Myanmar earthquake death toll climbs to over 2,700, local media reports
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(MANDALAY CITY, MYANMAR) — At least 2,719 people have been confirmed dead in the aftermath of Friday’s massive 7.7 magnitude earthquake in Myanmar, a government official told local media on Tuesday.
Gen. Min Aung Hlaing said during a televised broadcast that another 4,521 people were injured, according to The Associated Press and Reuters.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
ABC News’ Joe Simonetti contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — American Marc Fogel, who has been held in Russia since being arrested on drug charges in 2021, has been freed, according to the White House.
“Today, President Donald J. Trump and his Special Envoy Steve Witkoff are able to announce that Mr. Witkoff is leaving Russian airspace with Marc Fogel, an American who was detained by Russia,” White House national security adviser Mike Waltz said in a statement. “President Trump, Steve Witkoff and the President’s advisors negotiated an exchange that serves as a show of good faith from the Russians and a sign we are moving in the right direction to end the brutal and terrible war in Ukraine.”
Fogel, an American teacher who was arrested in Russia and was serving a 14-year sentence there, was determined to be “wrongfully detained” by then-Secretary of State Antony Blinken in October 2024, the State Department confirmed to ABC News in late December.
“By tonight, Marc Fogel will be on American soil and reunited with his family and loved ones thanks to President Trump’s leadership,” Waltz added in the statement.
Fogel was a teacher at the Anglo-American School in Moscow, where many diplomats from the U.S. Embassy send their children.
He was arrested in August 2021 when he landed at a Moscow airport. He was accused of trying to bring in 11 grams of marijuana, and eight grams of hash oil was reportedly found in his luggage.
He was sentenced to 14 years on a drug smuggling charge that his family has said was trumped up, and the U.S. had called for his humanitarian release.
The U.S. tried but was unable to include Fogel in the large prisoner swap in August 2024 that freed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, a State Department spokesperson said last year.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
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(LONDON and ROME) — Pope Francis’ condition appears to be “stationary,” the Vatican said on Wednesday, following his pneumonia diagnosis.
“Blood tests, evaluated by the medical staff, show slight improvement, particularly in inflammatory indices,” the Vatican press office said in a statement.
The pope was admitted to a hospital on Friday for tests and to continue his ongoing bronchitis treatment, the Vatican said.
He was subsequently determined to have a respiratory tract infection, the Vatican said. On Tuesday, the Vatican updated that he also has the “onset of bilateral pneumonia,” saying tests, a chest X-ray and the pope’s clinical condition present a “complex picture.”
Italy’s prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, visited the pope in the hospital on Wednesday, the Vatican said.
Pope Francis also “went about his work activities with his closest collaborators,” the Vatican said.
The Vatican described the pope as being in “good spirits” on Tuesday.
“He gives thanks for the closeness he feels at this time and asks, with a grateful heart, that we continue to pray for him,” the Vatican said.
The Jubilee Audience on Saturday has been canceled as the pope continues to recover in hospital, the Vatican announced on Tuesday.
The pope was admitted to a hospital on Friday for “necessary tests” and to continue his ongoing bronchitis treatment, according to the Vatican.
The Italian news agency ANSA reported that “several sources” revealed the pope had arrived on Friday at Gemelli Hospital very fatigued due to difficulty in breathing related to an excess of phlegm, and that the treatment he was undergoing at home had not yielded the expected results.
(LONDON) — One day after the meeting between Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Donald Trump blew up, the Ukrainian president was warmly welcomed by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Zelenskyy was all smiles on Saturday as he was greeted by Starmer outside No. 10 Downing Street, and the pleasantries continued during their photo spray inside.
Starmer pledged the United Kingdom’s “unwaving” support for Ukraine.
“We stand with Ukraine for as long as it may take,” said the prime minister, who also visited Trump this week.
Zelenskyy expressed his gratitude to Starmer.
“We are happy to have such partners and such friends,” he said.
Starmer will host a summit of European leaders on Sunday to discuss ideas to end the war in Ukraine. Zelenskyy was slated to meet with King Charles III as well, the president’s spokesman Serhiy Nykyforov told ABC News.
Buckingham Palace had not confirmed the meeting as of Saturday afternoon.
The meeting followed Zelenskyy leaving the White House on Friday after Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance got into a fiery argument with the Ukrainian president.
Zelenskyy was supposed to sign a deal that would have given the United States access to his country’s critical minerals, but the deal-signing ceremony was canceled after the blowup.
After his meeting with Starmer, Zelenskyy posted on X that the U.K. had agreed to a loan agreement.
“This loan will enhance Ukraine’s defense capabilities and will be repaid using revenues from frozen Russian assets,” he said. “The funds will be directed toward weapons production in Ukraine. This is true justice — the one who started the war must be the one to pay.”
