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Mar 29, 2025 - World

Eclipse peaked in London at about 11am on Saturday and was visible in parts of UK between about 10am and noonPeople across the northern hemisphere have gathered to catch a glimpse of the partial solar eclipse.The eclipse peaked in London at about 11am on Saturday and was visible in parts of the UK between about 10am and noon. Continue reading...

Mar 29, 2025 - World

Experts say that the devastating earthquake in Myanmar on Friday was likely the strongest to hit the country in decades, with disaster modelling suggesting thousands could be dead.Automatic assessments from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) said the shallow 7.7-magnitude quake northwest of the central Myanmar city of Sagaing triggered a red alert for shaking-related fatalities and economic losses."High casualties and extensive damage are probable and the disaster is likely widespread," it said, locating the epicentre near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay, home to more than a million people.Myanmar's ruling junta said on Saturday morning that the number killed had passed 1,000, with more than 2,000 injured.However, the USGS analysis said there was a 35 percent chance that possible fatalities could be in the range of 10,000-100,000 people.The USGS offered a similar likelihood that the financial damage could total tens of thousands of millions of dollars, warning that it might exceed the GDP of Myanmar.Weak infrastructure will complicate relief efforts in the isolated, military-ruled state, where rescue services and the healthcare system have already been ravaged by four years of civil war sparked by a military coup in 2021. Dangerous fault -Bill McGuire, emeritus professor of geophysical and climate hazards at University College London (UCL), said it was "probably the biggest earthquake on the Myanmar mainland in three-quarters of a century".A 6.7-magnitude aftershock struck minutes after the first and McGuire warned that "more can be expected".Rebecca Bell, a tectonics expert at Imperial College London (ICL), suggested it was a side-to-side "strike-slip" of the Sagaing Fault.This is where the Indian tectonic plate, to the west, meets the Sunda plate that forms much of Southeast Asia -- a fault similar in scale and movement to the San Andreas Fault in California."The Sagaing fault is very long, 1,200 kilometres (745 miles), and very straight," Bell said. "The straight nature means earthquakes can rupture over large areas -- and the larger the area of the fault that slips, the larger the earthquake."Earthquakes in such cases can be "particularly destructive", Bell added, explaining that since the quake takes place at a shallow depth, its seismic energy has dissipated little by the time it reaches populated areas above.That causes "a lot of shaking at the surface", Bell said.- Building boom -Myanmar has been hit by powerful quakes in the past.There have been more than 14 earthquakes with a magnitude of 6 or above in the past century, including a magnitude 6.8 earthquake near Mandalay in 1956, said Brian Baptie, a seismologist with the British Geological Survey.Ian Watkinson, from the department of earth sciences at Royal Holloway University of London, said what had changed in recent decades was the "boom in high-rise buildings constructed from reinforced concrete".Myanmar has been riven by years of conflict and there is a low level of building design enforcement. "Critically, during all previous magnitude 7 or larger earthquakes along the Sagaing Fault, Myanmar was relatively undeveloped, with mostly low-rise timber-framed buildings and brick-built religious monuments," Watkinson said. "Today's earthquake is the first test of modern Myanmar's infrastructure against a large, shallow-focus earthquake close to its major cities."Baptie said that at least 2.8 million people in Myanmar were in hard-hit areas where most lived in buildings "constructed from timber and unreinforced brick masonry" that are vulnerable to earthquake shaking."The usual mantra is that 'earthquakes don't kill people; collapsing infrastructure does'," said Ilan Kelman, an expert in disaster reduction at UCL."Governments are responsible for planning regulations and building codes. This disaster exposes what governments of Burma/Myanmar failed to do long before the earthquake, which would have saved lives during the shaking." Skyscraper checks -Strong tremors also rocked neighbouring Thailand, where a 30-storey skyscraper under construction was reduced to a pile of dusty concrete, trapping workers in the debris.Christian Malaga-Chuquitaype, from ICL's civil and environmental engineering department, said the nature of the ground in Bangkok contributed to the impact on the city, despite being some 1,000 kilometres (620 miles) from the epicentre in Myanmar. "Even though Bangkok is far from active faults, its soft soil amplifies the shaking," he said. "This affects especially tall buildings during distant earthquakes." Malaga-Chuquitaype said the construction techniques in Bangkok favouring "flat slabs" -- where floors are held only by columns without using strengthening beams, like a table supported only by legs -- were a "problematic design".He said that initial video analysis of the collapsed tower block in Bangkok suggested this type of construction technique had been used."It performs poorly during earthquakes, often failing in a brittle and sudden (almost explosive) manner," he said.Roberto Gentile, a catastrophe risk modelling expert from UCL, said the "dramatic collapse" of the Bangkok tower block meant that "other tall buildings in the city may require a thorough assessment".Bangkok city authorities said they will deploy more than 100 engineers to inspect buildings for safety after receiving more than 2,000 reports of damage.

