News from April 2, 2025 at 2 PM

A 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck Myanmar on March 28, 2025, resulting in over 2,700 deaths and thousands of injuries. Myanmar's military leader Min Aung Hlaing stated that relief efforts were hindered by the ongoing civil war. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported that urgent needs for shelter, food, and water were prevalent in the affected areas. The International Rescue Committee highlighted the urgent need for aid in places like Mandalay, near the epicenter. The military junta in Myanmar has been accused of obstructing aid from reaching areas not under its control. In Bangkok, Thailand, rescuers are searching for signs of life in the ruins of a collapsed skyscraper, with efforts supported by multinational teams including personnel from the U.S. and Israel.

US President Donald Trump is set to announce a new round of tariffs, with details to be revealed on Wednesday. Trump has already imposed duties on Chinese imports, steel, aluminum, and some goods from Canada and Mexico, with higher car tariffs due this week. The White House calls it 'Liberation Day' but has not specified tariff rates. Trump previously backed a 10% tariff on all imports, suggesting up to 60% on Chinese goods. The new tariffs could affect multiple countries, including the EU, China, and Canada, heightening global trade tensions. Businesses face increased costs, potentially raising prices for US consumers and raising recession risks.

On April 1, 2025, French far-right leader Marine Le Pen was banned from running for the presidency in 2027 after being found guilty of embezzling EU funds. The judge, Benedicte de Perthuis, who presided over the three-judge panel that handed Le Pen a five-year ban on seeking public office, is now facing death threats and has had her home address shared online, prompting police protection at both her home and workplace. Nearly 90% of Le Pen's National Rally (RN) supporters believe the court treated her harshly, while over half of the French public believe she received a fair trial. Le Pen has denied inciting a backlash against the judiciary and has condemned the threats against de Perthuis, vowing to appeal the ruling. Christophe Soulard, the head of the Court of Cassation, France's highest judicial court, warned that the threats indicate a weakening of French democracy and a 'worrying moment' for the nation.

On April 1, the results of the Wisconsin Supreme Court judicial election were announced, with Democrat-backed Susan Crawford defeating Republican-backed Brad Schimel, maintaining a liberal majority on the court. Schimel, supported by figures including Donald Trump and Elon Musk, conceded defeat. According to Reuters, Crawford led by approximately 10 percentage points. The election was held due to the retirement of a liberal judge, and with Crawford's victory, the next judicial election is scheduled for April 2028, ensuring a liberal majority for at least three years. The Wisconsin Supreme Court's decisions could impact issues such as voting rights and abortion rights. The election spending approached $99 million, making it the most expensive judicial election in U.S. history. Musk invested around $25 million in Schimel's campaign, but his actions sparked反感 among some voters.

A volcanic eruption occurred on the Reykjanes Peninsula in southwestern Iceland on April 1, 2025, prompting the evacuation of the nearby town of Grindavík and the Blue Lagoon Spa, a popular tourist destination. The Iceland Meteorological Office reported that the eruption began around 09:45 local time, north of the small town of Grindavík, with the ground crack widening to 700 meters within an hour. The town and spa were ordered to evacuate prior to the eruption. As of 11:20 local time, the original fissure had extended southward, and a new crack had opened. Officials urged any remaining residents in Grindavík to leave. Most of the town's 4,000 residents were permanently evacuated in November 2023. The length of the magma formed under the crater series on Tuesday was about 11 km, the longest since November 11, 2023. The gas pollution from the eruption is expected to travel northeast towards the capital area, according to the IMO.

US prosecutors will seek the death penalty for Luigi Mangione, accused of shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in December. Attorney General Pam Bondi directed federal prosecutors to pursue capital punishment for the 'premeditated, cold-blooded assassination'. Thompson was shot outside a New York hotel on December 4, and Mangione was arrested in Pennsylvania days later. He has pleaded not guilty to state charges and has yet to enter a plea for federal charges. The murder is deemed an act of political violence motivated by anger towards US health insurance companies. Mangione faces 11 state criminal counts, including first-degree murder, and federal charges that make him eligible for the death penalty.

Hollywood actor Val Kilmer passed away on April 2, 2025, due to pneumonia at the age of 65. He starred in classic films such as Top Gun and Batman Forever. Kilmer was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014 but recovered. In 2022, he reprised his role as fighter pilot Iceman in Top Gun: Maverick. Many filmmakers, including Michael Mann, Francis Ford Coppola, Josh Brolin, David Thewlis, Will Kemp, Josh Gad, and James Woods, expressed their condolences over his death.

