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Survivors still being found from Burma earthquake, but hopes begin to fade as deaths exceed 2,700

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  • A 7.7 magnitude earthquake rocked Burma on Friday, killing more than 2,700 people, compounding a humanitarian crisis caused by a civil war.
  • The death toll is expected to rise, but the earthquake hit a wide swath of the country, leaving many areas without power, telephone or cell connections and damaging roads and bridges, leaving the full extent of the devastation hard to assess.
  • The World Health Organization said more than 10,000 buildings are known to have collapsed or been severely damaged in Burma. The earthquake also hit neighboring Thailand, causing a high-rise building under construction to collapse and burying many workers.

Rescue workers saved a 63-year-old woman from the rubble of a building in Burma’s capital on Tuesday, but hope was fading of finding many more survivors of the violent earthquake that killed more than 2,700 people, compounding a humanitarian crisis caused by a civil war.

The fire department in Naypyitaw said the woman was successfully pulled from the rubble 91 hours after being buried when the building collapsed in the 7.7 magnitude earthquake that hit midday Friday. Experts say the likelihood of finding survivors drops dramatically after 72 hours.

Death toll numbers forecast to increase

The head of Burma’s military government, Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, told a forum in Naypyitaw, that 2,719 people have now been found dead, with 4,521 others injured and 441 missing, Myanmar’s Western News online portal reported.

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BURMA-THAILAND EARTHQUAKE: PATRICK SCHWARZENEGGER, ‘WHITE LOTUS’ CAST SEND PRAYERS AS DEATH TOLL PASSES 1,000

Those figures are widely expected to rise, but the earthquake hit a wide swath of the country, leaving many areas without power, telephone or cell connections and damaging roads and bridges, leaving the full extent of the devastation hard to assess.

Most of the reports so far have come from Mandalay, Burma’s second-largest city, which was near the epicenter of the earthquake, and Naypyitaw.

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«The needs are massive, and they are rising by the hour,» said Julia Rees, UNICEF’s deputy representative for Burma.

Burma’s rescuers work through rubble of a collapsed building following Friday’s earthquake in Naypyitaw, Burma, on April 1, 2025. (AP Photo)

«The window for lifesaving response is closing. Across the affected areas, families are facing acute shortages of clean water, food, and medical supplies.»

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Burma’s fire department said that 403 people have been rescued in Mandalay and 259 bodies have been found so far. In one incident alone, 50 Buddhist monks who were taking a religious exam in a monastery were killed when the building collapsed and 150 more are thought to be buried in the rubble.

Structural damage is extensive

The World Health Organization said that more than 10,000 buildings overall are known to have collapsed or been severely damaged in central and northwest Burma.

The earthquake also rocked neighboring Thailand, causing a high-rise building under construction to collapse and burying many workers.

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Two bodies were pulled from the rubble on Monday and another was recovered Tuesday, but dozens were still missing. Overall, there were 21 people killed and 34 injured in Bangkok, primarily at the construction site.

In Burma, search and rescue efforts across the affected area paused briefly at midday on Tuesday as people stood for a minute in silent tribute to the dead.

MASSIVE 7.7 MAGNITUDE EARTHQUAKE ROCKS THAILAND, BURMA, COLLAPSING BUILDINGS AND KILLING MORE THAN 1,000

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Relief efforts moving at a sluggish pace

Foreign aid workers have been arriving slowly to help in the rescue efforts, but progress was still slow with a lack of heavy machinery in many places.

In one site in Naypyitaw on Tuesday, workers formed a human chain, passing chunks of brick and concrete out hand-by-hand from the ruins of a collapsed building.

The Burma military government’s official Global New Light of Burma reported Tuesday that a team of Chinese rescuers saved four people the day before from the ruins of the Sky Villa, a large apartment complex that collapsed during the quake. They included a 5-year-old and a pregnant woman who had been trapped for more than 60 hours.

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The same publication also reported two teenagers were able to crawl out of the rubble of the same building to where rescue crews were working, using their cellphone flashlights to help guide them. The rescue workers were then able to use details from what they told them to locate their grandmother and sibling.

International rescue teams from several countries are on the scene, including from Russia, China, India, the United Arab Emirates and several Southeast Asian countries. The U.S. Embassy said an American team had been sent but hadn’t yet arrived.

Aid pledges pouring in as officials warn of disease outbreak risk

Meantime, multiple countries have pledged millions in aid to assist Burma and humanitarian aid organizations with the monumental task ahead.

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Even before the earthquake, more than 3 million people had been displaced from their homes by Burma’s brutal civil war, and nearly 20 million were in need, according to the U.N.

