In the jungles of southeast Myanmar, the army was shooting and otherwise tyrannizing civilians long before last month’s military coup.
This largely unseen oppression continues even now. In the country’s remote southeast, an army offensive has driven as many as 8,000 ethnic Karen people to flee their homes in what aid groups say is the worst upheaval there for nearly 10 years.
They’re now living in the jungle, with fears growing for their health and security, and no prospect of an early return.
This crisis in the borderlands has been overshadowed by the deadly crackdown on the mass movement protesting the military’s takeover of power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi.
But it also is a reminder of the brutal force Myanmar’s army has long used against civilians, and in particular the country’s ethnic minorities.
That ‘constitutional fig leaf’, as Melissa Crouch called it, has been replaced with images of soldiers firing live rounds into the crowds of anti-coup protesters. It’s estimated that over 200 people have already been killed, and there’s no sign that the violence will abate soon.
Myanmar’s neighbours, its fellow ASEAN members, and the international community are worried — some out of genuine horror at the military’s brutality, and all because they understand that the consequences of Myanmar’s socio-political dysfunction are liable to extend across its borders.
“When some people are found to be not really responsive to the vaccines, which is expected with all vaccines, there was an initiative to approach these people and give them a third shot of the Sinopharm vaccine, which has shown, within the context of the study, to boost their immunity,” he said. Zaher said anyone with low levels of antibodies after a test could ask their doctor to contact health authorities and an appointment would be made for them to have another dose, but generally it’s the officials that approach the person.
I know many of us in our community are very scared. One way to…get through our fear is to reach out to our communities. Everyone here, I will challenge everyone here: If you see something, will you help me? [The crowd of demonstrators shouts, ‘Yes!’] If you see one of our sisters and brothers in need, will you help us? [The crowd again roars, ‘Yes!’]
Oh closed her time at the mic by leading many of those present in an empowering chant, alternating between “I am proud to be Asian” and “I belong here.”
Large crowds on the US city’s party strips prompted an emergency overnight curfew.
Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber said thousands of tourists had brought “chaos and disorder” to the city.
“It feels like a rock concert, wall-to-wall people over blocks and blocks,” Mr Gelber told CNN. “If you’re coming here to go crazy, go somewhere else.”
Spring break is a holiday period for schools and universities in the US that usually takes place in March or April. It attracts thousands of students to Florida and other warm-weather destinations around the country.
Officials warned tourists to “vacation responsibly or be arrested” prior to the holiday period, and a county-wide midnight coronavirus curfew was already in place due to the pandemic.
But the Miami Beach area was thronged with revellers over the weekend, and many did not appear to be wearing masks or socially distancing.
Joe Biden has joined European leaders in condemning Turkey’s withdrawal from a landmark international accord designed to protect women from violence.
Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan issued a decree early on Saturday annulling Turkey’s ratification of the Istanbul convention, a landmark European treaty protecting women from violence that it was the first country to sign 10 years ago and that bears the name of its largest city.
“On social media we come to know this is all a big game to make money,” Mr. Patel said. Of the vaccine, he said, “many things have been hidden.”
The coronavirus, once seemingly in retreat, is again rippling across India. Confirmed infections have risen to about 31,600 daily from a low of about 9,800 in February. In a recent two-week period, deaths shot up 82 percent.
Large crowds on the US city’s party strips prompted an emergency overnight curfew.
Ned Hamson's Second Line View of the News 
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