MANDALAY: Myanmar declared a week of national mourning on Monday over the country’s devastating earthquake, as the death toll passed 2,000 and hopes faded of finding more survivors in the rubble of ruined buildings.
National flags will fly at half-mast until April 6 “in sympathy for the loss of life and damages” from Friday’s massive quake, the ruling junta said in a statement.
The junta also announced a minute’s silence on Tuesday, to begin at 12:51:02 p.m. (0621 GMT) — the precise time the 7.7-magnitude quake struck.
People should stop where they are to pay tribute to the victims, the junta said, while media should halt broadcasting and show mourning symbols, and prayers will be offered at temples and pagodas.
The announcement came as the tempo and urgency of rescue efforts wound down in Mandalay, one of the worst-affected cities and the country’s second-largest, with more than 1.7 million inhabitants.
“The situation is so dire that it’s hard to express what is happening,” said Aung Myint Hussein, chief administrator of Mandalay’s Sajja North mosque.
People prepared to camp out in the streets across Mandalay for a fourth successive night, either unable to return to ruined homes or nervous about the repeated aftershocks that rattled the city over the weekend.
Some have tents but many, including young children, have been bedding down on blankets in the middle of roads, trying to keep as far from buildings as possible for fear of falling masonry.
The junta said Monday that 2,056 have now been confirmed, with more than 3,900 people injured and 270 still missing, but the toll is expected to rise significantly.
Three Chinese nationals are among the dead, China’s state media said, along with two French people, according to the foreign ministry in Paris.
At least 19 deaths have been confirmed hundreds of kilometers away in Thailand’s capital Bangkok, where the force of the quake caused a 30-story tower block under construction to collapse.
Mandalay’s 1,000-bed general hospital has been evacuated, with hundreds of patients being treated outside.
Patients lay on gurneys in the hospital car park, many with only a thin tarpaulin rigged up to shield them from the fierce tropical sun.
Relatives did their best to comfort them, holding hands or waving bamboo fans over them.
“We’re trying to do what we can here. We are trying our best,” said one medic, who asked to remain anonymous.
The sticky heat has exhausted rescue workers and accelerated body decomposition, which could complicate identification.
But traffic began returning to the streets of Mandalay on Monday, and restaurants and street vendors resumed work.
Hundreds of Muslims gathered outside a destroyed mosque in the city for the first prayer of Eid Al-Fitr, the holiday that follows the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan.
The challenges facing the Southeast Asian country of more than 50 million people were immense even before the earthquake.
Myanmar has been ravaged by four years of civil war sparked by a military coup in 2021, with its economy shattered and health care and infrastructure badly damaged.
The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the quake a top-level emergency as it urgently sought $8 million to save lives, while the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies has launched an appeal for more than $100 million.
International aid and rescue teams have been arriving after junta chief Min Aung Hlaing made an exceptionally rare appeal for foreign assistance.
In the past, isolated Myanmar’s ruling generals have shunned foreign assistance, even after major natural disasters.
Junta spokesman Zaw Min Tun thanked key allies China and Russia for their help, as well as India, and said the authorities were doing their best.
“We are trying and giving treatment to injured people and searching for missing ones,” he told journalists.
But reports have emerged of the military carrying out air strikes on armed groups opposed to its rule, even as Myanmar grapples with the quake’s aftermath.
One ethnic minority armed group told AFP on Sunday that seven of its fighters were killed in an aerial attack soon after the quake, and there were reports of more air strikes on Monday.
Myanmar’s raging civil war, pitting the military against a complex array of anti-coup fighters and ethnic minority armed groups, has displaced around 3.5 million people.
In Bangkok, diggers continued to clear the vast pile of rubble at the site of the collapsed building.
Officials say they have not given up hope of finding more survivors in the wreckage, where 12 deaths have been confirmed and at least 75 people are still unaccounted for.
