A bomb exploded in the women's toilet at the main railway station in Yangon yesterday, two days after a similar attack killed at least one person near military-ruled Myanmar's capital, officials said.
They said one woman was wounded, but declined to give further details of the blast in Yangon, the country's biggest city and scene of major biggest anti-junta demonstrations last year.
On Friday, a woman was killed by a bomb that exploded in the toilet of the railway station serving Naypyidaw, the new capital in jungle-clad hills 380km north of Yangon to which the generals moved in November 2005.
Small bomb blasts at public places such as Buddhist temples, markets and fairs are relatively common in the country, which has been under military rule since 1962 and riven by multiple ethnic guerrilla conflicts.
The junta normally points the finger at dissident groups, ranging from exiled pro-democracy activists to ethnic militias who have been fighting for greater autonomy or even independence for more than five decades.
Official newspapers said a bomber was killed and four people were wounded when the bomb he was preparing to plant went off prematurely near a circus in Pyu Township on the Yangon-Mandalay road on on Friday evening.
They said a captured accomplice identified the bomber as a member of the Karen National Union, a guerrilla army fighting for autonomy of the Karen region.
Meanwhile, the governments of Indonesia and Myanmar have agreed to postpone a visit this week by Myanmar Prime Minister Lieutenant General Thein Sein, a spokesman said yesterday.
Former Indonesian president Suharto is in hospital critically ill.
Thein Sein's visit was to have primarily focused on enhancing bilateral economic relations, the president's spokesman Dino Patti Djalal said.
"Following consultations with the government of Myanmar, there has been an agreement reached to postpone the visit because the national mood is not conducive [for a visit] at the moment," he said. "We will reschedule the visit at a time more convenient to both sides."
Seven people sustained mostly minor injuries in an airplane fire in South Korea, authorities said yesterday, with local media suggesting the blaze might have been caused by a portable battery stored in the overhead bin. The Air Busan plane, an Airbus A321, was set to fly to Hong Kong from Gimhae International Airport in southeastern Busan, but caught fire in the rear section on Tuesday night, the South Korean Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said. A total of 169 passengers and seven flight attendants and staff were evacuated down inflatable slides, it said. Authorities initially reported three injuries, but revised the number
A colossal explosion in the sky, unleashing energy hundreds of times greater than the Hiroshima bomb. A blinding flash nearly as bright as the sun. Shockwaves powerful enough to flatten everything for miles. It might sound apocalyptic, but a newly detected asteroid nearly the size of a football field now has a greater than 1 percent chance of colliding with Earth in about eight years. Such an impact has the potential for city-level devastation, depending on where it strikes. Scientists are not panicking yet, but they are watching closely. “At this point, it’s: ‘Let’s pay a lot of attention, let’s
‘BALD-FACED LIE’: The woman is accused of administering non-prescribed drugs to the one-year-old and filmed the toddler’s distress to solicit donations online A social media influencer accused of filming the torture of her baby to gain money allegedly manufactured symptoms causing the toddler to have brain surgery, a magistrate has heard. The 34-year-old Queensland woman is charged with torturing an infant and posting videos of the little girl online to build a social media following and solicit donations. A decision on her bail application in a Brisbane court was yesterday postponed after the magistrate opted to take more time before making a decision in an effort “not to be overwhelmed” by the nature of allegations “so offensive to right-thinking people.” The Sunshine Coast woman —
BORDER SERVICES: With the US-funded International Rescue Committee telling clinics to shut by tomorrow, Burmese refugees face sudden discharge from Thai hospitals Healthcare centers serving tens of thousands of refugees on the Thai-Myanmar border have been ordered shut after US President Donald Trump froze most foreign aid last week, forcing Thai officials to transport the sickest patients to other facilities. The International Rescue Committee (IRC), which funds the clinics with US support, told the facilities to shut by tomorrow, a local official and two camp committee members said. The IRC did not respond to a request for comment. Trump last week paused development assistance from the US Agency for International Development for 90 days to assess compatibility with his “America First” policy. The freeze has thrown