International
JUST IN: 7.7-magnitude quake hits Myanmar
A powerful 7.7 earthquake hit central Myanmar on Friday, close to the country’s second city of Mandalay, home to around 1 million people and historic temple complexes, with tremors shaking buildings as far away as the Thai capital of Bangkok.
Video posted online from both countries showed panicked residents running from swaying residential towers as dust fills the air, and traffic comes to a sudden stop on busy city streets.
Myanmar is already reeling from more than four years of civil war sparked by a bloody and economically destructive military coup, with has seen military forces battle rebel groups across the country.
It remains one of Asia’s poorest nations and is ill-equipped to deal with major natural disasters.
One resident in Yangon, Myanmar’s commercial hub and around 380 miles away from the epicenter, told CNN: “We felt the quake for about one minute and then we ran out of the building.”
“We saw other people running out of the buildings too. It was very sudden and very strong.”
Another resident said phone networks in the city home to around 8 million people were briefly down following the quake but were now running again.
Video obtained by CNN from Myanmar appeared to show a road bridge spanning the Irrawaddy River that runs through Mandalay, collapsing into the river in a cloud of dust and water.
The epicenter was in nearby Sagaing region, which has been ravaged by the civil war, with the junta, pro-military militia and rebel groups battling for control and all running checkpoints, making travel by road or river extremely difficult.
In an early indication of the quake’s strength, tremors were felt not just in Thailand, but also China’s southwestern Yunnan province.
Video posted to X showed the collapse of a building in Chatuchak Park, Bangkok. The building, which appeared to be under construction, fell in a matter of seconds, kicking up a cloud of dust.
The National Institute for Emergency medicine says 43 people were trapped in the building while seven others have been injured.
A resident in Thailand’s northern city of Chiang Mai, who also did not want to be named, said “I felt it for about ten seconds in my room then I figured out I couldn’t stay inside. So I rushed out on to the street.”
CNN
International
Trump cancels 175,000 visas for violations of public safety
The State Department said its continuous-vetting programme is designed to identify visa holders who violate the conditions attached to their visas, commit crimes, defraud Americans or pose public safety risks.
The United States has revoked more than 175,000 visas issued to foreign nationals since President Donald Trump returned to office.
Donald Trump took office on January 20, 2025, when he was sworn in as the 47th President of the United States.
The State Department disclosed the figure on Monday, saying most cancellations followed law enforcement encounters involving criminal activity fraud, assault, reckless driving, theft and drug-related offences.
Other cases involved child molestation, fraud, embezzlement and more serious offences including kidnapping, sexual battery, domestic violence and possession of child sexual abuse material.
The State Department said its continuous-vetting programme is designed to identify visa holders who violate the conditions attached to their visas, commit crimes, defraud Americans or pose public safety risks.
It stressed that obtaining a US visa does not guarantee permanent permission to enter the country, describing a US visa as a privilege rather than a right.
International
Man jailed for keeping dead mother in freezer to claim £78,000 in benefits
Passing sentence, Judge Lloyd-Clarke said Phillips repeatedly deceived medical professionals to hide the fact that his mother had died.
•Christopher Phillips
A 60-year-old man has been sentenced to two years and four months in prison after keeping his late mother’s body in a chest freezer for nearly three years while fraudulently collecting more than £78,000 in her pension and benefits.
Christopher Phillips was jailed by Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court after admitting to preventing the lawful and decent burial of his 89-year-old mother, Silvia Phillips, and pleading guilty to two counts of fraud.
The court heard that Phillips concealed his mother’s death after she died on March 8, 2023, by storing her body in a chest freezer in the living room of their home in Porthcawl, Wales.
Prosecutors said he failed to notify the Department for Work and Pensions and Bridgend County Borough Council of her death, allowing her pension and benefits to continue being paid into bank accounts he could access.
Passing sentence, Judge Lloyd-Clarke said Phillips repeatedly deceived medical professionals to hide the fact that his mother had died.
“You continued to collect her prescriptions and misled medical professionals about her whereabouts, lying when enquiries were made about your mother, repeatedly telling medical staff that she did not wish to attend appointments or undergo tests,” the judge said.
(Source: Tribune)
International
Russia Issues International Wanted on Telegram Founder Durov
Russian-born Durov — a serial tech founder who has lived outside Russia for years and holds French and United Arab Emirates passports — has frequently clashed with the Russian authorities as Moscow has tightened its grip on the internet.
•Telegram founder Pavel Durov
Russia announced on Wednesday that it was seeking the arrest of Telegram founder Pavel Durov over accusations of “complicity in terrorism”, alleging he had let the platform be used for recruitment by Ukraine’s security services.
Russian-born Durov — a serial tech founder who has lived outside Russia for years and holds French and United Arab Emirates passports — has frequently clashed with the Russian authorities as Moscow has tightened its grip on the internet.
His Telegram messenger is one of the country’s main communications platforms and officials have repeatedly tried to block access or thwart its success in a bid to pressure Durov to hand over user data or push Russians to use an unencrypted state-backed alternative.
The FSB security service said it had launched international search proceedings for Durov, who is also Telegram’s CEO.
“An international wanted notice has been issued… for the head of the Telegram administration, P. Durov,” it said in a statement.
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