine envoy, Keith Kellogg, said efforts to end the war were in 'the last 10 metres.' He said a deal depended on the two outstanding issues of 'terrain, primarily the Donbas,' and the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. Russia controls most of Donbas, its name for the Donetsk and neighbouring Luhansk regions, which, along with two southern regions, it illegally annexed three years ago. The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant is in an area that has been under Russian control since early in Moscow's invasion of Ukraine and is not in service. It needs reliable power to cool its six shutdown reactors and spent fuel, to avoid any catastrophic nuclear incidents. Kellogg, who is due to leave his post in January, was not present at the talks in Florida. Separately, officials said the leaders of the United Kingdom, France and Germany would participate in a meeting with Zelenskyy in London on Monday. As the three days of talks wrapped up, Russian missile, drone and shelling attacks overnight and Sunday killed at least four people in Ukraine. A man was killed in a drone attack on Ukraine's northern Chernihiv region Saturday night, local officials said, while a combined missile and drone attack on infrastructure in the central city of Kremenchuk caused power and water outages. Kremenchuk is home to one of Ukraine's biggest oil refineries and is an industrial hub. Kyiv and its Western allies say Russia is trying to cripple the Ukrainian power grid and deny civilians access to heat, light and running water for a fourth consecutive winter, in what Ukrainian officials call 'weaponizing' the cold. Three people were killed and 10 others wounded Sunday in shelling by Russian troops in Ukraine's Kharkiv region, according to the regional prosecutor's office. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
08 December,2025 08:44 AM IST | Kyiv | APEngineers have made a breakthrough that could transform how electric vehicles stay powered on the road after wirelessly charging a heavy-duty electric truck traveling at highway speeds. The experiment took place on a 400-metre stretch of US Highway 52/231 in Indiana, where a patent-pending dynamic wireless power transfer system was installed beneath the concrete. A modified Cummins Class 8 electric semitractor then drove over the hidden coil system at 105 kmph. It reportedly drew an impressive 190 KW of power while in motion. The road system uses transmitter coils embedded in the roadway that generate a magnetic field. The electric semi carries receiver coils mounted under its chassis. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
08 December,2025 07:03 AM IST | Nashville | AgenciesJapan and Australia urged calm on Sunday after Chinese military aircraft locked radar on Japanese fighter jets. Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said Japan formally protested the incident. He said China’s military aircraft J-15 took off from the Chinese carrier Liaoning near the southern island of Okinawa on Saturday and “intermittently” latched its radar on Japanese F-15 fighter jets on two occasions Saturday, for about three minutes in the late afternoon and for about 30 minutes in the evening. Japanese fighter jets had scrambled to pursue Chinese jets conducting aircraft takeoff and landing exercises in the Pacific from a safe distance. Japan and Australia, whose defence ministers held their scheduled talks in Tokyo on Sunday, expressed worry over the development. “We are deeply concerned by the actions of China in the last 24 hours,” Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles said. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
08 December,2025 07:01 AM IST | Tokyo | AgenciesUS Secretary of War Pete Hegseth defended recent military strikes on boats linked to alleged drug cartels, saying President Donald Trump has the authority to take action “as he sees fit” to safeguard the nation. He said the operations, which resulted in at least 87 deaths and raised questions over breaches of international law, were justified to protect US citizens and likened the effort to the response following the September 11, 2001, attacks. “If you’re working for a designated terrorist organisation and you bring drugs to this country in a boat, we will find you and we will sink you. Let there be no doubt about it,” Hegseth said during his keynote address at the Reagan National Defence Forum. “President Trump can and will take decisive military action as he sees fit to defend our nation’s interests. Let no country on earth doubt that.” Lawmakers have requested greater clarity about the legal basis for the strikes and whether US personnel were instructed to conduct a second strike after a September operation when officials knew there were survivors. Hegseth also likened suspected drug traffickers to Al-Qaeda, though analysts have pointed out key differences between the two and the strategies needed to combat them. His remarks came soon after the administration released its national security strategy, which depicts European partners as weak and aims to reassert US power in the West. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
08 December,2025 06:58 AM IST | Washington | AgenciesPolice are investigating after a “number of people” the Heathrow Airport were believed to have been attacked with pepper spray by a group of men who then fled. Officers were called at 8.11 am to a multi-storied car park at Terminal 3 following reports of multiple people being assaulted. The Metropolitan Police said, “A number of people were sprayed with what is believed to be a form of pepper spray by a group of men who then left the scene.” One man was arrested on suspicion of assault. He remains in custody and enquiries continue to trace further suspects. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
08 December,2025 06:43 AM IST | London | AgenciesWitnesses described a chaotic scene on Yanjiang Road in the city of Zhuzhou, when a Baidu robotaxi collided with two pedestrians. Videos shared on Chinese social media show one person trapped beneath the autonomous vehicle with another injured person nearby, with passersby working together to lift the car in an attempt to help. Local authorities said the vehicle marked with the slogan ‘Hello Autonomous Driving’ had just crossed a pedestrian crosswalk at the time of the crash. The two injured pedestrians — a man and a woman — were taken to the Hunan Provincial Hospital. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
08 December,2025 06:40 AM IST | Beijing | AgenciesThe White House on Saturday highlighted fresh momentum behind its immigration agenda, tying employment-related restrictions to its broader "America First" policy framework. In a post on X, the White House wrote, "AMERICA FIRST." It added, "President Trump is cracking down on work permits and tightening the vetting process." In line with this approach, the US government has rolled out enhanced screening requirements for H-1B visa applicants and their H-4 dependents, introducing mandatory social media checks from December 15. Under the new guidelines, applicants must change their social media accounts to a "public" setting so officials can review online activity as part of the visa assessment process. In an order issued Wednesday, the US State Department said, "To facilitate this vetting, all applicants for H-1B and their dependents (H-4), F, M, and J nonimmigrant visas are instructed to adjust the privacy settings on all of their social media profiles to 'public'." The department reiterated that obtaining a visa to enter the United States is "a privilege and not a right", noting, "Every visa adjudication is a national security decision." It said consular officers would rely on all available information to determine admissibility and assess security risks. It further noted that the United States "must be vigilant" to ensure that visa applicants do not intend to cause harm. The announcement has sparked concern among Indian nationals, who represent one of the largest groups of H-1B workers in the United States. The policy shift follows other immigration-related steps under President Donald Trump's administration, including efforts to address alleged misuse of the H-1B programme frequently utilised by US technology companies. Earlier in September, Trump issued a proclamation titled Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers, levying a one-time fee of USD 100,000 on new H-1B visa applications -- a move likely to affect Indian professionals seeking employment in the US. In another development, Washington has temporarily halted the processing of Green Card, citizenship and other immigration applications for nationals belonging to 19 "countries of concern" after a shooting incident involving an Afghan citizen. A US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) memorandum issued Tuesday directs officials to "place on hold" all asylum claims pending further review. The action was taken after a shooting in Washington DC that resulted in the death of US Army Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, 20, and left US Air Force Staff Sgt Andrew Wolfe, 24, critically injured. The suspect, identified as 29-year-old Lakanwal, reportedly arrived in the United States through Operation Allies Welcome, a programme set up for Afghan nationals following the 2021 Taliban takeover. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
07 December,2025 11:18 AM IST | Washington | ANIADVERTISEMENT
