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REUTERS/Nir EliasSINGAPORE, Jan 15 (Reuters) - Israel's Cognyte Software Ltd (CGNT.O) won a tender to sell intercept spyware to a Myanmar state-backed telecommunications firm a month before the Asian nation's February 2021 military coup, according to documents reviewed by Reuters. Intercept spyware can give authorities the power to listen in on calls, view text messages and web traffic including emails, and track the locations of users without the assistance of telecom and internet firms. MPT uses intercept spyware, a source with direct knowledge of the matter and three people briefed on the issue told Reuters although they did not identify the vendor. Reuters was unable to determine whether the sale of Cognyte intercept technology to MPT was finalised. While intercept spyware is typically described as "dual-use" technology for civilian and defence purposes, Israeli law states that "dual-use" technology is classified as defence equipment.

☆ Ukraine war live updates: Battle for Soledar not over yet, Zelenskyy says; Putin's military reshuffle reflects power struggle
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

A Ukrainian soldier in his position as a tankman as the Russia-Ukraine war continues on the Bakhmut front line in Donetsk, Ukraine, on Jan. 8, 2023. Ukraine is continuing to reject Russian claims that its forces have captured the Donetsk town of Soledar. Serhiy Cherevatyi, spokesperson for the eastern military command, told Ukrainian television Wednesday that "Soledar is not under the control of the Russian Federation. Cherevatyi claimed Russians had "carried out a special information operation" to promote the claim that Russian forces had already captured Soledar but said "this is not true." Capturing Soledar would be a coup for Russia as it seeks to advance further and capture nearby Bakhmut.

☆ 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 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.

☆ 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.

☆ 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.

☆ Analysis: Plenty for Belgium to ponder despite Canada win
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( Nick Said | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Canada may well now have the same grumble following their Group F fixture at the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium on Wednesday. Without the injured Romelu Lukaku, who bullies the back four with a physical presence few other strikers can match, Belgium look a little light up front. It was perhaps fitting that their goal came from a route one long ball from defender Toby Alderweireld because they lacked the quality to open up Canada with intricate play. Belgium face Morocco on Sunday, another opponent they will find difficult to break down. The question will be how much does a clearly frustrated Martinez change his team and tactics.

☆ Thousands of workers were laid off this week as tech companies and startups brace for an economic crash. Investors, founders, and recruiters explain why this is just the beginning.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-05 | by ( Rob Price | Samantha Stokes | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Amid growing economic uncertainty, layoffs in the technology industry, both for public companies and for startups, have been escalating this Fall. While plenty of tech companies were still flying high in early 2022, Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February accelerated global economic turmoil. More than 17,000 tech workers lost their jobs in both May and June, while July and August saw another 29,000 cuts, according to layoff tracker Layoffs.fyi. Davis, the VC at Interplay, explained that cost-cutting and layoffs are happening across the board, not just in the tech industry. But public tech companies as well as early- and growth-stage startups will face additional challenges, he said.

[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.

☆ 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.

☆ As with Ukraine, a coalition should pressure Myanmar's junta, U.N. expert says
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Michelle Nichols | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

UNITED NATIONS, Oct 26 (Reuters) - Russian weapons being used in Ukraine are also killing people in Myanmar, an independent U.N. expert said on Wednesday, urging countries to form a coalition - just as they have on Moscow over Ukraine - to target and pressure Myanmar's military junta. "The international community should be coordinating their efforts to target them, and then work together to implement these measures," Andrews told reporters in New York. And they come from the very same source - they come from Russia," Andrews said. You have been appointed the Special Rapporteur on Myanmar, so deal with Myanmar instead of Ukraine," Kuzmin told the committee. "I'd frankly be surprised if they're alive right now," Andrews told reporters.

☆ ASEAN chair alarmed over escalating Myanmar violence
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Oct 26 (Reuters) - The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is gravely concerned about an escalation of violence in Myanmar and is calling for restraint and an immediate cessation of fighting, the bloc's chair Cambodia said. "We are deeply saddened by the growing casualties, and the immense suffering that ordinary people in Myanmar have endured," said the statement. "We, therefore, strongly urge utmost restraint and immediate cessation to violence," said the statement, which called for all parties to pursue dialogue. ASEAN is leading diplomatic efforts to bring peace to Myanmar but the junta has done little to implement the "consensus", which committed to an immediate halt to violence and the start of dialogue towards a peace agreement. A group of 457 Myanmar civil society organisations have called in an open letter for ASEAN leaders to scrap the peace plan it agreed with the military and instead work with civilian leaders and a shadow government.

BEIJING/HONG KONG, Oct 22 (Reuters) - China's central bank chief Yi Gang is likely to step down after he was dropped from an elite body of the ruling Communist Party, with a former central banker a leading contender to succeed him, sources close to the central bank said. Yi is among pro-reform policymakers not named on Saturday as full or alternate members of the party's new Central Committee. Also excluded were outgoing Premier Li Keqiang, 67, economic czar Liu He, 70, and central bank party chief Guo Shuqing, 66. Yin Yong, deputy party chief in the capital Beijing who worked as a deputy central bank governor from 2016 to 2018, is a leading candidate to replace Yi, sources close to the central bank said. Xuan Changneng was named deputy central bank governor on Thursday.

☆ At least 8 dead after explosions, gunfire at Myanmar jail -media, witness
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Oct 19 (Reuters) - At least eight people were killed and 13 others were injured on Wednesday after explosions and gunfire at Myanmar's biggest jail, according to media reports and an account from a witness. It was unclear what caused the explosions and representatives of the prison and the military government could not immediately be reached for comment. Police were at the scene and inspecting the site of the explosions shortly afterwards, media reported. Prison staff and couriers who were seriously injured were evacuated from the prison, while those not seriously injured were treated at nearby shops, according to BBC Burmese. A number of cases scheduled to be heard in the adjacent court, were cancelled after the explosions, according to media reports.

☆ Toyota opens new Myanmar plant put on hold following coup
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

TOKYO, Oct 12 (Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) said on Wednesday it had begun assembling cars at a new plant in Myanmar that was put on hold for more than 19 months after a military coup and during the coronavirus pandemic. Japanese companies and other multinationals have faced pressure to pull out of investments in Myanmar that are perceived to benefit the military. Human Rights Watch, a leading advocacy group, called for Toyota and any other companies seeking to invest or resume operation in Myanmar to conduct human rights due diligence. "Toyota should certainly refrain from doing business with Myanmar military owned conglomerates ... as well as their subsidiaries," said Teppei Kasai, the organisation's Asia programme officer. The Toyota plant is in the Thilawa Special Economic Zone, a manufacturing and logistics hub outside the business hub of Yangon built with Japanese investment.

☆ As U.N. mulls Myanmar action, Malaysia pushes ASEAN to review peace plan
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-20 | by ( Michelle Nichols | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), of which Myanmar is a member, has been leading peace efforts. The U.N. Security Council is considering a British-drafted resolution - circulated on Friday - that would demand an end to all violence in Myanmar, urges an immediate end to the transfer of arms to Myanmar and threatens U.N. sanctions. It would also called on the Myanmar junta to release all political prisoners, including Suu Kyi, implement the ASEAN peace plan and allow a democratic transition. To be adopted, a Security Council resolution needs at least nine votes in favor and no vetoes by Russia, China, the United States, France or Britain. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Michelle Nichols; Editing by Lincoln Feast.

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