More than 1,700 people died in Myanmar as a result of the devastating earthquake that occurred last week.
The military-led government of the nation announced a higher casualty count on Sunday and established a weeklong mourning period starting on Monday. The search and rescue effort was reportedly being slowed by a lack of resources, equipment, and damaged infrastructure.
At midday on Friday, a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck Myanmar, causing extensive damage, including in Naypitaw, the country’s capital. Shortly thereafter, a second, magnitude 6. 4 tremor occurred.
INTERACTIVE-MYANMAR-EARTHQUAKE DEATH TOLL-March 30-2025 – 12-30 GMT -1743338958 (Al Jazeera)
The earthquake’s epicenter was located 17 kilometers (11 miles) west of Mandalay, the second-largest city in the world, with a population of nearly 1.5 million.
At least 3,400 people have been injured and more than 300 have vanished in the Mandalay region, where tremors have damaged infrastructure like mosques, bridges, and the city’s airport, according to Maj. General Zaw Min Tun, a spokesman for the government.
At least 18 people were killed at a construction site in Bangkok when a partially constructed high-rise collapsed as a result of the earthquake, which also erupted in neighboring Thailand.
Rescue effort was slowed
Rescuers have expressed concern that the search for survivors is failing and that the majority of survivors must be rescued within three days of a catastrophe if they want to survive.
Myanmar’s neighbors, including India, China, Malaysia, and Singapore, have sent warships and planes to deliver relief supplies.
Wai Phyo, a rescuer in Myanmar, claimed that Mandalay’s recovery teams were doing their best, but were overwhelmed by the destruction’s size and the lack of “proper equipment.”
Although the official figure for the region’s population is probably many times higher than the official figure, little is known about the damage that many places have experienced due to telecommunication outages.
The International Rescue Committee’s deputy director of programs in Myanmar, Lauren Ellery, told the AP news agency, “We’re really not clear on the scale of the destruction at this point.”
According to Ellery, the earthquake’s state of emergency and ongoing landslides hampered operations in six regions.
Because telecommunications are slow, she said, “They were talking about a town near Mandalay where 80% of the buildings were reported to have collapsed.”
Far-right leader Marine Le Pen was sentenced to prison and barred from running for office after being found guilty of defrauding the European Union.
Le Pen used more than 3 million euros ($3.3 million) to pay her National Rally party members, according to the Paris court ruling.
The chief judge’s ruling in sentencing stipulated that the nationalist politician would be barred from running for office for five years as of the moment. Additionally, a four-year prison term was set for the RN, who was also fined $2.16 million.
The court considered whether a person who had already been found guilty of a crime or not, as well as the possibility of reoffending, when a candidate ran for president, according to presiding judge Benedicte de Perthuis.
According to opinion polls, the ruling threatens to force Le Pen to withdraw from the 2027 presidential race, where she is currently the frontrunner.
Prosecutors had accused the nationalist leader of seeking her “political death.” She is expected to challenge the decision, which could lead to a contentious legal argument.
Before the sentencing was over, she strode out of the court and fled.
a striking far-right face?
The French far right’s prospects and landscape would change if Marine Le Pen were to lose, according to Natacha Butler of Al Jazeera’s Natacha Butler in Paris courtroom. Jordan Bardella, the current RN president, is most likely to succeed her.
She continued, “But he is much younger and not the same kind of dominant force as Marine Le Pen.” Some claim that he would likely find the 2027 race more difficult because he is not the figure that so many people in France are familiar with.
Some claim that “a fresh face may be what’s needed.”
Jordan Bardella, the leader of the Rassemblement National (RN) political party, is the party’s president. (File: AFP)
Additionally, 12 parliamentary assistants, eight other RN members who were formerly elected as members of the European Parliament when the funds were defunded, and eight others who received wrongful verdicts were sentenced to a number of years in prison.
Nationalists quickly reacted in support of the RN leader.
According to Bardella, the “unjust” verdict had “executed” French democracy.
Eric Zemmour, Le Pen’s radical right rival, criticized the sentence and argued that the RN leader had the right to speak up to the electorate.
Despite Moscow’s frequently urging other nations to not interfere with their own internal affairs, the Kremlin also criticized the decision.
According to spokesman Dmitry Peskov, “more and more European capitals are going down the path of violating democratic norms.”
