This handout picture taken and released by Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on April 3, 2025 shows Myanmar’s military chief Min Aung Hlaing (C) arriving in Bangkok to attend the 6th Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) summit. (Photo by Handout / THAILAND’S MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS / AFP)
The head of Myanmar’s junta was due to discuss the response to his country’s devastating earthquake at a regional summit in Bangkok on Friday after the death toll passed 3,000.
Min Aung Hlaing will join a BIMSTEC gathering — representing the seven littoral nations of the Bay of Bengal — where he will raise the emergency response to last Friday’s 7.7-magnitude quake.
The junta chief arrived at Bangkok’s plush Shangri-La hotel, the summit venue, amid tight security, AFP journalists saw.
Many nations have sent aid and teams of rescue workers to Myanmar since the quake but heavily damaged infrastructure and patchy communications — as well as a rumbling civil war — have hampered efforts.
TOPSHOT – Children walk past a collapsed building in Mandalay on April 2, 2025, five days after a major earthquake struck central Myanmar. (Photo by AFP)
Myanmar has been engulfed in a brutal multi-sided conflict since 2021, when Min Aung Hlaing’s military wrested power from the civilian government of Aung San Suu Kyi.
Following reports of sporadic clashes even after Friday’s quake, the junta joined its opponents on Wednesday in calling a temporary halt to hostilities to allow relief to be delivered.
UN chief Antonio Guterres, speaking in New York, called for the Myanmar truce to “quickly lead to a beginning of a serious political dialogue and the release of political prisoners.”
AFP journalists saw hectic scenes on Thursday in the city of Sagaing — less than 15 kilometres (nine miles) from the epicentre — as hundreds of desperate people scrambled for emergency supplies distributed by civilian volunteers.
Roads leading to the city were packed with traffic, many of the vehicles part of aid convoys organised by civilian volunteers and adorned with banners saying where they had been sent from across Myanmar.
Rescue workers watch as heavy machinery clears the rubble at the site of an under-construction building collapse in Bangkok on March 30, 2025, two days after an earthquake struck central Myanmar and Thailand. (Photo by MANAN VATSYAYANA / AFP)
– Situation ‘devastating’ –
Destruction in Sagaing is widespread, with 80 percent of buildings damaged, half severely, UNDP resident representative for Myanmar Titon Mitra told AFP.
Food markets are unusable and hospitals are overwhelmed by patients and structurally unsound, he said, with patients being treated outdoors in heat of 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit).
“We have seen children, pregnant women, injured people there. There’s not enough medical supplies,” he said.
“If you look at the overall impacted area, there’s possibly three million-plus that may have been affected.”
Residents say they still face a lack of help nearly a week after the quake.
“We have a well for drinking water but we have no fuel for the water pump,” Aye Thikar told AFP.
“We also don’t know how long we will be without electricity,” she said.
The 63-year-old nun has been helping distribute relief funds to those left without basic amenities.
But many people are still in need of mosquito nets and blankets, and are forced to sleep outside by the tremors that either destroyed their homes or severely damaged them.
“People passing by on the road have generously donated water and food to us. We rely solely on their kindness,” she said.
– Eyes on summit –
While Sagaing residents scrabbled for handouts of water and instant noodles, Min Aung Hlaing prepared to sit down for a gala dinner with fellow leaders at the $400-a-night Shangri-La hotel.
The leaders of the seven-member BIMSTEC grouping — Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand — will discuss trade, security and other issues, as Asia reels from US President Donald Trump’s swingeing new raft of tariffs.
Host country Thailand has also proposed that the leaders issue a joint statement on the impact of the disaster when they meet on Friday.
Opposition groups and rights organisations have fiercely criticised Thailand’s decision to host Min Aung Hlaing, accusing him of war crimes in Myanmar’s brutal conflict.
His attendance at the summit represents a diplomatic win for Myanmar’s isolated government as it breaks with a regional policy of not inviting junta leaders to major events.
Thai foreign ministry spokesman Nikorndej Balankura defended the decision, saying that the kingdom had a “responsibility” as summit host to invite all BIMSTEC leaders.
Min Aung Hlaing’s arrival in the Thai capital came as a junta spokesperson said on Thursday that 3,085 deaths from the quake had been confirmed, with 341 people still missing and 4,715 injured.
Bangkok, hundreds of kilometres from the quake’s epicentre, also suffered isolated damage.
The city’s death toll has risen to 22, with over 70 still unaccounted for at the site of a building collapse.
A 30-storey skyscraper under construction was reduced to rubble in a matter of seconds when the tremors hit, trapping dozens of workers.
Rescuers are still scouring the immense pile of debris but the likelihood of finding more survivors is diminishing.
A Nigerian man and registered sex offender, Babatunde Odutola, has been sentenced to prison in the UK after exposing himself and masturbating in front of a woman on a train heading to Manchester.
