INTERNACIONAL
Death toll in Burma, Thailand earthquake rises to more than 1,600 victims
The death toll from the devastating earthquake that rocked Burma and Thailand on Friday has risen sharply to more than 1,650 victims.
The earthquake’s epicenter was in central Burma, where 1,644 have been confirmed dead with nearly 140 people still missing, the nation’s ruling military said Saturday.
The 7.7 magnitude quake knocked down scores of buildings as well as destroyed bridges and highways in what was the deadliest natural disaster to hit the impoverished, war-torn country in years. Burma is also known as Myanmar.
Survivors in Mandalay, Burma’s second-biggest city, dug with their bare hands on Friday in desperate attempts to save those still trapped, lacking heavy machinery and with authorities absent. Burma’s military rulers let in hundreds of foreign rescue personnel on Saturday.
Rescue personnel work at the site of a building that collapsed, following a strong earthquake, in Mandalay, Burma on March 29, 2025. (REUTERS/Stringer)
AMERICA’S MOST EXPENSIVE NATURAL DISASTERS IN RECENT DECADES
The quake struck during Friday prayers across the country, causing the collapse of at least 50 mosques across the country, killing nearly 300 people, the Yangon Khit Thit News Agency reported.
An initial assessment by Burma’s opposition National Unity Government said at least 2,900 buildings, 30 roads and seven bridges had been damaged by the quake.
The quake comes amid a raging civil war that has wrecked the economy and displaced millions. It makes movement around the country both difficult and dangerous, complicating relief efforts and raising fears that the death toll could still rise precipitously.
People drive on a motorbike past a collapsed building in Mandalay on March 28, 2025, after an earthquake in central Burma. (STR/AFP via Getty Images)
Airports too have been damaged, further hindering rescue efforts. For instance, satellite photos from Planet Labs PBC show the earthquake toppled the air traffic control tower at Naypyitaw International Airport as if sheered from its base, according to The Associated Press.
The country sits on the Sagaing Fault, a major north-south fault that separates the India plate and the Sunda plate.
WATCH: First responders clear leveled apartment building in Thailand after powerful earthquake
IS THE EAST COAST ON THE BRINK OF A MAJOR EARTHQUAKE — AND ARE WE PREPARED?
President Donald Trump said the earthquake was «terrible» on Friday and assured that the United States would assist in relief efforts.
«It’s a real bad one, and we will be helping. We’ve already spoken with the country,» Trump said.
In neighboring Thailand, where the quake shook buildings and brought down a skyscraper under construction in the capital Bangkok, at least ten people were killed.
Dramatic footage captured in Bangkok midday Friday showed a 33-story apartment building that was under construction falling down, scattering dust and debris throughout the city’s streets. Bangkok city authorities said earlier Friday that 10 people were killed, 16 were injured.
Water from a separate high-rise building with rooftop pools in Bangkok spilled over the side as they shook and debris fell from many buildings.
Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said the country has now «returned to normalcy.»
Aftershocks were reportedly felt in India and China.
WATCH: Skyscraper in Bangkok collapses after 7.7 magnitude earthquake rocks Burma, Thailand
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Photos and video from Burma showed two hard-hit cities with extensive damage.
In Mandalay, Burma’s second-largest city and close to the epicenter, the earthquake damaged part of the former royal palace and buildings, according to videos and photos released on Facebook social media.
In the Sagaing region just southwest of Mandalay, a 90-year-old bridge collapsed, and some sections of the highway connecting Mandalay and the city of Yangon were also damaged.
In the capital Naypyitaw, the quake damaged religious shrines, sending parts toppling to the ground and some homes.
Christina Shaw, Greg Norman, Bradford Betz Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Florida and Mississippi voters will soon face new citizenship verification rules after governors signed the measures into law Wednesday, triggering at least two lawsuits in the Sunshine State.
The measures, signed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves, are aimed at upholding election integrity as similar legislation by President Donald Trump remains stalled in Congress.
Mississippi’s measure is expected to take effect on July 1, with Florida’s law following on Jan. 1, 2027.
Under both laws, voters will be required to provide citizenship documents — such as birth certificates, passports, or naturalization certificates — if local officials challenge their eligibility after cross-referencing databases for voter registration applications. If individuals fail to provide the required proof of citizenship after being flagged, both states are required to remove them from its voter registration rolls.
THE HITCHHIKER’S GUIDE TO THE ‘TALKING FILIBUSTER’ AND THE SAVE ACT
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks at the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum on July 16, 2024, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
DeSantis said the Florida SAVE Act will improve the security and transparency of the state’s election system.
«Safeguarding the electoral process to improve oversight and prevent unlawful influence has been a top priority for my administration since my first days in office,» he said in a social media post. «This legislation strengthens the security, transparency, and reliability of Florida’s election system.»
