Sinkhole swallows truck in Japan, trapping driver inside
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(TOKYO) — The oval-shaped pit suddenly formed on a busy road in Yashio, Japan, taking down a truck and trapping the driver inside. Emergency crews battled unstable ground and debris.
The crater is about 30 feet wide and 16 feet deep. It formed in a well-traveled area of Saitama Prefecture, just outside Tokyo, Japan’s capital. While Tokyo is a global economic hub, Saitama is more residential.
Authorities say the driver, a man, is inside the cab and is in communication with firefighters. However, his truck’s front end appeared lodged in dirt, making the rescue difficult.
Locals appeared stunned. One woman described hearing a thunderous boom, running outside and seeing a hole where the road had been: “I could still see part of the truck at first, but then it kept sinking … and sinking … and then it was just gone.”
Another man, on his way to grab lunch, said he was just as shocked: “I drive this road all the time. Now I don’t know if it’s even safe to use anymore.”
Firefighters have deployed a crane and ropes. The walls of the hole are fragile, making the operation dangerous. Police have shut down roads in the area, fearing more collapses. Status of the driver is unclear.
The cause of the sinkhole is also not clear, but officials are investigating whether underground pipes, recent weather, or construction may have contributed.
Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, hands over Israeli hostage Keith Samuel Siegel in Gaza Port to the International Committee of the Red Cross on Saturday as part of the ongoing prisoner exchange deal in Gaza City, Gaza on February 01, 2025. (Photo by Dawoud Abo Alkas/Anadolu via Getty Images)
(LONDON) — American Keith Siegel has been released from captivity Saturday morning.
His release took place in Gaza City where he was taken onto a stage wearing a cap, flanked by masked and armed Hamas forces with the waters of the Mediterranean and the destroyed port behind them.
A crowd watched calmly from a short distance away while Hamas photographers on stage and drones above filmed the release.
Siegel walked on his own power, and he will now undergo medical checks before being reunited with his family shortly.
“According to information communicated by the Red Cross, one hostage was transferred to them, and they are on their way to IDF and ISA forces in the Gaza Strip,” read a joint statement from the IDF and the ISA.
Earlier on Saturday, two other hostages were turned over to the Red Cross in Khan Younis, Ofer Kalderon and Yarden Bibas.
Both walked onto a stage flanked by armed and masked Hamas fighter and then taken into waiting while Red Cross SUVs where they were driven out and handed over to Israeli authorities.
The release on Saturday has looked different from previous releases and was done more orderly with the crowd kept back at a distance.
Keith Siegel, who is originally from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, was taken hostage along with his wife, Aviva Siegel in 2023. She was released during the brief 2023 ceasefire and has waged a long campaign to free her husband and the other hostages.
“The commanders and soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces salute and embrace the returning hostage as he makes his way home to the State of Israel,” a joint statement from the IDF and ISA read. “The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit asks everyone to respect the privacy of the returning hostage and his family.”
“The Israeli government embraces the return of Keith Siegel,” read a statement from the Israeli prime minister’s office. “His families have been informed by the designated authorities that he is a member of our forces. The government, together with all security agencies, will accompany him and his families. The Israeli government is committed to the return of all abducted and missing persons.”
Siegel’s family released a statement shortly after he crossed over into Israel, saying they are “filled with indescribable excitement” and thanked President Trump “for bringing our father back to us.”
“At this very moment, our father is setting foot on the soil of the Land of Israel, and we are filled with indescribable excitement. Finally, after 484 long, terrifying days and nights, full of immense worry for our father, we can breathe again,” the statement read.
“Thank you President Trump, for bringing our father back to us. There are now 79 hostages who are also waiting to be reunited with their loved ones. Our hope rests with you. We also wish to thank the governments of Israel and the United States for bringing this blessed deal to fruition—a deal that prioritizes human life and embodies Jewish and Israeli values.”
“We are grateful to the incredible IDF soldiers and security forces who risk their lives and bodies, and we send our condolences to the bereaved families who have lost their most precious loved ones for the sake of us all,” the statement continued. “You will forever be in our hearts. Only together can we bring everyone home!”
Viktor Kovalchuk/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images
(LONDON) — President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine called on Western partners to apply more pressure to Russia after an overnight ballistic missile and drone strike killed at least one person and set multiple fires in the capital Kyiv.
“Apartment buildings, office buildings and civilian infrastructure were damaged,” Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram. “All our services are working on the ground, helping people and eliminating the consequences of this terror.”
“Unfortunately, as of now, one person has died in Kyiv,” he added. “Four more were injured, including a child. My condolences to the family and friends.”
Ukraine’s air force reported downing six out of seven ballistic missiles fired at Kyiv and the central city of Kryvyi Rih — Zelenskyy’s home town. The air force said Russia also launched 123 strike drones into Ukraine, of which 71 were shot down and 40 were lost in flight.
Viacheslav Chaus, the governor of Ukraine’s Chernihiv Oblast, said two people were injured in a Russian drone strike on a critical infrastructure facility. Serhiy Lysak, the governor of the Dnipropetrovsk Regional Military Administration, said the missile attack on Kryvyi Rih damaged infrastructure, high-rise residential, administrative and educational buildings.
Zelenskyy called on Western partners to apply greater pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin in response to the latest round of strikes, which came as both sides maneuver for an expected revival in peace talks after almost three years of full-scale war.
“This Russian terror against Ukraine will not stop on its own,” Zelenskyy wrote. “Putin is not preparing for peace — he continues to kill Ukrainians and destroy cities.”
“Only strong steps and pressure on Russia can stop this terror,” the Ukrainian leader said. “Right now, we need unity and support from all our partners in the fight for a just end to this war.”
The latest barrage came only hours after Steve Witkoff — President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy — flew to Moscow to facilitate the release of jailed American Mark Fogel. Fogel, 63, had been serving a 14-year prison sentence in a Russian prison colony after being arrested in 2021 on drug charges.
Trump later told reporters he thought Fogel’s return could advance negotiations to end Russia’s war on Ukraine. “I want to get the war ended,” Trump said.
Moscow has continued nightly drone and missile attacks ahead of potentially pivotal meetings between U.S. and Ukrainian officials this week.
Trump’s Russia-Ukraine envoy Keith Kellogg is due in Ukraine this week, while Vice President JD Vance is set to travel to the Munich Security Conference next weekend where Zelenskyy will lead Ukraine’s delegation.
Andriy Kovalenko, the head of the Counter-Disinformation Center operating as part of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, said on Telegram that “every public statement by the West about ‘progress’ in the movement towards peace is accompanied by missile strikes by the Russian Federation.”
Kovalenko suggested Putin would continue to employ such tactics through 2025. “These are methods of diplomacy that are closely intertwined with the front,” he wrote.
Ukraine is also continuing its long-range strike campaign into Russia. The Defense Ministry in Moscow said on Telegram on Wednesday that it downed seven Ukrainian drones over the western Belgorod and Kursk regions during the previous 24 hours.
ABC News’ Joe Simonetti and Max Uzol contributed to this report.
(MADRID) — Former Spanish soccer federation president Luis Rubiales has been found guilty of sexual assault of stemming from his nonconsensual kiss of footballer Jenni Hermoso at the 2023 World Cup Final.
Spain beat England 1-0, taking home the 2023 World Cup title. Rubiales kissed Hermoso without her consent during the team’s trophy ceremony, which was captured on video and in photos.
Rubiales was suspended from his position in August 2023 after the incident. Nearly the entire coaching staff has resigned amid the controversy.
Rubiales had claimed that the kiss was consensual, but Hermoso publicly denied that claim.
After refusing to resign amid pressure from the Spanish government, players, soccer clubs and officials, he later resigned from his position. In October 2023, Rubiales was banned by FIFA from all soccer activities for three years.
The incident triggered protests and fed into the wider discussion about sexism and consent.
Rubiales could face more than a year in prison.
Last year, a judge said there was enough evidence for Rubiales and three other former executives with the Royal Spanish Football Federation to go to trial.
Prosecutors asked for a two-and-a-half-year sentence for Rubiales, arguing he held Hermoso’s head without her consent and that the nonconsensual kiss had personal and professional consequences for the soccer player, prosecutors told ABC News. He could also face a fine of at least 50,000 euros ($54,000), prosecutors said.
Prosecutors asked for Rubiales to be prohibited from communicating with or coming within a 200-meter radius of Hermoso.
The prosecutor’s office said it also requested one-and-a-half years in prison for the three former executives who the judge said may have put pressure on Hermoso to say it was a consensual kiss.
-ABC News’ Aicha El Hammar Castano contributed to this report
