OFFICIAL PORTAL
PRIME MINISTER'S DEPARTMENT
NATIONAL DISASTER MANAGEMENT AGENCY
PRIME MINISTER'S DEPARTMENT
NATIONAL DISASTER MANAGEMENT AGENCY
YANGON (AFP): Myanmar marked one month since suffering its fiercest earthquake in more than a century on Monday, with military bombardments unabated despite a humanitarian truce as thousands of survivors camp in makeshift shelters.
The magnitude-7.7 tremor was the strongest with an epicentre on Myanmar's land mass since 1912, the United States Geological Survey reported, killing nearly 3,800 according to an official toll still rising daily.
Devastation centred on the second most populous city of Mandalay where apartments, tea shops, hotels and religious institutes were razed or heavily damaged.
"It's been a month but we are still very busy trying to get back what we lost," said one Mandalay resident who asked to remain anonymous.
"I am not the only one still in difficulty, it's everyone around me as well." With tens of thousands people still homeless as monsoon season approaches, aid agencies are warning of major challenges to come.
"People are extremely concerned about what will happen in the next few weeks," the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) Myanmar chief Nadia Khoury told AFP.
Meanwhile she said the organisation was planning a two-year relief plan because "the geographical magnitude of this earthquake has been absolutely huge".
The military -- which sparked a civil war by snatching power in a 2021 coup -- declared a ceasefire to spur relief efforts starting on April 2.
But since then monitors from the Britain-based Centre for Information Resilience have logged 65 air attacks by the junta.
A strike on Wednesday killed five people and wounded eight more in a village on the outskirts of the town of Tabayin, residents told AFP, 100 kilometres (62 miles) northwest of the earthquake's epicentre.
"I managed to hide immediately after I heard explosions but my elder sister couldn't," said 40-year-old Ko Aung. "She ran randomly in a panic during the strike and a piece of shrapnel hit her head. She died on the spot."
Cho Tint, 46, said she sheltered in a cow shed as a fighter jet dropped two bombs. "The military announced a ceasefire for the quake but they broke it already and are still attacking civilians," she said. "That's them crossing the line."
In eastern Myanmar residents also said they were forced from their homes in an offensive by opposition armed groups attempting to seize towns on a lucrative trade route to Thailand during the truce, due to last until Wednesday.
After four years of war, half the population were already living in poverty and 3.5 million were displaced before the quake, which sheared the ground up to six metres (20 feet) in places according to NASA analysis.
Khoury said some of the badly-hit regions already had a high level of humanitarian need because they were hosting people displaced by fighting. "Now it's become even higher with this earthquake," she said.
Ahead of the tremor the nation of more than 50 million was also bracing for the impact of international aid cuts following US President Donald Trump's campaign to slash Washington's humanitarian budget.
The World Food Programme had said it would cut off one million from vital food aid starting in April as a result of "critical funding shortfalls". - AFP
SEREMBAN - Seorang lelaki yang juga pemilik premis yang menjalankan aktiviti penjualan minyak bahan bakar untuk kegunaan industri ditahan selepas disyaki menyebabkan pencemaran Loji Rawatan Air(LRA) Sungai Linggi.
Suspek berusia 31 tahun itu ditahan selepas sehari laporan berkenaan pencemaran terbabit diterima.
Ketua Polis Daerah Seremban, Asisten Komisioner Mohamad Hatta Che Din berkata, polis menerima laporan kejadian pada 24 April lalu jam lebih kurang 7.21 malam.
"Seorang lelaki yang juga merupakan Pegawai Eksekutif Pengeluaran Syarikat Air Negeri Sembilan (SAINS) telah membuat laporan tentang satu laporan diterimanya daripada operator loji berkenaan pencemaran air sungai.
"Ia setelah dia mendapati terdapat tumpahan minyak di LRA tersebut," katanya dalam kenyataan pada Isnin.
Menurutnya, Jabatan Alam Sekitar juga telah pun mengambil sampel air di loji terbabit dan telah membuat pengesahan bahawa air tersebut selamat digunakan.
Tambahnya, kes disiasat di bawah Seksyen 430 Kanun Keseksaan yang memperuntukkan hukuman penjara tidak kurang lima tahun dan tidak lebih 30 tahun atau dengan denda atau kedua-duanya.
NAYPYIDAW: Ribuan mangsa masih berlindung di khemah-khemah sementara, selepas genap sebulan Myanmar dilanda gempa bumi paling dahsyat dalam lebih satu abad.
Gempa bumi berukuran 7.7 skala Richter merupakan gegaran terkuat di Myanmar sejak tahun 1912, sehingga mengorbankan hampir 3,800 orang.
Kemusnahan paling teruk tertumpu di bandar kedua terpadat, Mandalay, di bangunan kediaman, restoran, hotel dan rumah ibadat musnah atau rosak teruk.
