The tremor was an added headache for a country whose economy is unraveling amid hyperinflation and widespread grassroots anger with the leftist government.

Jose Nevada, 35, from the eastern Delta Amacuro state, said the tremor was very strong there.

“People ran out into the streets, many stayed there and in some places the lights went out,” he told AFP by telephone.

The tremor was felt for several seconds some 400 kilometers (250 miles) away in the capital Caracas, notably in tall buildings. Many were evacuated for fears of aftershocks or lasting structural damage.

People gathered in streets, plazas and parks — any place to get away from buildings — and hugged each other. They tried desperately to make calls with cell phones but service was disrupted for a while.

Interior Minister Nestor Reverol said the prolonged quake was felt in several states but that “for now, there are no reports of victims.”

Some buildings suffered structural damage, he told state TV.

– ‘Windows started to move’ –

Dorothy Villalobos said she was in a bank when the quake struck. “The windows started to move, and the tables and chairs,” she said.

She said bank employees told everyone to get out but some queueing at a cash dispenser — desperate to withdraw the limited notes they’re authorized to claim in the cash-strapped country — “didn’t want to leave.”

“The pictures wobbled and the window panes creaked. I went down the stairs and the doors of every apartment on the 10 floors of my building were open,” Jose Oviedo, who lives just to the east of Caracas, told AFP.

“We gathered downstairs. I saw a redheaded lady, white from fright, crying.”

The USGS said the tremor occurred just after 5:30 pm (2130 GMT), with the epicenter close to the coast of the state of Sucre, at a depth of 123 kilometers.

– Call for clam –

Venezuela’s Seismology Investigations Foundation measured the quake at magnitude 6.3 and said it hit the town of Yaguaraparo in Sucre at a depth of just 100 meters (330 feet). It later revised the magnitude to 6.9.

The quake was also felt in Trinidad and Tobago off the coast of Venezuela, causing some minor damage but no fatalities or injuries, officials there said.

Social media in Venezuela were inundated with messages of alarm, particularly in the greater Caracas area that has a population of around four million.

An emblematic and abandoned skyscraper in Caracas leaned precariously.

Photos shared by local news outlets and on social media showed cracked buildings in Caracas and Puerto Ordaz, in the south.

Oil-rich Venezuela is already struggling with an economic and political crisis following four years of recession that has seen more than two million people flee the country, according to the United Nations.

The country is facing food and medicine shortages, and failing public services such as running water, electricity and transport.

The International Monetary Fund has predicted inflation will hit one million percent this year.

President Nicolas Maduro’s government launched a new currency on Monday to try to tackle hyperinflation, lopping five zeros off the old bolivar.

Venezuela also devalued the bolivar by 96 percent and anchored it to its widely discredited cryptocurrency, the petro.

It’s all part of a radical new economic plan launched by Maduro that includes a 3,400 percent increase in the minimum wage, loosened foreign exchange rules and reduced fuel subsidies.

The last time the country was hit with a tremor this strong was in 1997, when 73 people were killed in a 7.0-magnitude quake in Sucre.

Thirty years earlier, 200 people died after a 6.7-magnitude tremor rocked Caracas.

Suradej Nil-ubol, president of the fishing association, said the 370 fishing workers have been registered and have a “sea book”, allowing them to work on Thai fishing boats.

They are capable fishing crew members but are due to be deported by the end of next month for having no passports, he said.

But passports were denied them by Myanmar authorities staffing the One Stop Service in Songkhla, he said. Officials declined to issue passports for the 370 Myanmar workers on the grounds that they are Muslims.

The Myanmar officials cited a Myanmar policy excluding Muslims from receiving passports, Suradej said.

Under Thai policy, all documented migrants must have their nationality verified and hold passports.

Without them, the 370 Muslim fishermen would be sent back home at the end of September to get passports before being allowed to work, said Suradej.

That would be a big loss for the Songkhla fishing industry, which has a need for the 370 experienced crewmen, he said.

The workers have been registered with the Thai authorities and carry migrant identification cards issued by the Thai authorities, said Suradej.

The Labour Ministry should find a special solution for this group of workers, and ensure they are able to work in the industry, which is suffering from a staff shortage, he said.

“I beg the governemnt to find a solution for this group of workers so that they can remain working in Thailand,” Suradej said.

The plans were revealed in a draft pre-feasibility report conducted by joint venture consultant contractor Tedi-Tricc-Tedisouth.

