Myanmar's military government says more than 2,700 people are confirmed dead. Also: The UN says about 1,000 children have been killed or injured in Israel's renewed offensive in the Gaza Strip, and the Great Gatsby marks its 100th anniversary.
Chapter 1: What are the main news highlights in this episode?
This is the Global News Podcast from the BBC World Service. I'm Jackie Leonard and at 13 hours GMT on Tuesday the 1st of April, these are our main stories. A woman's been pulled alive from the rubble of a collapsed building in Myanmar's capital four days after the huge earthquake that left thousands dead.
The UN says about a thousand children have been killed or hurt in Israel's renewed offensive in the Gaza Strip. The Israelis have issued more evacuation orders for the Palestinian territory. And China has begun large-scale military exercises to practice for a blockade of Taiwan. Taiwan says Beijing is the world's biggest troublemaker.
Also in this podcast, on the 100th anniversary of the publication of the American classic The Great Gatsby, we'll hear about a new rendition of the novel.
Let's make her a woman, let's make her a social media influencer. Fitzgerald himself said he had no important women characters in this book and he feared that was a failing of it.
Chapter 2: What is happening in Myanmar after the earthquake?
Flags are at half-mast in Myanmar and a minute's silence has been observed four days after the devastating 7.7 magnitude earthquake, which has claimed more than 2,700 lives so far. Even as the figures for the number of dead continue to rise, there was a small piece of good news. A woman in her 60s has been rescued from the rubble of a
Meanwhile, a team from the BBC's Burmese service has arrived at the epicentre of the quake in Mandalay. Tozar Lin is one of them. Her report has been re-voiced because we couldn't get a quality line.
I am now in Mandalay, near the epicentre of the earthquake. We arrived late last night, one full day later than planned. When we drove into the city, it was completely dark. There was no power, no drinking water and we couldn't find a bathroom. We hadn't been able to book a hotel in advance and the backup plan was to sleep in our car.
After driving around for a bit, somehow we got lucky and managed to find a hotel. But there was no food there, so we stepped out to look for some. There were some shops open, but there were long queues and it was very crowded. We didn't have internet all of last night and no connectivity with our team in Yangon was very patchy, with phone lines barely working.
We had to go to the terrace of the hotel to try to patch into the network. Late at night, there was a huge aftershock. We didn't feel safe sleeping in the hotel, so we left and found shelter at a monastery nearby. We returned to the hotel in the morning to collect our bags. This was the first time we were seeing Mandalay in the light. The city was filled with ruins.
We also heard from this surgeon in Mandalay who wishes to remain anonymous.
As I am an orthopaedic surgeon, I'm doing some operations for the victims in local hospitals. But the challenge is that most local hospitals are also affected by the earthquake and cannot run their services fully. All electricity is cut off and communication systems have also broken down. So we're facing so many challenging situations.
We also have the potential to be arrested during our operation and giving treatments for the victims. The military government is doing some evacuations, but they're not effective. I think they are only doing less than 10% needed for the victims. People are evacuating themselves.
Some international rescue teams are arriving now, but the military government is not allowing them to go to the most affected areas. Even in Mandalay, the Indian rescue team are helping in the Great Wall Hotel only. and the Chinese team is doing in the Sky Villa condo. I believe they are not allowed to go to other places in Mandalay. Challenges are everywhere in Mandalay and the whole country.
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Chapter 3: How is the international community responding to the Gaza conflict?
Chapter 4: What impact has the earthquake had on Mandalay?
I am now in Mandalay, near the epicentre of the earthquake. We arrived late last night, one full day later than planned. When we drove into the city, it was completely dark. There was no power, no drinking water and we couldn't find a bathroom. We hadn't been able to book a hotel in advance and the backup plan was to sleep in our car.
After driving around for a bit, somehow we got lucky and managed to find a hotel. But there was no food there, so we stepped out to look for some. There were some shops open, but there were long queues and it was very crowded. We didn't have internet all of last night and no connectivity with our team in Yangon was very patchy, with phone lines barely working.
We had to go to the terrace of the hotel to try to patch into the network. Late at night, there was a huge aftershock. We didn't feel safe sleeping in the hotel, so we left and found shelter at a monastery nearby. We returned to the hotel in the morning to collect our bags. This was the first time we were seeing Mandalay in the light. The city was filled with ruins.
We also heard from this surgeon in Mandalay who wishes to remain anonymous.
As I am an orthopaedic surgeon, I'm doing some operations for the victims in local hospitals. But the challenge is that most local hospitals are also affected by the earthquake and cannot run their services fully. All electricity is cut off and communication systems have also broken down. So we're facing so many challenging situations.
We also have the potential to be arrested during our operation and giving treatments for the victims. The military government is doing some evacuations, but they're not effective. I think they are only doing less than 10% needed for the victims. People are evacuating themselves.
Some international rescue teams are arriving now, but the military government is not allowing them to go to the most affected areas. Even in Mandalay, the Indian rescue team are helping in the Great Wall Hotel only. and the Chinese team is doing in the Sky Villa condo. I believe they are not allowed to go to other places in Mandalay. Challenges are everywhere in Mandalay and the whole country.
