Yangon

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Report: Security Forces Kill 34 Anti-Coup Protesters

That's the highest death toll since Feb. 1 military takeover in Myanmar

(Newser) - Myanmar security forces dramatically escalated their crackdown on protests against last month’s coup, killing at least 34 protesters Wednesday in several cities, according to accounts on social media and local news reports compiled by a data analyst. That is highest daily death toll since the Feb. 1 takeover, exceeding...

People in Myanmar Make Noise to Protest Coup

'Beating a drum in Myanmar culture is like we are kicking out the devils'

(Newser) - Scores of people in Myanmar's largest city honked car horns and banged on pots and pans Tuesday in the first known public resistance to the coup led a day earlier by the country's military. What was initially planned to take place for just a few minutes extended to...

Aerobics Instructor Unknowingly Films Coup Unfolding

Convoy of black vehicles seen approaching Parliament

(Newser) - An aerobics instructor woke up Monday and dove into an exercise routine at her usual spot in front of a large, multilane road. In doing so, she accidentally recorded Myanmar's unfolding coup d'etat . In a video uploaded to Facebook, Khing Hnin Wai is seen performing a dance routine...

Burma Will Allow Diplomats to Visit Suu Kyi

Dictatorship also opens trial to media after global outcry

(Newser) - Burma's ruling junta will take the unusual step of allowing diplomats to meet with Aung San Suu Kyi, the opposition leader currently on trial, reports CNN. Officials from Russia, Singapore, and Thailand are expected to meet Suu Kyi later today. On the third day of the trial, the government allowed...

Burma Relents on Foreign Docs, Aid Workers

But only from ASEAN member nations

(Newser) - Two and a half weeks after cyclone Nargis hit, Burma finally agreed today to allow foreign medics and disaster experts into the battered country, reports the BBC—but only from ASEAN member nations. UN chief Ban Ki-Moon also plans to jet to Burma on Wednesday to bring additional pressure to...

Analysts Urge Washington to Invade Burma

Others advise against forcing aid on devastated country

(Newser) - Analysts and aid workers appalled by Burma’s attitude to foreign aid are urging Washington to invade, Time reports. One observer has called for the US to airlift food regardless of the junta’s restrictions; a retired general wants China to pacify Burma about US aid, or Thailand to paint...

Burma Cyclone Toll Leaps to 4,000

Another 3,000 missing, hundreds of thousands homeless

(Newser) - The death toll in yesterday's Burmese hurricane has skyrocketed to 4,000, CNN reports, up from initial estimates of 350. State-run media issued a revised estimate this morning, along with the government's emergency plea for help. Another 3,000 are thought to be missing. Major relief work has already begun,...

Cyclone Savages Burma; at Least 351 Dead
 Cyclone Savages Burma;
 at Least 351 Dead 
Updated

Cyclone Savages Burma; at Least 351 Dead

Winds reach 120 mph, destroying thousands of buildings

(Newser) - A tropical cyclone has wreaked havoc in Burma, killing at least 351 and destroying tens of thousands of buildings, the BBC reports. Cyclone Nargis brought 120 mph winds to the country, knocking down 75% of buildings in one town and cutting off power, water, and phone lines in the largest...

Burma Junta Nixes Talks With UN, Dissident

Suu Kyi must drop sanction support; UN not making progress

(Newser) - The junta ruling Myanmar—formerly Burma—today rejected a UN proposal for three-way talks that would have included detained leader Aung San Suu Kyi, Agence France-Presse reports. It is the latest disappointment to mar the visit of UN envoy Ibrahim Gambari, in which he has been denied an audience with...

Burma Lifts Curfew, Ban on Assembly
Burma Lifts Curfew, Ban
on Assembly

Burma Lifts Curfew, Ban on Assembly

Junta offers talks to jailed leader after Bush levies sanctions

(Newser) - Burma is scrapping a curfew and a ban on assemblies of more than 5 people in Yangon, apparently assured that pro-democracy protests are dead. The junta also gave opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi a fresh invite for compromise talks, the AP reports. Both moves come after Bush imposed a...

Envoy Leaves Burma After Talks
Envoy Leaves Burma After Talks

Envoy Leaves Burma After Talks

Warned junta against quelling protests, met Suu Kyi this morning

(Newser) - UN envoy Ibrahim Gambari left Burma today after meeting with a top general and a second meeting with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, released from house arrest for the talks. Gambari, who was attempting to open dialog between the military junta and dissidents whose protests were brutally suppressed last...

Burmese Streets Quiet; Monks to be 'Sent Away'

Crackdown seems successful, people 'too scared' to march

(Newser) - The violent Burmese government crackdown appeared successful as heavily-armed police patrolled the quieted streets of Yangon today, and the BBC reported that some 4,000 detained monks were to be vanquished to prisons in the far north. BBC correspondents say the populace is afraid and helpless after riots that left...

9 Killed in Burmese Crackdown
9 Killed in Burmese Crackdown

9 Killed in Burmese Crackdown

Japanese reporter among dead as troops scatter protesters

(Newser) - Burmese troop forcibly scattered some 70,000 protesters for a second day today, with gunfire claiming the lives of at least nine—even as leaders around the world called for restraint. One of the dead is reportedly a Japanese photographer, spawning fears that the junta is targeting journalists to prevent...

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