Viktor Orban, the prime minister of Hungary, who portrays himself as a leader of “patriotic” EU states, expressed support for Le Pen by writing: Je suis Marine! on X .
Islamabad, Pakistan: Mohammad Laal Khan only has a known home there. He was born here. He got married here. Here, his children were born. He buried his eldest brother here.
However, a late-night police raid in November of last year shattered his sense of belonging.
After his parents fled the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, Khan was born in a tribal district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s South Waziristan. Since the 1990s, the family — including Khan’s mother, four brothers, their families, and other relatives — has lived in the suburbs of Pakistan’s capital Islamabad in mud-plastered houses without electricity or other basic utilities.
He is currently being deported to Pakistan.
On a recent March afternoon, Khan, 36, claimed that he had threatened to kill all the men in the same room where dozens of police officers had stormed in and that being an Afghan was a curse upon our existence.
Khan says, despite much pleading, four of his brothers were taken away and charged with living in the country “illegally”. After two weeks, a court imposed bail on them, which they ultimately oversaw.
Afghan Citizenship Cards (ACC), an approved form of identification issued to Afghan citizens living in Pakistan, are the property of the entire family. But over the past two years, between September 2023 and February 2025, a systemic government crackdown on Afghan nationals has resulted in the expulsion of nearly 850, 000 Afghans from Pakistan, including women and children.
After spending almost their entire lives in Pakistan, hundreds of thousands of Afghans who belong to the ACC are now facing expulsion on April 1.
“We are completely ignorant of Afghanistan.” We have lived here all our lives, made friends here, built our businesses here. We will leave if the government wants to throw us out, but we’ll do it once more, Khan said.
“This is our home,” the statement read.
Pakistan’s deportation plan
According to estimates from the government, Pakistan currently has more than 2.5 million Afghans.
About 1.3 million of them hold an ACC, which was first issued in 2006 and was first issued by the UNHCR, while 800, 000 others hold one, which was issued in 2017.
These documents were previously recognised as proof of legitimate residence in Pakistan.
No longer at all.
A three-phase “relocation” plan was laid out in a two-page document released in January by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s office.
The first phase targets the deportation of all Afghans now viewed as undocumented — including ACC holders. The second phase focuses on PoR cardholders, who have been granted temporary stay until June 2025. Afghan nationals who are awaiting relocation to third countries will be addressed in the final phase.
Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry said the government was firm in its stance, despite pleas from the UNHCR and global rights organisations such as Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Amnesty International.
“Our hospitality and generosity have been shown to Afghans in the country for four decades, but it cannot continue indefinitely.” He told Al Jazeera, “They will have to return.”
With the start of this new wave of deportations slated for around Eid — Pakistan celebrates the otherwise festive occasion on March 31 — the deadline has prompted criticism. Many view it as an attempt to unfairly demonize Afghan citizens by relating their involvement in criminal activity.
Islamabad claims that Afghanistan is the site of a number of deadly attacks by armed groups in recent years. This has also led to a spike in tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers.
In a statement released on March 19, HRW’s Asia director Elaine Pearson said, “Pakistani officials should stop coercing Afghans to return home and give those facing expulsion the opportunity to seek protection.”
Amnesty International urged Pakistan to reconsider its decision, calling the deadline “unyielding and cruel”.
“These opaque executive orders contravene the government’s own promises and repeated calls by human rights organizations to uphold the rights of Afghan refugees and asylum seekers”, said Isabelle Lassee, deputy regional director for South Asia at Amnesty International, in a March 26 statement.
However, Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has insisted that the government had “fulfilled its obligations” by welcoming Afghans and was not required to consult with the UNHCR in response to Chaudhry’s sentiments.
However, the UNHCR’s spokesperson, Qaiser Afridi, expressed concern that some of the ACC holders might require international protection.
“We are urging the government to see their situation through a humanitarian lens. Additionally, Afridi told Al Jazeera, “We call for engagement between Pakistan and Afghanistan to ensure their return can be honorable and voluntary.”
That alone, according to Afridi, would make “reintegration in Afghanistan sustainable.”
Mohammad Laal Khan and his family members live in an informal settlement in the suburbs of Islamabad, where they do not have any amenities]Abid Hussain/Al Jazeera]
Why are we being pushed away, you ask?
