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Chapman blasts ton as New Zealand win first Pakistan ODI by 73 runs

Mark Chapman struck a sublime century and Nathan Smith claimed four wickets Saturday as New Zealand eased to a 73-run win over Pakistan in the first one-day international in Napier.Chapman’s career-best 132 formed the foundation of an imposing 344-9 at McLean Park before Pakistan’s promising chase capitulated, to be all out for 271 in the 45th over.The tourists looked on track at 249-3, at that point needing 96 runs to win, with more than 11 overs remaining.However, seamer Smith (4-60) helped to spark a late collapse, with the last seven wickets falling for 22 runs.Pakistan captain Mohammad Rizwan lamented a lack of contribution from his lower order, with the bottom six batsmen scoring just three runs between them.”We started the innings with good intent,” Rizwan said.”Obviously, at the end, the pressure increases because you’re getting nearer to the chase. We lost wickets and it changed the momentum.”- ‘Rode our luck’ -Earlier, the recalled Babar Azam top-scored for Pakistan with 78 off 83 balls, but it was his dismissal that started the rot.Salman Agha struck a defiant 58 off 48, but he was let down by a series of loose shots from lower order teammates as New Zealand moved one-up in the three-match series.Chapman’s 111-ball innings featured 13 fours and four sixes, lifting New Zealand out of early trouble after they were asked to bat and stuttered to 50-3.The left-hander put on 199 for the fourth wicket with Daryl Mitchell (76 off 84) before the home side’s innings was finished off in record-breaking fashion by debut all-rounder Muhammad Abbas.Pakistan-born Abbas struck 52, setting a world record for the fastest half-century on debut when he reached 50 off the 24th ball he faced.Player of the match Chapman said he and Mitchell needed to apply themselves in the early stages.”It was certainly pretty tricky early on, the ball was moving a lot. We were probably aiming for a total a little bit lower than what we got in the end,” he said.”But it’s something we pride ourselves on, being able to adapt to the conditions and then stay in the game and just keep scrapping.”We rode our luck at times and then Muh (Abbas) put the icing on the cake. It was outstanding to see.”Pakistan left-arm quick Akif Javed claimed 2-55 on his international debut, but the best figures were recorded by part-time seamer Irfan Khan, who took 3-51 off five expensive overs at the death.Both teams feature numerous changes to those who played out a five-match T20 series, won 4-1 by New Zealand.The second match of the series is in Hamilton on Wednesday.Chapman is in doubt after injuring his hamstring in the field and exiting the game.

Chapman blasts ton as New Zealand win first Pakistan ODI by 73 runs

Mark Chapman struck a sublime century and Nathan Smith claimed four wickets Saturday as New Zealand eased to a 73-run win over Pakistan in the first one-day international in Napier.Chapman’s career-best 132 formed the foundation of an imposing 344-9 at McLean Park before Pakistan’s promising chase capitulated to be all out for 271 in the 45th over.The tourists looked on track at 249-3, at that point needing 96 runs to win, with more than 11 overs remaining.However, seamer Smith (4-60) helped to spark a late collapse, with the last seven wickets falling for 22 runs.Earlier, the recalled Babar Azam top-scored for Pakistan with 78 off 83 balls but it was his dismissal that started the rot.Salman Agha struck a defiant 58 off 48 but he was let down by a series of loose shots from lower order teammates as New Zealand moved one-up in the three-match series.Chapman’s 111-ball innings featured 13 fours and four sixes, lifting New Zealand out of early trouble after they were asked to bat and stuttered to 50-3.The left-hander put on 199 for the fourth wicket with Daryl Mitchell (76 off 84) before the home side’s innings was finished off in record-breaking fashion by debut allrounder Muhammad Abbas.Pakista-born Abbas struck 52, setting a world record for the fastest half-century on debut when he reached 50 off the 24th ball he faced.Pakistan’s seam-heavy attack capitalised on lively bounce but they were punished later.Left-arm quick Akif Javed claimed 2-55 on his international debut, but the best figures were recorded by part-time seamer Irfan Khan, who took 3-51 off five expensive overs at the death.Both teams feature numerous changes to those who played out a five-match T20 series, won 4-1 by New Zealand.The second match of the series is in Hamilton on Wednesday.

