Military action

* Myanmar junta says to hold elections within two years * At least 10 people reported killed by troops * UN envoy rebuffed by generals YANGON, April 10 (Reuters): Nineteen people have been sentenced to death in Myanmar for killing an associate of an army captain, the military owned Myawaddy TV station announced, the first such sentences announced in public since a Feb 1 coup and crackdown on protesters. The report said the killing took place on March 27 in the North Okkalapa district of Yangon, Myanmar's biggest city. Martial law has been declared in the district, allowing courts martial to pronounce sentences. The military rulers who overthrew an elected government said on Friday that a protest campaign against its rule was dwindling because people wanted peace, and that it would hold elections within two years, the first timeframe it has given for a return to democracy. Troops fired rifle grenades at anti-coup protesters on Friday in the town of Bago, near Yangon, witnesses ... » Learn More about Myanmar military sentences 19 to death, says anti-coup protests dwindling

An image from a video posted on social media shows police firing a water cannon at protesters during a demonstration in Bago, Myanmar on Friday. Reports say security officers subsequently fired rifle grenades, killing dozens. (Handout Photo via Reuters) Myanmar security forces have killed more than 80 anti-coup protesters in a town near Yangon, a monitoring group and a domestic news outlet said on Saturday. Troops used rifle grenades to break up the protest in Bago, witnesses and domestic media said. The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) and the Myanmar Now news portal said 82 people were killed. Soldiers reportedly surrounded residents from early morning on Friday, using heavy weaponry. They brought the dead into a pagoda, Myanmar Now reported, citing a protest group leader who spoke with eyewitnesses. It was not possible to get a precise number of the dead because troops had cordoned off the area near the pagoda, they said. After over two months of ... » Learn More about Myanmar forces gun down at least 80 near Yangon

Demonstrators are seen before a clash with security forces in Taze, Sagaing Region, Myanmar April 7, 2021. (Photo obtained by REUTERS Myanmar security forces fired rifle grenades at protesters in a town near Yangon on Friday, killing more than 80 people, the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) monitoring group and a domestic news outlet said. Details of the death toll in the town of Bago, 90 km (55 miles) northeast of Yangon, were not initially available because security forces piled up bodies in the Zeyar Muni pagoda compound and cordoned off the area, according to witnesses and domestic media outlets. The AAPP and Myanmar Now news outlet said on Saturday that 82 people were killed during the protest against the Feb. 1 military coup in the country. Firing started before dawn on Friday and continued into the afternoon, Myanmar Now said. “It is like genocide,” the news outlet quoted a protest organiser called Ye Htut as saying. “They are shooting at every ... » Learn More about Myanmar security forces with rifle grenades kill over 80 protesters – monitoring group

DUISBURG, Germany: How long can Kim Jong Un wait patiently? After a euphoric start, the Trump administration ultimately proved to be a bitter disappointment for the North Korean regime. During the meetings between Trump and Kim Jong Un, there was grandiose talk of an imminent deal to denuclearize the Korean peninsula. In the negotiations that followed, it quickly became apparent that the two heads of state had simply brushed over the practical problems and fundamental differences of the US-North Korean rapprochement. For at least two years since then, there has been radio silence. After four years of erratic policy, Pyongyang is waiting to see what the Biden government’s position will be on North Korea. But it cannot expect to receive a quick answer from Washington. While Biden has years of foreign policy experience, his administration’s first priorities are domestic: dealing with the coronavirus pandemic, the devastating economic slump, deep social divisions, the fight against ... » Learn More about Kim is waiting for Joe — but for how long?

YANGON: An international human rights group condemned Myanmar's junta on Saturday (Apr 10) for sentencing 19 people to die, in the first known use of the death penalty since the military seized power. Myanmar has been in turmoil since civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi was ousted on Feb 1, with security forces killing more than 600 people as protesters refuse to submit to military rule. State media reported on Friday that 19 people had been sentenced to death for robbery and murder by a military court, with 17 of them tried in absentia. READ: Myanmar junta says protests are dwindling as at least 10 reported killed by troops READ: Myanmar military government limits Internet, seizes satellite TV dishes They were arrested in Yangon's North Okkalapa township - one of six areas in the commercial hub currently under martial law, meaning anybody arrested there is tried by a military tribunal. The six townships are home to about two million people - more than a quarter of ... » Learn More about Rights group condemns Myanmar death sentences

WASHINGTON: The US Treasury Department on Thursday (Apr 8) imposed sanctions on a Myanmar state-owned gems enterprise in a bid to curtail the military junta's ability to generate revenues, according to a statement. The move is the latest from the Biden administration targeting the generals who seized power in Myanmar on Feb 1 and have killed more than 600 people in demonstrations against the coup, according to a tally by an activist group. "Today’s action highlights Treasury’s commitment to denying the Burmese military sources of funding, including from key state-owned enterprises throughout Burma,” Andrea Gacki, director of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control, said in the statement. The United States, alongside other Western nations, has already slapped sanctions on generals involved in the coup and some of their family members, as well as two conglomerates controlled by the military. The junta's leaders have so far refused to reverse course. READ: UK sanctions ... » Learn More about US blacklists Myanmar state-owned gems enterprise