The surprise announcement by the unelected government said the halt in fighting would run until April 22 to show compassion for people affected by last week's quake.

A 7.7 magnitude earthquake rattled much of Southeast Asia on Friday, flattening skyscrapers and leaving more than 1,000 people dead from Myanmar to Thailand.

Remarkable rescue stories from Myanmar's earthquake ruins are keeping hope alive, but aid agencies say time is running out fast, and the need for help is vast.

Buildings in Myanmar are continuing to collapse five days after a powerful earthquake struck the country, creating perilous conditions for rescuers as they attempt to extricate survivors from the rubble.

Myanmar junta chief Min Aung Hlaing has also rejected calls for a ceasefire to facilitate the delivery of desperately needed relief supplies.

Hopes of finding survivors are ‘diminishing’ as the critical 72-hour window in which people can survive without water closes.

The UK's Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) is launching an appeal to help the thousands of people injured and displaced as a result of last week's powerful earthquake which struck Myanmar and the wider region.

Members of the Chinese Red Cross International Emergency Response Team work at a collapsed residential building following the earthquake, in Mandalay, Myanmar March 31, 2025. China Daily via REUTERS/File Photo BANGKOK/BEIJING (Reuters) - After a 7.

Myanmar’s junta government doesn’t often want others to intervene in its affairs.Years of internal strife and alleged human rights abuses in the authoritarian-led Southeast Asian nation have pushed it toward isolation.

Democratic senators said in a letter that the administration was failing its first test of humanitarian aid as China and Russia send teams to help.

After a 7.7 magnitude earthquake shook Myanmar on Friday, killing more than 2,800 people, international rescuers rushed into the devastated Southeast Asian country.

The US has been unable to meaningfully respond to the Myanmar earthquake due to recent foreign aid cuts, according to three former senior US officials. One former US Agency for International Development (USAID) mission director for Myanmar told the BBC that "America has been on the sidelines" after the disaster.

Myanmar's military has announced a temporary ceasefire to speed up relief and reconstruction efforts following last week's devastating earthquake. In a statement, the ruling junta's State Administration Council said the deal would be in effect from 2 April to 22 April.

It was unclear whether the cease-fire would be honored. It came a day after soldiers fired at a Chinese Red Cross aid convoy, and amid multiple airstrikes.

But as the country faces its latest natural disaster Myanmar’s military leadership has struck a different tone, declaring a state of emergency and calling for humanitarian assistance and blood donations just hours after a 7.