Many were already lacking in basic medical care and standard vaccinations, and the destruction of water and sanitation infrastructure by the earthquake raises the risk of disease outbreaks, warned the U.N.’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

«The displacement of thousands into overcrowded shelters, coupled with the destruction of water and sanitation infrastructure, has significantly heightened the risk of communicable disease outbreaks,» OCHA said in its latest report.

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«Vulnerability to respiratory infections, skin diseases, vector-borne illnesses such as dengue fever, and vaccine-preventable diseases like measles is escalating,» it added.

The onset of monsoon season also a worry

Shelter is also a major problem, especially with the monsoon season looming.

Since the earthquake, many people have been sleeping outside, either because homes were destroyed or out of fear of aftershocks.

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Civil war complicates disaster relief

Burma’s military seized power in 2021 from the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi, sparking what has turned into significant armed resistance and a brutal civil war.

Government forces have lost control of much of Burma, and many places were dangerous or impossible for aid groups to reach even before the quake.

Military attacks and those from some anti-military groups have not stopped in the aftermath of the earthquake, though the shadow opposition National Unity Government has called a unilateral ceasefire for its forces.

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BURMESE GOVERNMENT DENIES CLAIMS IT KILLED 76 VILLAGERS

The NUG, established by elected lawmakers who were ousted in 2021, called for the international community to ensure humanitarian aid is delivered directly to the earthquake victims, urging «vigilance against any attempts by the military junta to divert or obstruct humanitarian assistance.»

«We are in a race against time to save lives,» the NUG said in a statement.

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«Any obstruction to these efforts will have devastating consequences, not only due to the impact of the earthquake but also because of the junta’s continued brutality, which actively hinders the delivery of lifesaving assistance.»

It wasn’t immediately clear whether the military has been impeding humanitarian aid. In the past, it initially refused to allow in foreign rescue teams or many emergency supplies after Cyclone Nargis in 2008, which resulted in well more than 100,000 deaths. Even once it did allow foreign assistance, it was with severe restrictions.

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In this case, however, Min Aung Hlaing, pointedly said on the day of the earthquake that the country would accept outside help.

Tom Andrews, a monitor on rights in Burma commissioned by the U.N.-backed Human Rights Council, said on X that to facilitate aid, military attacks must stop.

«The focus in Burma must be on saving lives, not taking them,» he said.

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La Casa Blanca dice que los contactos con Irán siguen siendo «fluidos», pero el precio del petróleo vuelve a subir a más de US$100

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La Casa Blanca ha comunicado a la BBC que los planes para entablar conversaciones con Irán siguen siendo «fluidos», añadiendo que cualquier especulación «no debe considerarse definitiva», cuando la guerra en el Golfo cumple este martes 25 días.

Esto ocurre después de que Trump y el presidente del Parlamento iraní dieran versiones contradictorias sobre posibles diálogos entre ambos países respecto a la guerra en curso.

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Trump afirmó anteriormente que había pospuesto los ataques amenazados contra centrales eléctricas iraníes tras mantener conversaciones «productivas» con Teherán.

Irán calificó dichas afirmaciones sobre las conversaciones de «noticias falsas» (fake news).

Según CBS, socio de la BBC en EE. UU., un funcionario del Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores de Irán afirma que Teherán ha recibido «puntos de parte de EE.UU.» a través de mediadores, como un posible precursor de las discusiones.

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Mientras tanto, el precio del petróleo volvió a subir por encima de los 100 dólares por barril, tras haber caído el lunes cuando Trump publicó por primera vez sobre las conversaciones entre EE.UU. e Irán.

El petróleo subió en una sesión volátil —reduciendo la fuerte caída del lunes— ante la preocupación de que la guerra en Oriente Medio pueda intensificarse, ya que el flujo de crudo a través del estratégico estrecho de Ormuz hacia los mercados mundiales sigue interrumpido.

El Brent superó los 100 dólares por barril, tras desplomarse un 11% el lunes, después de que el presidente Donald Trump aplazara durante cinco días su amenaza de atacar la infraestructura energética de Irán. El crudo de referencia estadounidense, el West Texas Intermediate (WTI), avanzó cerca de un 2%.

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El crudo Brent ha subido cerca de un 40% este mes ante el temor de que las hostilidades entre Estados Unidos, Israel e Irán, que han sacudido Oriente Medio, desencadenen una crisis energética mundial e impulsen la inflación. La guerra ha obstaculizado el tránsito por el Estrecho de Ormuz, obligando a los productores del Golfo Pérsico a recortar millones de barriles de su producción diaria de petróleo. Los productos derivados, como el diésel y el combustible para aviones, han subido incluso más que el crudo, presionando a los consumidores e inquietando a los gobiernos.

Las consecuencias siguieron extendiéndose. Chile se dispone a aumentar los precios de los combustibles hasta un 50%, mientras que en Asia, Japón ordenó una revisión de toda su cadena de suministro de productos petrolíferos y se dice que el país ha realizado consultas a los participantes del mercado sobre una posible intervención en el mercado de futuros de crudo.

