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☆ Long-serving Thai PM hints at re-election bid under new party
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha unveils as Prime Minister candidate for the United Thai Nation Party (Ruam Thai Sang Chart Party) ahead of a general election this year in Bangkok, Thailand, January 9, 2023. REUTERS/Chalinee ThirasupaBANGKOK, Jan 9 (Reuters) - Thailand's long-serving leader Prayuth Chan-ocha vowed to continue his work running the country under a new political party on Monday, hinting at a bid to remain prime minister after an election this year. "Many things have to continue, and more needs to be done for the country to forge ahead," Prayuth told about 10,000 people at the launch of the new United Thai Nation Party, which he has joined. The new party, led by figures from the country's conservative establishment, has yet to declare its candidate for prime minister. The Constitutional Court last year ruled his first three years in charge did not count towards the maximum eight years a prime minister can serve.

☆ Myanmar junta hits out at critics while thanking some countries for help
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

Myanmar’s junta chief on Wednesday lashed out at countries for intervening in his country’s affairs while thanking others for “positively” cooperating, noting how it was working closely with neighbors such as China, India and Thailand. We will work together for border stability and development,” Min Aung Hlaing said in a televised speech from a national day parade in the capital, Naypyitaw. Suu Kyi is being held in a jail in Naypyitaw in solitary confinement, and the military insists she has received due process in an independent court. The United States, the European Union and countries such as Britain and Canada have imposed sanctions on Myanmar’s military and individuals deemed to have helped the junta come to power. Referring to international pressure, Min Aung Hlaing hit out at what he said were “disruptions from countries and organizations who want to intervene in Myanmar’s internal affairs.”Still, the junta has maintained some international support.

☆ Myanmar junta hits out at critics, thanks neighbours for help
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Jan 4 (Reuters) - Myanmar's junta chief on Wednesday lashed out at countries for intervening in his country's affairs while thanking others for "positively" cooperating, noting how it was working closely with neighbours such as China, India and Thailand. We will work together for border stability and development," Min Aung Hlaing said in a televised speech from a national day parade in the capital Naypyitaw. Suu Kyi is being held in a jail in Naypyitaw in solitary confinement and the military insist she has received due process by an independent court. The United States, the European Union and countries such as Britain and Canada, have imposed sanctions on Myanmar's military and individuals deemed to have helped the junta come to power. Referring to international pressure, Min Aung Hlaing hit out at what he said were "disruptions from countries and organizations who want to intervene in Myanmar's internal affairs."

☆ Myanmar court convicts Aung San Suu Kyi of corruption in final case
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

BANGKOK — A court in military-ruled Myanmar convicted the country’s ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi of corruption on Friday, sentencing her to seven years in prison in the last of a string of criminal cases against her, a source with direct knowledge of the proceedings confirmed to NBC News. The 77-year-old Suu Kyi has also been convicted of several other offenses, including illegally importing and possessing walkie-talkies, violating coronavirus restrictions, breaching the country’s official secrets act, sedition and election fraud. Suu Kyi was the de facto head of government, holding the title of state counsellor. The U.N. said in August that Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, the head of Myanmar’s military-installed government, had “expressed openness to arranging a meeting at the right time” between Suu Kyi and U.N. special envoy Noeleen Heyzer. “The Myanmar junta’s farcical, totally unjust parade of charges and convictions against Aung San Suu Kyi amount to politically motivated punishment designed to hold her behind bars for the rest of her life,” he said.

☆ Myanmar court jails Aung San Suu Kyi for 7 more years as secretive trials end
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Protesters seen holding portraits of Aung San Suu Kyi during a demonstration outside the Myanmar Embassy in Bangkok to mark International Migrants Day and protest against the Myanmar military's government. A court in military-ruled Myanmar on Friday convicted deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi on five counts of corruption and jailed her for a combined seven years, a source familiar with her trial said, wrapping up the last remaining cases against her. The source asked not to be identified due to the sensitivity of the issue. A Nobel Peace Prize winner for her decades-long campaign for democracy in Myanmar, Suu Kyi has spent much of her political life in detention under military governments. Friday's verdict adds to sentences of at least 26 years handed down since December last year.