The proposed railway route would avoid complex terrain and geological structures but still run close to major cities along a north-south corridor, the report said.

It was expected to have a total of 23 stations, including five main stations, and five depots, the Voice of Viet Nam (VoV) online newspaper reported.

The consultants are now negotiating with localities to select suitable places to set up the stations and depots.

The consultants also advised using modern technology to operate the north-south high-speed railway.

Representatives of the consultancy companies said the main differences between a high-speed railway and one for traditional trains were the signalling and other technologies.

There are two major options for building railways today. In the first, trains are operated by a push-pull technology used in France, Germany and Korea. Alternatively, a train can be run using distributed traction technology, the approach now taken in Japan and Taiwan.

In terms of railway signalling, many countries currently use track circuits. However, the consultants are also studying automatic signalling and train control systems based on radio information.

Deputy Minister Nguyen Ngọc Đong said the criteria to select which technology to use depends on what could be mastered locally.

The ministry will submit a report to the government before submitting it to the National Assembly for approval.

The guilty verdicts on eight counts are a victory for special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian election interference and possible collusion between the Trump campaign team and Moscow.

Trump, who has repeatedly maligned the Mueller probe, views it as a stain on his presidency and has pushed for it to be ended, described Manafort’s conviction as “very sad.”

US District Judge T.S. Ellis declared a mistrial on 10 counts on which the jury was unable to reach a unanimous verdict.

But the jurors found Manafort guilty of the remaining eight counts: five of making false income tax returns, two of bank fraud and one of failure to report foreign bank and financial accounts.

While the 69-year-old Manafort could theoretically live out the remainder of his years in prison as a result of the convictions, a legal expert told AFP that his time behind bars would in reality likely last under a decade.

Just before leaving the courtroom, Manafort winked to his wife, who was present for the verdict.

Manafort’s lawyer Kevin Downing said his client was “evaluating all of his options” and thanked the judge for a “fair trial.”

“Mr Manafort is disappointed of not getting acquittals all the way through, or a complete hung jury on all counts,” Downing told journalists.

– ‘Good man’ –

Reacting to the verdict as he arrived in West Virginia for a rally of supporters, Trump described Manafort as a “good man,” said he was “very sad” at the trial outcome — and once more denounced the Mueller investigation as a “witch hunt.”

Trump had previously suggested that Manafort, who briefly served as his campaign manager, was being treated worse than late American gangster Al Capone.

He has refused to rule out a pardon. Observers have speculated that the prospect of a pardon may have explained why Manafort chose a trial as opposed to a plea deal like his former aide Rick Gates.

The case went to the jury on Thursday after 12 days of gripping testimony about hidden bank accounts, betrayal and lavish spending by Manafort on luxury homes, cars, antique rugs and clothes.

Prosecutors outlined schemes Manafort allegedly used to avoid paying US taxes on the millions of dollars he earned in Ukraine, saying he also filed false statements to obtain millions of dollars in loans from banks when his Ukraine consulting fees dried up.

Defense attorneys sought for their part to cast doubt on the credibility of the prosecution’s star witness, Manafort’s former trusted deputy Gates, who took a deal from the government and turned against his former boss.

Trump spent much of Tuesday cooped up at the White House, as two high-profile legal cases with profound implications for his presidency played out on US television screens.

Barely minutes after the Manafort verdict was announced, Trump’s longtime personal lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen pleaded guilty in Manhattan court to eight counts, including fraud and campaign finance violations.

Questioned by a federal judge, Cohen indicated he had paid sums of $130,000 and $150,000 each to two women who claimed they had affairs with Trump, at his boss’s request in order to buy their silence “with the purpose of influencing the election.”

Some 82,460 families of 236,188 people in 79 districts of 14 provinces were affected by floods after tropical storms Son-Tinh and Bebinca brought torrential rain from the middle of July to the middle of August.

As many as 11,383 people have been displaced and now live in temporary shelters. About 120 schools have been damaged, posing a challenge for a timely start to the new school year which begins on September 1.

Some 62,980 hectares of rice fields and 41,879 hectares of other crops have been flooded, 208 irrigation systems have been damaged, and thousands of livestock and poultry have died.

As many as 138 roads and 26 bridges have been damaged with losses estimated at more than 15.8 billion kip.

