Number of dead and missing still unclear as first aid arrives in quake-hit Pacific nation of Vanuatu

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Amid the havoc wrought by a violent earthquake two days earlier, Ivan Oswald and his staff prepared for lunchtime service Thursday at Nambawan Cafe, on an idyllic stretch of Vanuatu’s waterfront.

The menu for the usual lunchtime rush was replaced with defrosted sausages for emergency workers sifting through rubble in search of those trapped alive or killed in flattened buildings when the massive, 7.3 jolt hit Port Vila, Vanuatu’s capital 48 hours earlier. Search crews were joined Thursday by specialists arriving in waves from Australia, New Zealand and France.

Earthquakes are normal for the South Pacific nation made up of 80 islands and home to 330,000 people, but Tuesday’s terrifying shake was like nothing residents had felt before. Centered 30 kilometers (19 miles) offshore, at a depth of 57 kilometers (35 miles), the quake was followed by hundreds of rattling aftershocks.

The death toll was still unclear and official information remained scarce.

The government initially confirmed 14 deaths. Early on Friday, it said 10 had been verified by the hospital -- but officials expected the number would rise. More than 200 injured people were treated, officials said, but that figure has not been updated since around early Wednesday.

Nearly 1,000 people have been displaced, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said, with that number too likely to grow.

On Thursday, telecommunications -- though piecemeal and patchy -- were more widely restored after a near total blackout following the quake. It offered residents of Vanuatu answers about the scale of the damage and about how many people were missing.

As word got around that Nambawan had power and an independent internet source, rescuers, tourists and locals visited to charge devices and attempt to locate their relatives.

“We've had a few tears,” said Oswald, the cafe's owner. “I can't help with the rescue, but I can help with this.”

The extent of the damage became clearer on Thursday. The worst-hit area was Port Vila's downtown, busy with lunchtime shoppers on Tuesday. Some outlying islands and villages near the quake's epicenter have experienced landslides.

Infrastructure damage was extensive, including to hospitals, roads, buildings, two major water reservoirs and gas pipes. Response efforts were hampered by access problems.

A massive landslide has blocked the sea port, limiting the transport of essential supplies and personnel, the UN humanitarian agency said. The airport was open only for aid flights on Thursday, but the runway has been deemed operational and the resumption of commercial services will be considered on Friday.

But risk of more serious slips loomed as rain began late Thursday night. A low pressure system moving towards Vanuatu threatened a low to medium chance of a cyclone, according to the Bureau of Meteorology, and more rain was expected in coming days.

That could prompt further landslides, erosion and floods in already vulnerable areas, officials said, as they warned those living on hillsides to evacuate. An urgent environmental assessment was needed to prevent an ecological disaster, the UN update early Friday said.

Aid agencies told The Associated Press on Wednesday that their biggest worries were about drinking water and shelter for those unable to return home. The main utilities provider, UNELCO, said it could take two weeks to fully restore water service, according to the Vanuatu Broadcasting and Television Corporation.

The hunt for survivors and recovery of bodies centered on two collapsed buildings in the city center, with Australian search experts on Thursday joining locals who had desperately dug for people yelling out from the crumpled structures. After dramatic rescues of dust-covered survivors that lifted spirits on Tuesday and Wednesday, the mood had become bleaker about the prospects for those trapped, residents said.

It was not known how many people remained in the buildings — a garage and a surf clothing store. Among the dead was a French national, Vincent Goiset, said Jean-Baptiste Jeangène Vilmer, France's ambassador to Vanuatu.

Two Chinese nationals were also killed, Vanuatu officials said.

Another building housing embassies for several countries — including the United States, France and New Zealand — also crumpled, but no casualties were reported. Military flights evacuated 148 Australian nationals from Vanuatu late on Wednesday.

Hundreds more foreigners waited for commercial flights to resume so they could leave. The quake at the start of the summer season in the tourism-dependent island nation threatened an economic crisis if tourists did not return, said Glen Craig, chair of the Vanuatu Business Resilience Council.

“We've had such bad luck,” said Craig, referring to the three cyclones that struck in 2023 and the collapse of Vanuatu's national airline in May. “We were just getting back on our feet and we were really looking forward to a bumper summer.”

