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CNN's Breaking News Coverage of Magnitude 7.7 Earthquake that Jolted Central Myanmar and Parts of Thailand. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired March 28, 2025 - 03:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[03:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

UNKNOWN (voice-over): This is CNN Breaking News.

KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to all of you watching us around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber.

We begin with breaking news this hour. The U.S. Geological Service says a 7.7 magnitude earthquake has hit central Myanmar.

The depth was relatively shallow at 10 kilometers and we're waiting for any reports of damage or injuries. People as far away as Bangkok, Thailand, report feeling the shaking and ran out into the streets. And stay with CNN, we'll bring you more information as we get it.

Alright. As European leaders deliver a show of support for Ukraine, Vladimir Putin is making it clear he wants the Ukrainian president removed from power. The Russian president called for a temporary administration in Ukraine, quickly adding that he wants, quote, "the root causes that led to today's situation eliminated." Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): In principle, of course, it would be possible under the auspices of the U.N., with the United States, even with European countries, and, of course, with our partners and friends, to discuss the possibility of introducing temporary administration in Ukraine.

For what? In order to hold democratic elections, in order to bring to power a viable government that enjoys the people's trust, and then begin negotiations with it on a peace treaty.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: While speaking to a submarine crew in Murmansk, President Putin also said Russia is willing to work with Europe, but accused its leaders of, quote, "always trying to lead us by the nose."

Now, many of those Western leaders gathered in Paris Thursday for a so-called Coalition of the Willing summit, and they agreed now isn't the time to lift restrictions on Moscow after it demanded some sanctions relief earlier this week. The European stance sends a pointed message to the Trump administration, which said it was considering Russia's demands.

Meanwhile, the U.S. has temporarily restored funding to an initiative that tracks alleged Russian war crimes after cutting its assistance earlier this month. A source says the Ukraine conflict observatory will get another six weeks of funding to allow evidence to be sent to Europol.

All right, now to CNN's Clare Sebastian, who has further details on the Coalition of the Willing summit.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, this was a major show of unity from Europe and support for Ukraine. 27 heads of state, as well as the leaders of NATO and the European Union, committing to strengthening Ukraine in the short term.

Now, there was no firm agreement yet on security guarantees, but there was progress. President Macron saying that more countries, though not all of those present, had signaled a willingness to be part of a so- called reassurance force in Ukraine once a ceasefire is reached. But of course, that is far from imminent.

Since the so-called Coalition of the Willing last met at the beginning of March, Russia has rejected a full ceasefire. It's agreed to a pause in attacks on energy infrastructure, which Ukraine says it's repeatedly violated. And it's demanded extensive sanctions relief in return for a partial ceasefire in the Black Sea, leaving, in effect, the U.S.-led peace initiative in limbo.

Well, the good news for Ukraine is that the leaders gathered in Paris were apparently unanimous in rejecting Russia's terms. And given the extent of European sanctions on Russia, this carries weight.

KEIR STARMER, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: Complete clarity that now is not the time for lifting of sanctions. Quite the contrary, what we discussed is how we can increase sanctions to support the U.S. initiative to bring Russia to the table through further pressure from this group of countries.

EMMANUEL MACRON, FRENCH PRESIDENT (through translator): In terms of short-term support for Ukraine, we also decided unanimously that this is not the time to lift whatever sanctions are on Russia. And there will not be a lifting of sanctions before peace is clearly established.

SEBASTIAN: Now by contrast, President Trump has said he's looking at Russia's conditions for a ceasefire. So the difficulty for Europe here is that it risks looking like it's breaking with the U.S. at a time when it's fighting to keep up the appearance of transatlantic unity and, of course, convince the U.S. to provide some kind of backstop to an eventual security guarantee for Ukraine, something there's been no clear signals on yet. Well, for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, after spending

weeks repairing the damage of the Oval Office spat with President Trump, this was also a fine line. He called on the U.S. to be stronger in its attitude to Russia, urging President Trump to help strengthen Ukraine's hand as it pushes for peace.