From 7 PM on March 31 to 8:05 PM on April 1, Democratic Senator Cory Booker delivered a 25-hour and 5-minute speech in the Senate, criticizing the Trump administration. This broke the record set by Strom Thurmond in 1957. Booker's speech halted all legislative work in the Senate that day, but as he did not block any specific legislation, it was seen as a symbolic condemnation.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu commenced a four-day visit to Hungary on February 16, 2025, despite an outstanding International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant against him for alleged war crimes in the Gaza Strip. During his visit, Netanyahu is scheduled to meet Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who had invited him shortly after the ICC issued the warrant. Amidst a domestic political storm over suspected ties with Qatar, Netanyahu has denied the false accusations against his aides. This visit marks Netanyahu's second international trip since the ICC issued arrest warrants for him and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant in November last year. As Israel expands its military operation in the Gaza Strip, announcing plans to seize parts of the enclave for a security zone and evacuate large numbers of Palestinians, Netanyahu's visit aims to pressure Hamas into surrendering 59 hostages still held in Gaza.

The administration of US President Donald Trump is preparing to assess the cost of maintaining Greenland as a US territory. The White House is trying to determine the financial implications of Greenland becoming a US territory, including the cost of providing government services for its 58,000 residents. Additionally, the US is attempting to estimate potential federal budget revenue from Greenland's natural resources, but forecasts are complicated by the territory's harsh weather and inaccessibility. One option under consideration is offering a more favorable deal to the Greenland authorities than the current $600 million annual funding by the Danish government. Trump has repeatedly stated that Greenland should become part of the US and threatened high trade duties against Denmark if it does not relinquish the island. In 2019, Trump suggested the US could purchase Greenland, a proposal dismissed as absurd by officials from Greenland and Denmark. Greenland is an autonomous territory of Denmark, and in 1951, Washington and Copenhagen signed the Greenland Defense Treaty, agreeing that the US would defend the island from external aggression.

Betty Webb, a renowned World War II codebreaker who deciphered enemy messages at Bletchley Park, passed away on April 1, 2025, at the age of 101. Webb, who joined operations at the Buckinghamshire base at 18, later contributed to Japanese code decryption at the Pentagon in the United States. She was awarded the Legion d'Honneur by France in 2021. Webb had never disclosed her work to her parents during her time at Bletchley. After the war, she worked at the Pentagon and later returned to the UK, where she served as a school secretary in Shropshire. In 2021, she was among the 6,000 British citizens honored with the Legion d'Honneur.

The UK government is finalizing a deal with Mauritius over the future of the Chagos Islands, where Mauritius would gain sovereignty but allow the US and UK to continue operating a military base on one island for an initial 99 years. The UK is not waiting for further approval from Donald Trump. Earlier, Foreign Secretary David Lammy stated the deal would not proceed if the US president objected. Mauritius confirmed both nations are finalizing the agreement. Announced last October, the plan was delayed due to leadership changes in Mauritius and Trump's election. Trump indicated support for the deal last month. The UK expects to lease Diego Garcia for 99 years, with a possible 40-year extension. The Conservatives criticize the deal, arguing it's not in the national interest. The cost remains undisclosed, but Sir Keir Starmer defends it as crucial for security. The Chagos Islands were separated from Mauritius in 1965, and Britain bought them for £3m, a move Mauritius deems illegal. International pressure has mounted for the UK to return the islands.

Syria experienced a nationwide power outage on Tuesday night due to malfunctions at several points in the national grid, according to a spokesperson from the energy ministry. Technical teams were working to address the issues. Later in the day, the state news agency SANA quoted the director general of the public establishment for transmitting and distributing electricity as saying that power had been restored in the provinces of Homs, Hama, and Tartous, and would gradually return to the rest of the governorates. Syria suffers from severe power shortages, with most areas receiving state-supplied electricity for only two to three hours a day. Damage to the grid complicates the problem of generating and supplying more power. Damascus previously received the bulk of its oil for power generation from Iran, but supplies were cut off after Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham led the ouster of Tehran-allied former president Bashar al-Assad in December. The former interim government under President Ahmed al-Sharaa pledged to quickly increase power supply, partly by importing electricity from Jordan and using floating power barges. Damascus also announced it would receive two electricity-generating ships from Turkey and Qatar to boost energy supplies.

Former Costa Rican President and 1987 Nobel Peace Laureate Oscar Arias announced on Tuesday that the U.S. had revoked his visa, weeks after he criticized U.S. President Donald Trump on social media for behaving like 'a Roman emperor.' Arias, who served as president from 1986 to 1990 and again from 2006 to 2010, won the Nobel Prize for his role in brokering peace during the Central American conflicts of the 1980s. He also promoted a free trade agreement with the U.S. and established diplomatic ties with China in 2007. Arias revealed that he received an email from the U.S. government informing him of the visa suspension without providing reasons. In February, Arias accused current President Rodrigo Chaves on social media of succumbing to U.S. pressure to counter China's influence in the region and deporting migrants from third countries. The U.S. had previously revoked visas from three Costa Rican lawmakers who opposed Chaves' decision to exclude Chinese firms from 5G development in the country. On Tuesday, another opposition lawmaker also had her U.S. visa revoked. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio visited Costa Rica in early February and offered to help Chaves 'punish' officials collaborating with 'foreign actors threatening the country's cybersecurity.'