Myanmar declares week of mourning as quake toll passes 2,000
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Myanmar declares week of mourning as quake toll passes 2,000
- The figure was a sharp rise compared to the 1,002 announced just hours earlier, highlighting the difficulty of confirming casualties over a widespread region
- In neighboring Thailand, the death toll rose to 17 after the quake rocked the greater Bangkok area, home to around 17 million people, and other parts of the country
US Senate Republican pushes for congressional approval of president’s tariffs
- The Republican critics in Congress of Trump’s tariff moves remained a distinct minority
WASHINGTON: Republican US Senator Chuck Grassley introduced a bill on Thursday that would require congressional approval for new tariffs, the day after President Donald Trump unveiled sweeping new taxes on a vast array of imported goods.
Grassley, whose home state of Iowa relies heavily on the global agricultural trade, joined Democratic Senator Maria Cantwell of Washington for the “Trade Review Act of 2025” which would require Congress to sign off on new tariffs within 60 days of their imposition or automatically block their enforcement. The move, made the day after four other Senate Republicans voted for a measure that would lift Trump’s tariffs on Canadian goods, was the latest sign of dissent among Republicans as Trump’s aggressive moves fanned recessionary fears and sparked Wall Street’s worst day since 2022.
Neither Grassley’s bill nor the measure that passed the Senate on Wednesday were seen as likely to become law while Trump’s Republicans hold majorities in both the Senate and House of Representatives, where many of their members are voicing support for Trump’s moves.
Trump, who has long advocated for tariffs, said that the highest US trade barriers in more than a century would both raise federal revenue and drive manufacturing back to the US Economists have voiced deep skepticism about both possibilities.
Grassley, the longest-serving member of the US Senate, did not directly criticize Trump in introducing his bill. He noted that he had proposed a similar trade approach during Trump’s first administration, citing the US Constitution establishing congressional authority over trade issues, but that over time the legislature has ceded this power to the executive branch.
But some Republicans have indicated unease with parts of Trump’s tariff plans.
“I would have expected more targeted tariffs to meet the needs of where countries are taking advantage of us, and perhaps a more modest approach in the amounts,” Republican Senator Jerry Moran told reporters. He also expressed concerns that tariffs placed on US allies in Southeast Asia were similar to those placed on China, which he called a “damaging” economy to the US
Republican Senator James Lankford said he was surprised by the 17 percent tariff on Israel and hoped the US Trade Representative could explain why the tariff level on Israel was different from other countries. Republican senators Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, Rand Paul and Mitch McConnell — the chamber’s former Republican leader — provided the votes on Wednesday to pass Democratic Senator Tim Kaine’s disapproval resolution on the Trump trade approach toward Canada.
“Tariffs drive up the cost of goods and services. They are a tax on everyday working Americans,” McConnell said in a statement on Thursday.
About half of Americans, and one in five Republicans, believe that increasing tariffs on imports will do more harm than good, a Reuters/Ipsos poll completed on Wednesday found. The Republican critics in Congress of Trump’s tariff moves remained a distinct minority. Indeed, the House earlier this month passed a measure meant to strip Congress’ power to challenge new tariffs imposed by the president.
“The president has been talking about unfair trade against the United States for 40 years, so he’s been very consistent on this,” said Senator John Barrasso, the chamber’s No. 2 Republican. “Long-term, I think this is very important for the country, bringing jobs and manufacturing back to America, focusing on our economy.”
Grassley’s Democratic co-sponsor, Cantwell, said that Trump’s tariffs risked long-term damage to the US economy.
“We can’t afford a trade war that lasts for two or three years, leaving our product off the shelves,” Cantwell said. “We cannot have arbitrary policies that create chaos and uncertainty.”
Gaza heritage and destruction on display in Paris
- Bouffard said the damage to the known sites as well as treasures potentially hidden in unexplored Palestinian land “depends on the bomb tonnage and their impact on the surface and underground”
PARIS: A new exhibition opening in Paris on Friday showcases archaeological artifacts from Gaza, once a major commercial crossroads between Asia and Africa, whose heritage has been ravaged by Israel’s ongoing onslaught.
