Independent · Printed Daily · Est. 2026

The Daily Dispatch

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Lead Story

Kumamoto earthquake death toll climbs past 20 as rescuers race the clock in Japan

Two days after a magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck Kyushu, Japanese officials said the confirmed death toll had risen past 20, with dozens more feared dead or unaccounted for and five people listed in critical condition. At least five of the deaths were caused by the gas explosion that brought down part of an Aeon shopping mall in Kashima, and another five workers died at a Nippon Paper Industries mill in Yatsushiro. More than 60 people have been injured. Rural communities across Kumamoto prefecture are struggling to restore power, water, and rail service as search-and-rescue crews comb the rubble of collapsed buildings and a toppled factory chimney.

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Iran escalates drone and missile strikes on Iraqi Kurdistan, drawing coalition air-defense fire

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has launched at least 14 drone and missile strikes since Monday against Iranian Kurdish opposition camps inside Iraq's Kurdistan region, hitting bases belonging to the Komala Party of Toilers of Kurdistan, the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan, and a facility linked to the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan. The barrage has also repeatedly targeted the vicinity of Erbil International Airport, which hosts US-led coalition forces, and the US Consulate General in Erbil, prompting American and British air-defense systems to intercept incoming drones. The escalation follows the wider 2026 Iran war and comes as Tehran also traded fire with US forces elsewhere in the Middle East this week.

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UN warns record Ebola outbreak in eastern Congo is deepening a hunger crisis for millions

The UN's senior Ebola coordinator, Julien Harneis, said the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak ever recorded is worsening food insecurity across conflict-torn eastern Congo, where the World Food Programme warns nearly 10 million people have been pushed into crisis or emergency levels of hunger. The outbreak, caused by the Bundibugyo virus for which no vaccine or treatment is yet approved, has recorded more than 3,300 confirmed cases and over 1,400 deaths, with dozens of new deaths reported in the past 24 hours alone. Harneis said Congo's $2.1 billion humanitarian appeal is only 45% funded and that the separate Ebola response appeal is being revised upward as the outbreak spreads from two provinces to four.

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