Chapman ton lifts New Zealand to 344-9 in first Pakistan ODI

Mark Chapman struck a sublime century and Muhammad Abbas provided record-breaking late fireworks as New Zealand posted 344-9 on Saturday in the first one-day international against Pakistan in Napier.Chapman’s career-best 132 formed the foundation of the imposing team score at McLean Park, after New Zealand had slumped to 50-3 in the 13th over, having been asked to bat.Pakistan-born allrounder Abbas ignited the end of the innings with his 52, setting a world record for the fastest half-century on debut when he reached 50 off the 24th ball he faced.Pakistan’s seam-heavy attack capitalised on lively bounce and movement early on, but their hold on the game slipped when Chapman was joined by Daryl Mitchell (76 off 84 balls), with the pair putting on 199 for the fourth wicket.Left-hander Chapman was the more aggressive of the pair, facing just 111 balls and striking 13 fours and six sixes.The 30-year-old was fortunate to survive a dropped catch in the slips by Salman Agha when on just five.Mitchell’s dismissal in the 42nd over sparked a mini-collapse before 21-year-old Abbas launched his spectacular innings, featuring three fours and three sixes.All four specialist Pakistan seamers were effective early on but were punished late.Left-arm quick Akif Javed claimed 2-55 on his international debut, but the best figures were recorded by part-time seamer Irfan Khan, who took 3-51 off five expensive overs at the death.Both teams feature numerous changes to those who played out a five-match T20 series, won 4-1 by New Zealand.The tourists have welcomed back captain Mohammad Rizwan and batsman Babar Azam after the key veterans were omitted for the T20 series.Along with Javed’s debut, opening batsman Usman Khan and seamer Mohammed Ali are both playing their first ODI for Pakistan.New Zealand handed international debuts to Abbas and opening batsman Nick Kelly, who scored 15.

‘Jail or death’: migrants expelled by Trump fear for their fate

Marwa fled Taliban rule in Afghanistan because she wanted to study, work, wear jeans and go to the park without a male chaperone. Now she is under lock and key in Costa Rica, along with hundreds of other migrants expelled by the United States to third countries in Central America.Costa Rica is one of three Central American countries, along with Panama and Guatemala, that have agreed to receive migrants from other countries and to detain them until they are sent to their home nations or other host countries. A fourth country — El Salvador — took a group of Venezuelans and jailed them in a maximum-security prison after the United States claimed, without providing evidence, that they are gang members.AFP spoke to several migrants from a group of about 200 people, including around 80 children, detained at a facility near Costa Rica’s border with Panama.All said they feared for their lives in their homeland. Marwa, 27, said she was terrified at the thought that she, her husband and two-year-old daughter could be sent back to Afghanistan.Her husband Mohammad Asadi, 31, who ran a construction company back home, was threatened by the Taliban for selling materials to American companies.”I know if I go back I will die there. I will be killed by the Taliban,” Marwa told AFP in English, in an interview conducted through the center’s perimeter fence.Alireza Salimivir, a 35-year-old Iranian Christian, said he and his wife face a similar fate.”Due to our conversion from Islam to Christianity… it’s jail or the death penalty for us,” he said.- Tropical limbo -On his return to office in January, US President Donald Trump launched what he vowed would be the biggest migrant deportation wave in American history and signed an order suspending asylum claims at the southern border.Citing pressure from “our economically powerful brother to the north,” Costa Rica said it had agreed to collaborate in the “repatriation of 200 illegal immigrants to their country.”But only 74 of the migrants have been repatriated so far, with another 10 set to follow, according to the authorities.The rest are in limbo.They refuse to be deported to their homelands, but no other country — including Costa Rica itself, which has a long tradition of offering asylum — has offered to take them in.”We can’t go back, nor can we stay here. We don’t know the culture and don’t speak Spanish,” said Marwa, who said she wanted to be close to relatives “in Canada, the United States or Europe.”- Prison or war -German Smirnov, a 36-year-old Russian former election official, said he fled to the United States with his wife and six-year-old son after flagging up fraud in last year’s presidential election.He said his request for asylum in the United States was “totally ignored, like it had never existed.”If returned to Vladimir Putin’s Russia, he said: “They will give me two options, sit in prison or go to war (in Ukraine).”Marwa and her husband also said they wanted to seek asylum in the United States when they arrived at the US-Mexican border earlier this year after a grueling overland journey through 10 countries, starting in Brazil.But they were never given the chance to file an asylum claim. Instead, they were detained and flown to Costa Rica 18 days later.Asadi said an immigration official verbally abused Marwa for wearing a hijab and singled her out to pick up trash, alone.Smirnov said they treated the migrants, including women and children, “like scum.”- Costa Rica policy change -At the Costa Rican facility, the group said they were well fed and allowed to use their cell phones, but their passports had been seized by the police.”There is a systematic pattern of human rights violations in a country that has always prided itself on defending them,” said former Costa Rican diplomat Mauricio Herrera, who has filed a legal challenge to the migrants’ detention.”This is a very serious setback for Costa Rica,” he told AFP.Michael Garcia Bochenek, children’s rights counsel at Human Rights Watch, warned Costa Rica in a statement against being “complicit in flagrant US abuses.”