In this photo released by Australian Department of Defence, Australians disembark from an aircraft at RAAF Base Amberley, Australia after a flight home from Port Vila, Vanuatu, Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024, following a powerful earthquake that struck just off the coast of Vanuatu in the South Pacific Ocean. (CPL Adam Abela/Australian Department of Defence via AP)

In this photo released by Australian Department of Defence, Australian citizens board a Royal Australian Air Force aircraft for a flight home from Bauerfield International Airport, Port Vila, Vanuatu, Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024 following a powerful earthquake that struck just off the coast of Vanuatu in the South Pacific Ocean. (CPL Adam Abela/Australian Department of Defence via AP)

In this photo released by Australian Department of Defence, Australian citizens board a Royal Australian Air Force aircraft for a flight home from Bauerfield International Airport, Port Vila, Vanuatu, Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024 following a powerful earthquake that struck just off the coast of Vanuatu in the South Pacific Ocean. (CPL Adam Abela/Australian Department of Defence via AP)

Josephine Taut makes sausages for emergency workers at Nambawan Cafe in Port Vila, Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024, following a strong earthquake that struck off the coast of Vanuatu in the South Pacific Ocean, Tuesday, Dec. 17. (Ivan Oswald via AP)

Australian citizen's are briefed on evacuation plans in Port Vila, Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024, following a magnitude 7.3 earthquake that struck off the coast of Vanuatu in the South Pacific Ocean, Tuesday, Dec. 17. (DFAT via AP)

Australian citizen's are briefed on evacuation plans in Port Vila, Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024, following a magnitude 7.3 earthquake that struck off the coast of Vanuatu in the South Pacific Ocean, Tuesday, Dec. 17. (DFAT via AP)

Damage to the inside of the Nambawan Cafe in Port Vila, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024, following a strong earthquake that struck just off the coast of Vanuatu in the South Pacific Ocean. (Ivan Oswald via AP)

Damage to the inside of the Nambawan Cafe in Port Vila, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024, following a strong earthquake that struck just off the coast of Vanuatu in the South Pacific Ocean. (Ivan Oswald via AP)

Members of Australia's Federal Police and other rescue workers stand by a collapsed building in Port Vila, Vanuatu, Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024, following a magnitude 7.3 earthquake that struck just off the coast of Vanuatu in the South Pacific Ocean, Tuesday, Dec. 17. (Australian Federal Police via AP)

A member of Australia's Federal Police stands by a collapsed building in Port Vila, Vanuatu, Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024, following a magnitude 7.3 earthquake that struck off the coast of Vanuatu in the South Pacific Ocean, Tuesday, Dec. 17. (Australian Federal Police via AP)

MOSCOW (AP) — President Vladimir Putin boasted that his military operation in Ukraine has strengthened Russia and denied that the ouster of key ally Bashar Assad in Syria had hurt Moscow’s prestige, as he held his annual news conference and call-in show Thursday.

He used the tightly choreographed event, which lasted for about 4 1/2 hours, to reinforce his authority and demonstrate a sweeping command of everything from consumer prices to military hardware.

He claimed that sending troops into Ukraine in 2022 has boosted Russia’s military and economic power. He also said that if he could go back in time, he “would have thought that such a decision should have been made earlier,” and Russia should have “prepared for it in advance and more thoroughly.”

"Russia has become much stronger over the past two or three years because it has become a truly sovereign country,” he said. “We are standing firm in terms of economy, we are strengthening our defense potential and our military capability now is the strongest in the world.”

Putin, who has held power for nearly a quarter-century and began another six-year term earlier this year, said the military was “advancing toward achieving our goals” in what he calls the special military operation in Ukraine.

In response to a question about a new hypersonic ballistic missile that Russia used for the first time last month to strike Ukraine, Putin scoffed at claims by some Western experts that it could be intercepted by NATO’s air defenses.

He mockingly challenged Ukraine’s allies to a “high-tech duel,” suggesting that Moscow could give advance notice of a strike on Kyiv with the Oreshnik missile and see if the West could protect the city.

“Let them select a target, possibly in Kyiv, put their air defense assets there and we shall strike it with the Oreshnik,” he said with a dry smile. “Let’s see what happens.”

Russia is making steady, if slow, advances in Ukraine, but has also suffered embarrassing setbacks. On Tuesday, Lt. Gen Igor Kirillov was killed by a bomb planted outside his apartment building in Moscow — a brazen assassination claimed by Ukraine that brought the conflict once again to the streets of the Russian capital.

Putin described Kirillov’s killing as a “major blunder” of Russia’s security agencies, noting they should learn from it and improve their efficiency.

Moscow's troops are also battling Ukrainian forces in the Russian region of Kursk, where they have launched an incursion. Asked when they would drive the Ukrainians out, Putin said “we will certainly kick them out” but wouldn’t say how long it would take.