Clare Sebastian, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Meanwhile, the U.S. is pushing for access to a bigger slice of Ukraine's mineral wealth, the White House now has a new proposal for a natural resources agreement.

[03:05:05]

According to a copy of the draft seen by CNN, it goes well beyond the original plan, and sources say the deal would apply to all of Ukraine's mineral resources, including oil and natural gas. But it doesn't address Ukraine's security guarantees, which is, of course, one of its top concerns.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said conditions of the deal are constantly changing. But he still feels positively about it.

Three years of fighting have left a gaping hole in the makeup of Ukrainian society. Many service members who fight at the front never come home, and many Ukrainians aren't having children because of the war.

Clarissa Ward reports.

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CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Baby Mark is just hours old, but his mother, Ophelia, waited years for this moment.

Probably, the war was the only thing stopping us from having a baby, she tells us. My husband is in the army and talked about kids for four years, and then the war started, and it wasn't time for kids.

WARD: Do you feel it's sort of your duty?

WARD (voice-over): I think yes, she says.

They are destroying us, our nation. Odessa, like all of Ukraine, is in the grips of a demographic crisis. It can be felt in the heavy silence of these hallways.

WARD: This is definitely one of the quietest maternity hospitals that I've ever visited, and the main doctor just told us the births here are down 40 percent since the start of the war.

WARD (voice-over): According to official statistics, there are three deaths for every birth. Ukraine has the highest death rate and the lowest birth rate in the

world. Just as the country needs babies to keep growing the population, it needs men to keep fighting the war.

On the streets of Odessa, draft officer Oleksandr stops men of fighting age to make sure they are not dodging their duty.

You're the second team to stop us today, two young men tell him. They're 21 and 19, below the conscription age of 25. Lucky for them.

Oleksandr says it has become harder and harder to find draft dodgers because people put out notices on social media warning others of where the patrols are.

It happens every day. As soon as we set up checkpoints and start working, the Odessa telegram channels inform locals about this, he says, and there are no people on the streets. Everyone runs away.

It's not hard to see why. Everyone here has lost someone.

Three years of war with Russia has ravaged Ukraine's male adult population.

The section of Odessa's main graveyard designated for military burials is a sea of flags and tombstones. Fresh plots have been dug, ready for the war's newest victims.

Here, funerals are near daily and often held in batches of two or three. Every detail is perfectly choreographed. The city has had plenty of practice to get it right.

The mother of 23-year-old Anton Sidorko weeps over the body of her son.

My sunshine, you won't shine anymore for me. You won't come and say, Mama, I'm here. She sobs.

I won't see you again. You are far away, so far away.

For those who give life, the pain of losing that life too great to bear.

Back at the maternity hospital, Ophelia's husband has come to fetch her and baby Mark. He asks we not show his face.

Grow big and strong, the nurse says, as she hands him the baby. Come back to us for a sister. But he will be heading back to the front in just over a week.

And Ukraine's population will never recover until there is peace.

Clarissa Ward, CNN, Odessa.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Well, we are following breaking news. The U.S. Geological Survey reports a power 7.7 magnitude earthquake in central Myanmar.

Residents as far away as Bangkok felt the quake. A large aftershock of 6.4 magnitude hit just about 12 minutes after the initial quake.

We're live now to CNN photojournalist Mark Phillips in Bangkok, Thailand. Mark joining us on the phone. What can you tell us? What did you feel?

[03:10:07]

We may have lost Mark Phillips. If we can rejoin with him later, we'll bring him back.

I want to go on now to the so-called Signal Gate scandal plaguing the Trump presidency. U.S. federal judges ordered the administration to preserve the chat group text discussing plans for a military strike on Houthi rebels in Yemen.

CNN's Paula Reid, our senior legal affairs correspondent, has details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA REID, CNN SR. LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Judge James Boasberg described his decision as a, quote, "compromise to temporarily resolve the question of whether the Trump administration violated federal records laws" when several officials used Signal to discuss U.S. strikes on Yemen.

Now, in his decision, Boasberg said that the administration has to preserve all Signal messages between March 11th and March 15th. Those dates are significant because those are the dates when multiple officials, including an "Atlantic" reporter who was inadvertently added to the chat, were using Signal to discuss those strikes in Yemen.

