Myanmar earthquake kills 3,739, injures 5,104 as of May 28
YANGON: A total of 3,739 people have died, 5,104 have been injured, and 68 are missing in the six regions and states that were severely affected by the extremely strong earthquake that struck Myanmar on March 28, according to sources.
Myanmar Fire Services Department and search and rescue teams from home and abroad are conducting timely search and rescue operations in areas where they are needed, searching for people trapped in buildings, and as of May 28, 653 survivors have been rescued and 816 dead have been recovered.
In addition to receiving cash and materials donated by local donors, foreign countries, organizations, and volunteers are also donating money and materials. On May 26, 0.15 tonnes of medical supplies donated by Parami Group, a Buddhist organisation in Vietnam, arrived at Yangon International Airport. - Eleven Media/ANN
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The Star
4 hours ago
- The Star
Bolivia's indigenous folk's unique rituals for Mother Earth
Neyza Hurtado was three years old when she was struck by lightning. Forty years later, sitting next to a bonfire on a 4,175m mountain, her scarred forehead makes her proud. "I am the lightning,' she said. "When it hit me, I became wise and a seer. That's what we masters are.' Hundreds of people in Bolivia hire Andean spiritual guides like Hurtado to perform rituals every August, the month of Pachamama, or Mother Earth, according to the worldview of the Aymara, an Indigenous people of the region. Pachamama's devotees believe that she awakens hungry and thirsty after the dry season. To honour her and express gratitude for her blessings, they make offerings at home, in their crop fields and on the peaks of Bolivian mountains. "We come here every August to follow in the footsteps of our elders,' said Santos Monasterios, who hired Hurtado for a Pachamama ritual on a site called La Cumbre, about 13km from the capital city of La Paz. "We ask for good health and work.'Offerings made to Pachamama are known as mesitas (or "little tables'). Depending on each family's wishes, masters like Hurtado prepare one mesita per family or per person. A believer arranging an offering during the ritual on La Cumbre. Mesitas are made of wooden logs. On top of them, each master places sweets, grains, coca leaves and small objects representing wealth, protection and good health. Occasionally, llama or piglet fetuses are also offered. Once the mesita is ready, the spiritual guide sets it on fire and devotees douse their offerings with wine or beer, to quench Pachamama's thirst. "When you make this ritual, you feel relieved,' Monasterios said. "I believe in this, so I will keep sharing a drink with Pachamama.' It can take up to three hours for a mesita to burn. Once the offerings have turned to ash, the devotees gather and solemnly bury the remains to become one with Mother Earth. Carla Chumacero, who travelled to La Cumbre recently with her parents and a sister, requested four mesitas from her longtime spiritual guide. "Mother Earth demands this from us, so we provide,' the 28-year-old Chumacero said. According to her, how they become aware of Pachamama's needs is hard to explain. "We just know it; it's a feeling,' she said. "Many people go through a lot – accidents, trouble within families – and that's when we realise that we need to present her with something, because she has given us so much and she can take it back.' Maria Ceballos, 34, did not inherit her devotion from her family, but from co-workers at the gold mine where she earns a living. "We make offerings because our work is risky,' Ceballos said. "We use heavy machinery and we travel often, so we entrust ourselves to Pachamama.' An Aymara woman offering beer during the celebration of Pachamama in La Cumbre, Bolivia. — Photos: Reuters The history The exact origin of the Pachamama rituals is difficult to determine, but according to Bolivian anthropologist Milton Eyzaguirre, they are an ancestral tradition dating back to 6,000BCE. As the first South American settlers came into the region, they faced soil and climate conditions that differed from those in the northernmost parts of the planet, where winter begins in December. In Bolivia, as in other Southern Hemisphere countries, winter runs from June to September. "Here, the cold weather is rather dry,' Eyzaguirre said. "Based on that, there is a particular behaviour in relation to Pachamama.' Mother Earth is believed to be asleep throughout August. Her devotees wish for her to regain her strength and bolster their sowing, which usually begins in October and November. A few months later, when the crops are harvested in February, further rituals are performed. "These dates are key because it's when the relationship between humans and Pachamama is reactivated,' Eyzaguirre said. "Elsewhere it might be believed that the land is a consumer good,' he added. "But here there's an equilibrium: You have to treat Pachamama because she will provide for you.' People gathering on La Cumbre, a mountain considered sacred to Indigenous folk in Bolivia. — AP August rituals honour not only Pachamama, but also the mountains or "apus', considered protective spirits for the Aymara and Quechua people. "Under the Andean perspective, all elements of nature have a soul,' Eyzaguirre said. "We call that Ajayu, which means they have a spiritual component.' For many Bolivians, wind, fire, and water are considered spirits, and the apus are perceived as ancestors. This is why many cemeteries are located in the highlands and why Pachamama rituals are performed at sites like La Cumbre. "The apus protect us and keep an eye on us,' said Rosendo Choque, who has been a spiritual guide or yatiri for 40 years. He, like Hurtado, said that only a few select people can do they job. Before becoming masters, it is essential that they acquire special skills and ask Pachamama's permission to perform rituals in her honour. "I acquired my knowledge little by little,' Choque said. "But I now have the permission to do this job and coca leaves speak to me.' Hurtado said she mostly inherited her knowledge from her grandmother, who was also a yatiri and witnessed how she survived the lightning strike. "For me, she is the holiest person, the one who made me what I am,' Hurtado said. She said she finds comfort in helping her clients secure a good future, but her close relationship with Pachamama brings her the deepest joy. "We respect her because she is Mother Earth,' Hurtado said. "We live in her.' – AP
The Sun
3 days ago
- The Sun
King Charles leads VJ Day 80th anniversary commemorations in UK
LONDON: King Charles will lead British commemorations on Friday for the 80th anniversary of VJ Day, which marks victory over Japan and the end of World War Two, with famous buildings across the country lit up to mark the occasion. While fighting in Europe ended in May 1945, the conflict with Japan continued until it signalled its intention to surrender on August 15 that year after atom bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki by the United States. Charles will be joined by his wife Queen Camilla, Prime Minister Keir Starmer, the Japanese ambassador and veterans for a National Service of Remembrance to pay tribute to those who were killed in the final three months of the war. There will be a flypast featuring historic military planes and a two-minute silence at midday. 'Eighty years since our victory in the Second World War, we pay our respects to the many who fought, were captured, and made the ultimate sacrifice in the Far East,' Starmer said in a statement. 'Our country owes a great debt to those who fought for a better future, so we could have the freedoms and the life we enjoy today.' At dawn military bagpipers will perform at The Cenotaph war memorial in central London, at Edinburgh Castle and the National Memorial Arboretum in central England where the service of remembrance will be held later, the government said. A piper will also perform at a Japanese peace garden to recognise the reconciliation between Britain and Japan in the decades since the war ended. On Friday evening, dozens of buildings and locations across the country including Buckingham Palace, the Houses of Parliament, the Tower of London, and the White Cliffs of Dover will be illuminated to mark the anniversary. - Reuters
The Star
4 days ago
- The Star
Fire breaks out onboard Maersk container vessel off Liberian coast
COPENHAGEN (Reuters) -A fire broke out onboard the Maersk Marie container vessel off the coast of Liberia on Wednesday, a spokesperson for Danish shipping group Maersk said on Thursday. (Reporting by Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen, writing by Essi Lehto, editing by Terje Solsvik)