Khan’s family moved to Islamabad in the early 1990s and has resided there ever since.
Khan’s room has rough, mud-plastered walls enclosing a modest space with folded mattresses, a simple rug, and a few personal belongings.
Guldana Bibi, 71, Khan’s mother, had a wrinkled face, deep-set hazel eyes, and a scarf covering her head. She was quietly seated in the room.
“For the past four decades, I have resided here.” My children, my grandchildren, were all born here. My last connection to Afghanistan was with my husband, who passed away years ago. Why are we being “pushed away”? she said.
In response to the government’s crackdowns on Afghans, Khan and his brothers co-founded a wood shuttering company. However, twice in the past ten years, in 2015 and 2023, they were forced to stop working and sell what they had in their stores. Khan claims that he lost close to 1.8 million rupees ($6, 400) due to currency fluctuations.
“People ask why we haven’t done better economically. How can you live if your life is constantly rearranged or you are made to pay bribes to live? Khan said while his arms were folded, standing cross-legged.
“Pakistan and Afghanistan are neighbours. That will never change. However, neither hating one person nor returning people will work.
‘ This cafe is my life ‘
Benazir Raofi sat roughly 10 kilometers (6 miles) away from customers in a dimly lit, colorfully decorated cafe. She has 35 years of residence in Pakistan.
Benazir Raofi was only 12 years old when she moved to Pakistan with her uncle after separating from her parents]Abid Hussain/Al Jazeera]
Raofi’s family left the country when the Soviet withdrawal caused a civil war to break out in her country because her father was a member of the Afghan government. She was prevented while her parents and seven siblings were able to travel to India. She was forced to stay back in Afghanistan.
I was only twelve years old. Before we eventually moved to Pakistan in December 1990, my uncle took care of me, Raofi told Al Jazeera.
Raofi says it is the Pakistani people who give her hope. She worked as a local travel agent and for international NGOs before becoming ACC in 2017.
Before the Taliban took control of Kabul, she received a grant for a project for her idea to build an Afghan Women Solidarity Cafe and Restaurant in the summer of that year.
The walls of the vibrant, but cluttered cafe are adorned with framed certificates, small decorative objects, and artificial vines with flowers. A large image of the historic, three-story palace Darul Aman can be seen on one of the walls.
Afghanis are recalled to the cafe by Raofi, who smiled and said, “When they come in, it reminds them of home.” “I just wanted to provide a space for families, but after the fall of Kabul, my café became a sanctuary for so many Afghans. She continued, “It allowed me to contribute to the community and allow me to earn an honest living.”
She now worries about what the government might do to ACC members like her, though.
Benazir Raofi started her cafe after winning a grant in 2021]Abid Hussain/Al Jazeera]
She said, “I am a single woman, and I am who I am because regular, regular Pakistanis have supported, protected, and nurtured me,” while sipping her kahva, a hot drink made with cardamom and green tea leaves.
Raofi, who still runs the cafe, claims that despite facing health-related setbacks and even theft two years ago, she never felt bothered or concerned about the government’s deportation plan.
Until this year.
“I’ve been told by the police that I can’t work here and that I should leave the city after they have visited my cafe twice since January. Why should I, then? This city is my home for the last 30 years. She said, “This cafe is my life.”
Raofi acknowledges that she has no backup plan in case the deportation deadline approaches.
As he promotes a conservative candidate for the state’s upcoming Supreme Court election, Elon Musk has presented $1 million checks to two Wisconsin voters.
The tech billionaire, a close ally of President Donald Trump, distributed the oversized checks at a rally in Green Bay on Sunday night, boosting the amount of money being spent in what is already the most expensive judicial race in US history.
Similar actions were made by Musk during the November presidential election. Democratic challengers in Wisconsin, a hotly contested swing state, have succeeded in attempting to stop the handout by claiming it constitutes election interference.
Brad Schimel, a conservative, and Susan Crawford, a Democratic candidate, square off in the April 1 election. The court currently has a 4-3 majority led by the liberals.
The billionaire has heavily participated in the judicial election, which is seen as a preliminary assessment of Trump’s contentious first few weeks in office. In the event that they win, he also asserts that liberals will try to use the Wisconsin court to change voting districts and have an impact on upcoming state election results.
Musk claimed that the vote was a “super big deal” in a speech on Sunday night.
