
-
UN debates future withdrawal of Lebanon peacekeeping force
-
Trump says arranging Putin-Zelensky peace summit
-
Sinner vows to play US Open after Cincy retirement
-
Leeds beat Everton for perfect start to Premier League return
-
'Ketamine Queen' to plead guilty over drugs that killed Matthew Perry
-
Guirassy sends struggling Dortmund past Essen in German Cup
-
Stocks under pressure as Zelensky-Trump talks underway
-
Alcaraz wins Cincinnati Open as Sinner retires
-
Trump floats Ukraine security pledges in talks with Zelensky and Europeans
-
Doak joins Bournemouth as Liverpool exodus grows
-
Excessive force used against LA protesters: rights group
-
Panama hopes to secure return of US banana giant Chiquita
-
'Things will improve': Bolivians look forward to right's return
-
Trump welcomes Zelensky with fresh optimism on peace deal
-
Israeli controls choke Gaza relief at Egypt border, say aid workers
-
Air Canada flight attendants vow to defy latest back-to-work order
-
Hurricane Erin drenches Caribbean islands, threatens US coast
-
Europeans arrive for high-stakes Trump and Zelensky talks
-
Trump, Zelensky and Europeans meet in bid to resolve split over Russia
-
Hamas accepts new Gaza truce plan: Hamas official
-
Stocks under pressure ahead of Zelensky-Trump talks
-
Russian attacks kill 14 in Ukraine ahead of Trump-Zelensky talks
-
Lassana Diarra seeks 65 mn euros from FIFA and Belgian FA in transfer case
-
Air Canada flight attendants face new pressure to end strike
-
Alonso says 'no excuses' as Real Madrid prepare for La Liga opener
-
Deadly wildfires rage across Spain as record area of land burnt
-
Swedish ex-govt adviser goes on trial over mislaid documents
-
Injured Springboks captain Kolisi out for four weeks
-
Irish literary star Sally Rooney pledges UK TV fees to banned pro-Palestine group
-
Stocks mixed ahead of Trump-Zelensky talks
-
Son of Norway princess charged with four rapes
-
Forest sign French forward Kalimuendo
-
Zelensky warns against 'rewarding' Russia after Trump urges concessions
-
FIFA boss condemns racial abuse in German Cup games
-
Spain and Portugal battle wildfires as death toll mounts
-
Joao Felix says late Jota 'will forever be part of football history'
-
Javelin star Kitaguchi finds new home in small Czech town
-
Rain halts rescue operation after Pakistan floods kill hundreds
-
Zelensky says Russia must end war, after Trump pressures Ukraine
-
US envoy says Israel's turn to 'comply' as Lebanon moves to disarm Hezbollah
-
Fight to save last forests of the Comoros unites farmers, NGOs
-
Hong Kong court hears closing arguments in tycoon Jimmy Lai's trial
-
Five killed in Russian drone attack on Ukraine apartment block
-
Myanmar junta sets December 28 poll date despite raging civil war
-
German minister says China 'increasingly aggressive'
-
Singapore key exports slip in July as US shipments tumble 42.7 pct
-
German great Mueller has goal ruled out on MLS debut for Vancouver
-
Zelensky, European leaders head to US for talks on peace deal terms
-
Tourism deal puts one of Egypt's last wild shores at risk
-
Two right-wing candidates headed to Bolivia presidential run-off

Massive quake kills nearly 150 in Myanmar, Thailand
A huge earthquake hit Myanmar and Thailand on Friday, killing nearly 150 people and injuring hundreds, with dozens trapped in collapsed buildings and the death toll expected to rise.
The shallow 7.7-magnitude early afternoon tremor hit northwest of the city of Sagaing in central Myanmar, and was followed minutes later by a 6.4-magnitude aftershock.
The quake flattened buildings, downed bridges, and cracked roads across swathes of Myanmar, and even demolished a 30-storey skyscraper under construction hundreds of kilometres (miles) away in Bangkok.
While the full extent of the catastrophe is yet to emerge, the leader of isolated Myanmar, in the grip of a civil war, issued a rare plea for international aid.
Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing said 144 people had been killed, with 732 confirmed injured, but warned the toll was "likely to rise". Three deaths have been confirmed so far in Thailand.
"In some places, some buildings collapsed," he said in a televised speech, after visiting a hospital in the capital Naypyidaw.
"I would like to invite any country, any organisation, or anyone in Myanmar to come and help. Thank you."
He urged massive relief efforts in the wake of the disaster and said he had "opened all ways for foreign aid".
- 'Mass casualty area' -
Four years of civil war sparked by the military seizing power have ravaged Myanmar's infrastructure and healthcare system, leaving it ill-equipped to respond to such a disaster.
Myanmar declared a state of emergency across the six worst-affected regions after the quake, which the World Health Organization described as a "very, very big threat to life and health".
Hundreds of casualties arrived at a major hospital in Naypyidaw where the emergency department entrance had collapsed on a car.
A hospital official described it as a "mass casualty area" with medics treating the wounded outside.
"I haven't seen (something) like this before. We are trying to handle the situation. I'm so exhausted now," a doctor told AFP.
As night fell, AFP journalists saw rescuers trying to extract a mother and son from the ruins of a collapsed building in Naypyidaw.
Both were seriously injured but rescuers were unable to reach them, a Red Cross worker told AFP.
- Skyscraper collapse -
Across the border in Thailand, a 30-storey skyscraper under construction collapsed to a tangled heap of rubble and dust in a matter of seconds.
Officials have said three workers are confirmed dead with dozens more still unaccounted for, many believed trapped in the rubble.
"I heard people calling for help, saying 'help me'," Worapat Sukthai, deputy police chief of Bang Sue district, told AFP.
"We estimate that hundreds of people are injured," he said.
As night fell, around 100 rescue workers assembled at the scene to search for survivors, illuminated by specially erected floodlights.
Visiting the site, Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said "every building" in Bangkok would need to be inspected for safety, though it was not immediately clear how that would be carried out.
An emergency zone was declared in Bangkok, where some metro and light rail services were suspended.
The streets of the capital were full of commuters attempting to walk home, or simply taking refuge in the entrances of malls and office buildings.
City authorities said parks would stay open overnight for those unable to sleep at home.
Strong quakes are extremely rare in Thailand, and across Bangkok and the northern tourist destination of Chiang Mai, where the power briefly went out, stunned residents hurried outside, unsure of how to respond.
Sai, 76, rushed out of a minimart in Chiang Mai when the shop started to shake.
"This is the strongest tremor I've experienced in my life."
The quake was felt across the region, with China, Cambodia, Bangladesh and India all reporting tremors.
India, France and the European Union all offered to provide assistance, while the WHO said it was mobilising its logistics hub in Dubai to prepare trauma injury supplies.
Pope Francis said he was "deeply saddened by the loss of life and widespread devastation" in a telegram published by the Vatican.
Earthquakes are relatively common in Myanmar, where six strong quakes of 7.0 magnitude or more struck between 1930 and 1956 near the Sagaing Fault, which runs north to south through the centre of the country, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).
A powerful 6.8-magnitude earthquake in the ancient capital Bagan in central Myanmar killed three people in 2016, also toppling spires and crumbling temple walls at the tourist destination.
burs-pdw/rsc
L.Meier--VB