Latest news with #TonyCheng
Al Jazeera
3 days ago
- General
- Al Jazeera
The Road to Mandalay
A magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck Myanmar in March 2025, devastating communities across the country. Al Jazeera was the only international broadcaster with a team on the ground to witness the unfolding crisis. What emerged was a story of survival against overwhelming odds. From the capital Naypyidaw to the spiritual heart of Mandalay, our cameras captured the desperate search for survivors and the scale of destruction. At the epicentre, entire neighbourhoods lay in ruins as hundreds of thousands of people found themselves without shelter, clean water or food. Emergency services struggled to cope with the response required. The disaster struck a nation already fractured by civil conflict, where a military government appeared ill-equipped to handle the crisis. Over seven days, Al Jazeera correspondent Tony Cheng documented not just the immediate aftermath, but how this natural catastrophe exposed deeper challenges facing the people of Myanmar during their darkest hour.
Al Jazeera
30-04-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Vietnam celebrates 50 years since end of war with US
Thousands of Vietnamese have waved red flags and sang patriotic songs as a grand military parade held in Ho Chi Minh City concluded Vietnam's 50th anniversary celebrations of the end of war with the United States. Wednesday's event commemorated the first act of the country's reunification on April 30, 1975, when communist-run North Vietnam seized Saigon, the capital of the US-backed South, renamed Ho Chi Minh City shortly after the war in honour of the North's founding leader. A lotus-shaped float carrying a portrait of Ho Chi Minh was near the front of the parade as fighter jets and helicopters carrying red flags flew overhead. Al Jazeera's Tony Cheng, reporting from the city, said thousands of people stayed in the streets overnight to get the best vantage point for the parade, which was 'a day of sombre reflection but also a day of celebration'. 'I am proud of having contributed to liberating the south,' said 75-year-old veteran Tran Van Truong who had travelled – dressed in full military uniform – from the capital, Hanoi, to see the parade. 'But what's gone is gone, I have no hatred for those from the other side of the battle,' Truong told the AFP news agency. 'We should join hands to celebrate the end of the war.' For the first time, more than 300 soldiers from China, Laos and Cambodia also took part in the spectacle. More than 300,000 Chinese soldiers were involved in the bloody conflict, according to state media, providing crucial anti-aircraft defence support and helping with logistics and supplies. 'I think Hanoi is signalling to China that they recognise China's historical contribution,' said Zach Abuza, a professor at the National War College in Washington who focuses on Southeast Asian politics. 'It's also another way for them to signal: 'Don't think our foreign policy is lurching towards the Americans.'' This year marks the 30-year anniversary of diplomatic ties between Vietnam and the US. In 2023, Vietnam upgraded its relations with the US to that of a comprehensive strategic partner, the highest diplomatic status it gives to any country and the same level of relations as China and Russia. There are new signs of strain in the relationship with Washington, however, with President Donald Trump's imposition of heavy tariffs and the cancellation of much foreign aid, which has affected war remediation efforts in Vietnam. Agent Orange contamination and unexploded ordnance in the countryside still threaten lives. The future of those projects is now at risk because of the Trump administration's broad cuts to USAID.
