Myanmar quake rescue efforts wind down as death toll exceeds 3,500
Efforts to find survivors from Myanmar's devastating March 28 earthquake are winding down.
Rescue efforts have been supplanted by increasing relief and recovery activity, with the death toll from the disaster surpassing 3,500 and still climbing.
In the capital, Naypyitaw, people cleared debris and collected wood from their damaged houses under drizzling rain, and soldiers removed wreckage at some Buddhist monasteries.
Myanmar Fire Services Department said on Monday that teams had recovered 10 bodies from the rubble of a collapsed building in Mandalay, Myanmar's second-biggest city.
It said international rescuers from Singapore, Malaysia and India had returned to their countries after their work to find survivors was considered completed.
The number of rescue teams operating in the residential areas of Naypyitaw has been steadily decreasing.
The 7.7-magnitude quake hit a wide swathe of the country, causing significant damage to six regions and states. The earthquake left many areas without power, telephone or mobile connections and damaged roads and bridges, making the full extent of the devastation hard to assess.
Heavy rains and winds disrupted rescue and relief operations on Saturday night and added to the misery of the homeless forced to sleep in the open. The weather forecast for this week said scattered showers and thunderstorms are possible across the country.
Myanmar's military government and its battlefield opponents, meanwhile, have been trading accusations over alleged violations of ceasefire declarations made in a bid to ease earthquake relief efforts.
The country has been in turmoil since the army's 2021 takeover ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi, which led to nationwide peaceful protests that escalated into armed resistance and what now amounts to civil war.
Although the military government and its armed opponents declared unilateral ceasefires for a temporary period, reports of continued fighting are widespread, with the army coming in for special attention for continuing aerial bombing, according to independent Myanmar media and eyewitnesses.
Independent confirmation of fighting is difficult because of the remoteness of the areas in which much of it takes place and restrictions on journalists.
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Yahoo
12 hours ago
- Yahoo
I Caught Someone Defacing My Tesla. I Couldn't Believe What Happened After I Confronted Them.
'I think that kid just scratched your car!' my physical therapist said, looking out of his large office window that faced the parking lot. He hurried out the door as I stood against the wall, mid-exercise, with a deflated ball behind my knee. Huh? I quickly followed him outside, where we found a kid, probably about 16 or 17, standing slump-shouldered after being caught. They had a look that seems to be especially popular among many teens these days: short cropped hair, chipped black polish on nibbled nails, handcuff earrings, an oversize, faded Pussy Riot T-shirt and oversize pants. 'Did you scratch my car?' I demanded. 'I didn't scratch it!' they said. 'What did you do to my car?' I pressed. 'I didn't scratch it. I just put a sticker on it,' they replied sheepishly. We moved to the back of my Tesla, where a 'Swasticar' sticker now adorned its bumper. 'I'm sorry. I'll take it off,' they said, kneeling down. 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People walking through the parking lot eyed the situation playing out behind my car: a kid earnestly trying to remove a sticker while I loomed over them with my arms crossed. Both of us felt awkward in the silence. What do I do now? I wondered. Yell at them? Threaten to call their parents — or the cops? I took a breath and relaxed my stance. 'I get that you're frustrated. I'm frustrated too,' I told them. They looked up, a bit surprised that I was offering a moment of understanding rather than further shaming them. 'I am. I'm really angry,' they said. 'What's going on?' I softly asked. I wish I could say my equanimity was due to my years of Buddhist practice or my work as a spiritual director, helping people from different faith traditions on their spiritual journeys. Both require being comfortable with silence and gentle curiosity, and sure, that may have helped. But if I'm being honest, that's way too rose-colored. 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Katarina is the author of Three Threads, a weekly Substack newsletter that uses art to explore personal creativity and spirituality as core to the human experience. You can find her on Instagram @katarinawong and on Bluesky @katarinawong. Do you have a compelling personal story you'd like to see published on HuffPost? Find out what we're looking for here and send us a pitch at pitch@ I Just Got Into Harvard. My MAGA Grandparents' 6-Word Reaction To My Acceptance Devastated Me. I Just Lost My Job Because I'm An American My J6 Neighbor Was Released From Prison By Trump. I'm Furious About What Happened The Day He Got Home.
Politico
14 hours ago
- Politico
Trump turns the screws
Presented by With help from Eli Okun and Bethany Irvine Good Tuesday morning. This is Jack Blanchard, having a completely unstressful time moving the family into a new D.C. home after months in an Airbnb. Our furniture and entire worldly goods arrived from London by boat yesterday — all 167 boxes. But as the Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh wrote, my actions are my only true belongings. So let's get to it. SPOTTED: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent dining with White House personnel chief Sergio Gor at Cafe Milano last night, Playbook's Dasha Burns writes in. Tavolo per due: 'They talked for nearly two hours,' Dasha reports. 'Sen. Mark Warner and Art Collins came over to say hello, among others … One can only guess at what the two could have been gabbing about for so long — but you may recall both Gor and Bessent had their share of clashes with the recently departed Elon Musk. Perhaps it was a celebration dinner?' 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Yahoo
16 hours ago
- Yahoo
Japan is a model of cleanliness. So where are all the trash cans?