‘Game-changing’ Hazlewood shines as Bengaluru thrash Chennai in IPL

Table-topping Royal Challengers Bengaluru thrashed Chennai Super Kings by 50 runs on Friday for a second win in this year’s IPL, inspired by a “game-changing” performance from fast bowler Josh Hazlewood.Chasing 197, Chennai wilted despite a late cameo by veteran MS Dhoni who clubbed 30 runs off 16 balls, batting low down at nine in the order.Australian seamer Hazlewood, who finished with 3-21 in his four overs, and skipper Rajat Patidar’s 32-ball 51, sealed Bengaluru’s comfortable victory. Patidar, who is hoping to force his way into the India T20 team, was well-supported by teammates with openers Phil Salt and Virat Kohli both making scores in the thirties in a total of 196-7.Chennai lost early wickets to Hazlewood and India veteran Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who finished with 1-20 in his three overs.Hazlewood removed Rahul Tripathi (5) and Chennai skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad (0) in the second over of the innings. Deepak Hooda (4) was then dismissed by Kumar in the fifth over to leave the home team reeling at 26-3. Yash Dayal took 2-18 in his three overs with England’s Liam Livingstone finishing with 2-28 in four overs of spin. India duo Ravindra Jadeja (25) and Shivam Dube (19) put up some resistance before Chennai limped to 146-8.Patidar said his “was a very important (innings). We were targeting 200 because that wouldn’t be easy to chase” in Chennai.”My goal was clear that as long as I was there, I would maximise every ball.”Patidar said that Hazlewood’s spell “was game-changing because we got two-three wickets in the first six overs”. Earlier, Kohli made a scrappy 30-ball 31 with the Indian superstar and Salt (32), falling to Afghanistan leg-spinner Noor Ahmad. Noor was the most impressive of all the Chennai bowlers and finished with an impressive 3-36 in his four overs. Devdutt Padikkal (27) and Tim David, with an eight-ball 22, also played important roles to boost the visitors’ total.  “It wasn’t that easy to bat,” said Chennai skipper Gaikwad who added “bad fielding cost us” the game. 