He declared that the US House of Representatives will be decided on Tuesday.
Which party has the most influence over the House, which ultimately determines how the country is governed by Western civilization, he said, adding that the outcome of the vote “will have an impact on humanity’s entire destiny.”
Susan Crawford, the candidate for the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, addresses a crowd in Milwaukee on Saturday, March 29, 2025.
The Supreme Court had earlier rejected a move to stop the handouts.
Josh Kaul, the governor’s attorney general in Wisconsin, claimed in a lawsuit that the Tesla boss’s actions were against state law.
According to Kaul, “Wisconsin law prohibits offering anything of value to entice people to vote,” adding that Elon Musk did just that.
Without giving a justification for its decision, the Supreme Court declined to take the case.
Trump’s agenda
The court’s decision comes as it is anticipated to rule on congressional redistricting, union rights, and abortion rights, which could have an impact on the midterm elections of 2026 and the 2028 presidential election.
The court swings are a part of Trump’s wider plan to stop judges from stifling his ideas in the near future. The president’s controversial actions on immigration, state institutions, and foreign policy are the subject of numerous legal challenges currently being pursued.
Musk claimed that if Crawford were to win, “they would gerrymander the district, and deprive Wisconsin of two seats on the Republican side.”
Then, he added, “they will try to stop all the government reforms we are implementing for you, the American people.”
As a preventative measure against upcoming instability, more and more Americans are seeking second passports in a time of political uncertainty and growing global uncertainty.
According to citizenship and residency advisory firms such as Latitude Group and Arton Capital, demand from United States citizens for second passports or long-term residency in other countries – often through investment schemes offered by those countries – has surged dramatically in recent years. Donald Trump’s election as president of the United States appears to have rekindled that trend.
In contrast to the same time last year, Latitude said that US applications for second citizenship or residency have increased by 1, 000% since 2020, right after the COVID pandemic hit and travel restrictions were at their height. Arton reported a 400 percent increase in US clients in the first three months of 2025.
There are no official records of the number of American citizens seeking second passports.
However, according to industry estimates shared with Al Jazeera, about 4, 000 of the roughly 10, 000 global applications for second passports have been submitted by Americans seeking second citizenship in recent years. Although the overall number of applications has remained constant for many years, there have also been significant increases in the proportion of applications from US applicants since the pandemic.
What was once considered the domain of billionaires and business owners is now increasingly attracting professionals and politically concerned citizens seeking a “Plan B” – an exit route if, as they fear, they find it harder to live in the US.
The Latitude Group, which assists clients in obtaining second citizenship and residency through investment schemes, said Christopher Willis, managing partner at the company, “It’s better to have it than to not need it.”
What exactly are investment-based passports?
These programmes, often called “golden visas” or “citizenship-by-investment” schemes, allow individuals to obtain long-term residency or even citizenship in exchange for a financial contribution – usually via real estate investment, a donation to a national development fund or the purchase of government bonds.
Investment requirements range from as little as 10,000 euros ($10,000) to more than one million euros ($1.2 million) depending on the program and location.
Although some programs offer the right to permanent residency, not all of them will automatically lead to full citizenship or a passport.
Residency-by-investment schemes, such as Portugal’s Golden Visa or Greece’s equivalent scheme, offer long-term residence and the right to freedom of travel within the EU’s Schengen Zone but do not grant citizenship immediately. The program does, however, offer a five-year path to citizenship in Portugal with no minimum residency requirements, with an average of 14 days each two years.
In as little as 16 months, citizenship-by-investment schemes, offered by Malta and a number of Caribbean nations, can result in full passports.
According to Latitude, 50 percent of its US clients now choose Portugal’s Golden Visa as their top pick, followed by Malta (25 percent) and Caribbean nations (15 percent). About 80% of those clients claim to have no immediate plans for relocation and simply want to feel secure knowing they can relocate.
Most nations that grant citizenship have the option to give it to the next and the grandchildren.
Who is applying for second passports?
Beyond just billionaires and wealthy business owners, second passports are now sought from a much wider range of society.
People who are concerned about what they perceive as authoritarian trends in US governance are among David Lesperance’s international tax and immigration clients, who are located in Poland.
“I’ve never been busier”, he told Al Jazeera, adding that people who have never thought about leaving the US before are suddenly thinking “very seriously” about it.
