Mob attack police in Aurangabad’s temple locality on Ram Navami eve, vehicles set on fire

Rafah, a city along the border of the Gaza Strip and Egypt, has entirely been “wiped off the map” by Israel’s brutal campaign of genocide and ethnic cleansing, says the Gaza government media office.

The media office said Sunday in a statement on X that the southern city of Gaza has entirely been demolished to make way for Israel to turn it into a “closed military operations zone."

The statement said Israel’s military forces have been carrying out “horrific massacres against defenseless civilians” in Rafah, creating a “full-fledged humanitarian disaster.”

According to the officials, Israeli forces have destroyed over 90% of homes—more than 20,000 buildings in Rafah.

All of the historical buildings, archaeological sites, museums, modern homes, the civilian infrastructure, the shops, cafes, restaurants, hospitals, schools, and universities have been demolished.

The officials said the regime's forces have also demolished 22 of 24 water wells, including a large water treatment plant and facility that was built 25 years ago by the Canadian government.

“Tens of thousands of families” are now without safe drinking water, and over 85% of the sewage system has been destroyed, raising fears of disease outbreaks, said the statement.

At least 12 medical centers are out of service, including Abu Yousef al-Najjar Hospital, which was reportedly blown up by an explosive robot.

Rafah is “uninhabitable,” now, the media office said.

The Israeli military’s goal, it said, is to “empty the land of its people and alter its geographic and demographic features.”

Rafah, a city that was built over 3,300 years ago, had a population of 171,889. As recently as February, 1.4 million Palestinians took shelter there as a result of Israel’s forced displacement of the population in northern parts of the besieged enclave.

The city, which was once designated as a "safe zone" by Israel's military, has now been reduced to rubble. The regime's military has now seized the ruins of Rafah and ordered every survivor out, to expand its "security buffer zone" along Gaza's borders.

Mangaluru, Apr 7: A price storm is brewing in Mangaluru’s hotel and restaurant industry. Faced with skyrocketing raw material costs and mounting overheads, hoteliers are preparing to hike food prices by up to 10% within a month — a move that could hit the pockets of thousands of diners across Dakshina Kannada.

From milk and oil to LPG and staples like rice and toor dal, prices have surged, pushing both vegetarian and non-vegetarian establishments to the brink. Over 65% of hotels operate in rented spaces, and labour shortages are adding fuel to the fire.

Swarna Sunder of Dinki Dine says running a hotel without burdening customers is becoming near-impossible. “Costs are rising daily. We’re trying to strike a balance, but a hike is inevitable,” he said, calling Mangaluru a highly price-sensitive market.

Industry leaders, including the Dakshina Kannada Hotel Owners Association, are expected to meet soon to formalize the revision.

Meanwhile, hoteliers blame "unhealthy competition" for further disrupting the sector. “Some serve unlimited fish meals under ₹60 — it’s unsustainable and unfair,” said a hotelier, adding that such practices are forcing smaller eateries to shut shop.

Chandrahas Shetty, president of the district association, confirmed that rising input costs have left them with little choice but to revise menus.

A 7.7 magnitude earthquake, and an aftershock of 6.8, hit central Myanmar at 12.50pm (local time) Friday. The epicentre was 16km northwest of the city of Sagaing, and at a depth of 10km, the United States Geological Survey said. 20 deaths have been reported - in Myanmar so far - by local media.

Deaths have also been reported from a mosque in Mandalay city, which collapsed while people were inside, praying and a university building in which a fire broke out. And a 1,000-bed hospital in Myanmar capital Naypyidaw has become a "mass casualty area", news agency AFP said.

The Myanmar junta has declared an 'emergency' and has appealed for international aid.

Tremors were felt as far away as northern Thailand, where some metro and rail services were suspended in Bangkok. Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra is holding an "urgent meeting" to review the crisis and she too has declared a state of 'emergency' in the capital city.

China's Yunnan province also reported strong tremors; the China Earthquake Networks Center said the magnitude was 7.9. And mild tremors were also reported from Kolkata in Bengal and parts of Manipur, where tremors of 4.4 magnitude were recorded as well as Dhaka and Chattogram in Bangladesh.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said India is ready to offer any assistance needed. "Praying for the safety and wellbeing of everyone," he posted on X. "... have asked our authorities to be on standby."

Terrifying videos on X showed buildings shaking in Bangkok and other cities, with people running onto the streets in panic. "I heard it... I was sleeping in the house and then I ran as far as I could in my pyjamas out of the building," Duangjai, a resident of popular tourist city Chiang Mai, told AFP.

One particularly horrifying video showed water from an infinity pool falling over the edge.

And another showed an under-construction skyscraper in Bangkok's Chatuchak neighbourhood collapsing. According to reports, 43 workers have been trapped amid the debris.

"When I arrived to inspect the site, 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."

In Myanmar, an old bridge over the Irrawaddy River and some residential buildings having collapsed, with images from Mandalay (around 24km from Sagaing) suggesting more people may be trapped.

Other videos showed extensive damage to the airport in Mandalay and to a monastery near the city of Taunggyi, in Myanmar's Shan State that is on the border to Thailand.

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 country.

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.

The impoverished nation has a strained medical system, especially in its rural states.