The death toll from Myanmar’s devastating earthquake has risen to 3,354, with 4,850 injured and 220 missing, according to state media. The grim figures emerge as the country struggles to cope with the aftermath of the quake amid a prolonged civil conflict.
Myanmar’s military ruler, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, returned to the capital after a rare trip to Bangkok, where he attended a summit with South and Southeast Asian leaders. In separate meetings, he also met with officials from Thailand, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, and India. State media reported that during his visit, Min Aung Hlaing reaffirmed to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi the junta’s plans to hold “free and fair” elections in December. Modi, meanwhile, called for a permanent post-quake ceasefire and stressed that the elections must be “inclusive and credible,” though critics have dismissed the planned elections as a sham intended to perpetuate military control.
Since the 2021 coup that ousted the elected government of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar has been mired in conflict. The ongoing civil war has displaced more than 3 million people, left basic services in tatters, and plunged a significant portion of the population into humanitarian distress—a situation further exacerbated by the March 28 quake.
United Nations aid chief Tom Fletcher, who spent Friday night in Mandalay near the quake’s epicenter, praised local humanitarian and community groups for their efforts. “Many themselves lost everything, and yet kept heading out to support survivors,” he said on social media, highlighting the grassroots response amid challenges posed by restricted access to aid.
The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights reported that the junta has been limiting aid supplies in quake-hit areas where communities oppose its rule, and it is investigating 53 reported attacks by the military—including 16 incidents that occurred after a ceasefire was declared on Wednesday.
As Myanmar confronts the dual challenges of natural disaster and political turmoil, international attention remains focused on the humanitarian crisis and the prospects for a genuine path toward stability and peace.
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China on Monday sentenced 16 individuals linked to gangs operating from northern Myanmar to death for their roles in telecom fraud and other serious crimes.
Myanmar’s military leader Min Aung Hlaing will travel to China to attend a Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit, state media reported on Thursday, ahead of the country’s first election in almost five years-a vote backed by Beijing.
Myanmar will hold the initial phase of its general election on 28 December, marking the first polls in nearly five years. The election, already criticised as a sham by opponents, will be held in phases over December and January for security reasons, with subsequent dates to be announced later.
Russia’s human rights commissioner, Tatyana Moskalkova, has said that Ukraine has not provided Moscow with a list of thousands of children it alleges were taken illegally to Russia, despite the issue being discussed during talks in Istanbul.
Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa has offered condolences to President Donald Trump following an ISIS attack near the ancient city of Palmyra that killed two U.S. soldiers and a civilian interpreter, Syrian and U.S. officials said Sunday.
At least 17 people, including students, were killed and 20 others injured after a school bus fell off a cliff in northern Colombia on Sunday, authorities said.
At least 37 people have been killed in flash floods triggered by torrential rain in Morocco's Atlantic coastal province of Safi, Moroccan authorities said on Monday (15 December).
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