A handful of Myanmar nurses hiding from the junta have been running makeshift clinics to treat COVID patients and resistance fighters with medicine smuggled past military checkpoints.With bags packed, they are always ready to flee as healthcare workers find themselves at the forefront of a civil disobedience movement against the February coup and a crackdown on dissent that has killed more than 1,300, according to a local monitoring group.A boycott of government institutions has left many hos

The Myanmar military carried out a series of mass killings of civilians in July that resulted in the deaths of at least 40 men, a BBC investigation has found.Eyewitnesses and survivors said that soldiers, some as young as 17, rounded up villagers before separating the men and killing them.Video footage and images from the incidents appear to show most of those killed were tortured first and buried in shallow graves.The killings took place in July, in four separate incidents in Kani Township -

United States (US) Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday urged China to cease "aggressive actions" in the Asia-Pacific, speaking during a visit to the region, as Washington seeks to bolster alliances against Beijing.President Joe Biden's administration is trying to reset relations and reassert its influence in Asia after the turbulence and unpredictability of the Donald Trump era. Blinken's comments came in Indonesia, the first leg of a Southeast Asian tour

Myanmar's ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi was jailed for two years on Monday after being found guilty of incitement against the military and breaching COVID rules - in a ruling that drew swift international condemnation.A special court initially sentenced the 76-year-old Nobel laureate to four years in prison, but she was partially "pardoned" hours later by the junta chief, who halved the sentence to two years.Suu Kyi has been detained since the generals staged a coup and ousted

Myanmar's military seized power on 1 February, ousting the civilian government and arresting its leader, Aung San Suu Kyi.More than 1,300 people have since been killed and thousands of others arrested during the violent suppression of mass protests against junta rule.Here is a look back at the 10 months since the military brought Myanmar's nascent democracy to a sudden end:Pre-Dawn RaidsSoldiers detain Suu Kyi and her top allies during pre-dawn raids on 1 February, in a coup that en

A Myanmar junta court on Tuesday postponed giving a verdict in the trial of deposed civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who faces a catalogue of charges that could see her jailed for decades.The Nobel laureate has been detained since the generals ousted her government in the early hours of 1 February, ending the Southeast Asian country's brief democratic interlude.More than 1,200 people have been killed and over 10,000 arrested in a crackdown on dissent, according to a local monitoring gro

More than 50 European and Asian leaders called for vaccine equity Friday at a virtual summit as a new COVID-19 variant was detected in South Africa.The two-day 13th summit of the Asia-Europe Meeting, hosted by Cambodian leader Hun Sen, came as nations raced to slow the spread of the new more infectious strain – known as B.1.1.529 – that scientists fear could be more resistant to vaccines.Globally, coronavirus jab distribution has been unequal with poorer nations' vaccination rates remain

Myanmar jade traders are running from junta troops and dodging rebel attacks to sell dwindling volumes of the green gemstone, as the billion-dollar industry loses its shine months on from the coup.The Southeast Asian country has been mired in chaos since the February putsch, with the military trying to crush widespread democracy protests and the economy in crisis.Fighting around the Hpakant jade mine in northern Kachin state – the largest in the world – has squeezed digging already hampered b

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

President Joe Biden told Southeast Asian nations on Wednesday the United States (US) would stand with them in defending the freedom of the seas and democracy and called China's actions towards Taiwan "coercive" and a threat to peace and stability.Speaking at a virtual East Asia Summit attended by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, Biden said Washington would start talks with partners in the Indo-Pacific about developing a regional economic framework, something critics say his regional