☆ Mali sentences 46 Ivorian soldiers to 20 years for conspiring against government
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BAMAKO, Dec 30 (Reuters) - A court in Mali sentenced 46 soldiers from Ivory Coast to 20 years imprisonment on Friday for conspiring against the government, and three others to death in absentia. Forty-nine Ivorian soldiers were arrested at the airport in Mali's capital Bamako in July, three of whom were later released. Mali's ruling junta said the soldiers were acting as mercenaries, while Ivory Coast said they were part of a United Nations peacekeeping mission. Ivory Coast said its troops were being held hostage, and has made repeated pleas for their release. The country announced last month it would withdraw its remaining soldiers from the U.N. peacekeeping mission.

☆ Myanmar court jails Suu Kyi for 7 more years as secretive trials end
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

In a court session held behind closed doors, Suu Kyi, who was arrested during a coup in February 2021, was found guilty of offences relating to her lease and use of a helicopter while she was Myanmar's de facto leader, the source said. A Nobel Peace Prize winner for her decades-long campaign for democracy in Myanmar, Suu Kyi has spent much of her political life in detention under military governments. Suu Kyi led Myanmar for five years from 2015 during a decade of tentative democracy that came after the military ended its 49-year rule, only for it to wrest back control early last year to stop Suu Kyi's government from starting a second term. The junta has insisted the charges are legitimate and that Suu Kyi, who has been held in the annex of a jail in the capital Naypyitaw, has been given due process by an independent court. The military removed Suu Kyi's government from power on the grounds that it failed to address alleged irregularities in a 2020 election that her party won in a landslide.

☆ Myanmar court to deliver final verdicts this week in Suu Kyi trials
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Dec 27 (Reuters) - A court in military-ruled Myanmar will deliver its final verdicts in cases against deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Friday, said a source familiar with her trials, wrapping up marathon proceedings that have been condemned in the West as a sham. Suu Kyi, 77, was arrested when the military seized power on Feb. 1 last year in a coup that ended a decade of tentative democracy and plunged the country into chaos. Suu Kyi has called the cases "absurd". The military has said Suu Kyi is being given due process by an independent judiciary, noting the judge was appointed by her administration. Suu Kyi's marathon court proceedings have taken place behind closed doors, with only limited information reported by state media and a gag order imposed on her lawyers.

☆ Thailand hosts Myanmar junta figures in talks, key ASEAN nations skip
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Foreign ministers of Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia and Vietnam's deputy foreign minister joined the talks hosted by Thailand's foreign minister, according to Thai foreign ministry spokeswoman Kanchana Patarachoke. "The consultation was a non-ASEAN meeting but intended to complement ASEAN’s ongoing collective efforts to find a peaceful political resolution," Kanchana said in a statement. Myanmar Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin attended along with Kan Zaw, minister for investment and foreign economic relations, and Ko Ko Hlaing, minister for international cooperation, Myanmar's foreign ministry said in a statement. The Philippines said its foreign minister would also not join, without elaborating. "Any meeting convened under ASEAN, formal or informal, should not divert from this decision," it said, according to the source.

☆ UN council demands end to Myanmar violence in first resolution in decades
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

UNITED NATIONS, Dec 21 (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council adopted its first resolution on Myanmar in 74 years on Wednesday to demand an end to violence and urge the military junta to release all political prisoners, including ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi. The 15-member council has long been split on how to deal with the Myanmar crisis with China and Russia arguing against strong action. They both abstained from the vote on Wednesday, along with India. The remaining 12 members voted in favor. Reporting by Michelle Nichols and Kanishka SinghOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ U.N. shelves bid by Afghan Taliban, Myanmar junta for representation
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( Michelle Nichols | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

UNITED NATIONS, Dec 16 (Reuters) - The United Nations General Assembly on Friday approved postponing - for the second time - a decision on whether the Afghan Taliban administration and the Myanmar junta can send a United Nations ambassador to New York. The 193-member General Assembly approved without a vote the decision by the U.N. credentials committee, which also deferred a decision on rival claims to Libya's U.N. seat. But the credentials committee said it could "revert to consideration of these credentials at a future time in the seventy-seventh session" of the General Assembly, which ends in September next year. Competing claims were again made for the seats of Myanmar and Afghanistan with the Taliban administration and Myanmar's junta pitted against envoys of the governments they ousted last year. U.N. acceptance of the Taliban administration or Myanmar's junta would be a step toward the international recognition sought by both.

