- Ratan Tata: Indian mogul who built a global powerhouse
- Rodgers rejects 'false' suggestions of role in Saleh dismissal
- One dead as storm Kirk tears through Spain, Portugal, France
- Indian business titan Ratan Tata dead at 86
- Lebanon facing 'catastrophic' situation as 600,000 displaced: UN
- US warns Israel not to repeat Gaza destruction in Lebanon
- Musk's X returns in Brazil after 40-day showdown with judge
- Call her savvy? Harris unleashes unconventional media blitz
- Lucian Freud 'masterpiece' fetches £13.9 million at London sale
- SoFi Stadium to hold next two CONCACAF Nations League finals
- McIlroy and DeChambeau set for PGA-LIV 'Showdown' in Vegas
- Fed minutes highlight divisions over rate cut decision
- Steve McQueen debuts new WWII film at London festival
- Run blitz edges India and South Africa closer to World Cup semi-finals
- Zelensky to court European leaders in drive for military aid
- Israel captain says 'difficult' to focus on football in time of war
- Macron to host Ukraine's Zelensky after meeting Ukrainian troops
- Root says 'many more to get' after England Test runs landmark
- India pile up World Cup high to rout Sri Lanka
- One year later, Israeli hostage family learns of loss
- Texans receiver Collins, Pats' safety Peppers out for NFL clash
- Biden-Netanyahu talk as Hezbollah, Israeli forces clash
- Musk's X available again in Brazil after 40-day ban
- Reddy stars as India crush Bangladesh to clinch T20 series
- Nobel winners hope protein work will spur 'incredible' breakthroughs
- What are proteins again? Nobel-winning chemistry explained
- Arch rivals Ghana, Nigeria drawn together in CHAN qualifying
- AI steps into science limelight with Nobel wins
- Trump lauds India's Modi as 'total killer'
- Wall Street, Europe rise as Chinese shares tumble
- Hunkering down for Hurricane Milton at Disney -- but first, a few rides
- Reddy, Rinku power India to 221-9 in second Bangladesh T20
- Overshooting 1.5C risks 'irreversible' climate impact: study
- Time running out in Florida to flee Hurricane Milton
- Demis Hassabis, from chess prodigy to Nobel-winning AI pioneer
- The long walk for water in the parched Colombian Amazon
- Biden-Netanyahu to talk as Hezbollah, Israeli forces clash
- France vows to step up drugs fight after police vehicles torched
- Air France says jet flew over Iraq during Iran attack on Israel
- Activists target Picasso work to protest Israel arms sales
- Let 'Emily in Paris' remain in Paris, Macron says
- Global stocks diverge as Chinese shares tumble
- Time runs out in Florida to flee Hurricane Milton
- Chad issues warning ahead of more devastating floods
- Record-breaking Root helps England dominate Pakistan in first Test
- German govt sees economy shrinking again in 2024
- Ex-UK soldier denies passing secrets to Iran intelligence
- Creator's death no bar to new 'Dragon Ball' products
- Three Kosovo Serbs on trial over 'secession plot' attack
- Van Gogh museum to launch Impressionism show
RBGPF | -2.48% | 59.33 | $ | |
SCS | 1.92% | 13.03 | $ | |
GSK | 5.54% | 40.25 | $ | |
BP | -0.16% | 31.98 | $ | |
NGG | -0.44% | 65.61 | $ | |
CMSC | -0.65% | 24.48 | $ | |
AZN | 0.82% | 77.505 | $ | |
BTI | 0.72% | 35.475 | $ | |
RYCEF | -1.01% | 6.9 | $ | |
RELX | 0.12% | 46.695 | $ | |
RIO | -0.47% | 66.35 | $ | |
CMSD | -0.29% | 24.78 | $ | |
VOD | 0.72% | 9.73 | $ | |
BCE | -0.57% | 33.32 | $ | |
BCC | 0.21% | 142.32 | $ | |
JRI | 0.34% | 13.205 | $ |
Myanmar army says will 'annihilate' coup opponents on crackdown anniversary
Myanmar's junta will "annihilate" coup opponents, army chief Min Aung Hlaing said Sunday as the military staged a show of force on the anniversary of its bloodiest crackdown so far on democracy protests.
The Southeast Asian country has been in chaos since a putsch in February 2021, with more than 1,700 people killed in crackdowns on dissent, according to a local monitoring group.
Across the country "People's Defence Force" fighters -- often armed with homemade or rudimentary weapons -- clash regularly with junta troops, with some analysts suggesting the military has struggled to respond effectively to their hit-and-run tactics.
Fighting has also flared with more established ethnic rebel groups along the Thai and Chinese border.
Presiding over the annual parade that showcased tanks, truck-mounted missiles, artillery and troops on horseback, Min Aung Hlaing told some 8,000 assembled security personnel that the army would not let up.
The military will "no longer negotiate... and annihilate until the end" groups fighting to overturn its rule, he said ahead of the Armed Forces Day procession in army-built capital Naypyidaw.
Jets flew overhead trailing the yellow, red and green of the national flag, while state media showed women lining the streets leading to the parade ground to give flowers and place garlands on the marching soldiers.
In commercial hub Yangon around a dozen anti-junta flashmob protesters set off flares and shouted slogans, according to footage posted on social media.
Others called on social media for residents to switch off their lights at home in a national "power strike" on Sunday evening.
- Bloodiest Day -
Armed Forces Day commemorates the start of local resistance to the Japanese occupation during World War II, and usually features a military parade attended by foreign officers and diplomats.
Last year, as new junta chief Min Aung Hlaing inspected the parade, troops brutalised those protesting the coup that had ousted Aung San Suu Kyi's government.
The violence was the bloodiest day so far in the military's crackdown on democracy rallies and left around 160 protesters dead, according to a local monitoring group, as well as sparking widespread international condemnation.
The junta has become increasingly isolated, with Cambodian strongman Hun Sen the only foreign leader to visit since the putsch.
On Sunday Min Aung Hlaing accused unnamed "foreign aggressors" of working against the military and called for the armed forces to remain united against "internal and external mischiefs."
Russia's vice defence minister -- a major arms supplier and ally -- had been due to attend this year's parade but was unable to because of his "country's affairs", junta spokesman Zaw Min Tun added.
In February a UN expert on Myanmar said Russia -- along with other major ally China -- was continuing to supply the military with weapons, including fighter jets and armoured vehicles.
The United States and Britain on Friday announced new sanctions against Myanmar's army.
The new measures came days after Washington said it has concluded that the country's military committed genocide against the mostly Muslim Rohingya minority.
F.Pedersen--AMWN