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Mandalay was the ‘city of gold’ – now it reeks of death
Mandalay used to be known as the city of gold, dotted by glittering pagodas and Buddhist burial mounds, but the air in Myanmar’s former royal capital now reeks of dead bodies.
So many corpses have piled up since a 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck last Friday close to Mandalay, that they have had to be “cremated in stacks”, one resident says.
The death toll from the quake and a series of aftershocks has climbed past 2,700, with 4,521 injured and hundreds still missing, Myanmar’s military chief said. Those figures are expected to rise.
Residents in the country’s second most populous city say they have spent sleepless nights wandering the streets in despair as food and water supplies dwindle.
The Mandalay resident who spoke of bodies being “cremated in stacks” lost her aunt in the quake.
“But her body was only pulled out of the rubble two days later, on 30 March,” said the 23-year-old student who wanted only to be known as J.
Poor infrastructure and a patchwork of civil conflicts are severely hampering the relief effort in Myanmar, where the military has a history of suppressing the scale of national disasters. The death toll is expected to keep rising as rescuers gain access to more collapsed buildings and cut-off districts.
J, who lives in Mandalay’s Mahaaungmyay district, has felt “dizzy from being deprived of sleep”, she said.
Many residents have been living out of tents – or nothing – along the streets, fearing that what’s left of their homes will not hold up against the aftershocks.
“I have seen many people, myself included, crouching over and crying out loud on the streets,” J said.
But survivors are still being found in the city. The fire service said it had rescued 403 people in Mandalay in the past four days, and recovered 259 bodies. The true number of casualties is thought to be much higher than the official version.
In a televised speech on Tuesday, military chief Min Aung Hlaing said the death toll may exceed 3,000, but the US Geological Survey said on Friday “a death toll over 10,000 is a strong possibility” based on the location and size of the quake.
Young children have been especially traumatised in the disaster.
A local pastor told the BBC his eight-year-old son had burst into tears all of a sudden several times in the last few days, after witnessing parts of his neighbourhood buried under rubble in an instant. “He was in the bedroom upstairs when the earthquake struck, and my wife was attending to his younger sister, so some debris had fallen onto him,” says Ruate, who only gave his first name. “Yesterday we saw bodies being brought out of collapsed buildings in our neighbourhood,” said Ruate, who lives in the Pyigyitagon area.
“It’s very sobering. Myanmar has been hit by so many disasters, some natural, some human made. Everyone’s just gotten so tired. We are feeling hopeless and helpless.”
A monk who lives near the Sky Villa condominium, one of the worst-hit buildings reduced from 12 to six storeys by the earthquake, told the BBC that while some people had been pulled out alive, “only dead bodies have been recovered” in the past 24 hours. “I hope this will be over soon. There are many bodies still inside, I think more than a hundred,” he said.
Crematoriums close to Mandalay have been overwhelmed, while authorities have been running out of body bags, among other supplies, including food and drinking water.
Around the city, the remains of crushed pagodas and golden spires line the streets. While Mandalay used to be a major centre for the production of gold leaf and a popular tourist destination, poverty in the city has soared in recent years, as with elsewhere in Myanmar (formerly called Burma).
BBC BurmeseLast week’s earthquake also affected Thailand and China, but itsnimpact has been especially devastating in Myanmar, which has been ravaged by a bloody civil war, a crippled economy and widespread disillusionment since the military took power in a coup in 2021.
On Tuesday, Myanmar held a minute of silence to remember victims, part of a week of national mourning. The junta called for flags to fly at half mast, media broadcasts to be halted and asked people to pay their respects.
Even before the quake, more than 3.5 million people had been displaced within the country.
Thousands more, nany of them young people, have fled abroad to avoid forced conscription – this means there are fewer people to help with relief work, and the subsequent rebuilding of the country.
Russia and China, which have helped prop up Myanmar’s military regime, are among countries that have sent aid and specialist support.
But relief has been slow, J said.
“The rescue teams have been working non-stop for four days and I think they are a little tired. They need some rest as well.
“But because the damage has been so extensive, we have limited resources here, it is simply hard for the relief workers to manage such massive destruction efficiently,” she said.
While the junta had said that all assistance is welcome, some humanitarian workers have reported challenges accessing quake-stricken areas.
Local media in Sagaing, the earthquake’s epicentre, have reported restrictions imposed by military authorities that require organisations to submit lists of volunteers and items that they want to bring into the area.
Several rights groups, including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, have urged the junta to allow aid workers immediate access to these areas.
“Myanmar’s military junta still invokes fear, even in the wake of a horrific natural disaster that killed and injured thousands,” said Bryony Lau, Human Rights Watch’s deputy Asia director.
“The junta needs to break from its appalling past practice and ensure that humanitarian aid quickly reaches those whose lives are at risk in earthquake-affected areas,” she said.
The junta has also drawn criticism for continuing to open fire on villages even as the country reels from the disaster.
[BBC]
Taking a decisive step towards safeguarding Sri Lanka’s maritime heritage, a high-level discussion was held today (18) at the Ministry of Environment.
Jointly chaired by the Deputy Minister of Environment Anton Jayakody and Deputy Minister of Defence Aruna Jayasekara, the meeting focused on the urgent need to prevent environmental pollution and protect the coastal waters around the northern seas and their adjacent islands.
The discussion was attended by senior naval officers, Secretary to the Ministry of Environment K.R. Uduwawala, Chairman of the Marine Environment Protection Authority (MEPA) Samantha Gunasekara, Director General of the Coast Conservation and Coastal Resource Management Department Prof. Turny Pradeep Kumara, and Conservator General of Forests along with several other officials from the Department of Wildlife Conservation and the Ministry of Environment, and the senior ecologists from IUCN.