Now, the judge is significant because he is a judge that has come under attack by President Trump in recent weeks. And it's notable that he sort of nodded to this controversy during Thursday's hearing. He started off the hearing by talking about how judges are selected because over the past few weeks he has been overseeing a different controversy involving the Trump administration, one related to Trump's sweeping use of a wartime authority to facilitate deportations of individuals the administration says are affiliated with the Venezuelan gang.

Now, Boasberg had put a halt on those deportations, but the administration had said because his first order was done from the bench, was an oral order, that they did not have to adhere to it. So there was a little bit of a joke on Thursday in the hearing related to the Signal chats where the judge said, all right, I'm going to put this in writing.

So they obviously have to abide by it, and he did just shortly after that hearing. Now, the administration also has to submit a status report on their efforts to preserve these messages, which they said in court they were trying to track down and preserve. That status report is due on Monday.

Paula Reid, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: The Republican chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee is asking the Pentagon inspector general to investigate the security breach. Other GOP members of the House and Senate say it's time to move on from the incident. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth posted highly sensitive, if not classified, details of the attack plan, and multiple current and former defense officials tell CNN that concerns are growing over his judgment and experience.

Now lawmakers are divided over Hegseth's performance.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Do you have confidence in him as defense secretary still?

SEN, JONI ERNST (R-IA): I do, and this is a call that the president will make, but I know that the NSC is going to scrutinize this, and then they'll get back to us and let us know.

REP. RICH MCCORMICK (R-GA): It was unintentional, it was a mistake. I think it's been admitted it's a mistake. It was wrong, it won't happen again.

RAJU: Hegseth has not admitted that it was a mistake.

MCCORMICK: I haven't heard him not admit it.

UNKNOWN: I don't see where an investigation is needed at this time.

SEN. SUSAN COLLINS (R-ME): In her opening statement, D.N.I. Gabbard should have said, this never should have happened. We made a major error.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Marco Rubio says the U.S. is concerned about the situation in Turkey. Protests continue over a week after the arrest of a political rival to President Erdogan. We have the latest from Istanbul coming up, please stay with us.

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[03:15:00]

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BRUNHUBER: Now we're following breaking news. The U.S. Geological Survey reports a massive 7.7 magnitude earthquake in central Myanmar.

CNN photojournalist Mark Phillips recorded this video of the shaking in his apartment building in Bangkok, Thailand. The USGS says the quake had a depth of 10 kilometers. A second large

aftershock of 6.4 magnitude hit just about 12 minutes after the initial quake. We're watching for reports of damage or injuries. We'll bring you any updates when we get more information.

But for now, I want to bring in CNN journalist Mark Phillips, who is in Bangkok.

Mark, you took those images of the shaking there in your apartment. Just take us through what you felt.

MARK PHILLIPS, CNN PHOTOJOURNALIST (on the phone): It was quite violent. I was actually sitting down doing some work. I could see the curtains moving, and so that was unusual. And then the light sitting started moving above my head.

And as I stood up, it really started shaking. And it went on for about a good minute.

And so I said, I've got to get out. I live on the 12th floor of my apartment block. And as I went out my front door, everybody was running towards the staircase.

You could hear things falling off my building. So it was a bit of a worry when getting down to the ground level, whether something was going to drop on one's head.

But everybody seemed to be getting out very quickly. Where I was, I couldn't see any casualties. Everybody seemed to be OK.

But, you know, Bangkok doesn't necessarily, you know, see earthquakes that often. It's a really unusual sight to have here. Kim?

BRUNHUBER: Yes, now, Myanmar is in an earthquake zone. You've been to the country. So I'm just wondering, again, we don't have reports yet of what kind of damage and so on that we've seen.

[03:20:03]

But in many developing countries, the problem is typically shoddy construction, materials that are substandard, which means the buildings are much more likely to come down. From your experience in Myanmar, what can you tell me about things like that in terms of the building construction and how densely populated some of these regions are?

