Paris: French oil giant TotalEnergies said Friday it would withdraw from Myanmar over “worsening” human rights abuses since last year’s coup, depriving the country’s military of a major revenue source. The firm has faced pressure to cut financial links with the junta since the army seized power from a civilian government in February 2021. “The […]
Myanmar
US, UN condemn Myanmar junta over reported killing of 11 villagers
The United States and United Nations condemned the Myanmar junta over what Washington described as “credible and sickening” reports of the killing of 11 villagers, including children, in a restive central region. The State Department and the UN secretary general’s statements came as local media and residents said that soldiers seized 11 people from Dontaw […]
UN shelves decision on Myanmar, Afghanistan envoy dilemma
The United Nations on Monday indefinitely postponed recognising Afghanistan’s Taliban regime and Myanmar’s military junta, depriving both of the international legitimacy they desperately crave. A resolution denying either state representation was adopted by the UN General Assembly without a vote on the recommendation of a committee that included the United States, Russia and China. No […]
Myanmar junta sentences Suu Kyi aide to 20 years for treason
Myanmar’s military sentenced a close aide of ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi to 20 years in prison on Friday, his lawyer said, the first high-ranking member of her party to be jailed by a junta court. The country has been in turmoil since a February 1 coup ousted Suu Kyi’s National League for […]
Economy of coup-wracked Myanmar to contract 18%: World Bank
Myanmar’s economy is expected to shrink by 18 percent in 2021, the World Bank said Monday, as a result of massive unrest following a military coup and a resurgent coronavirus outbreak. The country has been in turmoil since the military took power in February and launched a bloody crackdown on dissent that has killed more […]
US renews call on Myanmar to free journalist amid Covid fears
The United States on Friday renewed calls on Myanmar’s junta to free a jailed US journalist as concerns grow about a Covid-19 outbreak in prisons packed with detained activists. Danny Fenster, managing editor of the Frontier Myanmar news outlet, was taken into custody on May 24 after the military deposed the civilian government on charges […]
‘Dead body carrier’: Covid surge overwhelms Myanmar burial volunteers
With hospitals in junta-run Myanmar empty of pro-democracy medical staff and coronavirus cases surging nationwide, volunteers are going house-to-house to collect the fast-rising number of victims dying in their homes. Early each morning, Than Than Soe’s phone starts ringing with requests from family members of those who have died in the commercial capital Yangon. She […]
75 children killed, around 1,000 detained since Myanmar coup: UN experts
Dozens of children have been killed and hundreds arbitrarily detained in Myanmar since a coup more than five months ago, UN rights experts warned Friday. The UN child rights committee said it had received “credible information” that 75 children had been killed and around 1,000 arrested in Myanmar since February 1. “Children in Myanmar are […]
Bangladesh to vaccinate Rohingya refugees
Bangladesh is to start giving coronavirus vaccinations to some of the 850,000 Rohingya refugees who fled across the border from Myanmar, officials said Thursday. With infections rising across the country, refugee commissioner Shah Rezwan Hayat said about 48,000 Rohingya aged over 55 would start receiving jabs from next month with help from the World Health […]
Norway’s Telenor quits Myanmar over military coup
Norwegian telecoms group Telenor said Thursday it is selling its subsidiary in Myanmar, where it is one of the major operators, as a result of the military coup there. While the agreement to sell Telenor Myanmar to M1 Group for $105 million will ensure continued operations of its fixed and wireless networks, analysts expressed concern […]