Dengan puluhan ribu orang masih tiada tempat tinggal menjelang musim monsun, agensi bantuan memberi amaran mengenai cabaran besar yang dijangka menyusul.
“Orang ramai amat bimbang dengan apa yang akan berlaku dalam beberapa minggu akan datang,” kata Ketua Persekutuan Palang Merah Antarabangsa (IRFC) Myanmar, Nadia Khoury kepada AFP.
Bukan hanya terhimpit dengan impak bencana, Myanmar juga berdepan dengan serangan ketenteraan yang berlarutan meskipun terdapat gencatan senjata.
Tentera – yang mencetuskan perang saudara selepas rampasan kuasa 2021 – mengisytiharkan gencatan senjata untuk mempercepatkan usaha bantuan bermula 2 April lalu.
Namun, pemantau dari Pusat Ketahanan Maklumat yang berpangkalan di Britain mencatatkan 65 serangan udara oleh junta.
Serangan pada Rabu lalu mengorbankan lima nyawa dan mencederakan lapan yang lain di sebuah kampung di pinggir bandar Tabayin, menurut penduduk.
Di timur Myanmar, penduduk melaporkan mereka terpaksa meninggalkan rumah akibat serangan kumpulan bersenjata yang cuba merampas bandar di laluan perdagangan menguntungkan ke Thailand semasa gencatan senjata berlangsung.
Selepas empat tahun konflik, separuh daripada populasi sudah pun hidup dalam kemiskinan dan 3.5 juta orang dipindahkan sebelum gempa tersebut.
SEOUL: The South Korean city of Daegu ordered on Monday more than 1,200 residents to evacuate after strong winds whipped up a wildfire and prompted the closure of a highway in the area due to concerns about the blaze.
The wildfire began at 2pm (0500 GMT) and had affected an estimated 50 hectares (123.6 acres) in less than two hours due to dry conditions and constant winds, the Korea Forest Service said in a statement.
No casualties had been reported so far due to the fire around Daegu, which is about 233km (145 miles) southeast of the capital Seoul.
The Korea Forest Service said 26 helicopters and 202 firefighting personnel were deployed to the site, while a section of the Gyeongbu highway was closed.
In March, South Korea suffered the country's worst ever natural fire disaster, with nearly 30 people killed and historic temples incinerated.
Perdana Menteri Vietnam, Malaysia adakan perbincangan telefon mengenai perkembangan dua hala, serantau
- Admin UKK
- Berita
HANOI, 29 April: Perdana Menteri Vietnam Pham Minh Chinh mengadakan perbincangan melalui telefon dengan rakan sejawatnya dari Malaysia, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, pada 28 April untuk membincangkan kerjasama dua hala serta beberapa perkembangan serantau dan antarabangsa, menurut Agensi Berita Vietnam (VNA).
Dalam perbualan itu, Anwar memaklumkan mengenai inisiatif Malaysia selaku Pengerusi ASEAN tahun ini dalam menangani isu-isu serantau yang turut dibincangkan dalam perbualan mereka pada 6 April lepas.
Beliau berkata Malaysia telah mengadakan dialog dengan pihak berkepentingan di Myanmar bagi memperluaskan perjanjian gencatan senjata demi memfokuskan kepada bantuan kemanusiaan susulan bencana baru-baru ini, lapor VNA.
Selain itu, beliau turut menggariskan pendekatan ASEAN untuk memperkukuh hubungan perdagangan dan pelaburan dengan rakan kongsi sambil mengekalkan peranan pusat blok itu, kata laporan berkenaan.
Sementara itu, Chinh menghargai usaha peribadi Anwar dan kepimpinan Malaysia dalam menangani cabaran serantau, sambil menekankan bahawa ASEAN perlu memainkan peranan utama dalam menyelesaikan krisis Myanmar serta terus menunjukkan solidariti dan sokongan terkoordinasi untuk pemulihan dan pembinaan semula pasca gempa bumi melalui mekanisme sedia ada seperti Pusat Penyelarasan ASEAN bagi Bantuan Kemanusiaan dalam Pengurusan Bencana (AHA Centre) dan Setiausaha Agung ASEAN.
Beliau mengulangi komitmen Vietnam untuk menjadi ahli ASEAN yang aktif dan bertanggungjawab serta berikrar untuk terus menyokong Malaysia sepanjang kepengerusiannya dan dalam penganjuran persidangan ASEAN yang akan datang.
Kedua-dua Perdana Menteri bersetuju untuk mengekalkan mekanisme pertukaran maklumat serta penyelarasan yang berkesan bagi memperdalamkan perkongsian strategik komprehensif Vietnam-Malaysia dan membina ASEAN sebagai blok yang kukuh, bersatu dan berperanan pusat di rantau ini. -TVS