The discussion placed a strong emphasis on enhancing environmental threats and accelerating the declaration of new Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in the northern region. Officials emphasized that protecting this marine zone is crucial for conserving biodiversity, securing the livelihoods of local fishing communities, and enhancing Sri Lanka’s strategic maritime profile on the global stage.
Primary attention was drawn to the severe ecological destruction caused by Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) fishing. The Ministers highlighted the grave threats these unlawful activities pose to both marine biodiversity and the economic stability of local fishermen, stressing the immediate need for comprehensive surveillance and stricter enforcement mechanisms. Furthermore, extensive discussions took place on how to divest a strategic destructive fishing practices—such as dynamite fishing, unauthorized spearfishing, and the use of banned fishing gear—which inflict irreversible damage on fragile coral reef systems and endangered fish species.
The meeting also addressed infrastructure and governance gaps within fishing harbors, identifying the lack of proper management and formal regulatory mechanisms as key vulnerabilities. As a progressive step forward, suitable islands and surrounding marine zones in the Northern Province have been identified for official declaration as Marine Protected Areas. It was clarified that establishing these MPAs will not restrict the livelihoods of local communities; instead, they are designed to protect and promote sustainable fishing and eco-tourism. Moving forward, these protected zones will be developed into premier eco-tourism destinations, creating new economic opportunities for the region. Ultimately, declaring these Marine Protected Areas will bring international recognition and strategic importance to Sri Lanka’s northern islands. By establishing these zones, Sri Lanka aligns itself strongly with global biodiversity commitments, showcasing its role on the international stage as a responsible custodian of the Indian Ocean’s rich marine resources.
During this discussion, it was proposed to establish a working group comprising experts from the Ministry of Tourism, the Ministry of Fisheries, the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of Environment, and the Ministry of Justice to implement a joint mechanism for protecting the country’s coastal and marine resources, with the Ministry of Environment taking the lead in this initiative.
This conservation initiative marks yet another milestone in the country’s ongoing journey toward achieving a sustainable biosphere and an evergreen future.
Four crew members are in stable condition after two fighter jets collided mid-air during a US air show, officials say.
All the aircrew safely ejected from US Navy EA18-G jets that were performing an aerial demonstration when they crashed, a US Navy spokesperson told the BBC’s US partner CBS News. It is unclear if they were injured.
The dramatic incident happened on Sunday, during the second and final day of the Gunfighter Skies air show, 2 miles (3.2km) northwest of Idaho’s Mountain Home Air Force Base.
A fire erupted and the base was briefly locked down as the rest of the air show was cancelled. An investigation is underway.
“The aircrew involved in the incident are in stable condition,” Mountain Air Force Base Gunfighters said in statement posted on social media on Sunday.
“Thank you to all our guests for your patience and compassion, which has allowed us to quickly and safely respond to the incident,” the statement said.
Cmdr Amelia Umayam told CBS the crew members were being checked by medical personnel
Umayam said the EA-18G Growlers were assigned to an electronic attack squadron from Washington state. The US Navy says each of those jets cost about $67m (£50.3m).
Kim Sykes of Silver Wings of Idaho, which helped organise the air show, told a local CBS affiliate that no-one at the military base was hurt.
The Gunfighter Skies air show was last held in 2018, when a glider pilot died in an accident.
The BBC has contacted the air force base and event organiser for comment.
[BBC]
The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo a public health emergency of international concern.
The agency said the outbreak in DR Congo’s eastern Ituri province, which has seen around 246 suspected cases and 80 deaths reported, does not meet the criteria of a pandemic emergency.
But it warned it could potentially be “a much larger outbreak” than what is currently being detected and reported, with significant risk of local and regional spread.
The current strain of Ebola is caused by the Bundibugyo virus, the health agency said, for which there are no approved drugs or vaccines.
Early symptoms include fever, muscle pain, fatigue, headache and sore throat, and are followed by vomiting, diarrhoea, a rash and bleeding.
The WHO said there are now eight laboratory-confirmed cases of the virus, with other suspected cases and deaths across three health zones including Bunia the capital of Ituri province, and the gold-mining towns of Mongwalu and Rwampara.
One case of the virus has been confirmed in the capital Kinshasa, believed to be in a patient returning from Ituri.
The WHO said that the virus has spread beyond DR Congo, with two confirmed cases reported in neighbouring Uganda. Ugandan officials said a 59-year-old man who died on Thursday had tested positive.
In a statement, the Ugandan government said the patient who died was a Congolese citizen whose body had already been returned to DR Congo.
A laboratory has also confirmed an Ebola case in the eastern city of Goma, currently controlled by the M23 rebels, the AFP news agency reported on Sunday.
At least six Americans have been exposed to Ebola in DR Congo, and one has displayed symptoms but none have been confirmed to have been infected, the BBC’s US partner CBS reports, citing sources.
The US government was reportedly trying to transport them out of the country, possibly to a military base in Germany, STAT News reports.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said it planned to send more staff to DR Congo and Uganda, while the US Embassy in DR Congo issued a health alert reminding citizens not to travel to Ituri province.
The BBC has contacted the CDC for comment.
The WHO said the ongoing security situation and humanitarian crisis in DR Congo, combined with high population mobility, the urban location of the hotspot, and the large number of informal healthcare facilities in the region increased the risk of spread.
[BBC]
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