PHILLIPS (on the phone): Well, Yangon is very densely populated. And yes, you're right, the building there is not, you know, sometimes up to scratch.

And because of the civil war that's been going on there for the last three to four years, I'm assuming that, you know, they haven't been spending money on infrastructure. So it is a poor region. And, you know, when you go out to the country, it's even worse.

So I just assume that that's going to be really hard places that are hit. And getting aid out there is going to be extremely difficult, especially with all the conflict that's going on at the moment.

BRUNHUBER: Yes, exactly. That was going to be my next question in terms of trying to get aid, not only just getting it in there, but what kind of infrastructure do they have in terms of emergency services and expertise and this type of thing?

PHILLIPS (on the phone): Well, the emergency services, it's been, you know, because of the war there, all the money has gone into this war effort from the Hutu. And then you have all these ethnic groups, all these different groups fighting for control.

So if the aid is going to go in there, they'll have to negotiate with separate groups to get the aid in there, depending on which region it's in.

And Myanmar is a huge country. You know, you go from flatlands down in the south to mountains up north. So getting in and out is difficult.

And because of the war, there's basically no fly zone there, except for military aircraft. So it's going to be interesting to see how they get there and how they, you know, assess what is going in there. Can they get to these places because of the fighting?

BRUNHUBER: Yes, all great points. Listen, again, we don't have the reports of what kind of casualties or damage have been done by this.

We'll bring that information when we get it. And also, we might expect more in terms of aftershocks and so on.

So I'll ask you, Mark Phillips, please stay safe there in Bangkok, Thailand. I really appreciate getting your insights that you could give us on this. Thanks so much.

Israel's military says two projectiles were fired at Israel from northern Lebanon in the past few hours. The launches triggered warning sirens along the border. The Israeli military says it intercepted one projectile while the other fell in Lebanon.

Now, this is the second such incident in nearly a week. Israel responded to the previous launch on Saturday with airstrikes and tank fire in southern Lebanon. Then on Thursday, Lebanese state media reported that Israeli attacks killed at least six people.

Israel's military claimed it struck Hezbollah militants. Israel and Hezbollah agreed to a ceasefire four months ago, but tensions have been rising in recent weeks.

More than a dozen aid workers have been killed or gone missing in Gaza over the past few days. That's according to several groups. As Israel ramps up its renewed military assault on the enclave, the U.N. Agency for Palestinian Refugees says eight of its staff members were killed.

Separately, Israeli strikes killed a World Central Kitchen volunteer as meals were being distributed. And the Palestine Red Crescent Society said nine of its workers have been missing since Sunday when Israeli forces fired on ambulances and fire trucks in southern Gaza. Israel claims militants were using the vehicles as cover.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio says the U.S. is concerned by instability in Turkey as protests continue against the jailing of Istanbul's mayor. Students gathered outside a shopping mall on Thursday chanting slogans and carrying banners.

Ekrem Imamoglu was arrested last week on corruption charges triggering days of protests. The Istanbul mayor is seen as a political rival to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and was sent to be nominated as a candidate in the next presidential election in 2028.

Want to get more now from Istanbul. I'm joined by Ragip Soylu, Turkey Bureau Chief for "Middle East Eye." Thank you so much for being here with us.

So, looking at the scale of these protests, talk to me about this moment in the country. Are we at a significant threshold for Turkish democracy here?

RAGIP SOYLU, TURKEY BUREAU CHIEF, "MIDDLE EAST EYE": It's very clearly there is a strong backsliding in Turkish democracy with the decision to arrest Ekrem Imamoglu. But the public reaction, that's something we have never seen since the 2013 Gezi Park protest. I mean, since then we've never seen mass protests, students being out, clashing with the police all over the country.

And also, you know, the strong resistance by the opposition leaders in a really organized way. This is something for the first time we see in more than 10 years.

[03:25:02]

But at the same time, we should understand that it's something that we never experienced for decades in Turkey, at least not since 1980s, that we see an opposition leader who's seen as a main rival to the president of Turkey being arrested on corruption charges. While we know that corruption is really rampant in all levels of Turkish government, both in local and central.

