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☆ At least a 100 Rohingya stranded in boat off India's coast, many dead, activists say
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MUMBAI, Dec 21 (Reuters) - At least 100 ethnic Rohingya are stranded in a boat off India's Andaman Islands and as many as 16-20 may have have died of thirst, hunger or drowned, said two Myanmar Rohingya activist groups. Each year many Rohingya, members of a Muslim minority, risk their lives boarding rickety vessels to escape violence in Myanmar and squalor in Bangladesh refugee camps. A spokesperson for the Indian Navy said he did not have any details to share. Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network’s Rohingya Working Group said the group had been adrift for more than two weeks. "We hope that the Indian Navy or Coastguard will manage to rescue and disembark the boat as soon as possible.

Dec 8 (Reuters) - In a monastery in central Myanmar, a Buddhist monk, Wathawa, rallies his militia with a cry: "What's our spirit like?" shout a group of rifle-bearing men, loyalists of the military junta that seized power last year, now fighting to crush fledgling pro-democracy groups. Myanmar's Buddhist clergy previously sought to topple successive military dictatorships that kept citizens impoverished and isolated. Myanmar monks teach laypeople who in turn provide them with essentials such as food and clothing. State media broadcasts have shown military commanders showering Wathawa and his militia with cash and food donations.

☆ Myanmar democracy leader says 2,000 dead fighting junta, urges military aid
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Poppy Mcpherson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

BANGKOK, Dec 1 (Reuters) - At least 2,000 pro-democracy fighters have been killed in Myanmar battling a military junta that seized power last year, the head of a parallel civilian government said in an interview aired on Thursday, urging allies to provide military aid. The military has branded him and his colleagues terrorists and banned citizens from communicating with them, but their parallel civilian government enjoys widespread support. Duwa Lashi La has been pictured visiting troops, who include former students and professionals driven to the jungles by military crackdowns, clad in a flak jacket and helmet. Duwa Lashi La said the opposition fighters had killed about 20,000 junta troops. Duwa Lashi La said the door was not closed to negotiation but the military had to stop killing civilians, vow to withdraw from politics and abolish the constitution that enshrines their power.

☆ Myanmar detention was 'hell', says freed Japanese filmmaker
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( John Geddie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

TOKYO, Nov 28 (Reuters) - A Japanese filmmaker jailed for nearly four months in Myanmar described some of his detention there as "hell" and called on Tokyo to take a tougher stance against human rights abuses in the military-controlled country. A spokesperson for Myanmar's junta did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The economic adviser, Sean Turnell, also described filthy cells and having to eat out of a bucket while in a Myanmar jail in an interview with The Australian newspaper on Monday. Vicky Bowman, Britain's ambassador from 2002-2006 who heads a group promoting ethical business in Myanmar, had been jailed for immigration violations. "I would hope the Japanese government would take a much stronger stance towards the Myanmar military," said Kubota, adding that any funds flowing from Japan to Myanmar should be closely scrutinised.

☆ U.S. Vice President Harris announces $20 million new clean energy funding for Mekong region
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-20 | by ( Poppy Mcpherson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BANGKOK, Nov 20 (Reuters) - U.S Vice President Kamala Harris announced $20 million in new funding for clean energy projects in the Mekong region, during the last day of her tour of Thailand on Sunday following a regional summit. She spoke to civil society and business leaders in Bangkok after the close of a meeting of the 21-member APEC bloc a day earlier. "In particular we know that the climate crisis presents a real threat to the communities who depend on the Mekong River. In Thailand, in Vietnam, Laos." Reporting by Poppy McPherson; Editing by Christopher CushingOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ US VP Harris announces $20 mln new clean energy funding for Mekong region
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-20 | by ( Poppy Mcpherson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Separately, police fired rubber bullets to disperse anti-government protesters in Bangkok as the host of the Asia-Paciﬁc Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, opened the conference. U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris called an emergency gathering of leaders from Australia, Japan, South Korea, Canada and New Zealand on the sidelines of the summit after North Korea carried out the missile test. "This conduct by North Korea most recently is a brazen violation of multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions," she said. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who is in Bangkok for the APEC meeting, told reporters North Korea had "repeated its provocations with unprecedented frequency". First Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Belousov is representing him at APEC.

