Lawsuits target alleged anti-Arab hate groups accused of bullying pro-Palestine student protesters

BANGKOK: Thai and Burmese rescue teams were racing against time on Sunday in a desperate search for survivors, two days after a massive earthquake struck Myanmar and killed more than 1,700 people.

The 7.7-magnitude quake hit midday Friday with an epicenter near Myanmar’s second-largest city, Mandalay, destroying scores of buildings and cultural sites and damaging other vital infrastructure, including the local airport.

The extensive damage in a country ravaged by civil war was hampering relief efforts, as the death toll in Myanmar rose to around 1,700 people on Sunday, according to a statement issued by the ruling junta, with about 3,400 others injured and 300 more missing.

“What we’re seeing right now is unexpected, and I cannot imagine what that means for people who are living in those areas,” Marie Manrique, acting head of delegation of the International Federation of Red Cross in Myanmar, said in a video statement.

Mandalay, Sagaing, Naypyidaw and Bago are the hardest-hit areas, she said, but impacts of the earthquakes were also felt in Myanmar’s largest city, Yangon.

“Many people in the city of Yangon … have not had electricity or running water since the day of the earthquake. So that just gives us a good impression on what the situation is on ground zero in Mandalay and Sagaing,” she said.

Local news outlet Myanmar Now said that crematoriums in Mandalay were “struggling to cope” due to a surge in fatalities.

“Major cemeteries … are overwhelmed, with bodies piling up as families seek to cremate their deceased,” a report from the publication reads.

Foreign aid and international rescue teams have started arriving in Myanmar after the military issued a rare plea for help as the nation grappled with the deadliest natural disaster to hit the country in years.

In neighboring Thailand, authorities said the tremors had killed at least 18 people, with videos posted on social media showing water surging from pools atop high-rise hotels and apartments, while one clip showed a dramatic collapse of a 30-story structure that was under construction.

At least 10 people died on that site alone, which is near the city’s Chatuchak Park.

Bangkok authorities were concentrating their rescue operation on that location, as 78 people remain unaccounted for.

“I would like to confirm that we are doing our best because I believe that there is still a chance to find survivors inside,” Bangkok Gov. Chadchart Sittipunt said at a press conference.

There is a critical 72-hour window to reach those trapped, with some thought to be meters underground.

Bangkok Metropolitan Administration said in a statement that the operation is being expedited “by utilizing international tools and experts to scan for vital signs.”

The statement read: “The height of the debris is approximately 20 meters, and the tools are capable of accurately scanning positions and relaying information to experts stationed on a crane basket … The search and rescue operation is now focused on the top, with officers racing against time.”

Friday’s earthquake was a shock for Bangkok residents like Paiboon Auengkongkatong, 34, who had never experienced such tremors.

“I never experienced this before … I’ve always stayed in Bangkok my whole life. This is the first time,” he told Arab News.

Auengkongkatong was at a restaurant on the seventh floor of the Central Rama 9 mall when the quake hit. With a group of friends, he then began running toward the fire escape.

“When we were going down, the building was shaking and the walls were cracking,” he said. “Some stones were falling down; that was really, really scary because I didn’t know if it was going to collapse.”

Jerusalem: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will visit Hungary on April 2, his office said on Sunday, defying an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant issued over alleged war crimes in Gaza.
During his visit, Netanyahu is set to hold talks with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and other senior Hungarian officials before returning to Israel on April 6.
Orban extended an invitation to Netanyahu despite the ICC’s arrest warrant issued last year.
One day after the ICC decision in November, Netanyahu thanked Orban for his show of “moral clarity” in extending the invitation.
Netanyahu’s office at the time published what it said was a letter from Orban in which the Hungarian premier denounced the ICC decision as a “shameful” move.
The ICC issued warrants for Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant over allegations of crimes against humanity and war crimes — including starvation as a method of warfare — in Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza.
The war was sparked by the militant Palestinian groups attack against Israel on October 7, 2023.
Hungary signed the Rome Statute, the international treaty that created the ICC, in 1999 and ratified it two years later during Orban’s first term in office.
However, Budapest has not promulgated the associated convention for reasons of constitutionality and therefore asserts it is not obliged to comply with ICC decisions.