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Rescue personnel walk near a building that collapsed after a strong earthquake struck central Myanmar on Friday, March 28, 2025.

REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha

Hard Numbers: Major earthquake strikes Southeast Asia, Israel passes judicial reform, Fox News wins advertisers, Pollution kills, HHS sees massive job cuts, Suspected US strikes hit Houthis


7.7: Two disastrous earthquakes, the first of 7.7 magnitude, struck Myanmar on Friday, destroying vital infrastructure across Southeast Asia. Videos of a collapsed bridge in Mandalay, Myanmar, and a fallen building in Bangkok, Thailand, have emerged. The number of casualties isn’t yet known, although several are feared trapped under a fallen skyscraper in the Thai capital. At least 144 people have been confirmed dead.

71,000: Israel’s right-wing government on Thursday passed a contentious law to allow politicians greater sway in judicial appointments, despite some 71,000 opposition amendments. The move is a part of the judicial overhaul that protesters have been fighting for over a year and comes amid Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s corruption trial.

125: Since the US election, Fox News has gained 125 new high-profile advertisers as Rupert Murdoch’s cable network continues to draw soaring viewership during President Donald Trump’s second term. Businesses such as Amazon, GE Vernova, JPMorgan Chase, Netflix, and UBS have recently run ads on Fox News for the first time in over two years.

5.7 million: According to a new World Bank study, 5.7 million people are killed annually by air pollution. The global institution is calling on countries to take an integrated approach to halve the number of people breathing unhealthy air by 2040 and points to places like Mexico City, which has successfully curbed pollution, and Egypt and Turkey, which have put financing mechanisms in place to support emission reduction.

20,000: The Trump administration announced Thursday that it will cut 20,000 positions from the Department of Health and Human Services – 10,000 from job cuts and 10,000 from voluntary departures – as part of a major restructuring that its chief, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., says “will do more — a lot more — at a lower cost to the taxpayer.” RFK says the reorganization is intended to help the department prioritize the fight against chronic diseases, but critics fear it could hinder the critical agency, which includes Medicare and the Federal Drug Administration. And throughout the federal government, officials are planning for between 8% and 50% staff cuts, according to an internal White House document obtained by the Washington Post.

19: Two weeks after the Trump administration dropped its first bombs on Houthi rebels in Yemen — details of which were revealed over the now-infamous Signal chat — the United States is believed to have attacked again early Friday, firing at least 19 strikes. The extent of the damage is unclear, although the intensity of the bombardment has increased since the Biden administration first started pounding the Houthis.

Palestinians protest to demand an end to war, chanting anti-Hamas slogans, in Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip, on March 26, 2025.

REUTERS/Stringer

Palestinians shake fists at Hamas

On Wednesday, hundreds of Palestinian protesters took part inthe largest anti-Hamas demonstrations since the Hamas attacks on Israelis that triggered the current war in Gaza. Marchers chanting “out, out, out, Hamas out” demanded that Hamas surrender power over the strip’s Palestinians. Hamas has ruled Gaza since 2007.
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Israel Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Itamar Ben Gvir shake hands as the Israeli government approve Netanyahu's proposal to reappoint Itamar Ben-Gvir as minister of National Security, in the Knesset, Israeli parliament in Jerusaelm, March 19, 2025

REUTERS/Oren Ben Hakoon

Israel gets “budget of war” amid new plans for Gaza and West Bank

Israel’s Knesset on Tuesday approved its 2025 budget by a vote of 66 to 52, days before a March 31 deadline that would have otherwise triggered an election. Described as a “budget of war, and with God’s help … a budget of victory,” by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, the bill includeda 21% increase in spending over 2024, with a record defense budget of 110 billion shekels (US$30 billion) out of a total budget of 756 billion (US$205 billion).
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Smoke rises from a burning building in North Gaza, as seen from the Israel-Gaza border, March 23, 2025.

REUTERS/Amir Cohen

Israel ramps up military offensives as Bibi battles the courts

Israel stepped up its attacks against Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon this weekend. The Israeli military ordered the evacuation of Rafah and confirmed the killing of a Hamas leader on Sunday, while the Israeli cabinet approved a proposal to create a directorate to advance the “voluntary departure” of Palestinians from Gaza. In Lebanon, Israel carried out airstrikes in retaliation for rockets fired into Israel. The strikes killed seven people, including a child, according to Lebanon’s health ministry, and prompted fears of a “new war” in the region.

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Israelis protest against the government over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's plans to remove Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar, the resumption of Israeli strikes on Gaza, and the return of far-right politician Itamar Ben Gvir to the cabinet.

Ilia Yefimovich/dpa via Reuters Connect

Israel launches Gaza ground operation, Bibi faces blowback

Israel has launched a “limited ground operation” to retake the strategic Netzarim Corridor in Gaza as part of its offensive against Hamas, sealing off North and South Gaza and reoccupying four fortified bases. The moves follow Israeli airstrikes that reportedly killed over 400 Palestinians in 48 hours.

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People march towards Jerusalem during a rally against the government and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to demand the release of all hostages from Gaza, on March 18, 2025.

REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun

How Israel’s new Gaza attacks could benefit Bibi

The party of far-right Israeli politician and former National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir has rejoined Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government following renewed Israeli attacks on Gaza.

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Palestinians are fleeing their homes in response to Israel army evacuation orders in a number of neighborhoods following heavy Israeli strikes in Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip on March 18, 2025.

REUTERS/Abd Elhkeem Khaled

Ceasefire ends as Israel resumes Gaza bombing

The Israel-Hamas ceasefire ended overnight, as Israel resumed airstrikes on the Gaza Strip following Hamas’ refusal to release Israeli hostages. The Israeli Defense Forces targeted mid-level Hamas commanders, members of Hamas’ politburo, and its infrastructure in multiple locations across Gaza, including Rafah, Khan Younis, and Gaza City.Over 300 fatalities have been reported, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. The White House said that it was briefed in advance of the operation.

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An Israeli soldier stands next to a gate on a road near the Israel-Lebanon border, in Israel, on March 12, 2025.

REUTERS/Avi Ohayon

Israel and Lebanon are set for border talks

Israel and Lebanon have agreed to start talks “as soon as possible” on their disputed land border nearly four months after a ceasefire paused the most recent war between the two countries.

The Netanyahu and Trump administrations announced on Tuesday that Israel, Lebanon, France, and the US would establish working groups to negotiate the Israel-Lebanon border, the presence of Israeli troops in southern Lebanon, and the release of Lebanese detainees held in Israel.

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