The number of what she calls “Armageddon Americans,” or “Armageddon Americans,” has increased, according to Professor Kristin Surak, a political sociologist at the London School of Economics and author of The Golden Passport.
Americans, in addition to China and India, are now Latitude’s top three clientele, according to Willis. Arton Capital also confirmed a sharp uptick from US nationals – including both high-net-worth individuals and professionals who are anxious about the current political climate.
What are the main arguments for second passports?
Numerous organizations are concerned about Donald Trump’s re-election to the US presidency in 2025, along with a number of executive orders aimed at civil liberties, immigration protections, and minority rights.
“I got nine applicants in seven days after one of those orders”, Lesperance said, citing a wave of fear among LGBTQ clients in particular following an executive order related to “gender ideology”, recognising male and female as the only two sexes, and reversing several protections for transgender people.
Some people worry about being included on political watchlists created by Trump’s nominee for FBI chief, Kash Patel, Lesperance says.
Others say they are becoming more vulnerable as a result of the Trump administration’s plan to deport several students who are involved in pro-Palestine activities on US campuses and infiltrate their communities, such as those who supported the student-led pro-Palestine protests from last year.
Lesperance also points to the rise in the frequency of natural disasters such as the recent California wildfires, mass shootings and deepening ideological divides as additional drivers of anxiety.
He claimed that “the US is turning into a wildfire zone.” “An increase in racism, in addition to mass shootings. And if you’re politically active, it means half the country doesn’t like you”, Lesperance added.
Second citizenship is a financial choice for some families. Some people opt for passport-free real estate investments in Caribbean countries like Grenada, Antigua and Barbuda, which can be completed in as little as six months.
One of Latitude’s clients opted to invest $300, 000 in property in Antigua and Barbuda instead of purchasing a vacation home in Florida, gaining a second passport in the process.
Another benefit is the appeal of global mobility. CEO of Arton Capital Armand Arton claimed that his clients frequently combine “bundle” residencies. For instance, pairing a UAE Golden Visa with a European one to ensure broader travel access.
People typically need to invest about $545,000 in the UAE by depositing money into an approved financial institution or purchasing real estate.
Taxation is another important factor for some wealthy people.
The US is one of the only countries in the world that taxes its citizens and permanent residents – also known as green card holders – on their worldwide earnings, regardless of where they are living. Due to this system, known as citizenship-based taxation, Americans who live abroad are required to file US tax returns and may be subject to taxes on their global income.
Some wealthy Americans have begun to reconsider their citizenship and those with green cards have to give up their residence status as a result of this system.
While it remains rare for people to take that step, it’s becoming a serious consideration for some clients.
Lesperance noted that “I have had a number of clients do this over the past ten.” He cited economic, political, and social uncertainty as the reason for “we still think there will be a significant increase in the number of citizens who are refusing to live.”
Arton, whose clients are mainly high-net-worth individuals, noted that even before the 2024 US election, 53 percent of American millionaires were actively exploring options abroad.
Are more Americans pursuing citizenship through descent?
Yes . US applications for citizenship by descent – often a more affordable path – have also surged by 500 percent since 2023, with 80 percent targeting Italian ancestry, according to firms facilitating the process.
Although this route is relatively new in the sector, Willis praised how “growing so quickly” it is, especially since it doesn’t require any upfront money.
In nations where they have ancestry, individuals can reclaim citizenship through these applications. Italy, for instance, allows people to apply if they can prove descent from an Italian citizen, often going back several generations, provided the ancestor did not renounce their own Italian citizenship before their child’s birth.
Similar laws apply to Germany, Poland, and Ireland.
Each nation has its own regulations; for example, Ireland typically allows applicants to go back up three generations while Italy doesn’t have a cap on the amount of time you can reapply for citizenship.
Unlike some investment-based programmes, these citizenships can often be taken up by descendants fairly easily, making them an attractive option for families who can prove descent. Typically, applicants must submit birth certificates, marriage certificates, and other evidence, such as a family tree.
Will there be an increase in second passport demand?
Most experts believe the trend is far from peaking.
According to Willis, “Americans are future-proofing their lives.” In order to obtain a second citizenship, clients are selling assets, restructuring their finances, and making “bold lifestyle choices.”