So, it gives you the sense that it's a very selective prosecution. Of course, all of Turkish people want to be, you know, want to see investigations targeting corruption in all levels of government, not only one individual.

BRUNHUBER: Now, Turkey has deported a BBC correspondent who'd been covering the protests. I mean, this is part of a wider pattern of detaining journalists and enforcing a media blackout. How hard is it for journalists like yourself to cover what's going on there now?

SOYLU: I mean, if you are not personally participating in the protests and you keep your distance, more or less, you are safe. But with Mark Levin, which is really unfortunate what happened to him, the government argued that he didn't obtain a temporary accreditation.

But we should keep in mind that the government led a T.V. watchdog just yesterday, slapped a fine towards opposition T.V. channels. And one of them is now closed down for the next 10 days.

I mean, this is, we cannot see anywhere in any Western democracy that you can imagine closing down, basically, a T.V. channel for 10 days for just covering the protests. And they say that because of biased coverage, it's completely unacceptable.

But there are severe restrictions on media. But still, we can get news stories out of social media on T.V. as well. So, there's still media, and there's still media covering what's going on.

BRUNHUBER: Yes. All right. So, Erdogan himself was Istanbul's mayor before becoming president. So, it's kind of seen as the stepping stone to the presidency. How big of a threat is Imamoglu to Erdogan?

SOYLU: I mean, you know, like, we have at least two years, more than that maybe, for the next presidential elections. And as you know, Erdogan revoked Imamoglu's diploma through a court case. And that's why there are now, you know, legal challenges against Imamoglu just beyond this court case that maybe he might not be going, he might not be able to run against Erdogan without, you know, official diploma.

But yet, three years is a long time. I mean, I'm going to use that, you know, in courts. He's going to sue the government.

He's going to appeal many of these decisions as well. It's really hard to say whether he's going to be able to run ever.

But I'm sure there will be someone who's going to take the charge. And it's very possible that his wife or other opposition leaders would run against him.

But we should never underestimate the fact that you mentioned Erdogan was also arrested when he was a mayor, and he eventually ended up as being the Turkish president. It might be very well true for Imamoglu in the future as well.

BRUNHUBER: Yes, that's a good point. And you mentioned the diploma that was revoked. Just if people haven't been following the story, his diploma was revoked, his university diploma, which sounds trivial maybe to us, but it is actually needed in order to run for president so that's why it's important.

The U.S. Secretary of State, we opened with that, saying that he's expressed U.S. concern over the arrests and the protests. I mean, do you expect the Trump administration to go further to put any actual pressure on Erdogan? And what do you think that might be?

SOYLU: I don't really see any pressure coming out of Washington. I don't even think that Marco Rubio raised Imamoglu's arrest during the meeting with Hakan Fidan, the Turkish foreign minister. I think he just put it there for his personal expression.

And I hear that there is some sort of tension between White House and the State Department on this issue. White House doesn't really care about the State Department. Also, Marco Rubio himself as being the former congressman and senator is basically expressing what Congress thinks about Turkey and Erdogan as putting out that statement to basically make some sort of virtue signaling. So I don't see any pressure coming out of that at all, because Trump thinks that he's a really good friend of Erdogan.

He also envies him. He thinks that, you know, we should do the same in the U.S.

BRUNHUBER: Yes, that's right. This is a really important story to follow for so many reasons. Really appreciate getting your analysis on all of this. Ragip Soylu in Istanbul, thank you so much.

SOYLU: Thank you.

BRUNHIBER: All right, plenty more coming here on "CNN Newsroom." We'll be right back. Please do stay with us.

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[03:30:00]

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BRUNHUBER: Now have a look at this. Furniture and buildings shaking in Bangkok, Thailand, feeling the effects of a major 7.7 magnitude earthquake centered in neighboring Myanmar. The U.S. Geological Survey says the quake was at a depth of 10 kilometers and was followed by a strong 6.4 aftershock.

[03:35:00]

CNN senior international correspondent Will Ripley joins us live now. So, Will, details still very short right now, but what more do we know?

