Myanmar’s government said that at least 144 people were killed and hundreds injured after a 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck the country. Mandalay, in the centre of the war-torn country, suffered widespread damage. It was also strongly felt in Bangkok in neighbouring Thailand, where a skyscraper collapsed and over 90 people are trapped under rubble. Thai authorities declared a state of emergency in the city.
American stocks tumbled amid mounting concerns that Donald Trump’s tariffs could stoke inflation. The Dow dropped by over 700 points, or 1.7%, when markets closed on Friday; the S&P fell by 2%. Earlier the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge, the core personal consumption expenditures price index, rose by 0.4% month on month in February, the biggest jump in a year.
America’s vice-president said Greenland would be “much more secure” if it chose to “partner” with America. During a visit on Friday J.D. Vance said Mr Trump believes Greenland is “important” to American security but denied that military force was “necessary” to acquire it. This week the president said he would “go as far as we have to go” to control Greenland.
The Trump administration asked America’s Supreme Court to allow it to deport alleged gang members using the Alien Enemies Act, an eighteenth-century law. Lower courts have ordered the government to halt such deportations. The administration argues that the pause infringes on the president’s power and jeopardises “delicate national-security operations”. It has not disclosed evidence that the deportees are gang members.
Israel launched a drone strike in Beirut’s southern suburbs after issuing an evacuation warning—the first since it agreed a ceasefire in November with Hizbullah. The strike targeted a building linked to the militant group. Israel also hit targets in south Lebanon after intercepting a rocket, though Hizbullah denied firing it.
Novo Nordisk, a Danish drugmaker, will license an experimental obesity drug from Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, an American biotech firm, in a deal worth up to $1bn. It gains global rights to develop and sell the oral treatment. The move follows Novo’s $2bn deal for a Chinese weight-loss drug earlier this week. Lexicon’s shares doubled after the announcement.
The former boss of Frank, a start-up, was convicted in a New York federal court for defrauding JPMorgan, a bank. In 2021 Charlie Javice sold her platform, which helped Americans apply for student financial aid, to JPMorgan for $175m. She was charged with faking a customer list that dramatically inflated the start-up’s client base, and could face decades in prison.
Word of the week: Hatarakanai ojisan, a Japanese term meaning “older men who don’t work”, used by younger employees to describe senior colleagues who contribute little. Read the full story.
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Correction: A previous edition of the World in Brief incorrectly stated that J.D. Vance would arrive in Greenland’s capital during a visit to the island. Sorry.