Lawsuits challenging the bill quickly followed, with one civil rights group arguing that some voters may not have the required documents and could face difficulties obtaining them.
«Many eligible voters do not have these documents and cannot obtain them for a variety of reasons—including because they were born without a birth certificate in the segregated South, because their documents were destroyed in a hurricane, or because they cannot afford the hundreds of dollars it costs to replace them,» the lawsuit filed in federal court in South Florida by the League of Women Voters of Florida stated.
Under the law, student IDs and retirement community identifications can no longer be used as polling identifications. New driver’s licenses must also reflect citizenship status starting July 2027.
GOP TRIGGERS MARATHON SENATE FIGHT TO EXPOSE DEMS’ OPPOSITION TO TRUMP-BACKED VOTER ID BILL
Voters cast their ballots on November 8, 2022, during midterm elections. (George Frey/Getty Images)
Separately, the Mississippi SHIELD Act does not mandate driver’s licenses to reflect citizenship.
However, it does require local officials registering voters to run additional citizenship checks if applicants do not provide a driver’s license number on their voter application.
Mississippi officials must also perform an annual statewide check against the federal database before a federal election to flag potential noncitizens.
«While states like California and New York flood their voter rolls with illegal aliens, Mississippi will do the opposite and defend Americans’ right to determine the outcome of elections,» Reeves said in a social media post. «We will continue to do everything in our power to make it infinitely harder – with a goal to make it impossible – to cheat in our elections!»
Civil rights group Southern Poverty Law Center noted that the measure could disenfranchise Mississippi residents who lack the proper paperwork, including women whose last names changed upon marriage.
Mississippi Gov. Reeves, center, speaks during an event on Jan. 18, 2024, at the Mississippi Capitol in Jackson, Miss. (Rogelio V. Solis/AP)
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The new laws follow similar measures signed in late March by South Dakota and Utah to strengthen proof-of-citizenship requirements for voters.
Meanwhile, Trump’s own voting legislation — the Republican‑backed SAVE America Act, which would require proof of citizenship and photo ID for federal elections — has been approved by the U.S. House but remains stalled in the Senate amid insufficient support to overcome the Democratic-led filibuster.
voter fraud concerns, ron desantis, florida, mississippi, governors
INTERNACIONAL
En plena guerra en Medio Oriente, el Gobierno de Donald Trump echó al jefe del Ejército de Estados Unidos
El secretario de Defensa, Pete Hegseth, pidió este jueves al máximo jefe del Ejército de Estados Unidos que renuncie y se retire, una medida extraordinaria en medio de la guerra con Irán y cuando el presidente Donald Trump había anunciado una posible intensificación del conflicto en las próximas dos o tres semanas.
La salida del general Randy George, que pensaba ocupar el cargo del Jefe de Estado Mayor del Ejercito hasta 2027, es el último de una serie de enfrentamientos entre el jefe del Pentágono y la alta dirección militar, donde hubo una serie de despidos.
“El Departamento de Guerra está agradecido por las décadas de servicio del general George a nuestra nación», publicó en X un portavoz del Pentágono.
Un alto funcionario de la cartera declaró a CBS News: «Estamos agradecidos por su servicio, pero ya era hora de un cambio de liderazgo en el Ejército». Otra fuente afirma que Hegseth quiere a alguien en el cargo que implemente para el Ejército la visión del presidente Trump y la del propio Secretario de Guerra.
El retiro forzado de George es una nueva señal de tensión dentro de las fuerzas militares y del gobierno de la estrategia sobre la guerra en Irán, que ya lleva más de un mes y EE.UU. aún no ha logrado resolver.
No se sabe aún cuál era la visión del despedido George sobre la guerra, pero es posible que no estuviera de acuerdo con los futuros planes de Hegseth y Trump sobre el terreno.
El presidente Trump dijo en un discurso el miércoles que había “diezmado” el poderío iraní con su ofensiva que comenzó el 28 de febrero junto con Israel y que los objetivos estaban cerca de cumplirse. Aseguró que seguían negociando con Teherán, pero amenazó con “atacarlos con muchísima fuerza en las próximas dos o tres semanas. Los haremos retroceder a la Edad de Piedra, que es el lugar al que pertenecen”.
Agregó que “si no se llegara a un acuerdo, tenemos la mira puesta en objetivos claves. Si no hay acuerdo, golpearemos con gran contundencia todas y cada una de sus centrales de generación eléctrica”. Trump busca una salida rápida de la guerra porque quiere frenar el alza del combustible en EE.UU y porque el conflicto es cada vez más impopular entre los estadounidenses.
Pero quiere retirarse victorioso o al menos con una narrativa de victoria. Analiza una ofensiva terrestre que podría incluir la invasión de la isla de Kharg y otras en el estrecho clave de Ormuz, donde pasa el 20% del petróleo mundial. Ya hay 50.000 tropas estadounidenses en el terreno, incluidos marines y paracaidistas y la fuerza especial de la 82va Brigada de despliegue rápido.
