Myanmar's junta chief will be excluded from an upcoming Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit, the group said Saturday, a rare rebuke as concerns rise over the military government's commitment to defusing a bloody crisis.Foreign ministers from ASEAN agreed at an emergency meeting late Friday that a "non-political representative" for Myanmar would be invited to the 26-28 October summit, current ASEAN chair Brunei said in a statement.The decision effectively

Eight countries and the European Union (EU) diplomatic chief on Friday urged the Myanmar junta to let a regional special envoy meet ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi.The call comes as concerns grow over the military government's commitment to a "five-point consensus" agreed with regional bloc ASEAN to defuse the bloody crisis that erupted after Myanmar's 1 February coup.ASEAN foreign ministers met virtually on Friday evening to debate whether to exclude Myanmar junta

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

Southeast Asian nations are discussing whether to exclude Myanmar's junta chief from a summit due to slow progress on a plan to address turmoil after a coup in the country earlier this year, a top diplomat said Wednesday.The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has been under pressure to address unrest in the aftermath of the military power grab in February and a subsequent crackdown on dissent.But members of the 10-nation bloc have voiced disappointment over the Myanmar junta&

Myanmar’s shadow government has called for a “people’s defensive war” against the country’s military, prompting a flare-up in fighting in borderlands, according to media reports, as several powerful ethnic groups expressed support for the call to arms.Duwa Lashi La, the acting president of the National Unity Government (NUG), formed by the elected legislators who were deposed in a 1 February coup, issued the call for the nationwide uprising on Tuesday. “With the responsibility to pro

Myanmar protesters on Sunday marked the anniversary of a 1988 pro-democracy uprising that brought Aung San Suu Kyi to prominence, with flash mobs and marches of defiance against the ruling junta.The country has been in turmoil since the military coup in February – more than 900 people have been killed and thousands arrested in the subsequent crackdown on dissent, according to a local monitoring group.But protesters remain undeterred, taking to the streets daily in lightning-quick rallies to d

United States (US) prosecutors said Friday they had charged two Myanmar citizens in a plot to attack the country's United Nations (UN) ambassador, Kyaw Moe Tun, an outspoken supporter of the democracy movement who has refused junta orders to quit.In an alleged conspiracy foiled by US investigators, the pair spoke of hiring hitmen who would force Kyaw Moe Tun to resign or, if he refused, to kill him, officials said.The pair "plotted to seriously injure or kill Myanmar's ambassad

The United States (US) said Monday that Myanmar's junta was playing for time with a two-year election timeframe as Secretary of State Antony Blinken prepared to encourage Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to appoint an envoy.Blinken is participating virtually in a week of talks involving foreign ministers of ASEAN, the latest bid by President Joe Biden's administration to engage a region at the frontlines of US competition with China.Ahead of the ASEAN talks, Myanmar&#0

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