☆ Burkina Faso summons Ghanaian ambassador over Wagner allegations
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

OUAGADOUGOU, Dec 16 (Reuters) - Burkina Faso summoned the Ghanaian ambassador on Friday morning for "explanations" after Ghana's president alleged that Burkina Faso had hired the Russian mercenary group Wagner, Burkina Faso's foreign ministry said. Burkina Faso has now entered into an arrangement to go along with Mali in employing the Wagner forces there," Akufo-Addo said, adding that it was a distressing development for Ghana. Akufo-Addo also alleged that Burkina Faso had offered Wagner a mine as payment. In a statement issued after the meeting with the ambassador, Burkina Faso's foreign ministry said it had "expressed disapproval" about the statements made by the Ghanaian president. Burkina Faso also recalled its ambassador from Ghana for a meeting, the spokesperson said.

☆ Afghan Taliban administration, Myanmar junta not allowed into United Nations for now
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Michelle Nichols | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] The United Nations headquarters building is pictured though a window with the UN logo in the foreground in the Manhattan borough of New York August 15, 2014. REUTERS/Carlo AllegriUNITED NATIONS, Dec 14 (Reuters) - A decision on whether the Afghan Taliban administration and the Myanmar junta can send a United Nations ambassador to New York has been postponed for a second time, but could be reconsidered in the next nine months, according to a U.N. credentials committee report. The nine-member U.N. credentials committee includes Russia, China and the United States. Competing claims were again made for the seats of Myanmar and Afghanistan with the Taliban administration and Myanmar's junta pitted against envoys of the governments they ousted last year. U.N. acceptance of the Taliban administration or Myanmar's junta would be a step toward the international recognition sought by both.

☆ Burkina Faso aware of the dangers of Wagner force -France
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( John Irish | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Speaking to reporters alongside U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday, Ghana's President Nana Akufo-Addo alleged that Burkina Faso had hired the mercenaries. Burkina Faso has now entered into an arrangement to go along with Mali in employing the Wagner forces there," he said. Prime minister of Burkina Faso in the last 10 days has been in Moscow. Officials from Burkina Faso did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Burkina Faso has not said publicly that it would consider hiring Wagner mercenaries.

☆ Meta lawsuit: An Ethiopian professor was murdered by a mob. Son alleges Facebook fueled the violence
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Eliza Mackintosh | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

The case is a constitutional petition filed in Kenya’s High Court, which has jurisdiction over the issue, as Facebook’s content moderation operation hub for much of east and south Africa is located in Nairobi. “They have suffered human rights violations as a result of the Respondent failing to take down Facebook posts that violated the bill of rights even after making reports to the Respondent,” reads the complaint. The legal filing alleges that Facebook has failed to invest adequately in content moderation in countries across Africa, Latin America and the Middle East, particularly from its hub in Nairobi. In a statement to CNN, Meta did not directly respond to the lawsuit:“We have strict rules which outline what is and isn’t allowed on Facebook and Instagram. Last year, whistleblower Frances Haugen, a former Facebook employee, told the US Senate that the platform’s algorithm was “literally fanning ethnic violence” in Ethiopia.