La duda ahora de Trump es acelerar con la invasión terrestre o buscar una salida diplomática que por ahora Irán no parece aceptar. Varios expertos consultados por Clarín señalaron que una ofensiva en el terreno implicaría una escalada con consecuencias más graves.
Hegseth, un ex militar que fue presentador de la cadena Fox, ha sido señalado varias veces como un “halcón” que lo convenció a Trump de que atacar Irán no sería demasiado complicado.
Además, George había sido asesor militar principal del secretario de Defensa Lloyd Austin durante el gobierno de Joe Biden. Aunque ese puesto suele considerarse apolítico y un papel asignado a los mejores oficiales militares, la proximidad de George a Austin ha sido considerada una mancha en su contra para Hegseth y su círculo.
No quedó claro de inmediato quién sustituirá a George, un oficial de infantería de carrera que sirvió en múltiples despliegues en Irak y Afganistán. Una posibilidad parece ser el general Christopher LaNeve, que se convirtió en vicejefe del Estado Mayor del Ejército en febrero tras el nombramiento de Hegseth para el cargo y su confirmación por el Senado.
El año pasado, LaNeve fue asistente militar principal de Hegseth en el Pentágono, después de que Hegseth despidiera abruptamente a otra oficial, la teniente general de la Fuerza Aérea Jennifer Short, que había ocupado el cargo. Hegseth entonces obligó a la salida anticipada del vicejefe de Estado Mayor del Ejército, el general James Mingus, para poner a LaNeve en ese cargo.
El portavoz jefe del Pentágono, Sean Parnell, ha dicho previamente que LaNeve es «un líder experimentado en batalla con décadas de experiencia operativa y en la que el secretario Hegseth confía plenamente para llevar a cabo la visión de esta administración sin fallos.»
Hegseth ha destituido a más de una docena de altos oficiales militares, incluyendo al presidente del Estado Mayor Conjunto, el general CQBrown, al jefe de operaciones navales almirante Lisa Francetti, al vicejefe de Estado Mayor de la Fuerza Aérea, el general James Slife y al jefe de la Agencia de Inteligencia de Defensa, el teniente general Jeffrey Kruse.
INTERNACIONAL
Iran’s tallest bridge collapses after reported US airstrikes; Iran threatens American allies in retaliation
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Iran’s biggest bridge near Tehran has crashed down in a stunning scene captured on camera following reports of U.S. airstrikes, President Donald Trump announced Thursday, as he pressed the regime to make a deal before tensions escalate further.
The B1 highway bridge, a key link between Iran’s capital and the western city of Karaj, is considered the tallest in the Middle East and was only inaugurated earlier this year.
Iranian state TV reportedly warned of potential retaliation, claiming the state’s military has identified multiple bridges in American-allied Middle East nations as targets, according to Iran International.
Trump posted a video on social media capturing a massive plume of smoke and debris after the bridge’s apparent collapse.
KAROLINE LEAVITT FIRES BACK AT NBC NEWS REPORTER WHO ASKED IF TRUMP’S IRAN THREAT AMOUNTS TO A ‘WAR CRIME’
The B1 bridge near Tehran collapsed after reported U.S. airstrikes. (@realDonaldTrump/Truth Social)
«The biggest bridge in Iran comes tumbling down, never to be used again — Much more to follow! IT IS TIME FOR IRAN TO MAKE A DEAL BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE, AND THERE IS NOTHING LEFT OF WHAT STILL COULD BECOME A GREAT COUNTRY!» Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
The strike on the bridge was aimed at cutting drone and missile supply lines to Iranian firing units targeting U.S. and Israeli forces, Middle East outlet i24NEWS reported, citing sources.
Iranian state TV also said the bridge was hit twice, roughly an hour apart, resulting in civilian casualties, Fars News reported.
TRUMP TO ADDRESS NATION ABOUT IRAN AS HE SIGNALS WAR COULD END WITHIN WEEKS
President Donald Trump pauses as he finishes speaking about the Iran war Wednesday, April 1, 2026, in Washington. (Alex Brandon-Pool/Getty Images)
«A few minutes ago, the American-Zionist enemy once again targeted the B1 bridge in Karaj,» the broadcast said, noting that the first strike killed two civilians.
Fars News also reported that other areas of Karaj were struck.
Iran’s IRGC reportedly identified several bridges in American-allied nations as potential targets after the collapse of the B1 bridge. (Morteza Nikoubazl/Nur Photo)
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The outlet reported that Iran is considering plans to rebuild the bridge with the help of its engineers and experts.
In retaliation, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has reportedly identified several bridges in American-allied nations across the Middle East as potential targets, including infrastructure in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Abu Dhabi and the Jordan-West Bank region.
middle east, war with iran, saudi arabia, iran, conflicts
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