[1/5] A person enters a cannabis shop near the venue of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in Bangkok, Thailand November 17, 2022. Since Thailand decriminalised cannabis this year shops selling homegrown and imported strains, pre-rolled joints and gummies sprang up rapidly. A cannabis regulation bill to govern cultivation, sale, and consumption has been delayed in parliament, causing confusion over just aspects will be legal. The president of Thailand's association of forensic physicians, Smith Srisont, petitioned a court last week to re-list it as a narcotic. Akira Wongwan, the chief executive of a medical cannabis business, Adam Group, said profit margins for recreational cannabis were "super high".

☆ SE Asian ministers discuss Myanmar crisis, without any Myanmar representative
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

JAKARTA, Oct 27 (Reuters) - Southeast Asian foreign ministers began meeting in Jakarta on Thursday to discuss how to kick-start a stalled peace process in military-ruled Myanmar, where dozens have been killed in recent weeks as violence escalated. The meeting at the secretariat of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in the Indonesian capital will not be attended by any representatives from Myanmar. Myanmar had been invited to send a non-political representative to the meeting in Indonesia, but the junta did not agree, according to the host government. There was also interest among some ASEAN members to seek quiet negotiations with the junta, the source said. Reporting by Poppy McPherson in Bankok and Stanley Widianto in Jakarta Writing by Ed Davies Editing by Simon Cameron-MooreOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

[1/3] Cambodia's Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn speaks during a meeting with Southeast Asian foreign ministers at the secretariat of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Jakarta, Indonesia, October 27, 2022. Galih Pradipta/Pool via REUTERSJAKARTA, Oct 27 (Reuters) - Myanmar's military government warned on Thursday that any pressure from its Southeast Asian neighbours to put a time frame on a peace plan would create "negative implications". No Myanmar representatives were present at the special meeting of the group's foreign ministers to discuss the stalled peace plan. Late on Thursday, Myanmar's military-appointed foreign ministry released a statement blaming armed resistance movements for violence and saying pressure to set a time frame will create more negative implications than positive ones. And Indonesia has mentioned that this request needs to be delivered to Tatmadaw (Myanmar's military) immediately," said Retno.

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 19 (Reuters) - Malaysia deported 150 Myanmar nationals this month, including former navy officers seeking asylum, and plans to send back more despite the risk of arrest they face at home, four sources familiar with the matter said. The two were deported from Malaysia for failing to hold valid documents to reside in the country, the sources said. Myanmar's embassy in Malaysia said in a post on Facebook that 150 Myanmar nationals were deported by plane on Oct. 6 in cooperation with Malaysian immigration authorities. The agency did not comment on dangers faced by Myanmar nationals deported back home. Despite such criticism, Malaysia is planning to deport more Myanmar nationals, according to community leaders who said they were briefed by authorities on planned deportations.

For several nights the sound of 34-year-old Panya Khamrap’s 9 mm pistol cracked the silence in the sleepy village of Tha Uthai, neighbours said. Another neighbour said that days before his rampage the village chief warned Panya about his behaviour. They argued and the village chief was afraid, said the neighbour, Suwan Tonsomsen. Another neighbour told Reuters he had seen Panya's mother with his degree certificate. Teachers in the nursery had put the children down for their nap by the time Panya arrived at around 12:30 p.m.

☆ Thailand denies entry to model who denounced Myanmar junta in pageant speech
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Han Lay, Miss Grand Myanmar looks on during an interview with Reuters in Bangkok, Thailand, April 2, 2021. Han Lay, who captured international attention last year with a moving beauty pageant speech calling for urgent help for Myanmar's people during a military crackdown, did not have a valid visa to enter Thailand, the immigration department said. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterNawit Itsaragrisil, founder of Thailand's Miss Grand International pageant, who also represents Han Lay, said she had been in the transit area of a Bangkok airport since Wednesday afternoon. He said Han Lay was stopped on arrival because she was subject of an Interpol notice. Interpol did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether Han Lay was the subject of an Interpol notice.

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