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BANGKOK (AP) — Myanmar’s military government on Thursday confirmed that ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been moved to a prison compound in quarters separate from other detainees. Suu Kyi was arrested on Feb. 1, 2021, when the army seized power from her elected government. She was initially held at her residence in Naypyitaw, the capital, but was later moved to at least one other location. For most of the past year, she has been held at an undisclosed location in Naypyitaw, generally believed to be on a military base. Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun, spokesperson for the ruling military council, confirmed in a text message to journalists that Suu Kyi was moved on Wednesday to the main prison in Naypyitaw, where she is being held separately in “well-kept” circumstances. News of her transfer had b

BAGHD (AP) — Dozens of lawmakers who make up the biggest bloc in Iraq’s parliament resigned on Sunday amid a prolonged political impasse, plunging the divided nation into political uncertainty. The 73 lawmakers from powerful Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr’s bloc submitted their resignation based on his request, to protest a persisting political deadlock eight months after general elections were held. Parliament Speaker Mohammed Halbousi accepted their resignation. Al-Sadr, a maverick leader remembered for leading an insurgency against U.S. forces after the 2003 invasion, emerged as the winner in the election held in October. The election was held several months earlier than expected, in response to mass protests that broke out in late 2019, and saw tens of thousands rally against endemi

Police stand guard as they wait for protests against the military coup in Yangon on Feb 4 last year. (Reuters File photo) SINGAPORE: The international community should not get “stuck in cancel rhetoric” when it comes to dealing with the military junta in Myanmar, says Thailand’s new special envoy to the country. “Condemnations, sanctions, ostracisation … have reached diminishing returns,” Pornpimol Kanchanalak told participants at the Shangri-La Dialogue, an annual meeting of security and international affairs experts on Saturday in Singapore. She was responding to comments made by other speakers who expressed little confidence that democratic norms can be restored in Myanmar anytime soon. US State Department counsellor Derek Chollet said there was “no chance” the junta’s planned elect

DUBAI (REUTERS) - Israel signed a free trade agreement with the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday (May 31), its first big trade accord with an Arab state that reduces or removes tariffs and over time targets lifting annual bilateral trade to more than US$10 billion (S$13.7 billion). The pact was signed in Dubai by Israel's Minister of Economy and Industry Orna Barbivai and her counterpart, UAE Minister of Economy Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri, after months of negotiations. Tariffs will be eliminated on 96 per cent of goods with the UAE predicting the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement would boost bilateral trade to more than US$10 billion a year within five years. Emirati trade minister Thani Al Zeyoudi said the trade deal wrote "a new chapter in the history of the Middle East". "Ou...

BANGKOK (AP) — The American diplomatic push aimed at countering China’s increasing influence in the Asia-Pacific region appears to be paying dividends, with many nations showing a willingness to partner with the United States, a top State Department official said Friday. U.S. State Department Counselor Derek Chollet told The Associated Press it was noteworthy that 13 nations representing 40% of the world’s economy had signed on to the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework that President Joe Biden launched in Japan at the end of May. He said that China at around the same time failed in its attempt to get a group of Pacific islands to endorse a sweeping agreement with Beijing. China had broken from its traditional approach of negotiating one-on-one with countries behind the scenes to send Foreig

WASHINGTON (AP) — A former U.S. Army reservist described by prosecutors as a Nazi sympathizer was convicted Friday of storming the U.S. Capitol to obstruct Congress from certifying President Joe Biden’s 2020 electoral victory. Timothy Hale-Cusanelli, who worked a security contractor at a Navy base when he joined the pro-Trump mob on Jan. 6, was also convicted of disorderly conduct and other misdemeanors. Hale-Cussanelli took the stand in his defense and claimed he didn’t know that Congress met at the Capitol building. “I know this sounds idiotic, but I’m from New Jersey,” Hale-Cusanelli said, according to WUSA-TV. “In all my studies, I didn’t know there was an actual building that was called the ‘Capitol.’ It’s embarrassing and idiotic.” Hale-Cusanelli’s trial was the fifth before a ju

Saha lobbies ministry in bid to raise noodle prices Mr Boonsithi, right, and Mr Thamarat promote the 26th Saha Group Fair. Saha Group, the country's biggest consumer goods conglomerate, is calling on the government to allow it to raise product prices, especially Mama instant noodles, as raw material costs continue to rise. Boonsithi Chokwatana, the group's chairman, said yesterday Saha would like the Commerce Ministry, which supervises goods on the price control list, to allow it to hike on a gradual basis the prices of goods such as instant noodles and detergents because raw materials have significantly surged and keep rising because of the Russia-Ukraine war. "The prices of instant noodles are allowed to increase around the world, whether it is in Japan, China or Taiwan. If we aren't...

Police are on alert after the Royal Thai Police Office has issued a secret order to keep an eye out for spies from Iran believed to be in the region. (Photo: Wichan Charoenkiatpakul) The Royal Thai Police (RTP) has issued a secret order to police nationwide to keep an eye out for spies from Iran believed to be in the region after one was arrested in Indonesia, prompting security fears, a police source said. The source told the Bangkok Post that security agencies are closely monitoring the movement of Iranian nationals and some Thai Muslims who are suspected to be working as spies in Thailand. National police chief Pol Gen Suwat Jangyodsuk is said to have issued an order to the RTP's Special Branch, the Central Investigation Bureau, the Metropolitan Police Bureau and all nine Provincial ...

People’s discontent does not matter much for the Communist government of China as it is in the habit of using brute state power to suppress people’s demonstrations and protests in the most brazen and heartless manner. But if the present people’s protests against “Zero-Covid Policy” are any indication, Chinese Communist Party (CCP) can no more remain indifferent to people’s democratic aspirations. People in China are increasingly getting wary, fed-up and frustrated by Chinese government’s “Zero-Covid” strategy leading to tightening of pandemic restrictions every now and then, at the slightest inkling of the spread of the virus. Around mid-May this year, graduate students at Peking University staged the rare, but peaceful protest over the school’s decision to erect a sheet – metal wall t

Beijing, China:The ‘Monterey Talks’ an annual high-level bilateral defence dialogue is considered to be the most important strategic collaboration between the two countries. Speaking on the condition of anonymity, one of the senior security officials said that the US is expected to focus on upgrades to existing equipment to enhance immediate combat capabilities as a response to uncertainties in the cross-strait situation, reported Taipei Times. According to the officials, the US considers any Chinese military action in the first island chain to fall within its “weapons engagement zone,” they said. The US Indo-Pacific Command’s engagement is “closer than people think,” with interactions shifting from “transactional” to “collaborative,” the official said. The major part of this up