The latest count shows that 27 gravity-fed water systems, 26 dispensaries, 36 temples, 64 electricity poles and other structures have also been damaged.

Meanwhile, an assessment of losses and damage is still underway in Sanamxay district, Attapeu province, where a dam collapsed, causing the biggest disaster in decades.

Officials say six out of 13 affected villages were completely wiped out by the flood, which killed dozens of people and left many others missing.

The committee said there was an urgent need for tents, toilets, electricity, clean water, cleaning equipment, dried food, rice, and medicines.

Household equipment, basic essentials for women, construction equipment to repair damaged houses, and nutritious food for children under five is also needed.

Thanks to ongoing support and assistance from various sectors, friendly countries and international organisations, a considerable quantity of relief supplies has been distributed to those in need.

From July 24 to August 17, more than 18 billion kip, over 32 million Thai baht and more than US$12.2 million was donated, according to the committee.

Authorities in charge say they have encountered difficulties in transporting relief supplies from warehouses in Vientiane, Attapeu and Champassak to temporary shelter centres amid continuous heavy rainfall that cut off roads, damaged bridges and covered Sanamxay district in deep mud.

With the relief effort mainly centred on the thousands of displaced people in Sanamxay district, the committee admitted that flood victims in many other provinces have been somewhat neglected.

The committee also warned members of the public to be alert to fake news circulated on social media regarding the floods and their aftermath, as this could distort the truth and exaggerate the situation.

The quake struck at a moderate depth of 30 kilometres (19 miles) with the epicentre just off the northern tip of Vanuatu’s sparsely-populated Ambrym island.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said there was no tsunami risk.

“Shaking would have been felt throughout the whole of Vanuatu,” Geoscience Australia senior seismologist Eddie Leask told AFP.

“But it’s hard to tell whether it will cause damage. It’s reasonably shallow but it all depends on the buildings, soil type and so on.”

On its website, Geoscience put the potential damage radius at 63 kilometres.

The nearest city, Lakatoro, is 78 kilometres away, with the capital Port Vila 187 kilometres north of the epicentre.

“We get a lot of five and six magnitude quakes coming through Vanuatu,” added Leask.

“We’d expect to see smaller aftershocks, and even a bigger one.”

The Vanuatu Disaster Management Office told AFP it was not aware of any immediate damage.

Vanuatu, with a population of about 280,000 spread over 65 inhabited islands, is regarded as one of the world’s most disaster-prone countries.

It sits on the so-called “Pacific Ring of Fire,” making it vulnerable to strong earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, while powerful cyclones also regularly lash the islands.

A 7.0-magnitude quake struck in 2017, but no damage was reported.

Suu Kyi, who is State Counsellor, is in Singapore on a four-day working visit and used a rare public speech abroad to also urge investors to look to her fast-growing country, as she outlined what Myanmar had done to bring about peace and national reconciliation.

“We share deep sympathy and concern for all displaced persons, especially women and children,” she said, noting there were around four million Myanmar migrant workers and displaced persons in Thailand, and both countries were working to resolve the issue amicably.

“Similarly, we hope to work with Bangladesh to effect the voluntary, safe and dignified return of displaced persons from northern Rakhine,” she added at the 43rd Singapore Lecture organised by the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute.

About 700,000 people from the Rohingya Muslim minority have fled to neighbouring Bangladesh since last August following an army crackdown that the United Nations said amounted to “ethnic cleansing”.

In her 30-minute speech at the Grand Hyatt hotel, Ms Suu Kyi was reticent about accepting criticism, pointing out that “the outside world can choose the issues on which they wish to focus” and blaming terrorism as the root cause of conflict.

“The danger of terrorist activities, which was the initial cause of events leading to the humanitarian crisis in Rakhine, remains real and present today,” she said. “Unless this security challenge is addressed, the risk of inter-communal violence will remain. It is a threat that could have grave consequences not just for Myanmar but also for other countries in our region and beyond.”

Addressing destabilising issues in Rakhine state is a fundamental part of building peace and stability in Myanmar, and an essential task on its rocky road of transition from military rule to democracy, she added.

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Ms Suu Kyi, whose National League for Democracy won the 2015 general election by a landslide, noted the government had formed a committee to ensure rule of law and development in Rakhine soon after taking power. It had also approached former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan – who died last Saturday – to head an advisory commission to help find lasting solutions.

Myanmar has implemented 81 out of its 88 recommendations, she said, but “the challenges are multi-faceted and require multi-tasking”.

She said Asean and other friends can help it in the implementation of proposals in areas such as strengthening rule of law as well as education and health infrastructure.

As for the resettlement of refugees now in Bangladesh , this has to be effected through the implementation of a pact both sides signed last November, she said.

Ms Suu Kyi said potential resettlement sites have been mapped out, and Myanmar was ready to receive Rohingya returnees since Jan 23.

But Bangladesh will have to decide how quickly it wants the process to be completed, she added.

Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean, who chaired the lecture, said there is an urgent need to ameliorate the communal tensions and crisis. “Singapore and the Asean community encourage Myanmar and Bangladesh to press on with their shared commitment to facilitate the voluntary return of displaced refugees in a safe, secure and dignified manner and without delay.”

Earlier in the day, Ms Suu Kyi called on President Halimah Yacob and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at the Istana. Madam Halimah and Ms Suu Kyi reaffirmed their countries’ warm bilateral ties, and discussed the importance of vocational training and equipping youth with skills to help them tap new markets and investment opportunities, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said in a statement.

PM Lee and Ms Suu Kyi’s broad-ranging discussion touched on the economic challenges faced by both countries, which are working to conclude a bilateral investment treaty by the end of this year, and the need for greater cooperation in Asean to cope with the rising occurrences of natural disasters due to the effects of global climate change.

Ms Suu Kyi also briefed PM Lee on developments in Myanmar, including economic reforms and its efforts to address the situation in the Rakhine State. PM Lee encouraged Myanmar to continue working closely with Bangladesh, the UN, and the international community to give humanitarian assistance to all affected communities and expedite the repatriation of the refugees in a safe, secure and dignified manner.

He also expressed hope that Myanmar can bring about a long-term solution in Rakhine State, MFA added.

More than 700,000 Rohingya Muslims fled Buddhist-majority Myanmar to Bangladesh after a brutal military crackdown on the stateless minority almost a year ago.

The two countries last November signed a deal to repatriate them but it has stalled. Many fear returning to a place where villages were burned to the ground and where they say security forces murdered, tortured and raped members of their communities.

Bangladesh insists the Rohingya are on its soil temporarily but has not forced them back.

In rare public remarks on the crisis, civilian leader Suu Kyi said in a speech in Singapore that Myanmar has been ready to receive Rohingya returnees since January 23 as agreed in the memorandum of understanding.

“It’s very difficult for us to put a time frame on it by ourselves unilaterally because we have to work with Bangladesh in order to do that,” she told an audience in a lecture organised by the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute and entitled “Myanmar’s Democratic Transition: Challenges and Way Forward”.

“Bangladesh would also have to decide how quickly they want the process to be completed,” Suu Kyi added.

Since the repatriation was signed the two countries have wrangled over details, including the way refugees are described on ID cards in Bangladesh.

Crumbling reputation

Rohingya living in the crowded camps over the border in Cox’s Bazar insist on safety guarantees and citizenship rights before returning to Rakhine state in western Myanmar, where the United Nations says conditions are not ready for their return.

The US and UN have described the military’s campaign as ethnic cleansing and there is scepticism over whether Myanmar seriously intends to allow mass returns.

The crackdown against the Rohingya was sparked on August 25 last year when insurgents attacked police posts.

Calls have mounted for Myanmar’s military to be held responsible for the campaign, in which thousands are estimated to have died, and the US has sanctioned two army brigades and several commanders who oversaw the expulsion.

But Myanmar says it was simply defending itself and bristles at international calls for justice, arguing that the world does not understand the problem.

Suu Kyi, a Nobel laureate once under house arrest by the junta that ruled for decades, has seen her global reputation crumble since coming to power for failing to speak up for the Rohingya.

“We who are living through the transition in Myanmar view it differently from those who observe it from the outside and who will remain untouched from its outcome,” she said, appearing relaxed and jocular.

She also blamed Rohingya insurgents and avoided criticism of the military.

“The danger of terrorist activities which was the initial cause of events leading to the humanitarian crisis in Rakhine remains real and present today,” she said.

“Unless these security challenges are addressed, the risk of communal violence would remain.”

The Rohingya are seen as outsiders in Myanmar but consider Rakhine their homeland.

They were stripped of their citizenship decades ago and subject to periodic purges while denied access to healthcare and freedom of movement.