- Carpenter bomb stuns Guardians as Tigers level series
- Harris, Trump and Biden mark Oct. 7 attacks as US election looms
- Oil prices extend gains on Mideast tensions, Wall Street falls
- US judge orders Google to open Android to rival app stores
- On attacks anniversary, Israel fights 'sacred' multi-front war
- Nobel scientist uncovered tiny genetic switches with big potential
- Grammy-winning Cissy Houston, mother of Whitney, dies at 91
- UN biodiversity summit in Colombia aims to turn words into action
- Georgia Supreme Court reinstates six-week abortion ban
- 'Dark day': Victims mourned around the globe on Oct. 7 anniversary
- On attacks anniversary, Israel fights multi-front war
- Mexican mayor murdered days after taking office
- Intensifying to Category 5, Hurricane Milton targets Florida
- Mission to probe smashed asteroid launches despite hurricane
- Biden, Harris mark Oct. 7 with call for Mideast peace
- Dupont set for Toulouse return after post-Olympic holiday
- French rugby bosses tighten discipline after nightmare Argentina tour
- Oil prices extend gains on Mideast tensions, Wall Street slips
- Visitors to get rare view of Rome's Trevi Fountain
- Europe's asteroid mission Hera launches despite hurricane
- Man City and Premier League both claim victory in legal case
- Deschamps delight as 'light back on' for Pogba after doping ban
- Biden, Harris urge Mideast peace on Oct. 7 anniversary
- Neeskens, tough midfielder in Cruyff's Ajax and Dutch teams
- UN warns world's water cycle becoming ever more erratic
- Oil prices extend gains on Mideast tensions, Wall Street retreats
- Ex-Dutch football star Johan Neeskens dies
- Man Utd battling to improve fortunes, says Evans
- What is microRNA? Nobel-winning discovery explained
- Masood, Abdullah centuries lift Pakistan to 328-4 in first England Test
- Hurricane Milton strengthens fast, threatens Mexico, Florida
- Tunisia's President Saied set for landslide election win
- Barca hoping to return to Camp Nou 'by end of year'
- Trump to open second golf course at Scotland resort in summer 2025
- Super-sub Jhon Duran rewarded with new Aston Villa deal
- US duo win Nobel for gene regulation breakthrough
- Masood hits first ton for four years to power Pakistan to 233-1
- Fritz wins delayed match to reach Shanghai Masters third round
- Naomi Osaka pulls out of Japan Open with back injury
- Weather may delay launch of mission to study deflected asteroid
- China to flesh out economic stimulus plans after bumper rally
- Artist Marina Abramovic hopes first China show offers tech respite
- Asian markets track Wall St rally on US jobs data
- Pakistan 122-1 at lunch in first England Test
- Kazakhs approve plan for first nuclear power plant
- World marks anniversary of Oct. 7 attack on Israel
- 'Second family': tennis stars hunt winning formula with new coaches
- Philippines, South Korea agree to deepen maritime cooperation
- Mexico mayor murdered days after taking office
- Sardinia's sheep farmers battle bluetongue as climate warms
RBGPF | -1.97% | 58.94 | $ | |
CMSC | -0.53% | 24.57 | $ | |
JRI | -0.76% | 13.18 | $ | |
SCS | -0.15% | 12.95 | $ | |
BCC | 1.68% | 141.27 | $ | |
RYCEF | -1.45% | 6.88 | $ | |
NGG | -1.56% | 65.48 | $ | |
BCE | -0.54% | 33.53 | $ | |
RELX | -0.54% | 46.04 | $ | |
GSK | -0.49% | 38.63 | $ | |
RIO | -0.11% | 69.62 | $ | |
CMSD | -0.09% | 24.79 | $ | |
VOD | 0.31% | 9.69 | $ | |
AZN | -0.78% | 76.87 | $ | |
BP | 0.78% | 33.14 | $ | |
BTI | -0.26% | 35.2 | $ |
Thousands mourn Buddhist abbot killed by Myanmar security forces
Thousands of mourners on Thursday attended the funeral of a popular Buddhist abbot shot dead by Myanmar security forces in an incident that drew a rare apology from the junta.
Sayadaw Bhaddanta Munindabhivamsa, 78, was a prominent teacher and author on Buddhism who headed a monastery that had publicly opposed the military's 2021 coup that has plunged Myanmar into turmoil.
He was shot dead on June 19 as he travelled by car through central Mandalay region, in an incident state media initially blamed on its opponents before the junta said its forces were responsible.
In heavy rain, senior and junior Buddhist monks, nuns and residents walked for hours alongside the coffin from the abbot's monastery to the cremation ground.
Some knelt on the ground in homage and others recited Buddhist sutras or played traditional drums.
Police and soldiers stood guard around the cemetery although there was no sign of any protest or violence, according to an AFP reporter.
Fireworks shot up into the sky as the abbot's funeral pyre was lit.
It was the latest public gathering to be sanctioned by the junta in recent weeks, after the funeral of former general turned politician Tin Oo in Yangon earlier this month.
Junta-controlled media initially blamed opponents of its coup for the killing of the abbot, but the next day a senior monk who had been at the scene said security forces were responsible.
His accusation went viral on social media and the junta said it would investigate the incident.
Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing later apologised for the killing.
He said security forces had opened fire after the abbot's car had failed to stop at a checkpoint and said an investigation would take place.
The military has long sought to portray itself as a protector of Buddhist identity, the majority religion in Myanmar.
Since seizing power in 2021 it has arrested and jailed locals and foreigners accused of "harming" Buddhism, in its sweeping crackdown on dissent that has seen thousands jailed or killed, according to a local monitoring group.
But the clergy has also been at the forefront of political protests.
Huge demonstrations sparked by fuel price hikes in 2007 were led by monks, while the clergy also mobilised relief efforts after 2008's devastating Cyclone Nargis.
D.Moore--AMWN