Around a hundred artifacts, including a 4,000-year-old bowl, a sixth-century mosaic from a Byzantine church and a Greek-inspired statue of Aphrodite, are on display at the Institut du Monde Arabe.
The rich and mixed collection speaks to Gaza’s past as a cultural melting pot, but the show’s creators also wanted to highlight the contemporary destruction caused by the war, sparked by Hamas’s attack on Israel in October 2023.
“The priority is obviously human lives, not heritage,” said Elodie Bouffard, curator of the exhibition, which is titled “Saved Treasures of Gaza: 5,000 Years of History.”
“But we also wanted to show that, for millennia, Gaza was the endpoint of caravan routes, a port that minted its own currency, and a city that thrived at the meeting point of water and sand,” she told AFP.
One section of the exhibition documents the extent of recent destruction.
Using satellite image, the UN’s cultural agency UNESCO has already identified damage to 94 heritage sites in Gaza, including the 13th-century Pasha’s Palace.
Bouffard said the damage to the known sites as well as treasures potentially hidden in unexplored Palestinian land “depends on the bomb tonnage and their impact on the surface and underground.”
“For now, it’s impossible to assess.”
The attacks by Hamas militants on Israel in 2023 left 1,218 dead. In retaliation, Israeli operations have killed more than 50,000 Palestinians and devastated the densely populated territory.
The story behind “Gaza’s Treasures” is inseparable from the ongoing wars in the Middle East.
At the end of 2024, the Institut du Monde Arabe was finalizing an exhibition on artifacts from the archaeological site of Byblos in Lebanon, but Israeli bombings on Beirut made the project impossible.
“It came to a sudden halt, but we couldn’t allow ourselves to be discouraged,” said Bouffard.
The idea of an exhibition on Gaza’s heritage emerged.
“We had just four and a half months to put it together. That had never been done before,” she explained.
Given the impossibility of transporting artifacts out of Gaza, the Institut turned to 529 pieces stored in crates in a specialized Geneva art warehouse since 2006. The works belong to the Palestinian Authority, which administers the West Bank.
The Oslo Accords of 1993, signed by the Palestine Liberation Organization and Israel, helped secure some of Gaza’s treasures.
In 1995, Gaza’s Department of Antiquities was established, which oversaw the first archaeological digs in collaboration with the French Biblical and Archaeological School of Jerusalem (EBAF).
Over the years, excavations uncovered the remains of the Monastery of Saint Hilarion, the ancient Greek port of Anthedon, and a Roman necropolis — traces of civilizations spanning from the Bronze Age to Ottoman influences in the late 19th century.
“Between Egypt, Mesopotamian powers, and the Hasmoneans, Gaza has been a constant target of conquest and destruction throughout history,” Bouffard noted.
In the 4th century BC, Greek leader Alexander the Great besieged the city for two months, leaving behind massacres and devastation.
Excavations in Gaza came to a standstill when Hamas took power in 2007 and Israel imposed a blockade.
Land pressure and rampant building in one of the world’s most densely populated areas has also complicated archaeological work.
And after a year and a half of war, resuming excavations seems like an ever-more distant prospect.
The exhibition runs until November 2, 2025.
Uganda’s president arrives in S.Sudan as crisis deepens
- The Ugandan leader, whose military was invited into South Sudan last month to help secure the capital, did not refer directly to the crisis in public remarks at the airport in Juba
NAIROBI: Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni arrived in neighboring South Sudan on Thursday, in the highest level mission there since clashes and the detention of the vice president triggered regional fears of a return to civil war.
Museveni was met at the airport by South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir, whose administration has accused First Vice President Riek Machar of stoking rebellion and put him under house arrest.
The Ugandan leader, whose military was invited into South Sudan last month to help secure the capital, did not refer directly to the crisis in public remarks at the airport in Juba.
The visit follows mediation missions by the African Union and an East African regional body this week to de-escalate the crisis.
Museveni told reporters he would hold talks “aimed at strengthening bilateral relations and enhancing cooperation between our two nations.”
Kiir said the two leaders would discuss “current political developments in the country.”
The standoff between Kiir and Machar, who led opposing forces in a 2013-2018 civil war that killed hundreds of thousands, has prompted the UN to warn that the world’s young nation could be on the brink of all-out conflict along ethnic lines.
Uganda backed Kiir’s forces during the civil war.
It sent troops last month amid fighting between South Sudan’s military and an ethnic Nuer militia in Upper Nile state in the northeast.
Machar’s predominantly Nuer forces were allied with the White Army militia during the civil war, but his party denies government accusations of ongoing links.
Uganda’s military chief, Muhoozi Kainerugaba, also Museveni’s son, said on Tuesday he had ordered Ugandan forces to stop attacking the White Army so long as it ceases offensives against Ugandan troops.
Machar’s party says the Ugandan intervention violates South Sudan’s arms embargo.
Analysts say Kiir, 73, appears to be attempting to shore up his position amid discontent within his political camp and speculation about his succession plan.
Italy plans $22 million for migrant repatriations
- The ministry said the plan would benefit “around 3,300 of the most vulnerable migrants, carrying out their repatriation to their countries of origin sustainably and effectively”
ROME: Italy plans to invest 20 million euros ($22 million) in a new project to help Algeria, Libya, and Tunisia send irregular migrants from their territories back to the migrants’ countries of origin.
The government of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has vowed to cut irregular migration to Italy’s shores from North Africa — the majority of whom depart from Libya and Tunisia.
However, many migrants who depart hail from other countries, especially sub-Saharan African countries.
Italy’s new plan “focuses on strengthening the institutional and administrative-managerial capacities of the partner countries,” with the involvement of 400 officials, Italy’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Irregular migration would be better addressed “through the improvement and development of assisted voluntary repatriations from Algeria, Libya and Tunisia to the countries of origin,” it said.
It said the project would collaborate with the International Organization for Migration to ensure migrants’ rights.
The ministry said the plan would benefit “around 3,300 of the most vulnerable migrants, carrying out their repatriation to their countries of origin sustainably and effectively.”
It said Italy’s Agency for Development Cooperation, which helps carry out development activities, would provide technical support.
The agency has also been charged with another plan targeted at the “socio-economic reintegration of returning migrants,” tapping Italian companies and civil society groups, it said.
Most migrants arriving in Italy via the Mediterranean depart from Libya and Tunisia.
Italy has agreements with both countries to provide funding in exchange for help stemming departures.
On Wednesday, Libyan authorities said they would suspend the work of 10 international humanitarian groups, including Doctors Without Borders, accusing them of a plan to “settle migrants” from other parts of Africa in the country.
Driver of car in Amsterdam explosion may have been attempting suicide, police say
- Police arrested the man, a 50-year old Dutchman, on suspicion of arson
- Nobody was hurt in the incident except the suspect
AMSTERDAM: Dutch police said they believed the driver of a car that caught fire on Thursday following an explosion in central Amsterdam may have been attempting to commit suicide.
Police arrested the man, a 50-year old Dutchman, on suspicion of arson. Nobody was hurt in the incident except the suspect.
“Police detectives are keeping all scenarios open but have strong suspicions that the man wanted to take his own life,” police said on the social media platform X.
Earlier, police said camera footage had shown the fire was caused by an explosion, which happened among a crowd of people on Amsterdam’s busy Dam Square.
Images on social media show a man with burning clothes close to a small red car with flames billowing from its windows.
Police are seen extinguishing the flames on the man before taking him into custody.
Police sealed off the square while explosives experts investigated the vehicle. It was later removed from the square.
Last week, a man injured five people near Dam Square in a stabbing rampage. Police identified the suspect in that incident as a 30-year-old Ukrainian national from the eastern Donetsk region, who prosecutors said had acted with terrorist intent.