Mar 29, 2025 - World

Britain's government is hoping to reach a last-minute post-Brexit trade agreement with Washington to avoid -- or at least mitigate -- more tariffs set to be announced on Wednesday by US President Donald Trump. - Current position? -Britain has set out to strike a trade deal with the United States since departing the European Union at the start of the decade, but had been unsuccessful under the previous Conservative government.Prime Minister Keir Starmer, leader of the Labour party that won power in July, visited Washington at the end of February and came away hopeful an accord could be reached.Trump himself held out the prospect of a "great" deal that could avoid tariffs on Britain, hailing Starmer as a tough negotiator.Talks have continued, with Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds recently visiting Washington, while Starmer and Trump took up the baton in a phone call earlier this week.It is thought that the UK government wants to agree some kind of trade deal ahead of April 2 -- termed "Liberation Day" by Trump, when he is set to unveil supposedly "reciprocal" tariffs, tailored to different trading partners.It would follow Trump's announcement this week of imposing steep tariffs on imported vehicles and auto parts, vowing retaliation as trade tensions intensify and price hikes appear on the horizon."We're engaged in discussions with the United States about mitigating the impact of tariffs," Starmer said heading into the weekend.Finance minister Rachel Reeves on Thursday said Britain would not seek to "escalate" trade wars, in contrast to strong comments by other major economic powers that hinted at retaliation in response to the auto-sector tariffs.- What kind of deal? -Downing Street has described a potential agreement as an "economic prosperity deal", indicating it will fall short of a free trade deal ultimately sought by London.As it stands, the United States is the UK's single largest country trading partner."Some type of arrangement that might let the UK escape some tariffs is possible but it would not be a full-scale trade deal," Jonathan Portes, professor of economics at King's College London, told AFP."Brexit is a double edged sword -- it gives us more flexibility and we can negotiate with a view to our own interests. "But equally, it means we have less weight than as part of the EU and moreover we cannot afford to agree to anything that complicates our trading relationship with the EU," Portes added.- What could the UK concede? -UK media has reported that London may scrap a tax on tech giants to avert US tariffs under Trump and clear a pathway to a trade deal.Starmer in response stressed that "in the end, our national interest has to come first, which means all options are on the table".His spokesman added that the UK will "make sure that businesses pay their fair share of tax, including businesses in the digital sector".The digital tax is currently worth about £800 million ($1 billion) annually to the UK Treasury.Reynolds conceded that the digital tax is not "something that can never change or we can never have a conversation about".Portes, along with David Henig, director of the UK Trade Policy Project, pointed to the risk of altering Britain's tax policy in return for a promise from Trump over tariff exemptions."If Trump keeps his word and the UK gains significant benefits as a result, then eliminating a tax could be a good deal," Henig told AFP. "That, however, is quite a gamble."