En otros lugares, Tailandia aumentó el precio del diésel, el mayor refinador de petróleo de China afirmó que daría prioridad al suministro local y Filipinas advirtió que la inmovilización de aviones debido a la escasez de combustible para reactores era una posibilidad real.

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«Una pregunta fundamental es si el mercado mundial del petróleo puede mitigar la interrupción en el Estrecho de Ormuz», señalaron en una nota analistas de Macquarie, entre ellos Vikas Dwivedi. «Nuestro análisis sugiere que la respuesta es afirmativa, pero solo si se despliegan diversas medidas de mitigación sin los retrasos burocráticos habituales».

Aliados de Estados Unidos, como Arabia Saudita y los Emiratos Árabes Unidos, han endurecido sus posturas contra Teherán debido al bombardeo de sus territorios. Riad comunicó a Estados Unidos que estaba dispuesta a atacar a Irán si sus propias plantas de energía y agua eran blanco de la República Islámica, según personas con conocimiento del asunto.

Los aliados de Estados Unidos en el Golfo Pérsico se acercaban poco a poco a contribuir a la lucha, informó el Wall Street Journal. Entre ellos, el príncipe heredero saudí, Mohammed bin Salman, está ahora ansioso por restablecer la disuasión y se encuentra cerca de tomar la decisión de unirse a los ataques, según el periódico, que cita a personas familiarizadas con la situación.

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Con información de BBC News y Bloomberg

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Colombian military plane crash kills at least 66, head of armed forces says

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A military transport plane with 128 people on board, mostly soldiers, crashed shortly after taking off Monday in Puerto Leguizamo, Colombia, killing at least 66 people and leaving dozens injured, the head of Colombia’s armed forces said.

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Gen. Hugo Alejandro López Barreto said four military personnel were still missing.

«Sadly, as a consequence of this tragic accident, 66 of our military elements died,» he said.

«At the moment, we have no information, or indications, that it was an attack by an illegal armed group,» Barreto added.

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LAGUARDIA PLANE CRASH VIDEO SHOWS JET COLLIDE WITH FIRE TRUCK AFTER FRANTIC AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL WARNING

A military transport plane crashed near Puerto Leguizamo, Colombia, shortly after takeoff March 23, 2026, killing at least 66 people and leaving dozens injured. (MiPutumayo via AP)

In a video posted on social media, Deputy Mayor Carlos Claros said the bodies of the victims were taken to the small town’s morgue, and the only two clinics in town treated the injured before they were flown to larger cities. Puerto Leguizamo is located in Putumayo, an Amazonian province that borders Ecuador and Peru.

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«I want to thank the people of Puerto Leguizamo who came out to help the victims of this accident,» Claros told Colombian television station RCN.

Defense Minister Pedro Sánchez said on X the plane that crashed Monday was transporting troops to another city in Putumayo.

Images shared online by Colombian media outlets showed a black cloud of smoke rising from a field where the plane crashed and a truck with soldiers rushing to the site.

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The airplane had 128 people on board, including 115 from the Army, 11 crew members and two from the national police. Baretto said 57 people were evacuated.

FEDS INVESTIGATE ALARMING NEAR MISS BETWEEN ALASKA AIRLINES JET, FEDEX PLANE AT BUSY NEWARK AIRPORT

People prepare to load an injured person on a stretcher into a plane.

Emergency crews and local residents rushed to help survivors after a deadly military plane crash in southern Colombia March 23, 2026. (Colombia’s Armed Forces press office via AP)

Media outlets shared videos of soldiers being rushed from the site on motorcycles driven by local residents, while another group of residents tried to put out the fire the crash had created in a field surrounded by dense foliage.

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Carlos Fernando Silva, the commander of Colombia’s air force, said details of the crash were not yet known, «except that the plane had a problem and went down about two kilometers from the airport.»

The air force commander added that two planes, with 74 beds, were sent to the area to fly the injured back to hospitals in the capital, Bogota, and elsewhere.

President Gustavo Petro seized on the accident to promote what he called his longtime campaign to modernize planes and other equipment used by his country’s military, saying those efforts have been blocked by «bureaucratic difficulties» and suggesting that some officials should be held accountable.

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«If civilian or military administrative officials are not up to the challenge, they must be removed,» Petro said.

COLOMBIA FACES SURGE OF REFUGEES FLEEING CRISIS IN VENEZUELA

Injured people are loaded onto a plane on stretchers.

Officials say a C-130 aircraft carrying mostly soldiers went down near Puerto Leguizamo on March 23, 2026, with no signs of an attack by armed groups. (Colombia’s Armed Forces press office via AP)

Critics of the president pointed out that military aircraft have been given fewer flight hours under the Petro administration due to budget cuts, which leads to less experienced crews.