☆ UK sanctions 30 people, targeting corruption and human rights abuse
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, Dec 9 (Reuters) - Britain on Friday announced sanctions targeting 30 people around the world who it described as "corrupt political figures, human rights violators and perpetrators of conflict-related sexual violence." It said the sanctions were coordinated with international partners to mark International Anti-Corruption Day and Global Human Rights Day and included individuals involved in activities including the torture of prisoners and the mobilisation of troops to rape civilians. "Today our sanctions go further to expose those behind the heinous violations of our most fundamental rights," Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said in a statement. They included targets from 11 countries, including:- 10 Iranian officials connected to Iran’s judicial and prison systems- Figures involved in the Myanmar military junta- Russian Colonel Ibatullin for his role as the commander of the 90th Tank Division- Mali's Katiba Macina group, also known as the Macina Liberation Front, over what Britain said was links to sexual violence- Officials in South Sudan over what Britain said were links to sexual violenceReporting by William James, Editing by Kylie MacLellanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Canada adds sanctions on Russia, Iran, Myanmar over human rights
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Kanishka Singh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Dec 9 (Reuters) - Canada on Friday imposed fresh sanctions on Russia, Iran and Myanmar, citing alleged human rights violations by their governments. Since Russia's invasion on Feb. 24, Canada has imposed sanctions on more than 1,500 individuals and entities from Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. "There is more work to be done, but Canada will never stop standing up for human rights," Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said. In addition to Iran and Russia, Canada also imposed sanctions on 12 individuals and three entities in Myanmar that perform key functions on behalf of the Myanmar military, facilitate arms flows to the military and enable the military's violence, Canada said. More than 16,500 people have been arrested and more than 13,000 of them remain in detention since the coup, according to a human rights organization that documents violations by the Myanmar military.

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 families plea for help after 7 students sentenced to death
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Dec 6 (Reuters) - Relatives of some of the seven Myanmar students sentenced to death by a closed court in the military-ruled country called on Tuesday for global help, as critics slammed the ruling as a new bid by the junta to stamp out dissent. The students, all under 25 years old, were sentenced by a military court for their alleged involvement in a shooting in April that killed a former military officer. They are among more than 130 people put on death row since the military seized power in a coup last year, according to the United Nations. I want to request the world to help us," a sister of one of the students, who asked not to be named, said by telephone. Thein Shwe, the father of another condemned student, was in tears as he called the punishment "unfair".

☆ 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: | 2022-11-29 | by ( ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

TOKYO — 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 to 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 scrutinized.

☆ 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.

Stephanie Clark said Paugh, 35, was a loving mother and wife who was devoted to her family, including her 11-year-old daughter. Courtesy Stephanie Clark"My niece is devastated," Clark said, adding that Paugh "lived for her daughter." Paugh, who is not part of the LGBTQ community, spent Saturday in Colorado Springs with a female friend. "Club Q is in shock, and in deep mourning, with the family and friends who had loved ones senselessly taken from them. Deon J. Hampton reported from Colorado Springs, Colorado; Daniel Arkin reported from New York.

Sergei Surovikin, nicknamed "General Armageddon" by the Russian media for his reputed ruthlessness, on Nov. 9 recommended Moscow's forces quit Kherson and the west bank of the River Dnipro where they were dangerously exposed. Simonyan urged Surovikin, a hulking shaven-headed figure who has been shown on TV speaking in clipped Russian military language, to ignore "nonsense" from critics, a reference to influential military bloggers unhappy about his retreat. Nor is taking new ground in the east against a highly motivated and Western-equipped Ukrainian military an easy task, especially in the winter. The appointment of Surovikin on Oct. 8 was the first time Russia had publicly named an overall commander for its forces in Ukraine. With the exception of the city of Lysychansk, in eastern Ukraine, he said all the territory Russia held looked defensible.

☆ France's Macron accuses Russia of 'predatory' influence in Africa
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

PARIS, Nov 20 (Reuters) - President Emmanuel Macron accused Russia of feeding anti-French propaganda in Africa to serve "predatory" ambitions in troubled African nations, where France has suffered military setbacks and a wider loss of influence over recent years. "This perception is fed by others, it's a political project," Macron told TV5 Monde in an interview. France, the former colonial power in most of Western and central Africa, has longstanding military ties across Francophone Africa and French troops were stationed in Mali for a decade as part of a counter-terrorism operation. It has also been jockeying for influence with Russia in recent years, with the deployment of private military contractor Wagner Group in several countries, including in the Central African Republic (CAR) and in Mali. "It's done with the complicity of a Russian military junta," he said.

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