Category Archives: South and Central Asia

Myanmar protests: woman shot in head as police response escalates

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Teargas and water cannon also deployed on fourth day of protests against last week’s coup

Police in Myanmar have responded with increasing violence to protests against last week’s military coup, using water cannons, rubber bullets and live ammunition in a crackdown that left a woman in a critical condition on Tuesday.

Tens of thousands of people marched in towns and cities across the country in defiance of a ban on gatherings in some areas to voice their opposition to the military takeover of the government.

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‘Fighting for life’: Bangladesh shrimp farmers destitute in wake of cyclone

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Natural disaster compounded by the collapse of a lucrative export during the pandemic has thrust people into poverty

This time last year the west coast of Bangladesh was a thriving place for shrimp farmers. It was a decent enough living and there was a healthy export market.

Majnu Sardar, who lives in Koyra upazila (administrative region) in Khulna district, used to earn enough to feed, clothe and educate his family of six. Now they are living in a small mud hut, with a canopy of leaves as a roof, on the banks of the Kapotaksha River after Cyclone Amphan buried his house and land in May.

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Three-finger salute: Hunger Games symbol adopted by Myanmar protesters

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The gesture was first used after a coup in Thailand in 2014 and has since come to stand for solidarity and resistance across the region

From Thailand to Myanmar, pro-democracy protesters are raising the three finger salute in opposition to military dictatorships. Adopted from the Hunger Games films, the gesture has become a symbol of resistance and solidarity for democracy movements in south-east Asia.

The salute was first used in Myanmar last week by medical workers, then youth protesters started raising it in opposition to the military coup. On Monday, one week after the takeover, the hand gesture could be seen during huge protests on the streets of Yangon.

On 1 February Myanmar’s army took power in a coup against the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi. She and other senior party figures were detained in a morning raid. In response, tens of thousands have protested in the streets of Yangon and other cities as part of a growing campaign of civil disobedience. The military have blocked social media platforms in an attempt to stamp out dissent. The United Nations Security Council has called for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and other ministers detained.

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Rescuers search for 171 missing people after Indian glacier causes devastating flood

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Twenty six confirmed dead as military look for survivors in Himalayan state of Uttarakhand

Twenty six bodies have been recovered in the Indian Himalayas and scores more people are still missing after a second day of rescue efforts after a glacier break that caused an avalanche of water and debris to engulf a river valley and demolish two dams.

A surge of water, thought to be triggered when a glacier broke off from Nanda Devi mountain in the state of Uttarakhand, left a trail of devastation when it hit on Sunday morning.

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Protests swell in Myanmar one week after military coup

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Water cannon used on demonstrators in the capital as marches take place in cities and towns across the country

Massive crowds of anti-coup protesters have marched in towns and cities across Myanmar on the third day of street demonstrations against a coup a week ago in which the army detained elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

From the Himalayan town of Putao to cities on the shore of the Andaman Sea, demonstrators came out in the biggest numbers so far since the coup.

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Scores feared dead after glacier causes dam burst in India – video

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As many as 150 people are feared dead in northern India after a Himalayan glacier broke and crashed into a dam, with floods forcing the evacuation of villages downstream. Videos from the scene show water surging through the dam site, washing away equipment

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Helicopters search for three climbers missing in K2 winter attempt

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Ali Sadpara of Pakistan, John Snorri of Iceland, and Juan Pablo Mohr of Chile lost contact with base camp

An aerial search to find three experienced climbers who lost contact with base camp during a winter ascent of K2, the world’s second highest mountain, will resume on Monday morning officials have said.

celebrated Pakistani mountaineer Ali Sadpara and his two companions, John Snorri of Iceland and Juan Pablo Mohr of Chile lost contact with base camp late Friday and were reported missing on Saturday after their support team stopped receiving reports from them during their ascent.

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Myanmar: tens of thousands march against military coup for second day

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Large demonstrations across country despite junta blocking internet access and restricting phone lines

Demonstrators in Myanmar have vowed to continue their protests until their elected leaders are released and democracy returns, as tens of thousands of people poured on to the streets of towns and cities across the country for a second day.

Large crowds gathered in the main city of Yangon and elsewhere, condemning the military for ousting the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in a coup.

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150 feared dead as glacier crashes into dam in northern India

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Floods force evacuation of villages and witnesses report avalanche creating wall of dust, rock and water

As many as 150 people were feared dead in northern India after a Himalayan glacier broke and crashed into a dam early on Sunday, with floods forcing the evacuation of villages downstream.