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Erich Saumeth, a Colombian aviation expert and military analyst, said the Hercules C-130 that crashed Monday had been donated by the United States to Colombia in 2020. Three years later, it went through an overhaul, in which its engines were inspected and key components were replaced.

«I don’t think this plane crashed because of a lack of good parts,» Saumeth said. He said investigations will have to determine why the engines of the Hercules, which has four propellers, failed so quickly after takeoff.

In a message on X Monday, Defense Minister Sánchez said so far there were no signs the plane was attacked by rebel groups that operate near Puerto Leguizamo.

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Sánchez wrote that the accident was «profoundly painful for the country,» adding, «We hope that our prayers can help to relieve some of the pain.»



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Democrats hammer ICE for arresting 2 at San Francisco airport

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California Democrats blasted federal immigration authorities after a viral video showed officers arresting two people, including a crying woman, at San Francisco International Airport.

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The video shows the woman — who the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said is an illegal alien — wailing and dropping to the ground as she is being arrested by two plainclothes agents on Sunday while her daughter cries in the background.

California Democrats argued the video showed excessive force and would instill fear in immigrant communities, while calling for answers from federal authorities.

Rep. Doris Matsui, D-Calif., said the woman seen in the video was a «Sacramento mother» and said she was demanding answers.

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U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents are seen in tactical gear in an undated file photo (left), while San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie speaks at an event (right). California Democrats criticized ICE following a viral airport arrest, while Lurie called the incident «upsetting» and said it appeared to be isolated. (John Moore/Getty Images; Christina House/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

«I am deeply angered by the video released of a Sacramento mother being forcibly detained by ICE in front of her young daughter at San Francisco International Airport this weekend,» she wrote.

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«This is our neighbor and a member of our community. This video showcases the cruelty we have come to expect from Trump’s ICE agents, but also the lasting trauma that will be inflicted on those who are forced to witness their disproportionate and deadly recklessness. I am demanding answers as to why ICE treated this Sacramentan so violently in front of her daughter.»

DHS said two people from a family unit were arrested, saying the family had outstanding removal orders and was in the U.S. illegally.

TRUMP ADMIN URGES NEWSOM TO HONOR ICE DETAINERS FOR MORE THAN 33K CRIMINAL ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS

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ICE agents walking through a terminal at JFK Airport.

ICE agents arrive at JFK airport in New York City, on March 23, 2026. The event in San Francisco was not treated to the recent deployment of agents at airports.   (David Dee Delgado for Fox News)

Federal officials said the arrest followed a lawful final removal order issued by an immigration judge in 2019 and that one of the individuals attempted to flee and resisted officers.

«ICE officers arrested Angelina Lopez-Jimenez and Wendy Godinez-Jimenez at the San Francisco International Airport. These illegal aliens had a final removal order from an immigration judge since 2019,» DHS said on X.

«While being escorted to the international terminal for processing, Lopez-Jimenez attempted to flee and resisted law enforcement officers. ICE is working as quickly as possible to repatriate the family unit to their home country of Guatemala.»

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The arrest was not connected to the Trump administration’s plan to deploy U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to assist Transportation Security Administration (TSA) operations during the ongoing partial government shutdown, DHS said.

San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie said the incident was «upsetting» and that the city’s sanctuary policies would not change.

«I have spoken to leaders at SFO and SFPD, and we believe this is an isolated incident,» Lurie said in a post on X.

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«We have no reason to believe there is broader federal immigration enforcement at SFO. SFPD officers remained at the scene to maintain public safety and were not involved in the incident,» the mayor continued. «Under our city’s longstanding policies, local law enforcement does not participate in federal civil immigration enforcement. Those policies keep us safe and will not change as long as I’m mayor.»

Exterior of San Francisco International Airport terminal with vehicles passing underneath

San Francisco International Airport (SFO) in California seen on Nov. 27, 2024. (Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Meanwhile, state Sen. Scott Wiener, a Democrat from San Francisco and candidate for U.S. Congress, held a news conference Monday outside the airport to denounce the actions of federal authorities. Several Democratic candidates for California governor also sharply criticized ICE in response to the video.

«We don’t want ICE here and when ICE descends on our communities, it only creates fear,» Wiener said, according to The Associated Press.

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In the video, one female onlooker can be heard repeatedly demanding the officers show their badges.

«This is an illegal arrest, show us your badge number,» the woman can be heard saying.

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The San Francisco Police Department said its officers did not take part in the arrest, noting the incident involved federal immigration authorities and that local police remained on scene only to maintain public safety.

«SFPD officers were not involved in the incident but remained at the scene to maintain public safety,» the department said in a statement, adding that city policy prohibits officers from assisting in the enforcement of federal civil immigration laws.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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