The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), convened for the 38th and 39th ASEAN Summits on 26 October 2021 under the Chairmanship of Brunei Darussalam with the theme “We Care, We Prepare, We Prosper.” The summits were chaired by His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah, Sultan, and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam. The three-day virtual gathering hosted by ASEAN was attended by United States (US) President Joe Biden, as well as Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, Russian Preside

Southeast Asian leaders kicked off an ASEAN summit on Tuesday but Myanmar refused to send a representative after being angered by the bloc's decision to exclude the country's junta chief.The virtual gathering marked the start of three days of meetings hosted by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), with United States (US) President Joe Biden as well as Chinese and Russian leaders set to attend.Myanmar topped the agenda of Tuesday's talks between regional leaders,

Myanmar's junta on Sunday labelled the United Nation's (UN) latest rights report on the conflict-wracked nation an "incitement to violence" and accused the body of interfering in its internal affairs.The Southeast Asian nation has been in chaos since a February coup, with more than 1,100 killed in a crackdown on dissent, according to a local monitoring group.On Friday, the UN said it feared an even greater human rights catastrophe amid reports that tens of thousands of tro

Myanmar's ousted president described on Tuesday turning down a deal to vacate his seat and save himself in the early moments of the February coup that snuffed out his country's short-lived democratic experiment, his lawyer said.Win Myint, who was detained along with civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, made the comments as he testified for the first time at his trial for incitement in a junta court.The 69-year-old recounted how two senior army officers entered his room in the early hou

Myanmar's military seized power on 1 February, ousting the civilian government and arresting its leader, Aung San Suu Kyi.More than 900 people have since been killed and thousands of others arrested after the violent suppression of mass protests against junta rule.Here is a look back at the six months since the military brought Myanmar's nascent democracy to a sudden end:Dawn RaidsSoldiers detain Suu Kyi and her top allies during pre-dawn raids on 1 February, in a coup that ends Mya

On 1 February, Myanmar's military seized power from its civilian government, leading to a series of mass protests that show no signs of stopping.Among the protesters were thousands of healthcare workers who walked out, leading to a collapse in the healthcare system and throwing Myanmar's vaccination and testing response into chaos.And now, a surge in coronavirus cases fuelled by the highly infectious Delta variant has dealt the country a fresh blow.People are lining up outside of ox

Myanmar's multi-billion-dollar jade mines risk becoming a "slush fund" for military repression, Global Witness said Tuesday, urging consumers to boycott purchasing any jade and gemstones from the coup-wracked nation.The country has been in turmoil since the military toppled the government of Aung San Suu Kyi, with more than 880 killed in a junta crackdown on dissent, according to a local monitoring group.Myanmar is one of the world's biggest sources of jadeite and the indu

Anti-coup protesters in Myanmar donned flowers in their hair Saturday to mark the birthday of ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who remains under house arrest and is due to face court again next week.Suu Kyi's elected government was overthrown in a 1 February coup that sparked mass protests and renewed clashes between the military and ethnic rebel armies in border regions.Flowers tucked into a bun have long been a signature look of Suu Kyi, who turned 76 on Saturday.Many replicate

The Myanmar junta has hit deposed civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi with corruption charges over claims she accepted illegal payments of gold and more than half a million dollars in cash, state media reported Thursday.The country has been in turmoil since the generals ousted Suu Kyi on 1 February, with more than 850 civilians killed in a brutal crackdown by security forces on near-daily protests against the coup.The 75-year-old Nobel laureate, who has been in custody since the putsch, is facin

It was only when he boarded the plane that would fly him to Europe that Mratt Kyaw Thu finally felt safe for the first time since Myanmar's military coup on 1 February.It had been an arduous few months for the journalist who quickly found himself on the military junta's wanted list for his reporting of its deadly crackdown on anti-coup protesters."I felt safe when I was on the plane, after passing immigration in Thailand, that was the moment when I felt a little bit freer,&quot