We Myanmar people are facing not only natural disasters, but also the cruelty of military dictatorship. Airstrikes are still active in some regions, even in this sad situation.
A surgeon in Mandalay speaking to the BBC. Our correspondent Nick Marsh is in neighbouring Thailand, which was also affected by the earthquake.
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Chapter 5: What is the current situation on the Thai-Myanmar border?
Myanmar needs more help. And now it's still happening in Myanmar. Our equity is still shaking. And the building is still crashing down.
That report was by Anna Foster. The United Nations says about 1,000 children have been killed or wounded in Gaza since Israel renewed its offensive in the Palestinian territory last month. The UN's children's agency, UNICEF, says 322 children have died following the collapse of the two-month ceasefire last week.
Quoting figures given by the Hamas-run health ministry, it says more than 600 children have been injured. There's been no official response from Israel. Our correspondent Imogen Folks told us more.
What UNICEF says, it estimates, as you said, some of the figures are coming from officials from the health ministry in Gaza, that around 1,000 children, 100 a day, have been killed or maimed in the last decade. Now, some of these children were reportedly already in hospital. Al Nasser Hospital was hit on March 23rd. So it's basically kind of what UNICEF has been saying for a very long time.
There is just nowhere safe. In Gaza, for children or indeed for anyone, UN compounds have been hit. The International Committee of the Red Cross also. And now, just in the last couple of days, we've learned of these shocking killings of 15 aid workers, the Red Crescent UN Civil Defence Committee.
And today, one aid worker who spent a lot of time in Gaza said, you're just seeing daily multiple violations of international law. And there's a real frustration among aid agencies. Part of their job is to kind of uphold international law, that this just keeps on happening and that their own colleagues are being killed. Hundreds of aid workers have been killed in Gaza, as we know.
And how much access are aid agencies, aid workers actually getting in Gaza?
Very limited. They are still there and trying to work, although we do know the UN has reduced its footprint because since the first week of March, there has been a complete blockade on supplies or aid workers. getting in and out. So food and medicines are getting very low. Half of the ambulances now cannot work because there's fuel shortages or they have been damaged in the conflict.
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Chapter 6: How are humanitarian efforts in Gaza being affected?
So it's really worse than challenging for the population.
That was Imogen Folks. Well, the Israeli military has issued more evacuation orders in the Gaza Strip, this time for parts of the north. Mike Thompson is our Middle East regional editor, and he came into the Global News Pod studio to tell us more.
Well, there are large areas of the north now that are affected, principally the northeast. And that follows, Israel says, the firing of rockets, which has prompted this. Israel is saying these residents need to then head to Gaza City to shelters there for safety. Now, this comes on top of other evacuation orders issued yesterday. And these involved large parts of the south.
So it's really quite extensive. And in fact, already even yesterday, around a fifth of Gaza was now under an evacuation order. And now that's been increased further by what we just heard today.
And we've also had reports that Hamas is now saying that its fighters are attacking Israeli soldiers inside the Strip. Is this back to full-blown war?
It's heading that way. So far, Hamas seems to have held off a little. It's carried on negotiations, which, of course, Israel says it's also doing whilst under fire, as it puts it. But yes, it looks like now Hamas is thinking, well, we're getting panelled. So it's now going to be the time to fight back, because if we don't, it won't really help us anyway.
So where does this leave the peace process?
Well, Hamas still seem to be pushing and mediators are pushing for some resolution to this. Israel says it too wants to have a ceasefire again and that it wants at least half of the hostages released. So far, Hamas has only said it will release around five, including an American hostage, which is particularly aimed at President Trump. But yes, meanwhile, the fighting is continuing.
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Chapter 7: What are the effects of the conflict on Hezbollah's supporters in Lebanon?
People are dying, large numbers of them children, as we've been hearing today from UNICEF.
That was Mike Thompson. The Lebanese Shia Muslim group Hezbollah was battered by Israel in the war. Its supporters are still struggling, communities are in ruins and no one knows if there will be any help to rebuild what has been destroyed. Hezbollah's critics see this as a unique opportunity to disarm it and countries say financial support will only come if
if the Lebanese government acts to curb the power of the group. Now discontent seems to be growing within its ranks. Our Middle East correspondent Ugo Bashega has travelled to southern Lebanon to hear from some of the group's supporters.
When the pager exploded, I was sitting behind my desk in the office. I tried to crawl to the door because I'd locked it while I changed out of my clothes, but I couldn't reach the door, and that's why you see blood all over the floor. In the end, my colleagues arrived and knocked down the door, and they took me to the emergency room.
This is Adam. He's a Hezbollah member who works as a nurse at a hospital in Lebanon. On the 17th of September last year, pages of Hezbollah members across Lebanon suddenly exploded, killing around a dozen people and wounding thousands.
So this is the video of the room where the pager exploded. This is my finger on the desk. And there's a lot of blood on the floor.
Adam lost his thumb and several fingers and was blinded in one eye and still has shrapnel in his chest and head.
So this is a picture of you in the hospital. So your entire face is covered with bandages and also your torso. When you look at these pictures, how do you feel? Very good. Why?
Because we believe that the wounds are a kind of medal from God, honouring what we go through fighting for a righteous cause.
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