WILL RIPLEY, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is the stage of the story, Kim, where we don't have a whole lot of video or information confirmed and we certainly hope that this is not going to be as bad as we think that it probably will be given the location and given the magnitude of this earthquake and the history of earthquakes in Myanmar and the number of people that they've killed.

I'm thinking back to 2012. There was a 6.8 earthquake in Myanmar, it killed 26 people and caused widespread damage. If this quake indeed was a 7.7, depending on where it hit, 7.7, scientists say, is 22 times more energy and produces about eight times greater ground shaking than that deadly quake back in 2012.

And the images that we are seeing emerge are pretty unsettling. There are reports of a bridge collapse. There are reports of numerous building collapses.

I'm going to read for you a text message from one of our CNN journalists on the ground in Myanmar. I'm just going to read you what they texted.

It was excessively shaky and persisted for three to four minutes. The building where my house was unstable. I was able to observe updates from my friends' chat groups that the incident was occurring throughout the nation, including Thailand.

The mobile phone was unable to make a call for approximately 30 minutes following the incident. The Internet is functioning properly. Electricity is unavailable, but normally, he says, they only have less than 12 hours of electricity on a daily basis.

Also, basically, people there are sharing information on social media, hearing about damage in the Mandalay region, which is where the epicenter of this was, reportedly. So the fact that all the way in Bangkok, where the soil is soft, so that does sometimes amplify distant tremors, even though Bangkok itself doesn't sit on any fault lines. The fact that they had that severe of shaking, people were running outside.

You can only imagine what it was like in some of the dilapidated, run- down buildings closer and closer to the earthquake zone in Myanmar, Kim.

BRUNHUBER: Yes, that's right.

RIPLEY: And given the fact that they're fighting a civil war right now, getting aid in there is going to be incredibly complicated, on top of all of the destruction that's likely unfolding right now, with just a few hours of daylight left in the region before it starts to get dark.

BRUNHUBER: Yes, well, talk to me more about that, because I just spoke to a cameraman who was in Thailand, but he'd been to Myanmar, been roughly to this region, and he was talking about how not only just the geography of the region, the hills and so on, would make aid difficult, but as you rightly pointed out, the politics, the ongoing conflict, both of those things would be an impediment to response in a country that has just been sapped by years and years of war.

RIPLEY: Yes, you've got a civil war that's been raging for several years, and you've got pockets of violence throughout the country. Even though the global conversation has kind of moved on from Myanmar, it's a very real crisis situation every day for the people who've been living there and living through this. It's incredibly difficult for journalists, NGOs, anybody really, to even get into Myanmar right now.

So to even get a grasp around the extent of the damage, who needs help, where they need help, that itself, the information itself is going to be difficult. They have power interruptions on a good day, 12 hours of power in the cities on a good day, not to mention now how much the interruption may be for electricity. They are able to share information on text messages, but try to coordinate any sort of relief effort, and then, crucially, bypass pockets of violence and war to get into these areas.

It's almost overwhelming to think about the challenges that are going to be faced, and also the crisis situation for the people that are actually in the earthquake zone, people who might be buried underneath buildings. Where's rescue? When is it going to be able to get to them? These are

all questions we don't have the answers to, Kim, and we certainly hope that this doesn't turn out to be as bad as it looks to be right now. But each picture that we see, and we're trying to confirm it as fast as we can, each social media video paints a very grim picture right now.

BRUNHUBER: Yes, as you say, this story is still developing, and we will bring you information as soon as we get it. Thanks so much for getting your perspective on this, Will Ripley. Thank you so much.

Well the U.S. Vice President and Second Lady are preparing to visit Greenland later today, as President Trump openly talks about annexing the island. More details on the controversial trip, that's coming up next. Please stay with us.

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[03:40:00]

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BRUNHUBER: We will turn to our breaking news out of Southeast Asia, a 7.7 magnitude earthquake has hit central Myanmar, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The depth was relatively shallow at 10 kilometers. The quake was felt as far away as Thailand, where the Prime Minister is holding an emergency meeting.

