‘Our minds are blank’: how ‘earthquake resilient’ Japan fails its ageing rural communities

A man walks through the ruins of a shopping district in the city of Wajima, Ishikawa prefecture, Japan after an earthquake. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images

Older people living in isolated places and outdated homes face enormous danger when disaster strikes

Justin McCurry in Tokyo

here was an unfamiliar feel to the scenes that greeted residents and rescue workers in central Japan after sunrise on Tuesday. The previous afternoon, a 7.6 magnitude earthquake had jolted the region with violent shaking that went on for more than a minute, but must have felt like a lifetime to families relaxing in front of the TV on New Year’s Day.

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Wave of drug-carrying drones flying into India from Pakistan, officials say

Fencing along the tightly guarded India-Pakistan border near Attari, Punjab. Photograph: Aakash Hassan/The Guardian

Border officers say most drones carry opium and heroin, fuelling a drugs crisis in Punjab, while others drop weapons

Indian border security have said they are battling an unprecedented “drone menace” infiltrating the border with Pakistan, fuelling the drugs crisis in the state of Punjab and raising serious security issues.

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