Massive quake kills more than 150 in Myanmar, Thailand

A huge earthquake hit Myanmar and Thailand on Friday, killing more than 150 people and injuring hundreds, with dozens trapped in collapsed buildings and the death toll expected to rise.The shallow 7.7-magnitude tremor hit northwest of the city of Sagaing in central Myanmar in the early afternoon, and was followed minutes later by a 6.4-magnitude aftershock.The quake flattened buildings, downed bridges, and cracked roads across swathes of Myanmar, and even demolished a 30-storey skyscraper under construction hundreds of kilometres (miles) away in Bangkok.While the full extent of the catastrophe is yet to emerge, the leader of isolated Myanmar, in the grip of a civil war, issued a rare plea for international aid.Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing said 144 people had been killed, with 732 confirmed injured, but warned the toll was “likely to rise”. Eight deaths have been confirmed so far in Thailand, with more expected.”I would like to invite any country, any organisation, or anyone in Myanmar to come and help. Thank you,” he said in a televised speech, after visiting a hospital in the capital Naypyidaw.He urged massive relief efforts in the wake of the disaster and said he had “opened all ways for foreign aid”.US President Donald Trump said Washington would be offering assistance.- ‘Mass casualty area ‘ -Four years of civil war sparked by the military seizing power have ravaged Myanmar’s infrastructure and healthcare system, leaving it ill-equipped to respond to such a disaster.Power is down in parts of Myanmar’s biggest city Yangon, the local utility said.The country declared a state of emergency across the six worst-affected regions after the quake.Hundreds of casualties arrived at a major hospital in Naypyidaw, where the emergency department entrance had collapsed on a car.Medics treated the wounded outside the hospital, the same one visited by the junta chief. One official described it as a “mass casualty area”.”I haven’t seen (something) like this before. We are trying to handle the situation. I’m so exhausted now,” a doctor told AFP.Mandalay, Myanmar’s second largest city, appeared to have been badly hit. AFP photos from the city showed multiple buildings in ruins.A resident reached by phone told AFP that a hospital and a hotel had been destroyed, and said the city was badly lacking in rescue personnel.The main road bridge linking Mandalay and Sagaing was down, the city’s university and historic palace wall have collapsed, and telecoms have been affected, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said.- Skyscraper collapse -Across the border in Thailand, a 30-storey skyscraper under construction collapsed into a tangled heap of rubble and dust in a matter of seconds.Interior Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said eight dead bodies have been recovered and, with between 90 and 110 people unaccounted for, the toll is expected to rise.”We see several dead bodies under the rubble. We will take time to bring the bodies out to avoid any further collapses,” he told reporters.”I heard people calling for help, saying ‘help me’,” Worapat Sukthai, deputy police chief of Bang Sue district, told AFP.As night fell, around 100 rescue workers assembled at the scene to search for survivors, illuminated by specially erected floodlights.Visiting the site, Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said “every building” in Bangkok would need to be inspected for safety, though it was not immediately clear how that would be carried out.An emergency zone was declared in Bangkok, where some metro and light rail services were suspended.The streets of the capital were full of commuters attempting to walk home, or simply taking refuge in the entrances of malls and office buildings.City authorities said parks would stay open overnight for those unable to sleep at home.Strong quakes are extremely rare in Thailand, and across Bangkok and the northern tourist destination of Chiang Mai, stunned residents hurried outside, unsure of how to respond.”This is the strongest tremor I’ve experienced in my life,” said Sai, 76, who rushed out of a minimart in Chiang Mai when it started to shake.The quake was felt across the region, with China, Cambodia, Bangladesh and India all reporting tremors.India, France and the European Union offered to provide assistance, while the WHO said it was mobilising to prepare trauma injury supplies.Pope Francis said he was “deeply saddened by the loss of life and widespread devastation” in a telegram published by the Vatican.Earthquakes are relatively common in Myanmar.A powerful 6.8-magnitude earthquake in the ancient capital Bagan in central Myanmar killed three people in 2016, also toppling spires and crumbling temple walls at the tourist destination.burs-pdw/sst

India signs $7.3 bn deal for 156 homemade helicopters

India on Friday announced a $7.3 billion deal to purchase 156 locally made light combat Prachand helicopters for its air force and the army — part of its ongoing push to be self-reliant on defence.The country’s first locally designed and developed combat helicopter will be produced at the country’s largest helicopter factory, opened by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in February 2023.”This decision marks a major boost to India’s combat capabilities and self-reliance,” defence minister Rajnath Singh said on X. “This is indeed a proud moment for India’s Make in India journey.”His ministry said it had signed contracts with state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited.”The supply of these helicopters shall commence from the third year and will be spread over the next five years”, the ministry said, without giving specific dates.The new aircraft will “enhance the combat capability of armed forces at high altitudes,” it added.The country’s recent push to modernise and locally produce defence equipment was spurred by its deadliest clashes in decades with China along their long and disputed border in 2020.India has also fought multiple wars with its other nuclear-armed neighbour, Pakistan, and has tens of thousands of troops deployed along both of those tense frontiers. The new helicopters will be deployed around the country’s tough high-altitude Himalayan frontiers. In recent years, India has introduced its first locally made aircraft carrier. It also become only one of six countries with nuclear strike capabilities on land, sea and air after it tested a ballistic missile from its first homegrown nuclear-powered submarine.Modi has pledged to “gradually reduce India’s dependence on foreign countries for its defence needs”, but the country still remains one of the biggest hardware importers in the world. New Delhi has tried to cut its dependence on Russia, its traditional ally and primary source of key military platforms for decades. It has procured key hardware worth billions of dollars from countries like Israel, France and the United States in recent years.Modi has also eased investment and co-production rules to spur local defence manufacturing. 