People fled into the streets of the Thai capital as fixtures inside homes swung wildly. There are reports of a bridge collapse in Myanmar. We'll bring you the latest information when we get it.

President Donald Trump is facing growing backlash from America's allies for his escalating trade war.

[03:45:00]

Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney is vowing to retaliate after the President announced sweeping new tariffs Wednesday. 25 percent on all cars and car parts shipped to the U.S. Carney called the tariffs a, quote, "direct attack." Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK CARNEY, CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER (through translator): It's clear the U.S. is no longer a reliable partner. It is possible that with comprehensive negotiations, we could reestablish an element of confidence, but there will be no going backwards.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Japan's Prime Minister says he'll consider all options, and both Germany and France are urging the European Union to respond. But while world leaders weigh their options, most experts agree Americans should expect car prices to go up. Greenland is gearing up for the arrival of U.S. Vice President J.D.

Vance and his wife in the coming hours as leaders there condemn President Trump's bid to buy the self-governing Danish territory. Here's what he said on Wednesday.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: It's an island that from a defensive posture and even offensive posture is something we need, especially with the world the way it is, and we're going to have to have it. And so I hate to put it that way, but we're going to have to have it.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Vance's itinerary dramatically changed as outrage over the trip grew in Greenland. They'll no longer go to the world's foremost dog sled races. The pair is now set to visit a U.S. base and meet service members.

The Danish lawmaker says Trump wants Greenland simply to expand U.S. territory.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERS VISTISEN, EUROPEAN PARLIAMENTARY MEMBER: America have had security bases and military installations in Greenland since 1940. They have decided themselves to scale back their military presence.

If they wanted to upscale that for any serious reason, there would not be any objections from Denmark or Greenland. There's no obstacles in getting American companies into mine Greenland. Actually, the Greenlandic homebrew government encouraged that.

So there's really no other argument for this persistence than Donald Trump wanting to enlarge his territory and apparently enlarging it by taking it from an allied nation, the Kingdom of Denmark.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: We're also learning the Vance's will be joined by National Security Advisor Michael Waltz, Energy Secretary Chris Wright, and Republican Senator Mike Lee, who's been a vocal supporter of President Trump's plans for Greenland.

I want to bring in Jeffrey Gettleman, International Correspondent for "The New York Times." He joins us live from London. Thank you so much for being here with us.

So just to start, this was supposed to be a trip by the Second Lady, Usha Vance billed as a cultural visit. But even though J.D. Vance himself is now coming, it's now a shortened trip. No dog mushing, just visiting the remote U.S. Space Force outpost.

Now, the White House says the itinerary changes have nothing to do with the demonstrations in the capital. They were planning to protest the U.S. visit. Do you buy that, and are you expecting large protests during this visit?

JEFFREY GETTLEMAN, INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT, "NEW YORK TIMES": This base is a thousand miles away from the capital of Greenland. It's in a very remote part of the world.

So I don't think there's going to be a huge protest to greet them, because it's an American military base and there are no Greenlanders around. What's interesting is how this has shifted. Originally, this trip was billed as a way to bring the two countries closer.

And it had the exact opposite effect. As soon as the news came out that Usha Vance was going to this dog race, there was a swell of outrage in Greenland of why is she coming now? This is really seen as interference. And it also comes at a really bad time.

Greenland just had an election and there's no government yet that has been formed in the new parliament. And they made it very clear that this was like the worst time for an official visit.

And that, on top of all these things that Donald Trump keeps saying, his message is very clear that somebody you played is exactly what he's been saying since he came into office this second term. He wants Greenland and he won't settle for less.

BRUNHUBER: Yes, that's right. And now, just in terms of the protests, I was more meaning not at the base, but that people in Greenland in the capital, for example, would still continue to protest because of these new American visitors. But I want to continue on what you said in terms of the Trump administration's plans here.

Buying Greenland, he's not the first American to propose this, but he's been the most recent and the most pushy, saying, quote, "here the U.S. will get it," quote, "one way or the other, and that they'll go as far as we have to." So how seriously are Greenlanders taking this threat?