Odutola, 36, who has no fixed address, was sentenced to 44 weeks in prison at Manchester Magistrates’ Court on Monday, September 14, after pleading guilty to outraging public decency and violating a suspended sentence order.
The incident took place around 7 p.m. on Friday, September 11, on a train traveling through Cheshire towards Manchester Piccadilly railway station.
According to the British Transport Police, Odutola approached a woman on the train, looked her up and down, and became aggressive when she refused to engage with him.
He then exposed himself while sitting in a wheelchair and began masturbating while staring at the woman and telling her to “come over.”
A fellow passenger intervened and helped escort the distressed woman from the carriage. Police reports indicate that CCTV footage showed Odutola continuing to masturbate as other passengers walked through the carriage.
British Transport Police officers arrested him after the train arrived at Manchester Piccadilly. He was prosecuted and jailed within 72 hours of the incident.
Detective Constable Leonidas Christoforou of the British Transport Police stated that Odutola’s behavior was “terrifying” for the victim, whom he allegedly targeted while she was traveling alone.
The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) has announced that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has declined Nigeria’s request for an upward review of its 2027 Hajj allocation, leaving the country’s quota unchanged despite growing demand from intending pilgrims nationwide.
The Commission disclosed that it had formally engaged the Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah, seeking additional pilgrimage slots to accommodate the increasing number of Nigerian Muslims desirous of undertaking the sacred journey and to address appeals from several state pilgrims’ welfare boards for enhanced allocations.
However, Saudi authorities communicated their inability to grant additional slots, citing capacity limitations, structural constraints within the holy sites, and the Kingdom’s policy of strict adherence to approved country quotas under the current operational framework.
Consequently, Nigeria’s allocation for the 2027 Hajj exercise remains fixed at 35,000 slots for government pilgrims and 15,000 slots for licensed tour operators, bringing the country’s total approved allocation to 50,000 pilgrims.
Commenting on the development, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NAHCON, Ambassador Ismail Abba Yusuf, said the Commission fully understands the disappointment the decision may cause many aspiring pilgrims and state pilgrim boards that had hoped for additional allocations.
According to him, the Commission explored all available diplomatic and operational channels in pursuit of an increased quota but respects the final decision of the Saudi authorities.
“We appreciate the deep spiritual desire of many Nigerian Muslims to perform Hajj and understand the expectations of states and stakeholders seeking additional slots. While every effort was made to secure an upward review, the Saudi authorities have communicated their final position based on operational realities and capacity considerations,” Ambassador Yusuf stated.
The NAHCON Chairman urged state pilgrims’ welfare boards, agencies and licensed tour operators to make judicious and transparent use of their approved allocations while ensuring strict compliance with all timelines established by the Commission and the Saudi Nusuk platform.
He emphasized that the deadline for uploading the data of all prospective pilgrims for the 2027 Hajj exercise remains September 26, 2026, warning that no extensions would be granted under any circumstance.
“Kindly note that the deadline for uploading prospective pilgrims’ data remains September 26, 2026. We urge all partners, state pilgrim boards, tour operators and representatives to ensure that all required information is submitted before this date, as no extensions will be granted,” he said.
Ambassador Yusuf further advised intending pilgrims who may be unable to secure a slot under the approved 2027 allocation not to lose hope, revealing that preparations for the subsequent pilgrimage season have already commenced.
“Individuals who were unable to secure a slot for the upcoming Hajj are encouraged to register for the 2028 Hajj. The Commission has officially opened the registration portal for this period, and applications are now being accepted,” he added.
South African police have arrested five suspects after rescuing a 25-year-old e-hailing driver who was allegedly kidnapped, raped and held for ransom in Cape Town.
The South African Police Service (SAPS) said in a statement on Sunday that Steenberg police rescued the driver after he was allegedly raped by two female suspects and held at ransom by the group.
Police were alerted by the victim’s brother after the suspects contacted him and demanded R4,000 in cash for the driver’s release.
According to SAPS, the police used the victim’s vehicle tracker to locate him at Southampton Road in Heathfield, where he was rescued.
“Steenberg police rescued a 25-year-old e-hailing driver after he was raped and held at ransom by two female suspects and three males yesterday,” the police said.
The victim had reportedly met one of the female suspects the previous week through his e-hailing business.
According to police, the two exchanged telephone numbers and communicated throughout the week before arranging to meet.
“When he went to meet her, he was kidnapped by the suspects and the females raped him,” SAPS said.
Police subsequently arrested the two female suspects, aged 23 and 34, as well as three male suspects aged 16, 42 and 48.
The five suspects are expected to appear before the Wynberg Magistrate’s Court on Monday, September 14, 2026.
SAPS said they would face charges relating to the alleged kidnapping and rape.
