The Myanmar military regime imported $14.7 million in radar equipment in February, Russian customs data published on Monday showed, The Moscow Times reported.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu agreed to supply Myanmar with Pantsir-S1 surface-to-air missile systems, Orlan-10E surveillance drones and radar equipment during a visit to the capital Naypyidaw in January.
It is unclear if the Russian radar equipment Myanmar imported in February was part of the January agreement, the article noted.
A group of journalists in Japan called on Myanmar's junta on Tuesday to free a colleague, Yuki Kitazumi, detained in Yangon following a crackdown on media amid ongoing protests against the military overthrow of an elected government, Reuters reported.
The group of journalists started an online petition on Monday addressed to Myanmar's junta and the Japanese government calling for Kitazumi's release. So far about 2,000 people have signed the petition.
The European Union expanded its sanctions against leaders of Myanmar's junta and army-controlled companies as Southeast Asian countries prepare for a summit in Jakarta this week, where states will discuss the never-ending crisis in Myanmar, Daily Sabah reported.
Chinese trade data gave a mixed snapshot of neighbour Myanmar’s ability to keep up metal shipments in March amid unrest after February’s coup, with flows of nickel pig iron (NPI) dwindling to almost nothing but those of copper doubling month-on-month, hellenicshippingnews.com reported.
With Chinese firms directly involved in Myanmar metals mining, imports of stainless steel raw material NPI from the Southeast Asian country were just 298 tonnes last month, data from China’s customs showed on Tuesday (Apr 20).
The junta announced Wednesday that 40 more people had been added to an arrest warrant list of celebrities, doctors and ordinary citizens, taking the total to 300.
Many are accused of spreading dissent against the military, while medical professionals are wanted over their work at private clinics, which have taken in injured protesters, according to state media.
The Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) has executed a man for raping and killing a five-year-old girl shortly after he was released in a prison amnesty by the military junta, a spokesperson for the group said Wednesday.
It is the second case since December of a child killer and rapist receiving the death penalty from an ethnic armed group in Myanmar's Shan state.
Anti-coup protesters in Myanmar sloshed red paint in the streets on Wednesday to symbolise the blood spilled and more than 700 lives lost in a brutal military crackdown.
The country is barely functioning and the economy has stalled since the military seized power from civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi on February 1.
The junta has sought to quell mass protests with lethal force and a local monitoring group has verified at least 714 civilian deaths but warns the toll is likely to be even higher.
India has authorised the emergency use of Russia's Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine and will fast-track approval for other shots already passed by other major countries, authorities said Tuesday, as infection rates soared to a new record high.
The government has faced mounting calls to approve more vaccines during the surge among the 1.3 billion population and a slower-than-expected mass inoculation drive.
Sputnik V is the third drug to be approved by India after Oxford-AstraZeneca's Covishield and Covaxin, which was developed by Indian firm Bharat Biotech.
The Australian government has sought to reassure more than 3,300 Myanmar nationals in Australia that it won’t force them to return when their visas expire, The Guardian reported.
But despite mounting calls to provide greater reassurance to Myanmar nationals in Australia, Canberra has stopped short of across-the-board visa extensions or offers of asylum, insisting the issues will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis.