World

Mandalay, Myanmar - 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 pm (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 kilometres away in Thailand's capital Bangkok, where the force of the quake caused a 30-storey tower block under construction to collapse.

Outdoor hospital 

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.

Humanitarian crisis 

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 healthcare 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.

Washington — The clock is ticking down to Donald Trump's "Liberation Day" when the US president has threatened to unleash a wide range of tariffs against countries running persistent trade imbalances with the United States.

The move -- which comes as Trump has been making unprecedented use of presidential powers -- is driven by his insistence that the world's biggest economy has been "ripped off by every country in the world" and his conviction that reciprocal tariffs are needed to restore parity.

But critics warn that the strategy risks a global trade war, provoking further retaliation by major trading partners like China, Canada and the European Union.

The size of the levies to be announced on Wednesday will vary from country to country -- depending on the duties they impose on US goods through import tariffs and other factors like value-added taxes. But the precise plans remain murky.

"Expect the unexpected," said Ryan Sweet, chief US economist at Oxford Economics.

He expects the Trump administration to "take aim at some of the largest offenders."

But what matters ultimately is how broad-based the tariffs are and whether the tool is merely a negotiating tactic or part of a regime shift, he said.

Trump on Sunday dashed hopes he might scale back on his threatened tariffs, saying they would include "all countries."

"You'd start with all countries, so let's see what happens," the president told reporters onboard Air Force One.

"We've been talking about all countries, not a cutoff," he said, insisting however that his tariffs would be "far more generous" than those levied against the United States.

US trade partners have been rushing to minimize their exposure ahead of Trump's deadline, with reports suggesting India might lower some duties.

Besides the reciprocal country tariffs, Trump could also unveil additional sector-specific levies on the likes of pharmaceuticals and semiconductors.

These would come on top of new auto levies due to take effect Thursday.

Already, China and Canada have imposed counter-tariffs on US goods in response to Trump's earlier actions, while the EU unveiled its own measures due to start in mid-April.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney told Trump his government would impose retaliatory tariffs after Washington's action Wednesday.

‘Dirty 15' 

Before Trump's comments on Sunday, the upcoming salvo had been expected to target the 15 percent of partners that have persistent trade imbalances with the United States, a group that US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called a "Dirty 15."

The United States has its biggest goods deficits with parties including China, the EU, Mexico, Vietnam, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Canada and India.

With countries seeking compromise, it is "entirely possible" for fresh tariffs to be swiftly reduced or put on hold, said Greta Peisch, partner at law firm Wiley Rein.

In February, she noted, steep levies on Mexican and Canadian imports were paused for a month as the North American neighbors furthered negotiations.

"There are many different scenarios: delays while talks continue, potential reductions or tariffs being put in place immediately," said Peisch, a former official at the US Trade Representative's office.

Trump has previously said the April 2 tariffs would be "very lenient," adding that "there'll be flexibility."

‘Dark cloud' 

But Sweet of Oxford Economics warned that a "dark cloud of uncertainty" hangs over the economy.

Some domestic steel manufacturers and union leaders have welcomed Trump's recent tariff hikes on metals and autos.

But while his proposals are meant to revitalize American industry, they have alarmed many other industries.

The American Automotive Policy Council, which represents carmakers Ford, General Motors and Stellantis, cited a report Friday by economist Arthur Laffer, which noted that 25-percent auto tariffs stand to raise US vehicle costs and disrupt supply chains.

While stressing its commitment to Trump's economic vision, the council urged for "a fair and predictable trade environment."

In a letter Thursday, the International Fresh Produce Association cautioned that proposed US tariffs and other countries' retaliation threaten the stability of farmers and businesses.

And the National Retail Federation warned in February that reciprocal tariffs could prove "extremely disruptive," warning of higher costs to households and an erosion of their spending power.

More broadly, companies tend to hold off on investments when rules are unclear and this could weigh on hiring, Sweet said.

Economists also warn that sweeping tariffs could cause a spike in inflation if companies fail to absorb additional costs, passing them on to consumers.

When it comes to legal authorities, Peisch told AFP that Trump could invoke emergency economic powers again to impose reciprocal tariffs.

He could also tap Section 301 of the Trade Act to start country-by-country investigations, the same authority he used to target China in his first presidency.

Bangkok — A powerful earthquake has killed more than 1,700 people in war-torn Myanmar and neighbouring Thailand and caused widespread damage.

Here is what we know about relief efforts:

China 

China sent an 82-person team of rescuers to Myanmar on Saturday, Beijing said. On Sunday, state-run Xinhua news agency said a 118-member search and rescue team had also arrived. 

A separate rescue team arrived in Myanmar's commercial hub Yangon on Saturday, state media said.

The Chinese government will also provide Myanmar with 100 million yuan ($13.8 million) in emergency humanitarian assistance, with shipments to begin Monday, its international aid agency said Saturday.

Hong Kong 

A 51-person team from Hong Kong has arrived in Myanmar, the financial hub's government said Sunday. The city also sent two search and rescue dogs and equipment, including life detectors.

The city has earmarked HK$30 million ($3.8 million) for emergency relief support to Myanmar, it said in a statement.

India 

An Indian aid flight landed in Myanmar on Saturday, with more on the way.

Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said a military transport plane had been dispatched carrying hygiene kits, blankets and food parcels.

"A search and rescue team and medical team is also accompanying this flight," he added.

Four more aircraft were being sent with personnel and equipment, as well as two navy ships, officials said.

WHO 

The World Health Organization has mobilised its logistics hub in Dubai to prepare trauma injury supplies and triggered its emergency management response.

On Sunday it said the quake was a top-level crisis and announced it was urgently seeking $8 million to save lives and prevent disease outbreaks over the next 30 days.

Red Cross 

The local Myanmar Red Cross Society has mobilised trained volunteers to provide help, launching search and rescue efforts, administering first aid, distributing emergency relief items and deploying mobile health teams.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies launched an emergency appeal Sunday for more than $100 million to help 100,000 people with life-saving relief.

United Nations 

The UN humanitarian agency OCHA is mobilising emergency response efforts, alongside its partner organisations.

"A severe shortage of medical supplies is hampering response efforts, including trauma kits, blood bags, anaesthetics, assistive devices, essential medicines, and tents for health workers," OCHA said in a statement Saturday.

United States 

US President Donald Trump on Friday vowed Washington would assist Myanmar, describing the quake as "terrible".

"It's a real bad one, and we will be helping. We've already spoken with the country," Trump told reporters.

EU 

The European Union said it was providing 2.5 million euros ($2.7 million) in initial emergency aid and assessing the needs on the ground in order to mobilise further assistance.

Britain 

Britain pledged £10 million ($12.9 million) in humanitarian aid, with development minister Jennifer Chapman saying UK-funded local partners were already mobilising on the ground.

Ireland 

Ireland announced it would contribute an initial six million euros in aid, with half going to Red Cross organisations and the other half to UN agencies. 

Malaysia 

Malaysia's foreign ministry said it would send a team to Myanmar consisting of one commander and 49 rescue personnel "to support ongoing humanitarian and disaster relief operations".

Indonesia 

Indonesia said Sunday it will send a search and rescue team, medical team and logistical aid to Myanmar starting Monday.

The Indonesian military will send a hospital ship, three Hercules aircraft and four helicopters to assist emergency response, local media reported military spokesman Kristomei Sianturi as saying. 

Philippines 

The Philippines said Saturday it is sending a team of 114 people, including medics, firefighters and members of the armed forces. The team's tentative deployment date is Tuesday.

Vietnam 

Vietnam said Sunday it would send 80 rescuers to help search and recovery efforts.

The Public Security Ministry said it will send a team of police officers and medics, a ministry-run newspaper reported. All were to be deployed on Sunday.

South Korea 

South Korea said it would send $2 million in humanitarian assistance "to support urgent rescue and relief efforts" after the earthquake.

New Zealand 

New Zealand said it would give NZ$2.0 million ($1.1 million) to the International Red Cross for the emergency response.

WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump has threatened that Iran will be bombed if it persists in developing nuclear weapons.

"If they don't make a deal, there will be bombing," NBC News said the president told one of its correspondents in an interview late Saturday. It said he also threatened to punish Iran with what he called "secondary tariffs."

Trump's language represented a sharpening of his comment a few days earlier that if Tehran refused to negotiate a new nuclear agreement, "bad, bad things are going to happen to Iran."

It was not clear whether Trump was threatening bombing by US planes alone or in an operation coordinated with Israel.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar told Politico late last month that "in order to stop a nuclear Iranian program before it will be weaponized, a reliable military option should be on the table." 

Analysts have said Iran may be just weeks away from producing a deliverable nuclear weapon -- though Tehran denies it is building such arms. Either way, such an attack carries a risk of spreading to a wider conflict.

Trump in 2018 pulled the United States out of an agreement to relieve sanctions on Iran in return for curbs on its nuclear program. 

Now, in his second term, he has said he is open to talks on a new deal that could reduce the risk of military escalation.

Trump revealed in early March that he had sent a letter proposing such talks to Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Meantime, he has pushed ahead with his "maximum pressure" program of additional sanctions and the threat of military action. 

Tehran, deeply suspicious of the US administration after Trump's withdrawal from the original nuclear deal, has refused to negotiate directly with Washington.

On Thursday, Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told the official IRNA news agency that he had delivered a letter responding to Trump's outreach to Oman, which has served as an intermediary in the past.

MANDALAY, Myanmar — Residents scoured collapsed buildings on Sunday searching for survivors as aftershocks rattled the devastated city of Mandalay, two days after a massive earthquake killed at least 1,700 people in Myanmar and at least 18 in neighbouring Thailand.

The initial 7.7-magnitude quake struck near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay early Friday afternoon, followed minutes later by a 6.7-magnitude aftershock.

The tremors collapsed buildings, downed bridges and buckled roads, with mass destruction seen in the city of more than 1.7 million people.

Tea shop owner Win Lwin picked his way through the remains of a collapsed restaurant on a main road in his neighbourhood early on Sunday, tossing bricks aside one by one.

"About seven people died here" when the quake struck, he told AFP.

"I'm looking for more bodies but I know there cannot be any survivors."

A small aftershock struck in the morning, sending people scurrying out of a hotel for safety, following a similar tremor felt late Saturday evening.

And around 2:00 pm (7:30 GMT), another aftershock -- of 5.1-magnitude according to the US Geological Survey -- sent people into the streets in alarm once again, temporarily halting rescue work.

Myanmar's ruling junta said in a statement Sunday afternoon that about 1,700 people were confirmed dead so far, about 3,400 injured and around 300 more missing.

But with communications down in many areas, the true scale of the disaster remains unclear in the isolated military-ruled state, and the toll is expected to rise significantly.

At a destroyed Buddhist examination hall in Mandalay, Myanmar and Chinese responders worked to find buried victims on Sunday.

San Nwe Aye, sister of a 46-year-old monk missing in the collapsed hall, appeared in deep distress, and told AFP she has heard no news about his status.

"I want to hear the sound of him preaching," she said. "The whole village looked up to him."

At a collapsed apartment block in the city, rescuers thought they had saved the life of a pregnant woman trapped under rubble for more than 55 hours.

They even amputated her leg to free her, but after pulling her out they were unable to resuscitate her and she was pronounced dead.

Myriad challenges 

Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing issued an exceptionally rare appeal for international aid on Friday, indicating the severity of the calamity.

Previous military governments have shunned foreign assistance, even after major natural disasters.

Myanmar has already been ravaged by four years of civil war sparked by a military coup in 2021.

Reports have emerged of sporadic violence even after the quake, with one rebel group telling AFP on Sunday that seven of its fighters were killed in an aerial attack soon after the tremors hit.

Anti-junta fighters in the country have declared a two-week partial ceasefire in quake-affected regions starting Sunday, the shadow "National Unity Government" said in a statement.

The UN said overnight that a severe lack of medical equipment is hindering Myanmar's response to the quake, while aid agencies have warned that the country is unprepared to deal with a disaster of this magnitude.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies on Sunday launched an emergency appeal for more than $100 million to help victims.

Some 3.5 million people were displaced by the raging civil war, many at risk of hunger, even before the quake struck.

Rescue teams and aid have been arriving from donor countries around the world, with Thailand on Sunday dispatching 55 military personnel and six rescue dogs, along with equipment including cranes and diggers.

Bangkok building collapse 

Across the border in Thailand, rescuers in Bangkok worked on Sunday to pluck out survivors trapped when a 30-storey skyscraper under construction collapsed after the Friday earthquake.

At least 18 people have been killed in the Thai capital, city authorities said late Sunday afternoon, with 33 injured and 78 still missing.

Most of the deaths were workers killed in the tower collapse, while most of the missing are believed to be trapped under the immense pile of debris where the skyscraper once stood.

The shock of the moment made 22-year-old survivor, Burmese worker Kyaw Lin Htet, feel like he "lost consciousness".

"I never expected this would happen to me as we only see this on TV," he told AFP at the site on Sunday.

Sniffer dogs and thermal imaging drones have also been deployed to seek signs of life in the collapsed building, close to the Chatuchak weekend market popular among tourists.

Authorities said engineers would be assessing and repairing the 165 damaged buildings around the city on Sunday.

WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump on Friday appealed to the Supreme Court to overturn a lower court ban on his use of an obscure wartime law to deport alleged gang members without due process.

The appeal sets up a showdown over one of the most glaring examples of Trump's unprecedented attempts to increase presidential power since returning to the White House in January.

Trump invoked the little-known 1798 Alien Enemies Act to justify rounding up alleged Venezuelan gang members, some of whom were sent to a notorious prison set up by the right-wing government in El Salvador.

The Trump administration has used images of the alleged Tren de Aragua gang members being shackled and having their heads shaved in the Central American prison as proof that it is serious about cracking down on illegal immigration.

Rights advocates say some of the deportees had nothing to do with gangs and that even potential criminals are required to be given court hearings before expulsion, in line with the US Constitution.

A senior federal judge, James Boasberg, issued an injunction barring further flights of deportees under the Alien Enemies Act. He has been asked by the American Civil Liberties Union to extend the restraining order when it expires Saturday.

An initial appeal by the Trump administration was turned down Wednesday.

In its appeal to the Supreme Court, which is dominated by conservative justices, the White House said the case is a key test of presidential authority over the courts.

"This case presents fundamental questions about who decides how to conduct sensitive national-security-related operations in this country" -- the president or judges, the administration said.

The appeal said Boasberg's injunction was "flawed" and threatens "the government's sensitive negotiations with foreign powers".

The Supreme Court should "vacate the district court's orders. In addition, the Acting Solicitor General respectfully requests an immediate administrative stay of the district court's orders pending the Court's consideration of this application".

Trump has campaigned relentlessly on social media against Boasberg, even calling for him to be removed from his post by Congress.

ANDONG, SOUTH KOREA — At least 18 people have been killed in one of South Korea's worst wildfire outbreaks, with multiple raging blazes causing "unprecedented damage", the acting president said Wednesday.

More than a dozen fires broke out over the weekend, scorching wide swathes of the southeast, forcing around 27,000 people to urgently evacuate, with the fire cutting off roads and downing communications lines as residents fled in panic.

Overnight into Wednesday, the death toll jumped as wind-driven flames tore through neighbourhoods and razed an ancient temple. 

"Eighteen people died in the wildfires," a ministry of safety official told AFP.

According to the interior ministry, the wildfires have charred 17,398 hectares, with the blaze in Uiseong county alone accounting for 87 per cent of the total.

The government has raised the crisis alert to its highest level and taken the rare step of transferring thousands of prisoners.

"Wildfires burning for a fifth consecutive day... is causing unprecedented damage," South Korea's acting president Han Duck-soo said.

He told an emergency safety and disaster meeting that the blazes were "developing in a way that is exceeding both existing prediction models and earlier expectations."

"Throughout the night, chaos continued as power and communication lines were cut in several areas and roads were blocked," he added. 

In the city of Andong, some evacuees sheltering in an elementary school gym told AFP they had to flee so quickly they could bring nothing with them. 

"The wind was so strong," Kwon So-han, a 79-year-old resident in Andong told AFP, adding that as soon as he got the evacuation order he fled.

"The fire came from the mountain and fell on my house," he said.

"Those who haven't experienced it won't know. I could only bring my body."

'Most devastating' 

By Wednesday, one of the fires was threatening historic Hahoe Folk Village, a UNESCO-listed world heritage site popular with tourists but now under an emergency alert.

Thousands of firefighters have been deployed, but "strong winds reaching speeds of 25 metres per second persisted from yesterday afternoon through the night, forcing the suspension of helicopter and drone operations," Han said.

The changing wind patterns and dry weather have "revealed the limitations of conventional firefighting methods," he added.

Hundreds of soliders have joined the effort, with helicopter support also provided by US forces stationed in the South.

The fires are "the most devastating" yet in South Korea, Han said.