“The actual number has not been confirmed yet,” but 100 to 150 people were feared dead, Om Prakash, the chief secretary of Uttarakhand state where the incident occurred, said.

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Farmers block roads across India in protest over agriculture law

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Protesters use tractors, lorries and boulders to create blockades and press for repeal of legislation

Thousands of farmers blockaded main roads across India for several hours on Saturday to press their demand for the repeal of new agricultural laws that have led to months of major protests.

The protesters used tractors, lorries and boulders to blockade the roads. They carried banners and flags denouncing the laws, which they say will leave them poorer and at the mercy of corporations.

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Myanmar: tens of thousands protest against coup despite internet blackout

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Demonstrators in standoff with police amid demands for release of elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi

Tens of thousands of people took to the streets in Myanmar on Saturday in the first major demonstration since the military seized power, despite a nationwide internet blackout imposed to stifle dissent.

In the main city Yangon, protesters chanted “down with the military dictatorship” and carried images of the ousted leaders Aung San Suu Kyi and Win Myint, whose party won a landslide election in November. The military detained both in raids early on Monday morning and they have not been seen in public since.

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‘We’re not brainwashed’: a week of turmoil in Myanmar

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Protests have spread across country since military coup, as citizens resist return to dictatorship

On Friday evening, after darkness fell, the sound of car horns and the clanging of pots and pans and metal railings echoed around the compact grid of central Yangon. It was the fourth consecutive night that people had gathered on their balconies to loudly voice their fury at the military junta now running Myanmar.

It was Monday morning when the public had awoken to find that Aung San Suu Kyi, whose party had won a landslide election in November, had been detained, and that the army had seized all legislative, judicial and executive powers.

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Greta Thunberg effigies burned in Delhi after tweets on farmers’ protests

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Celebrity interventions inflame sentiments in India as police investigate pro-farmers toolkit

Counter-protesters in Delhi have burned effigies of the Swedish environmental campaigner Greta Thunberg after she tweeted support for India’s protesting farmers in posts that have prompted an investigation by Indian police.

Crowds gathered in Delhi to protest against several international celebrities including Thunberg and the pop singer Rihanna, who inflamed sentiments in India and angered the government after tweeting about the continuing farmer protests this week. Photos of Thunberg and Rihanna were set alight and banners were held aloft warning that “international interference” in Indian affairs would not be tolerated.

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‘Back empty-handed’: Bangladeshis cut off from jobs abroad face rising poverty

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Whole communities supported by overseas work are at risk of extreme poverty after the pandemic forced thousands home

When the pandemic forced Firoza Begum back to Bangladesh after six months trapped in her employer’s house without pay, her husband was so angry she had returned empty-handed that he would not let her move back in to the family home.

All her savings after 14 years working in the Middle East had been spent escaping her abusive employer.

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Myanmar coup: army blocks Facebook access as civil disobedience grows

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Instagram and WhatsApp – owned by Facebook and used to organise protests – also restricted as UN secretary general condemns coup

Myanmar’s army has ordered internet service providers to block access to Facebook as it attempts to stamp out signs of dissent, days after it ousted the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi.

Facebook, one of the most popular means of communication in Myanmar, has been used to coordinate a civil disobedience campaign that saw health workers at dozens of hospitals walk out of their jobs on Wednesday to protest against the army’s actions. It has also been used to share plans for evening protests, where residents have taken to their balconies to bang pots and pans, a symbolic act to drive away evil.

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Myanmar rings with pots and pans against military coup – video

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Yangon’s streets were filled with the din of clashing metal as scores protested the military coup against the country’s elected government. The first public rejection of the coup went on for 10 minutes across the city in a massive show of solidarity. Health workers in 70 hospitals across Myanmar have pledged not to work under the military regime

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Aung San Suu Kyi could face two years in jail over ‘illegal’ walkie-talkies

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Ousted Myanmar leader facing prison as civil disobedience campaign against military coup grows

Myanmar police have charged ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi with possession of illegally imported walkie-talkies, which could result in a two-year prison sentence, as a civil disobedience campaign grew against the military’s coup.

A document from a police station in the capital, Naypyitaw, said military officers who searched Aung San Suu Kyi’s residence had found handheld radios that were imported illegally and used without permission by her bodyguards. The charges, confirmed by members of her party, appear to carry a maximum prison sentence of two years.

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