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Death toll rises after powerful quake hits central Philippines

MANILA (Reuters) — The death toll from a powerful 6.9-magnitude earthquake in the central Philippines has risen to 27 with more than 140 people injured, and officials on Wednesday warned the numbers could climb further as rescuers access collapsed buildings.

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The earthquake struck off the coast of Bogo City in Cebu province in the central Visayas region just before 10 p.m. on Tuesday, causing power outages and bringing down buildings, including a church that was more than 100 years old.

Cebu province, one of the Philippines’ most popular tourist destinations, is home to 3.4 million people. Mactan-Cebu International Airport, the country’s second busiest gateway, remained operational.

The quake struck hardest in northern Cebu, including San Remigio, which was placed under a state of calamity to facilitate response and relief efforts.

Alfie Reynes, vice mayor of San Remigio, appealed for food and water for evacuees, as well as heavy equipment to aid search and rescue workers.

“It is raining heavily and there is no electricity so we really need help, especially in the northern part because there’s a scarcity of water after supply lines were damaged by the earthquake,” Reynes told DZMM radio.

In the neighboring city of Bogo, near the epicenter of the quake, hospital patients were evacuated and strong aftershocks forced many residents to stay in evacuation centers and out on the streets.

Earthquake monitoring agencies put the quake’s depth at around 10 km (6.2 miles) and recorded multiple aftershocks, the strongest having a magnitude of 6. There was no tsunami threat following the quake.

Nicole Kidman to divorce Keith Urban after nearly 20 years

(NYT) — Oscar-winning actress Nicole Kidman filed for divorce Tuesday from her Grammy-winning singer husband, Keith Urban, after nearly 20 years of marriage, according to court records.

In a filing in circuit court in Davidson County, Tennessee, in Nashville, where the entertainment power couple have lived, Kidman, 58, cited irreconcilable differences in her request to end the marriage.

Reports of their split started circulating Monday, after celebrity gossip website TMZ covered the news. The couple have two daughters together.

Kidman and Urban, 57, met in January 2005, when both were being honored at G’Day L.A., an annual gala in Los Angeles hosted by the American Australian Association.

“It sounds a bit like a pickup line from ‘Crocodile Dundee,’” Urban said during a speech last year when Kidman was honored with a lifetime achievement award from the American Film Institute.

“I was trying to play it cool, but inside I felt like I’d snuck into the royal ball,” he said. Kidman had an “otherworldly aura about her,” he added. “I felt a bit like I was meeting a real-life princess.”

After their first meeting, Urban almost felt too intimidated to call her. “I was scared!” he said when they appeared together on a 2017 episode of “The Graham Norton Show.”

A few months after meeting, they started dating. In May 2006, Kidman confirmed their engagement to People magazine and said, “He’s very good to me.” The couple married in Australia a month later.

About four months after the wedding, Urban said he had checked himself into rehab and stayed for three months. “I deeply regret the hurt this has caused Nicole and the ones that love and support me,” he said at the time.