Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: Five killed in the Israeli bombing of a civilian vehicle on Al-Qassam Street in Khan Younis, south of the Gaza Strip
Hamas confirms that it has no connection to the shooting incident in Rafah and affirms its commitment to the ceasefire agreement
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: Two civilians were killed and four others, including a child and an infant, were injured in an Israeli bombing of a house belonging to the Al-Banna family in the al-Sabra neighborhood, south of Gaza City
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: An Israeli airstrike targets the vicinity of Al-Shifa Medical Complex, west of Gaza City
Al-Qassam: We will postpone the handover of the body of the Israeli captive we found, which was scheduled for today, due to the occupation's violations
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in Gaza: Israeli occupation aircraft launch airstrikes on the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip
Netanyahu's office: At the end of the security consultations, the prime minister instructed the military to launch massive military strikes on the Gaza Strip immediately
President Aoun: We urge the activation of the monitoring committee, the cessation of hostilities, ongoing Israeli violations, attacks
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun to US Envoy Morgan Ortagus: Southerners must be enabled to return to their homes and rebuild
Syrian sources: The Israeli occupation has begun withdrawing from the areas it infiltrated last night in the Quneitra countryside.

As China, Russia rush to aid Myanmar, Trump USAID cuts hamper efforts

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Agencies
  • 31 Mar 2025 13:12
3 Min Read

The Trump administration had kicked off USAID-wide layoffs as the agency was preparing a response to the earthquake in Myanmar.

Listen
  • x
  • Rescuers work with the help of heavy machinery at the Sky Villa Condo that collapsed in Friday's earthquake in Mandalay, Myanmar, Sunday, March 30, 2025 (AP)
    Rescuers work with the help of heavy machinery at the Sky Villa Condo that collapsed in Friday's earthquake in Mandalay, Myanmar, Sunday, March 30, 2025 (AP)

The United States has yet to send significant aid to Myanmar following a devastating 7.7-magnitude earthquake at a time when numerous other countries, including China, Russia, and India, dispatched emergency teams and supplies, The New York Times reported.

According to the report, while President Donald Trump assured that US assistance was on its way, a USAID assessment team is not expected to arrive until Wednesday.

The delay stands in contrast to China’s immediate deployment of 126 rescue workers, medical kits, drones, and earthquake detectors to Mandalay, one of the worst-hit areas.

Shortcomings and layoffs

The earthquake has killed over 1,700 people and left over 3,400 others wounded, with the toll expected to rise.

While the US Embassy in Myanmar announced up to $2 million in aid to be distributed through humanitarian organizations, The New York Times noted that the response has been hindered by cuts to USAID.

Related News

Donroe Doctrine: Trump’s neocolonial drive in Latin America

Aoun, Arab League SG meet, discuss 'Israel' and regional tensions

On Friday, as some agency employees were preparing a disaster response, they received layoff notices, effectively limiting US capacity to respond, the report said. Trump administration official Tim Meisburger reportedly told staff that while there would be a response, USAID’s capabilities were not what they once were.

Former USAID official Michael Schiffer told The New York Times that America’s absence in Myanmar’s relief efforts could harm its global standing.

“Being charitable and being seen as charitable serves American foreign policy,” he said. “If we don’t show up and China shows up, that sends a pretty strong message.”

Biggest earthquake in decades

Earthquakes are commonplace in Myanmar, which lies along the Sagaing fault, however, the 7.7-magnitude earthquake that hit the country on Friday is the biggest in decades, and the tremors severely damaged buildings in Bangkok, hundreds of kilometers away from the earthquake's epicenter.

AFP journalists witnessed a centuries-old Buddhist pagoda in Mandalay being reduced to rubble, while the nearby monastery also collapsed, resulting in the death of one monk and injuries to some people, as a soldier at a nearby checkpoint recounted how they pulled out some individuals and took them to the hospital.

In Bangkok, as Saturday drew into a second night, rescuers continued working to search for survivors trapped under the rubble of a collapsed 30-story skyscraper under construction.

'We need aid'

"We need aid," Thar Aye, 68, a Mandalay resident, told AFP. "We don't have enough of anything," he added.

Myanmar's military leader Min Aung Hlaing made an unusually rare request for international assistance on Friday, despite the country's historical reluctance under past military regimes to accept foreign aid even following catastrophic natural events.

Aid agencies have warned that Myanmar cannot handle a disaster of this scale, as approximately 3.5 million people were already displaced by the ongoing civil war—many facing hunger—even before the earthquake hit, while the UN humanitarian agency OCHA reported on Saturday that the emergency response was being hampered by a severe shortage of medical supplies and damaged roads.

  • United States
  • Myanmar
  • China
  • Russia
  • India
  • Myanmar Earthquake

Most Read

'Israel’s Digital Iron Dome: Weaponizing the web against Palestine

'Israel’s Digital Iron Dome: Weaponizing the web against Palestine

  • Technology
  • 24 Oct 2025
Arab League chief exposes secret US deal shielding 'Israel’s' nukes

Arab League chief exposes secret US deal shielding 'Israel’s' nukes

  • Politics
  • 27 Oct 2025
Abu Hamza, the spokesperson for the Al-Quds Brigades, during a speech televised on October 22, 2025 (Al-Quds Brigades Military Media)

Al-Quds Brigades' Abu Hamza mourns leaders, vows continued resistance

  • Politics
  • 22 Oct 2025
US missionary kidnapped in Niger capital, suspected taken toward Mali

US missionary kidnapped in Niger capital, suspected taken toward Mali

  • Africa
  • 23 Oct 2025

Coverage

All
War on Gaza

Read Next

All
Delta Air Lines flight lands at Harry Reid International Airport, Wednesday, April 9, 2025, in Las Vegas (AP)
Politics

Nearly 3,800 US flights disrupted amid ongoing government shutdown

FILE - The Amazon logo is pictured at the Amazon Robotic Sorting Fulfillment Center in Madison County, Miss., Aug. 11, 2022. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File)
Economy

Amazon to cut 30,000 jobs in largest layoff in company history

Eurofighter Typhoon Spain's Air Force fighter jets fly above the military parade marking 'Día de la Hispanidad', or Hispanic Day, in Madrid, Spain, Sunday, Oct. 12, 2025. (AP)
Politics

UK sells 20 Eurofighter jets to Türkiye in £8bln defense agreement

Smoke billows after drone strikes by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) targeted the northern port in the Red Sea city of Port Sudan, Sudan, May 6, 2025 (AP)
Politics

RSF tighten El Fasher siege as Sudan risks fragmentation: Reuters

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS