Paulo Bento has been fired as head coach of the United Arab Emirates soccer team just hours after a 2-1 win Tuesday over North Korea kept alive its slim hopes of direct qualification for the 2026 World Cup.
That victory, sealed with a goal deep in stoppage time, put the UAE four points behind second-place Uzbekistan in Group A with two games remaining in the third round of Asian qualifying. The top two from each of the three Asian groups are guaranteed a place in the 48-team tournament to be hosted next year by the United States, Canada and Mexico.
“The UAE Football Association has decided to dismiss the head coach of the national team, Paulo Bento, along with his coaching staff,” the UAE football association posted on social media.
The 55-year-old Bento led South Korea to the knockout stages of the 2022 World Cup, 10 years after he guided Portugal to the last four of the European Championships. He was appointed in July 2023 to succeed Rodolfo Arruabarrena.
Iran secured a World Cup place with a 2-2 draw against Uzbekistan.
If the UAE misses out on second place, there is another round of qualification as the teams that finish third and fourth in the groups go into a playoff for further spots at the World Cup. Asia has eight guaranteed spots at the global tournament.
UAE’s next qualifier is against Uzbekistan at home on June 5.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
FILE -United Arab Emirates' coach Paulo Bento looks on prior the Asian Cup Round of 16 soccer match between Tajikistan and United Arab Emirates, at Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium, in Al Rayyan, Qatar, Jan. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis, File)
BANGKOK (AP) — Myanmar's powerful 7.7 magnitude earthquake has killed over 1,000 people, as the death toll keeps climbing amid rescue efforts.
The military government said Saturday that 1,002 people have now been found dead and another 2,376 injured, with 30 others missing.
The earthquake struck midday Friday, followed by several aftershocks including one measuring a strong 6.4 magnitude.
In Thailand, the quake rocked the greater Bangkok area, leaving six people dead, 26 injured and 47 still missing.
Several countries, including Malaysia, Russia and China have dispatched rescuers and relief teams.
Here is the latest:
Satellite photos from Planet Labs PBC analyzed by The Associated Press show the earthquake toppled the air traffic control tower at Naypyitaw International Airport.
The photos taken Saturday show the tower toppled over as if sheered from its base. Debris lay scattered from the top of the tower, which controlled all air traffic in the capital of Myanmar.
It wasn’t immediately clear if there had been any injuries in the collapse, though the tower would have had staff inside of it at the time of the earthquake Friday. It likely also stopped air traffic into the international airport, given all electronics and radar would have been routed into the tower for controllers.
Flights carrying rescue teams from China have landed at the airport in Yangon instead of going directly to the airports in the major stricken cities of Mandalay and Naypyitaw.
A spokesperson for the China International Development Cooperation Agency said Saturday that Beijing will provide Myanmar with 100 million yuan ($13.8 million) in emergency humanitarian aid for earthquake relief efforts.
Russia's Emergencies Ministry said 120 rescue workers have been sent to help search for victims trapped in the rubble and assist with clean-up/
According to a statement Friday evening, two aircraft were on their way from Moscow to the earthquake-stricken country, with anaesthesiologists, psychologists and canine units also on board.
The city’s chief executive, John Lee, also extended his condolences to the earthquake victims in a Facebook post on Saturday
Meanwhile, Taiwan’s National Fire Agency said a rescue team of 120 people was on standby for possible deployment. The team included rescue personnel, doctors, nurses, a vet, six search-and-rescue dogs and 15 tons of equipment.
Taiwan and Myanmar don’t have official ties. Most countries don’t recognize Chinese-claimed Taiwan as a country as Beijing prohibits other nations from having formal ties with Taipei.
An additional rescue team of 82 people left Bejing, hours after a different team of emergency responders from the Chinese province of Yunnan, bordering Myanmar, arrived in the earthquake-stricken country.
Additionally, 16 members of the Chinese civil relief squad Blue Sky Rescue Team in the city of Ruili, Yunnan, departed to Muse City in northern Myanmar to help with relief efforts, according to state broadcaster CGTN. Chinese authorities also sent a first batch of 80 tents and 290 blankets early Saturday.
Meanwhile, Chinese President Xi Jinping extended condolences to Myanmar’s leader Min Aung Hlaing.
The earthquake was felt in parts of China's Yunnan province, though casualties were limited. Two people in Ruili suffered minor injuries and 847 homes were damaged, according to authorities. Some high-rise buildings and older houses in urban areas were also partially damaged, but power and water supplies and transportation and communications lines have been restored.
New Zealand’s Foreign Minister Winston Peters wrote on X that his government would support relief efforts “via the International Red Cross Movement."
“Our thoughts are with all those who have lost loved ones, and to everyone else affected,” Peters said Saturday.
New Zealand’s foreign ministry said all embassy staff in Yangon and Bangkok were accounted for and no New Zealanders had been reported hurt or killed.
South Korea will send the aid through international organizations to support recovery efforts following the recent earthquake.
The Foreign Ministry stated on Saturday that Seoul will closely monitor the situation and consider additional support if needed.
In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, Chinese rescuers arrive at the Yangon International Airport in Yangon, Myanmar on Saturday, March 29, 2025. (Haymhan Aung/Xinhua via AP)
In this photo taken from video released by Russian Emergency Ministry Press Service on Saturday, March 29, 2025, Russian Emergency Ministry employees gather to board one of two planes with rescuers to Myanmar following Friday's earthquake, from a Moscow airfield, Russia. (Russia Emergency Ministry press service via AP)
Rescuers walk past the ruin of a high-rise building under construction that collapsed after a strong earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, Saturday, March 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Wason Wanichakorn)
People stand near a damaged construction site of a high-rise building in Bangkok, Thailand, Saturday, March 29, 2025, as rescuers search for victims following its collapse after Friday's earthquake. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
Rescuers search for victims at the site of a high-rise building under construction that collapsed after a strong earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, early Saturday, March 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Wason Wanichakorn)
Rescue workers help an injured women who was trapped under a building Friday, March 28, 2025, in Naypyitaw, Myanmar. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)
In this image provided by The Myanmar Military True News Information Team, Myanmar's military leader Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, center, inspects damaged road caused by an earthquake Friday, March 28, 2025, in Naypyitaw, Myanmar. (The Myanmar Military True News Information Team via AP)
Rescuers search for victims at the site of a high-rise building under construction that collapsed after a strong earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, early Saturday, March 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Wason Wanichakorn)
Patients are evacuated outdoors at a hospital after a 7.7 magnitude earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, Friday, March 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Tadchakorn Kitchaiphon)
Rescue workers take an injured man who was trapped under a building Friday, March 28, 2025, in Naypyitaw, Myanmar. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)
People wait at the damaged construction site of a high-rise building in Bangkok, Thailand, Saturday, March 29, 2025, as rescuers search for victims following its collapse after an earthquake. (AP Photo/Wason Wanichakorn)
Relatives of workers of a high-rise building under construction that collapsed after a strong earthquake wait as rescuers search for victims, in Bangkok, Thailand, Saturday, March 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
Rescuers work at the site a high-rise building under construction that collapsed after a 7.7 magnitude earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, early Saturday, March 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Wason Wanichakorn)
Volunteers look for survivors near a damaged building Friday, March 28, 2025, in Naypyitaw, Myanmar. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)
In this image provided by The Myanmar Military True News Information Team, victims caused by an earthquake is seen compound of government hospital Friday, March 28, 2025, in Naypyitaw, Myanmar. (The Myanmar Military True News Information Team via AP)