The show, which is broadcast live by state-controlled TV across Russia’s 11 time zones, usually is dominated by domestic issues, with journalists and ordinary people calling in to ask about soaring consumer prices and mortgages, paltry pensions and shortage of doctors. But the Russian leader is particularly watched for his answers on foreign affairs.

In a flourish typical of the marathon news conferences, he asked members of the audience to unfurl a banner presented to him by marines fighting in Kursk as he spoke about Ukraine.

Putin said he was open to possible talks with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, who has pledged to negotiate a deal to end the conflict in Ukraine.

“If we meet with Mr. Trump, we will have things to discuss,” he said, without elaborating.

Putin said Russia is open for compromise in potential peace talks on Ukraine.

“Politics is the art of compromise,” he said. “We have always said that we are ready for both talks and compromises.” At the same time, Putin added that the talks should be based on “the situation on the ground” referring to some of the conditions he previously laid out.

Putin has previously demanded that Ukraine renounce its bid to join NATO and recognize Russia’s gains. Kyiv and the West have rejected those demands.

In his first comments on Assad’s downfall, Putin said that he hadn’t yet met the former Syrian ruler, whom he has given asylum in Moscow, but plans to. He said will ask him about Austin Tice, an American journalist who went missing in Syria 12 years ago.

“We also can pose the question to people who control the situation on the ground in Syria,” Putin said, in response to a question from NBC’s Keir Simmons, who cited a letter he said Tice’s mother wrote to the Russian leader seeking assistance.

Moscow has sought to establish contacts with the rebels who ousted Assad to secure its diplomatic and military personnel in the country and try to extend the lease on its air and naval bases in the country.

But it’s unclear how much influence Russia will have in Syria. Assad’s fall has dealt it a painful blow since Russia has fought for nine years to prop him up in the country’s civil war.

Still, Putin denied the events had weakened Moscow, arguing that it has achieved the goal of destroying “terrorist” groups in Syria via an air campaign launched in support of Assad in 2015. He claimed that rebel groups that were fighting against Assad have changed and the West is now ready to establish ties with them.

“That means that our goals have been achieved,” Putin said.

He described Israel as the “main beneficiary” of Assad’s downfall, noting the deployment of Israeli troops in southern Syria. He voiced hope that Israel will eventually withdraw those forces but noted it is still building them up.

He said Moscow will talk to the new authorities in Syria about possibly extending the presence of Russian bases in the country.

“If we stay there, we will need to do something in the interests of the host country,” he said, adding that Moscow offered to use its Hemeimeen air base and a naval base in Tartus for humanitarian aid deliveries. “What those interests could be, what could we do for them is an issue to be thoroughly examined by both parties.”

He noted the Syrian army offered little resistance to the opposition offensive and said Russia flew 4,000 Iranian troops from its Hemeimeem air base to Tehran.

Putin began the session by saying that Russia’s economy is on track to grow by nearly 4% this year. He acknowledged that consumer prices are high, with inflation at 9.3%, but insisted that the economic situation remains “stable.”

Putin dodged a question about abortion and pornography in Russia, as well as burying the body of Soviet Union founder Vladmir Lenin, which has been displayed in a mausoleum on Red Square for nearly a century.

Asked about President Joe Biden’s decision to pardon his son, Hunter, to spare him a possible prison sentence for felony gun and tax convictions, Putin said he wouldn’t criticize the U.S. leader.

“As for Biden, he’s a politician, and it’s always important which side prevails: political or human,” he said. “It turned out that there was more human in Biden. I wouldn’t condemn him for this.”

The annual show is as much spectacle as news conference. Journalists in the hall near the Kremlin wave colorful signs and placards to attract Putin’s attention.

Russian state media reported that ordinary citizens submitted more than 2 million questions ahead of the show.

An electronic billboard on a building shows Russian President Vladimir Putin giving his annual news conference and call-in show in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Dmitry Serebryakov)

An electronic billboard on a building shows Russian President Vladimir Putin giving his annual news conference and call-in show in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024, with the Moscow City in the background. (AP Photo/Dmitry Serebryakov)

Russian President Vladimir Putin smiles during his annual news conference and call-in show at Gostinny Dvor in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024. (Gavriil Grigorov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

Russian President Vladimir Putin gestures while speaking during his annual news conference and call-in show at Gostinny Dvor in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during his annual news conference and call-in show at Gostinny Dvor in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during his annual news conference and call-in show at Gostinny Dvor in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during his annual news conference and call-in show at Gostinny Dvor in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

Russian President Vladimir Putin prepares to his annual news conference and call-in show at Gostinny Dvor in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during his annual news conference and call-in show at Gostinny Dvor in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)