Mar 28, 2025 - World

A new article in Politico claims that "what started as a group chat has turned into a circular firing squad," in the ongoing saga of the leaked war plans that no one in the Trump administration will acknowledged contained classified information.Of the 19 people who were on the Signal chat, national security adviser Mike Waltz has stepped up to take some sort of responsibility for inadvertently adding The Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg to the list of recipients. Goldberg thought it was a joke at first but knew he needed to leave the chat once bombs actually started falling on Houthi rebels in Yemen. In his subsequent article in The Atlantic, Goldberg said he would not reveal anything that would risk national security. However, the classified information denials at House and Senate hearings convinced him to publish the entire chat the next day, which included time, location, and weapons to be used in the strike that killed a Houthi commander and possibly his girlfriend.Although the public fallout hasn't yet seen anyone losing their jobs for putting U.S. service members at risk, behind the scenes is a different story.ALSO READ: 'Not much I can do': GOP senator gives up fight against Trump's tariffs"Trump administration officials who participated in the now infamous leaked Signal chat are scrambling to minimize the political stain on themselves," wrote reporters Eric Bazail-Eimil and Amy Mackinnon. "Many are blaming the media, or Democrats, for making such a big deal about it. Some are subtly pointing fingers at each other. Others are finding ways to reframe the conversation so they become minor players, otherwise deflecting, or staying silent and hoping the storm passes over."But the lack of admission and accountability is ensuring the storm will not blow over anytime soon."While President Donald Trump has so far stood behind the officials in the group chat (in public at least), the scandal could balloon big enough that someone loses their job," wrote Bazail-Eimil and Mackinnon.On the firing line could be Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and CIA Director John Ratcliffe, who may have perjured themselves before the congressional hearings.While some play the blame game, other Signal group chat members have remained mum on the whole affair. According to Politico, they include National Security Adviser Alex Wong, State Department chief of staff and counselor Michael Needham, National Security Council senior director Walker Barrett, National Security Council Chief of Staff Brian McCormick, White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, and Treasury Secretary, and Dan Katz, chief of staff to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. Read the Politico article here.

Mar 28, 2025 - World

MAGA Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) learned a tough lesson this week about President Donald Trump's political fickleness after completely altering her career path to become his ambassador to the United Nations.According to a new opinion piece for MSNBC, "Joining the MAGA White House was supposed to be the culmination of a political makeover years in the making." To take the new role, Stefanik left her post as Republican Conference chair, said her goodbyes to her staff, and posted "a retrospective of her congressional career on Instagram." Yet, while she was preparing, Trump was formulating other plans."On Thursday, Trump repaid Stefanik’s loyalty as only he could: by kicking her nomination to the curb — notably, not because of anything she did, but because of his own mistakes," wrote Opinion Editor James Downie. ALSO READ: 'The Hard Reset': Here's how the U.S. is exporting terrorism around the worldTrump made the announcement on Truth Social, Trump posting, "I have asked Elise, as one of my biggest Allies, to remain in Congress to help me deliver Historic Tax Cuts, GREAT Jobs, Record Economic Growth, a Secure Border, Energy Dominance, Peace Through Strength, and much more, so we can MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN. With a very tight Majority, I don’t want to take a chance on anyone else running for Elise’s seat."Downie claimed, "The president may have bankrupted multiple casinos, but for once he is right about the odds."Since House Republicans hold just a 218-213 majority with several seats vacant, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) is dealing with an uncomfortably slim margin for error if he wants to enact Trump's agenda."This fiasco, as is so often the case with Trump, is entirely self-inflicted," Downie wrote. "Just as in his first term, a disastrous start to his term has boosted Democratic voters’ enthusiasm for even low-turnout special elections. And whereas the Democratic-leaning vacancies came about because the representatives died while in office, Trump himself created the Florida vacancies by choosing those two representatives for his Cabinet. The first was Mike Waltz, now best known for his struggles with Signal. The second was Matt Gaetz, whose nomination as attorney general lasted just eight days."For her part, Stefanik is maintaining a stiff MAGA upper lip. She told Fox News, “I have been proud to be a team player. This is about stepping up as a team.”Read the MSNBC opinion piece here.