Devastating earthquake in Myanmar
On Friday, March 28, a massive 7.7 magnitude earthquake rocked Myanmar and caused extensive damages and casualties. The death toll numbers are expected to increase, AP News stated while affirming 2,719 deaths as of April 1. The head of Myanmar’s military government, Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, told a forum for relief donations Friday’s earthquake was the second most powerful in the country’s history, after a magnitude 8 hit the coast in May 1912. The World Health Organization declared more than 10,000 buildings are known to have collapsed. The earthquake also hit neighboring Thailand, primarily a high rise construction site. Authorities in Bangkok released that overall, there are 21 deaths and 34 injuries, the majority which come from the collapse of the site. Relief efforts are coming in slowly. AP News reported on April 1, Chinese rescuers were seen saving four people before a building collapsed from aftershocks. Other international rescue teams from several countries, including Russia, India and the United Arab Emirates, have been reported on the scene. The U.S. Embassy claimed an American team had been sent as of Tuesday but had not arrived yet. Meantime, multiple countries have promised millions in assistance to help Myanmar recover. AP News recalled that even before the earthquake, more than 3 million people had been displaced from their homes by Myanmar’s brutal civil war. The war started in 2021 and as of the quake, is still current.
Russia’s massive military call-up
BBC reported Tuesday, on April 1, that President Vladmir Putin has called up 160,000 men between the ages of 18 and 30. The number is Russia’s highest number of conscripts since 2011. The call-up came several months after Putin claimed Russia should increase the overall size of its military to 2.39 million and 1.5 million active servicemen. The spring draft will take place despite U.S. attempts to forge a ceasefire in the Ukraine-Russia war. Despite this, BBC reported on Tuesday, Ukraine officials claim a Russian attack has left 45,000 people in Kherson without electricity. The maximum age of Russia’s draft increased from 27 to 30 at the beginning of last year. However, this is not the first time Putin has declared an up-scale in Russia’s military. BBC noted that since he declared troops to capture Ukraine in 2022. BBC and Mediazona have verified that since 2022, Moscow has lost more than 100,000 soldiers.