Professor Chris McMorran teaches Japanese studies at the National University of Singapore, where his work focuses on serious and important topics like labor, gender and marginalized communities. But when he takes his students to Japan, one major question invariably emerges: why aren't there any trash cans? It's a common refrain, especially among the Western travelers who flock to Japan in increasing numbers every year: how can the country be so clean and organized when there doesn't seem to be a way to dispose of garbage in public places? McMorran's students are not the only ones with that question. Earlier this year, the Japanese National Tourism Organization (JNTO) conducted a survey of passengers leaving Japan and asked what logistical challenges they faced during their trip. The number one response? A lack of trash cans. Twenty-two percent of tourists cited the difficulty of finding a place to throw away garbage as the single biggest issue they'd dealt with during their trip, ahead of a lack of English speakers (15%) and overcrowding at popular attractions (13%). There are a few different ways to address the trash disposal question, but they generally involve the unique cadences of Japanese etiquette. 'This (lack of trash cans) can be a nuisance particularly for budget-conscious young travelers,' says McMorran. 'Instead of sitting down for a meal at a restaurant, they are more likely to grab an onigiri at a convenience store or an Instagrammable dessert at a stall. Once they finish eating, they search in vain for a place to throw the waste.' He notes that while local Japanese people also buy food and drinks from vending machines or kombini (convenience stores), the difference is that they don't necessarily consume these products on the street. It's considered bad manners to eat while walking — to the point where some cities in Japan have outright barred the practice. Instead, it's more common to take these grab-and-go foods to their home or office, eat it there, and then dispose of the trash. If they do eat while out on the go, most people keep a small bag with them where they can stow trash until they get home. Mass tourism is causing problems with Japan's public trash situation. For example, travelers come from around the world to visit the UNESCO-listed city of Nara, a 45-minute bullet train ride east of Osaka. While the city is home to historic temples and Buddhist artifacts, its most famous residents are wild deer which are known for taking crackers from visitors and 'bowing' to say thank you. Trash, though, has become a life-or-death issue for the deer: nine died in 2019 after eating plastic waste that was left on the ground by tourists. Trash cans were removed from Nara's parks in 1985 to prevent deer from trying to eat out of them. Signs throughout the city cautioned people not to litter as eating trash or food outside of their diet could be harmful for the deer. As the number of travelers increased, it became clear that the posted signs weren't enough, and people weren't following the local custom of taking their trash away with them. The city has since reconsidered its policy and installed several trash bins near the busiest tourist areas. The solar-powered trash cans are printed with 'Save the deer' in English. Tokyo's cool Shibuya neighborhood has also struggled to cope with tourists and the trash they leave behind. Local politicians have cracked down on the notoriously riotous Halloween celebrations and made it illegal to consume alcohol on the street — partly to reduce noise complaints, but also to curb the amount of litter. On TikTok, videos about Japanese etiquette for tourists abound, with some travelers comparing Japan favorably to Canada and the US in its approach to public hygiene or offering tips about where to find a trash can when you really need one (many vending machines have a small one next to them). For some tourists, the lack of easily findable rubbish bins is another charming quirk of Japanese culture. For other visitors, it's a nuisance that diminishes the enjoyment of their vacation. Hong Kong resident Rubin Verebes is in the latter camp. He visited Japan for the first time in September 2024 and said he was annoyed by the difficulty of finding a place to throw litter away. 'It is infuriating to walk around Tokyo the whole day, racking up 20,000-plus steps on your feet, and not find a single bin to throw away your plastic wrapping from your sandwich,' he says. 'Some 7-Eleven, Family Mart or Lawson stores didn't even have rubbish bins to use, so you are left to hold these dirty wrappers or bottles all day until you get back to your hotel. (It's) great that the streets are clean, but it is annoying having to hold (trash) all day long.' Paul Christie, CEO of travel company Walk Japan, says he focuses on the values of respect and community when he fields questions from clients about the lack of trash cans. 'The Japanese prize cleanliness and cooperate as a society to make it so, the result being that their country rates highly in the neat and tidy stakes,' he tells CNN. 'In the end,' says McMorran, the Japanese studies professor, 'Japanese communities have made the decision to avoid the nuisance and cost of public garbage cans, and Japanese consumers have accepted the burden of having a disposal plan when they purchase something.' Japan has made a huge push for its citizens to recycle, which is another reason for the small sizes of trash cans. McMorran says that some municipalities have as many as 20 different categories of recyclable items, and even some locals can find it challenging to sort them all and throw out everything correctly. 'The spotless public transport system is an excellent example where all passengers treat the stations, trains, buses and fellow travelers with respect and act accordingly.' Beyond the topics of cleanliness and hygiene, there's a bleaker reason behind the lack of trash cans in public areas. On March 20, 1995, members of the Aum Shinrikyo doomsday cult carried out sarin gas attacks on several Tokyo subway trains, killing 14 people and injuring at least 5,500 more. The cult members brought plastic packets of sarin onto subway cars, dropped them on the floor, and then punctured the bags with umbrella tips as they left the train. Several subway workers who attempted to clean up the spill and help passengers escape were among those who died. The incident shocked Japan and changed the country forever. One aftereffect was the removal of trash cans from subway and train stations. While some still exist, they feature clear plastic bags that enable police officers to easily see what's inside, rather than the dark metal cylinders used in the past. And this phenomenon isn't isolated to Japan. Many trash cans were removed from London Underground stations and major intersections throughout the UK capital following several bombings by the paramilitary Irish Republican Army in the 1970s. Japanese authorities also closely monitor terror incidents overseas. Two Japanese rail lines stopped maintaining trash cans after train bombings in Madrid in 2004, citing concerns about terrorism. There is a creative solution for travelers worried about how to carry their waste during the day. Furoshiki are square pieces of cloth used to wrap items, and nearly every souvenir shop in Japan will have some. They can work in the short term for carrying trash until finding a bin, then can serve decorative purposes back home after the vacation.