GETTLEMAN: Very seriously. And what's interesting is there is this historical context. So when Trump first brought this up in 2019 that we want to buy Greenland, most of us were like, what's he talking about?

Greenland? You know, it just wasn't part of the wider, broader conversation about the world.

[03:50:05]

But actually, if you go back and look at the history, this has come up since in the 1860s. The U.S. keeps making these efforts to acquire Greenland or take over Greenland because it's very close to the North America.

It's part of North America, and it's very close to Canada and the United States. And it's this huge piece of territory at the top of the world. And the original interest, which remains, I think, the root of Trump's interest, is its location. He's a real estate guy, and he's always saying, you know, we need this location. It's all about location.

And that's really the root of it. And then in the more recent weeks, we've seen some interest in the mineral potential in Greenland. There are a lot of resources there, but they're buried under ice, and they're very difficult to extract.

BRUNHUBER: All right. So all of this comes at a time when Greenland is, broadly speaking, looking more towards independence from Denmark.

So as you've said, there was an opportunity here for the country to pivot towards the U.S., but instead, as you've said, the opposite seems to have happened.

So Donald Trump says the U.S. has to convince Greenlanders that they should become U.S. citizens. Do we know, I mean, is that something many or most Greenlanders would want?

GETTLEMAN: No, it's a really interesting point. The conditions were ripe for the Greenlanders to break off from Denmark. They have been chafing for years to get out from under Denmark's control.

They really want their own country. They really want full independence. They've been working for it for decades.

So the conditions were ripe. But the way Trump has handled this with these threats, with this, you know, we're going to get it one way or the other, that's really alienated Greenlanders.

And a recent poll said something like 85 percent of Greenlanders did not want to join the U.S. And I bet you that number is increasing day by day.

BRUNHUBER: Fascinating. Interesting to see how all this will shake out. As you said, when first he started talking about Greenland, I was one of them going, why is he talking about Greenland?

Now it's, you know, on the front pages of the newspapers and leading our newscast. So who would have known?

We'll have to leave it there, but really great to get your take on all this. Jeffrey Gettleman in London, thank you so much.

GETTLEMAN: Thank you.

BRUNHUBER: All right. We will be right back with breaking news coverage of a 7.7 magnitude earthquake that hit central Myanmar. Please stay with CNN.

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[03:55:05]

BRUNHUBER: We're following breaking news out of Southeast Asia. A 7.7 magnitude earthquake has hit central Myanmar. That's according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

The depth was relatively shallow at 10 kilometers. The quake was felt as far away as Thailand, where the prime minister is holding an emergency meeting. People fled into the streets of the Thai capital as fixtures inside homes swung wildly.

There are reports of a bridge collapse in Myanmar. We'll bring you the latest information as we get it.

The woman convicted of killing music legend Selena has been denied parole. Yolanda Saldivar is serving a life sentence for shooting Selena Quintanilla-Perez in a Texas motel in 1995. The state's parole board announced on Thursday that it voted against releasing her.

Known to her fans by her first name, the Mexican-American musician was killed just before her 24th birthday, her death stunned her fans. Selena was on the verge of crossing over into English-language music. Her first English album topped the charts when it was released after her death.

Britain's King Charles has cancelled his public engagement set for Friday after experiencing what Buckingham Palace calls temporary side effects from a scheduled cancer treatment on Thursday. He returned home after a short period of observation in hospital.

The king is still expected to make a state visit to Italy next month. His cancer diagnosis was first announced in February of last year.

Campaign season is underway in Australia after its prime minister called national elections for May the 3rd. Anthony Albanese will fight to keep his job amidst a cost-of-living crisis and questions about future relations with the U.S. and China.

His main rival is conservative firebrand Peter Dutton who's been described by opponents as something of a Trump-lite. According to polls, he and Albanese are running neck-and-neck. Some analysts say Australia may end up with a hung parliament which means whoever wins will need support from minor parties to form a coalition government.

All right, thanks so much for joining me. I'm Kim Brunhuber, in Atlanta. We'll have more breaking news coverage of the Myanmar earthquake right after this break.

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