Category: Burma

Blasts Kill at Least 8 at Burma’s Insein Prison

BANGKOK—A bombing on Wednesday near the front gate of Burma’s (also known as Myanmar) main prison for political detainees killed at least eight people, including visitors and prison personnel, local media and the government said. Five people who were delivering parcels to prisoners and three prison staff were killed when two bombs exploded around 9:40…


Japan Government Calls on Myanmar to Release Journalist

Japan’s Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihiko Isozaki Thursday called for the immediate release of a Japanese journalist detained in Myanmar. A court in military-ruled Myanmar sentenced Toru Kubota to prison after he filmed an anti-government protest in July, a Japanese diplomat and the Southeast Asian nation’s government said on Thursday. Kubota was sentenced Wednesday to seven…


Burma Sentences Japanese Journalist to Prison on 2 Charges

BANGKOK—A court in military-ruled Burma (also known as Myanmar) has sentenced a Japanese journalist to serve seven years in prison after he filmed an anti-government protest in July, a Japanese diplomat and the Southeast Asian nation’s government said Thursday. Toru Kubota was sentenced on Wednesday to seven years for violating the electronic transactions law and…


Aung Sun Suu Kyi, and Australian Economist Sean Turnell to Be Jailed for Three-Years

A Burmese (also known as Myanmar) court has handed three-year jail terms to former leader Aung San Suu Kyi and Australian economist Sean Turnell for violating Burma’s official secrets act, a legal official says. The pair were tried and convicted under the secrets law, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he…


Model Fearing Myanmar Military Heads to Asylum in Canada

BANGKOK—A fashion model from  Burma (also known as Myanmar) who feared being arrested by the country’s military government if she was forced back home from exile has flown to Canada, which she says has granted her asylum. Thaw Nandar Aung, also known as Han Lay, left on a flight from Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport early Wednesday morning,…


Witnesses: Burma Air Attack Kills 13, Including 7 Children

BANGKOK—Government helicopters have attacked a school and village in north-central Burma (also known as Myanmar), killing at least 13 people including seven children, a school administrator and an aid worker said Monday. Civilian casualties often occur in attacks by the military government on pro-democracy insurgents and their allies. However, the number of children killed in…


Burmese Court Adds 3 Years to Ousted Leader’s Prison Sentence for Alleged Election Fraud

A court in Burma (also known as Myanmar) has sentenced former leader Aung San Suu Kyi to three years in prison for election fraud despite a lack of evidence, independent election observers said on Friday. Suu Kyi was found guilty of fraud in the November 2020 general election, which her National League for Democracy (NLD)…


Former British Envoy Detained in Burma After UK Imposes Fresh Sanctions

Burma’s military reportedly detained a former British envoy and her husband on immigration charges after the British government imposed sanctions on three military-linked companies in Burma, also known as Myanmar. Authorities said Thursday that Vicky Bowman and her Burmese husband, Htein Lin, a former political prisoner, were arrested under the Immigration Act for failing to…


Australian Academic Detained in Burma Testifies For the First Time in Closed Court

An Australian academic and former economic adviser to deposed Burmese leader Aung San Suu Kyi has testified in a closed military court for the first time this week. Sean Turnell was on trial for violating Burma’s official secrets law, which carries a maximum prison sentence of 14 years. He had been detained for 18 months since…


Burma’s Ambassador to China Dies Suddenly

BEIJING—Burma’s ambassador to China died suddenly on Sunday in the southwestern Chinese city of Kunming, according to an obituary in Burma state media and diplomatic sources in Beijing. The obituary for Ambassador U Myo Thant Pe by Burma’s foreign ministry in a state newspaper on Monday did not specify his cause of death. Diplomats in…