First deaths confirmed as ‘mass casualty’ quake hits Myanmar, Thailand

A powerful earthquake killed more than 20 people across Myanmar and Thailand on Friday, toppling buildings and bridges and trapping over 80 workers in an under-construction skyscraper in Bangkok.The shallow 7.7-magnitude tremor hit northwest of the city of Sagaing in central Myanmar, and was followed minutes later by a 6.4-magnitude aftershock.The quake’s devastation prompted a rare request for international aid from Myanmar’s isolated military junta, which has lost swathes of territory to armed groups. A state of emergency was declared across the six worst-affected regions after the quake, which the World Health Organization described as a “very, very big threat to life and health”.”About 20 people” were confirmed dead at a hospital in the capital Naypyidaw, a doctor told AFP on condition of anonymity.Across the border in Thailand, three people were confirmed dead in the collapse of a skyscraper, with 81 more missing and believed trapped in the twisted metal and rubble of the under-construction building.The quake’s worst impacts appeared to be in Myanmar. Hundreds of casualties arrived at a hospital in Naypyidaw where the emergency department entrance had collapsed on a car.A hospital official ushered journalists away from the area as medics treated patients outside, saying: “this is a mass casualty area.””I haven’t seen (something) like this before. We are trying to handle the situation. I’m so exhausted now,” a doctor told AFP.AFP reporters saw junta chief Min Aung Hlaing arrive at the hospital as the ruling military called for foreign help.”We want the international community to give humanitarian aid as soon as possible,” junta spokesman Zaw Min Tun told AFP at the hospital.The rare plea from the junta raises the prospect that damage and casualties may be on a large scale, with Myanmar’s medical system and infrastructure ravaged by four years of civil war.As night fell, AFP journalists saw rescuers trying to extract a mother and son from the ruins of a collapsed building in the capital.Both were seriously injured but rescuers were unable to reach them, a Red Cross worker told AFP.- Skyscraper collapse -In Thailand, Deputy Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai told reporters at least three workers had been killed, with 81 more trapped, after the collapse of a building under construction near the sprawling Chatuchak market.Rescuers were surveying the tangle of rubble and twisted metal for a safe way to search for survivors, an AFP photographer at the scene said.”I heard people calling for help, saying ‘help me’,” Worapat Sukthai, deputy police chief of Bang Sue district, told AFP.”We estimate that hundreds of people are injured,” he said.Visiting the site, Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said “every building” in Bangkok would need to be inspected for safety, though it was not immediately clear how that would be carried out.Across Bangkok and the northern tourist destination of Chiang Mai, where the power briefly went out, stunned residents hurried outside, unsure of how to respond to the unusual quake.Sai, 76, rushed out of a minimart in Chiang Mai when the shop started to shake.”This is the strongest tremor I’ve experienced in my life.”- Buildings damaged -An emergency zone was declared in Bangkok, where some metro and light rail services were suspended, further snarling the city’s already notorious traffic.The streets of the capital were full of commuters attempting to walk home, or simply taking refuge in the entrances of malls and office buildings.City authorities said parks would stay open overnight for those unable to sleep at home.The quake was felt across the region, with China, Cambodia, Bangladesh and India all reporting tremors.India, France and the European Union all offered to provide assistance, while the WHO said it was mobilising its logistics hub in Dubai to prepare trauma injury supplies.State-linked Beijing News showed emergency workers in orange jumpsuits and helmets on a street strewn with fallen masonry in the city of Ruili, on the Chinese border with Myanmar.A video posted on Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, and geolocated by AFP showed a torrent of water and debris cascading from the roof of a high-rise block in Ruili as people fled through a street market below.Earthquakes are relatively common in Myanmar, where six strong quakes of 7.0 magnitude or more struck between 1930 and 1956 near the Sagaing Fault, which runs north to south through the centre of the country, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).A powerful 6.8-magnitude earthquake in the ancient capital Bagan in central Myanmar killed three people in 2016, also toppling spires and crumbling temple walls at the tourist destination.burs-sah/rsc