Al Jazeera
31-03-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Myanmar-Thailand earthquake death toll passes 1,600
The death toll from a huge earthquake that hit Myanmar and Thailand has surpassed 1,600, Myanmar's military government has said on state television, as rescuers dig through the rubble of collapsed buildings in a desperate search for survivors. The statement from the military government confirmed 1,644 dead and more than 3,400 injured, with at least 139 people still missing after the magnitude 7.7 earthquake. Mandalay was hit heavily; it is Myanmar's second-largest city and close to the epicentre of the quake. 'It was a pretty uncomfortable night for lots of people. They chose to sleep outside. We saw them in parks putting mattresses outside their homes,' Al Jazeera's Tony Cheng reported from the capital, Naypyidaw. 'There were still aftershocks, several we felt this morning. They were not significantly large ones, but enough to make people feel uncomfortable returning into built-up structures,' he added. Humanitarian operations in Myanmar have been badly hindered by damaged roads and infrastructure, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on Saturday. The earthquake severely damaged critical infrastructure, including major bridges and roads, making it difficult for humanitarian operations to access areas in need, OCHA said. 'Damage to the Yangon-Nay Pyi Taw-Mandalay expressway led to service disruptions, with cracks and surface distortions forcing highway buses to halt operations', the UN agency said in a statement. 'Infrastructure such as roads, bridges, and buildings were affected, leading to casualties and injuries among civilians. Search and rescue operations are currently being carried out in the affected areas,' Myanmar's military also noted. To facilitate earthquake relief efforts, the country's shadow National Unity Government, which coordinates the popular struggle against the ruling military, announced a two-week unilateral partial ceasefire starting Sunday in earthquake-affected areas. An announcement issued Saturday night said its armed wing, the People's Defence Force (PDF), would 'collaborate with the U.N. and non-governmental organizations to ensure security, transportation, and the establishment of temporary rescue and medical camps,' in the areas it controls. In the Thai capital, Bangkok – located 1,000km (620 miles) from the epicentre in Myanmar, about 10 more deaths have been confirmed. The shallow magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck northwest of the city of Sagaing in central Myanmar in the early afternoon on Friday, followed minutes later by a magnitude 6.7 aftershock. The quake destroyed buildings, downed bridges, and buckled roads across swaths of Myanmar, and due to patchy communications in remote areas, many believe the true scale of the disaster has yet to emerge. Harry Roberts, a volunteer with the international disaster relief charity Shelterbox, said the situation in Myanmar was likely to be 'very complex' and 'really serious' considering the government's rare appeal for international help. 'That request must trickle down to immigration and customs, so nongovernmental organisations like ourselves can get the immediate aid in there,' Roberts said. 'At this stage, it's largely about gathering information and assessing the accessibility into the country.' Rescuers in Bangkok laboured through the night on Friday, searching for workers trapped when a 30-storey skyscraper under construction collapsed, reduced in seconds to a pile of rubble and twisted metal by the force of the shaking. Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt said about 10 people had been confirmed killed across the city, most in the skyscraper collapse. But up to 100 workers were still unaccounted for at the building site, close to the Chatuchak weekend market that is a magnet for tourists. 'We are doing our best with the resources we have because every life matters,' Chadchart told reporters at the scene. 'Our priority is acting as quickly as possible to save them all,' the governor said. Al Jazeera's Imran Khan, reporting from the site of the skyscraper collapse, said people in Bangkok were not used to having earthquakes. 'There have been more than 70 aftershocks in the last 24 hours,' he said. 'While they haven't really been felt here in Bangkok, each report gets people very, very nervous. People are incredibly nervous that this might happen again.' Bangkok city authorities said they would deploy more than 100 engineers to inspect buildings for safety across the city after receiving more than 2,000 reports of damage.
Al Jazeera
31-03-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Earthquake death toll in Myanmar, Thailand surpasses 150
A powerful earthquake has hit Myanmar and neighbouring Thailand, destroying buildings, damaging infrastructure and killing more than 150 people. The head of Myanmar's military government, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, said that at least 144 people were killed and 730 others were injured in his country. The quake also hit Thailand, where at least 10 people were killed in the capital, Bangkok, according to city authorities. A magnitude 7.7 quake struck just outside Myanmar's ancient capital Mandalay at 12.50pm (06:20 GMT). The initial tremor was followed minutes later by a magnitude 6.4 aftershock, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS). Photos from Myanmar's current capital, Naypyidaw, showed multiple buildings used to house civil servants destroyed by the quake and rescue crews pulling victims from the rubble. General Min Aung Hlaing, the head of Myanmar's military government said the death toll was expected to rise and invited 'any country' to provide help and donations. 