Myanmar’s junta leader was on a visit to Russia yesterday, his second trip there in less than two months, as Myanmar’s ruling military tries to shore up one of its few diplomatic alliances as it comes under growing international pressure.
Burmese Army Senior General Min Aung Hlaing has been barred from representing Myanmar at most international gatherings since leading a coup early last year against an elected government led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.
He first visited Moscow as leader in June last year, when both sides committed to bolstering military cooperation. He also visited in July on what Russia said was a private visit.
Photo: Reuters
Russia, a main source of Myanmar’s military hardware, was one of the first countries to voice support for the junta after the coup, at a time when Moscow was receiving international condemnation over its use of lethal force against opponents.
Myanmar state media said that Min Aung Hlaing would attend an economic summit, visit landmarks, universities and factories, and his ministers and senior military officials would meet counterparts and “cement friendly cooperation.”
Russia has been providing Myanmar with COVID-19 vaccines, and Myanmar is planning to import Russian gasoline and fuel oil to ease supply concerns, as Russia looks for new sources of business amid Western sanctions over its invasion of Ukraine.
Myanmar’s junta has been hit by a raft of sanctions targeting its generals and the extensive business network the military operates.
The UN and human rights advocates have accused the Myanmar military of atrocities and crimes against humanity, and have urged the international community to cut off arms sales, with Russia singled out for supplying drones, jets and air defense systems since the coup.
Myanmar’s military said it is restoring peace and establishing democratic rule after a 2020 election it said was marred by fraud.
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
One of Japan’s biggest pop stars and best-known TV hosts, Masahiro Nakai, yesterday announced his retirement over sexual misconduct allegations, reports said, in the latest scandal to rock Japan’s entertainment industry. Nakai’s announcement came after now-defunct boy band empire Johnny & Associates admitted in 2023 that its late founder, Johnny Kitagawa, for decades sexually assaulted teenage boys and young men. Nakai was a member of the now-disbanded SMAP — part of Johnny & Associates’s lucrative stable — that swept the charts in Japan and across Asia during the band’s nearly 30 years of fame. Reports emerged last month that Nakai, 52, who since
EYEING A SOLUTION: In unusually critical remarks about Russian President Vladimir Putin, US President Donald Trump said he was ‘destroying Russia by not making a deal’ US President Donald Trump on Wednesday stepped up the pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin to make a peace deal with Ukraine, threatening tougher economic measures if Moscow does not agree to end the war. Trump’s warning in a social media post came as the Republican seeks a quick solution to a grinding conflict that he had promised to end before even starting his second term. “If we don’t make a ‘deal,’ and soon, I have no other choice but to put high levels of Taxes, Tariffs, and Sanctions on anything being sold by Russia to the United States, and various other
‘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 —
RSS