Panic on the streets of Bangkok as quake collapses skyscraper

A mushroom cloud of dust and debris swept through the streets of northern Bangkok on Friday as panicked residents ran for their lives after an under-construction skyscraper came crashing down following a powerful earthquake.The construction site of a new 30-storey government building quickly turned into a disaster scene, with people jumping into cars to escape or shrieking as they fled on foot.Workers in hard hats and orange hi-vis jackets were engulfed by dust as the concrete stack fell, with dozens who couldn’t get away trapped under the rubble.Rescuers at the collapse site were dwarfed by an enormous mound of rubble and tangled metal struts, just metres from the bustling Chatuchak Market which is hugely popular with tourists.Some of the concrete facade and metal bars at the bottom of the tower survived the collapse, AFP photographs showed.Deputy Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai told reporters that at least three workers had been killed, with 81 more trapped inside when the building came down.- ‘Such a devastating impact’ -The 7.7-magnitude quake violently shook buildings across Bangkok — where strong tremors are almost unheard of — leaving workers and shoppers rushing into the street in shock. “At first, I thought I was sick — like I was getting dizzy or about to faint. Then I noticed the lanterns were moving,” said Hongsinunt, who like many other office workers fled her Bangkok building.Dramatic video footage showed the tremor rocking a high-rise hotel, with water from its rooftop pool whipping over the building’s edge.”I was shopping inside a mall when I noticed some signs moving, so I quickly ran outside,” said Attapong Sukyimnoi, a broker. “I knew I had to get to an open space — it was instinct.”Terrifying tremors also rocked the northern city of Chiang Mai, popular with tourists.Receptionist Baitoey Pradit Sa On said when the quake hit all the guests rushed from her hotel.”It was chaotic… even the water splashed out of the pool,” she said, pointing at the soaked area around it.Strong tremors were also felt in neighbouring China and Myanmar, where roads were pulled up and a major hospital was declared a “mass casualty area”.Bangkok rescuers were focused on the skyscraper collapse site, racing there to find survivors.”I heard people calling for help, saying ‘help me’,” Worapat Sukthai, deputy police chief of Bang Sue district, told AFP.”We estimate that hundreds of people are injured but we are still determining the number of casualties.””I fear many lives have been lost. We have never experienced an earthquake with such a devastating impact before.”

Lines of wounded at Myanmar hospital after powerful quake

Rows of wounded lay outside the emergency department of the 1,000-bed hospital in Myanmar’s capital Naypyidaw on Friday, some writhing in pain and others in shock after a powerful earthquake.A stream of casualties were brought to the hospital — some in cars, others in pickups, and others carried on stretchers, their bodies bloody and covered in dust.”This is a mass casualty area”, a hospital official said, as they ushered journalists away from the treatment area.The hospital itself was hit by the terrifying tremors, which buckled roads and ripped tarmac apart as the ground vibrated violently for around half a minute.The hospital’s emergency department was itself heavily damaged, a car crushed under the heavy concrete of its fallen entrance.”Many injured people have been arriving, I haven’t seen anything like this before,” a doctor at the hospital told AFP.”We are trying to handle the situation. I’m so exhausted.”Some cried in pain, others lay still as relatives sought to comfort them, intravenous drips from their arms.”Hundreds of injured people are arriving… but the emergency building here also collapsed,” security officials at the hospital said.Others sat stunned with their head in their hands, blood caking their faces and limbs.Myanmar’s military chief Min Aung Hlaing visited the hospital, surveying the wounded lying on stretchers.- ‘Help me’ -The Myanmar capital is some 250 kilometres (150 miles) south from the epicentre of the 7.7-magnitude shallow tremor, that hit northwest of the city of Sagaing on Friday afternoon, according to the United States Geological Survey.A 6.4-magnitude aftershock hit the same area minutes later.A team of AFP journalists were at the National Museum in Naypyidaw when the earthquake struck, with chunks of the ceiling falling and cracks running up the walls.The road to one of the biggest hospitals in Naypyidaw was jammed with traffic.As ambulance weaved between vehicles, and shouting paramedic pleaded to be allowed to get through to reach the care of doctors.Those inside ran outside, many trembling and tearful, and frantically trying to call family members on their phones to check if they were alive.Powerful tremors were also felt in neighbouring China and in Thailand, where buildings in the capital Bangkok were shaken violently. Worapat Sukthai, deputy police chief of Bangkok’s Bang Sue district, said he could hear the sound of people screaming for aid trapped in the debris after a 30-story under-construction tower block collapse.”I heard people calling for help, saying help me,” he told AFP. “We estimate that hundreds of people are injured but we are still determining the number of casualties.””I fear many lives have been lost. We have never experienced an earthquake with such a devastating impact before.”Bangkok residents are used to tremors — and know to find a safe space outside if possible — but many said the force on Friday came as a shock.”I was shopping inside a mall when I noticed some signs moving, so I quickly ran outside,” said Attapong Sukyimnoi, a broker. “I knew I had to get to an open space — it was instinct.”burs-pjm/hmn