'I've been in earthquakes in this region before, and I've never felt anything as strong as that,' said Al Jazeera's Tony Cheng, who was outside Myanmar's Defence Services Museum in Naypyidaw when the earthquake hit. Cheng and others sought shelter under a doorway as large roofing and side panels crashed down. The tremors began gently but quickly intensified, causing concrete panels to break off the building, he said. In the Thai capital, a 33-storey building that was under construction near Chatuchak Market crumpled into a cloud of dust with onlookers seen screaming and running in a video posted on social media. At least eight people were killed in the building collapse, Interior Minister Anutin Charnvirakul was quoted as saying by news agency AFP. He said that 90 to 110 people remained unaccounted for. Al Jazeera's Imran Khan, who was in Bangkok when the quake hit, said: 'People are out on the streets here. None of the trains are moving. … Traffic is absolutely gridlocked. The buildings have been shuttered in the centre of the city.'Myanmar's military government declared a state of emergency in six regions and states, including Naypyidaw and Mandalay. Major General Zaw Min Tun, a government spokesperson, told MRTV that blood was in high demand in the hospitals in earthquake-hit areas, especially Mandalay, Sagaing and Naypyidaw. In Mandalay, Myanmar's second largest city, located in the country's Buddhist heartland, the earthquake reportedly brought down multiple buildings, including the Ma Soe Yane Monastery, one of the largest in the city, and damaged the former royal palace. A video posted online showed robed monks in the street shooting video of the multistorey monastery before it suddenly collapsed. It was not immediately clear whether anyone was harmed. In the Sagaing region just west of the city, a 90-year-old bridge collapsed, and some sections of the highway connecting Mandalay and Myanmar's largest city, Yangon, were also damaged. The Red Cross said downed power lines added to challenges for their teams trying to reach several hard-hit areas. At least three people were killed in the town of Taungoo, south of Naypyidaw, when a mosque partially collapsed, according to witnesses who spoke to news agency Reuters. 'We were saying prayers when the shaking started. … Three died on the spot,' one of the witnesses said. Local media reported at least two people died and 20 were injured when a hotel collapsed in Aung Ban. A major hospital in Naypyidaw was declared a 'mass casualty area', an official at the facility told the AFP news agency. Rows of wounded were treated outside the emergency department of the 1,000-bed general hospital, some writhing in pain, others lying still as relatives sought to comfort them. Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra announced a state of emergency in her country. Meanwhile, Bangkok has been declared a disaster area, the capital's city hall said on Friday. Urban rail systems in Bangkok were temporarily closed but were expected to resume services on Saturday. Tremors were also felt in the Yunnan and Sichuan provinces in China. They caused injuries and damage to houses in the city of Ruili on the border with northern Myanmar, according to Chinese media reports. Videos that one outlet said it had received from a person in Ruili in Yunnan showed building debris littering a street and a person being wheeled on a stretcher towards an ambulance. Cambodia, Bangladesh and India also reported tremors. Julie Mehigan, head of Asia, the Middle East and Europe for Christian Aid, said the earthquake would have left many people 'devastated' in war-torn Myanmar, which is already experiencing a significant humanitarian crisis. 'Myanmar is one of the least developed countries in the world. Even before this heartbreaking earthquake, we know conflict and displacement has left countless people in real need,' she said. World Health Organization spokeswoman Margaret Harris said at a media briefing that the earthquake was a 'very, very big threat to life and health'. 'We've activated our logistics hub to look particularly for trauma supplies and things like external fixators because we expect that there will be many, many injuries that need to be dealt with,' she said. Marie Manrique, programme coordinator for the International Federation of the Red Cross, told reporters in Geneva via videolink from Yangon that the organisation anticipates the impact to be 'quite large'. 'Public infrastructure has been damaged, including roads, bridges and public buildings. We currently have concerns for large-scale dams that people are watching to see the conditions of them,' she said. Earthquakes are relatively common in Myanmar, where six strong quakes of magnitude 7 or higher struck from 1930 to 1956 near the Sagaing Fault, which runs north to south through the centre of the country, according to the USGS. A magnitude 6.8 earthquake in the ancient capital Bagan in central Myanmar killed three people in 2016, toppling spires and crumbling temple walls at the tourist destination. The impoverished Southeast Asian nation has a strained medical system, especially in its rural states. Moreover, Cheng said it is important to remember that Myanmar is a country in the grips of a bitter civil war. 'A lot of the people have moved from the countryside into the cities to try and escape,' he noted. 'That has meant it is densely overcrowded and the building standards are not particularly strong.'
Al Jazeera
12-03-2025
- Business
- Al Jazeera
The Take: With or without tariffs, China's global rise is under way
As US hegemony shrinks, China takes a step forward. 12 Mar 2025 Is this China's renaissance? Despite a trade war with the United States, China seems to be bounding into a high-tech future, making moves diplomatically, militarily and technologically. But some Chinese regions are facing a weakening economy and the effects of rapid urbanisation. Will China keep rising? In this episode: Tony Cheng (@TLCBkk), Al Jazeera correspondent Episode credits: This episode was produced by Amy Walters and Sarí el-Khalili, with Khaled Soltan, Hanah Shokeir, Melanie Marich, Phillip Lanos, Spencer Cline and our guest host, Kevin Hirten. It was edited by Alexandra Locke. Connect with us:
