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USA Today
28-03-2025
- General
- USA Today
Strong earthquake strikes Myanmar, buildings collapse in Mandalay, witnesses say
Reuters USA TODAY March 28 (Reuters) - A strong earthquake struck central Myanmar on Friday, and several buildings collapsed in Mandalay, the country's second-largest city, witnesses said. Buildings shook as well in Bangkok, the Thai capital about 1,000 km (620 miles) to the south, and hundreds of people rushed out in panic. Trading on the stock exchange was halted. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) said the quake was of 7.7 magnitude and at a depth of 10 km. It was followed by a powerful aftershock. The epicentre was about 17.2 km from the city of Mandalay, which has a population of about 1.5 million. There was no immediate word from Myanmar authorities on damage. An officer from the Myanmar Fire Services Department told Reuters: "We have started the search and going around Yangon to check for casualties and damage. So far, we have no information yet." Social media posts from Mandalay, Myanmar's ancient royal capital that is at the centre of its Buddhist heartland, showed collapsed buildings and debris strewn across streets of the city. Reuters could not immediately verify the posts. One witness in the city told Reuters: "We all ran out of the house as everything started shaking. I witnessed a five-storey building collapse in front of my eyes. Everyone in my town is out on the road and no one dares to go back inside buildings." Another witness in the city, Htet Naing Oo, told Reuters that a tea shop had collapsed with several people trapped inside. "We couldn't go in," she said. "The situation is very bad." A third witness said a mosque in the city was badly damaged. China's Xinhua news agency said strong tremors were felt in southwestern Yunnan province which borders Myanmar, but there were no reports of casualties. Witnesses contacted in Yangon said many people ran out from buildings in the city, the largest in the country. Witnesses in Bangkok said people ran out onto the streets in panic, many of them hotel guests in bathrobes and swimming costumes. One office tower in downtown Bangkok swayed from side to side for at least two minutes, with doors and windows creaking loudly, witnesses said. Hundreds of employees filed out via emergency stairs as some shocked and panicked workers froze. Loud shrieks could be heard as the building continued to sway. Outside, hundreds gathered in the afternoon sun, while staff with medical kits found office chairs for elderly and people in shock. (Reporting by Devika Nair in Bengaluru, Shoon Naing, Devjyot Ghoshal, Martin Petty in Bangkok; Writing by Raju Gopalakrishnan, Editing by Christian Schmollinger and Shri Navaratnam)
USA Today
21-03-2025
- Politics
- USA Today
Russia accuses Ukraine of blowing up gas pumping station in 'act of terrorism'
Reuters USA TODAY MOSCOW, March 21 - Russia on Friday accused Ukraine of blowing up a major Russian gas pumping and measuring station in the Kursk region near the Ukrainian border in what it called "an act of terrorism." Russia's Investigative Committee, which probes serious crimes, said in a statement it had opened a criminal case over the incident which it said had done "significant damage" to the facility near the town of Sudzha. The Ukrainian military has denied involvement in the attack. The facility, once used by Gazprom to export gas via Ukraine to Europe, is in a region largely recaptured by Russian forces this week after heavy fighting with Ukrainian troops who had held it since last year. (Reporting by Reuters; Writing by Anastasia TeterevlevaEditing by Andrew Osborn)
USA Today
20-03-2025
- Business
- USA Today
Former F1 team boss Eddie Jordan dies at age 76
Reuters USA TODAY LONDON, March 20 - Former Formula One team boss Eddie Jordan has died of prostate cancer at his home in South Africa, the Irishman's family said on Thursday in a statement. He was 76. Jordan, who later became a television pundit and entrepreneur, ran his eponymous team from 1991 to 2005. "EJ brought an abundance of charisma, energy and Irish charm everywhere he went. We all have a huge hole missing without his presence," the family said in the statement. (Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Gareth Jones)
USA Today
21-02-2025
- Politics
- USA Today
Israeli PM Netanyahu says Hamas will pay for not returning body of Shiri Bibas
Reuters USA TODAY Hear this story JERUSALEM, Feb 21 - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Friday that Israel would make Hamas pay for failing to release the body of hostage Shiri Bibas as agreed. "We will act with determination to bring Shiri home along with all our hostages - both living and dead - and ensure Hamas pays the full price for this cruel and evil violation of the agreement," he said in a video statement. The statement came after Israeli specialists said that one of the four bodies handed over by Hamas on Thursday was an unidentified woman and not Shiri Bibas, whose two sons, Kfir and Ariel were handed over and identified. Palestinian group Hamas said on Friday the remains of Shiri Bibas appear to have been mixed with other human remains from the rubble after an Israeli air strike hit the place she was held in. Netanyahu accused Hamas of acting "in an unspeakably cynical manner" by placing the body of a Gaza woman in the coffin instead of Shiri Bibas, who was kidnapped along with her two sons and her husband, Yarden, during the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. More:Two bodies returned by Hamas identified as Bibas children, mother Shiri not among them More:Tragic end for youngest Oct. 7 hostages, Bibas boys become Hamas spectacle in Gaza Hamas has not issued any public comment so far on the Israeli accusation, which threatens to derail the fragile ceasefire agreement reached with U.S. backing and with the help of Qatari and Egyptian mediators last month. However, it was not immediately clear whether it would delay or prevent the handover of six living hostages due for release on Saturday, or whether it would interrupt the start of negotiations for a second phase of the ceasefire, expected in the coming days. Reporting by James Mackenzie and Lara Afghani Editing by Shri Navaratnam and Sharon Singleton
USA Today
19-02-2025
- Politics
- USA Today
UAE tells Rubio it rejects Trump proposal to resettle Palestinians
Reuters USA TODAY DUBAI, Feb 19 (Reuters) - The United Arab Emirates leader told the United States' secretary of state on Wednesday that his country rejects a proposal to displace Palestinians from their land, the Emirati state news agency WAM reported. President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan's comments came after U.S. President Donald Trump proposed a U.S. takeover of Gaza and resettling its Palestinian inhabitants in Jordan and Egypt, prompting widespread opposition among Arab countries and Western allies. Nahyan told U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio during a meeting in Abu Dhabi that it was important to link the reconstruction of Gaza to a path leading to "a comprehensive and lasting peace based on the two-state solution" to the Israel-Palestinian conflict. The UAE's stance on the conflict is important because it is one of four Arab countries that normalized ties with Israel during the first Trump administration and because it has played a role financing reconstruction work after previous conflicts. More: What led up to Trump's callGaza 'Riviera': What led up to Trump's call for US to 'take over' the enclave Arab diplomacy on Gaza is aimed at developing an alternative to Trump's plan for the territory, most of which lies in ruins after Israel's 15-month military campaign against Hamas, with nearly all the 2.3 million inhabitants now homeless. The leaders of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the UAE and Qatar are expected to discuss the plan in Riyadh this month before it can be presented to an Arab League summit in Cairo in March. (Reporting by Jana Choukeir; Editing by Angus MacSwan)
