Cinmpring kici

Senin, 22 Februari 2021

EU agrees to sanctions on Myanmar coup, Russia crackdown - CNA

BRUSSELS: European Union foreign ministers on Monday (Feb 22) agreed to impose sanctions on Russian officials for the jailing of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny and to target Myanmar's military over its seizure of power, the bloc's top envoy said.

The EU will press on with sanctions against Myanmar's military over its coup this month, and will also withhold some development aid.

"We took the political agreement to apply sanctions targeting the military responsible for the coup and their economic interests," EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said.

"All direct financial support from our development system to the government reform programmes is withheld."

Protesters against a military coup in Myanmar gather in Yangon on Feb 22, 2021. (Photo: Naung Kham)

The military ousted and detained civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi in a coup that has drawn international condemnation - and it has launched an increasingly bloody crackdown on demonstrators.

Borrell insisted the bloc would not curb trade ties with the country as that could hit the general population.

READ: EU prepares measures against Myanmar coup leaders

READ: Protests swell after Myanmar junta raises spectre of force

SENIOR RUSSIAN OFFICIALS TARGETED

Russia called the EU's move "disappointing" and "unlawful", while the United States welcomed the decision to take action against Moscow.

Diplomats told AFP the Russia sanctions would target four senior officials deemed responsible for persecuting Navalny, using the EU's new human rights regime adopted last year.

The diplomats did not name the targeted individuals, but the limited move looks set to disappoint those calling for a tough response.

Navalny's associates and European lawmakers had urged the ministers meeting in Brussels to go after oligarchs accused of funding President Vladimir Putin's rule.

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said the sanctions were intended to send a "statement that we are not prepared to accept certain things".

"But it is also necessary that we continue to have a dialogue with Russia," he said.

Borrell did not confirm the number of people to be targeted.

He said he would officially put forward the names to be sanctioned and hoped the measures would be in place within a week.

"We have to sanction the people who are directly connected to his arrest, his sentencing, his persecution," Borrell said.

Russia's foreign ministry said in a statement that the decision, "under a far-fetched pretext to prepare new unlawful unilateral restrictions on Russian citizens, is disappointing".

The new US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, took part in the EU meeting virtually, and "welcomed" the decision, said State Department spokesman Ned Price.

READ: Jailed Kremlin critic Navalny's wife tells allies: We'll win anyway

READ: Kremlin critic Navalny back in court for slander trial amid tensions with West

DIPLOMATIC AMBUSH

The mood towards Moscow hardened across the EU after Borrell was caught in a diplomatic ambush on a disastrous trip to Moscow this month, during which the Kremlin expelled three European diplomats.

The bloc has already hit Russia with waves of sanctions over the 2014 annexation of Crimea and Moscow's role in the conflict in eastern Ukraine.

The EU in October put six officials on a blacklist over the August poisoning of Navalny with Novichok, a Soviet-era nerve agent.

Navalny, Putin's most prominent domestic critic, was this month jailed for almost three years after returning to Russia following treatment in Germany for his poisoning.

His jailing sparked nationwide protests that saw baton-wielding security forces detain thousands of people.

Two of Navalny's closest associates pressed for sanctions against Putin's top circle at a meeting with eight EU foreign ministers in Brussels on Sunday.

"If it's just 10 Kremlin officials who don't travel abroad and don't have assets abroad, then, indeed, it would not be painful," Navalny's key aide Leonid Volkov told journalists.

Russia's treatment of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny will be high on the agenda when the EU — Russia's treatment of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny was high on the agenda when the European Union foreign ministers met. (File photo: AFP/Kirill Kudryavtsev)

European ministers also added 19 Venezuelan officials to a blacklist for "undermining democracy" and for human rights abuses after the EU rejected legislative elections in December as undemocratic.

The bloc discussed the ongoing repression in Belarus and said it would consider the need for a fourth round of sanctions against President Alexander Lukashenko's government.

Ministers also eyed China's crackdown on Hong Kong as the EU attempts to gauge whether it should beef up its response.

Borrell said Brussels would look to support Hong Kong's civil society as a first step and would consider more measures if the situation deteriorated.

The tough talking on Russia, Venezuela and China came ahead of a first appearance by Blinken before the whole bloc.

Both sides are looking to put the tensions of former US president Donald Trump's tenure behind them as they seek to cooperate on a raft of issues.

Monday's discussion looked at the approach to common adversaries like Russia and China, and efforts to bring the US back into the hard-won 2015 Iran nuclear deal.

The EU is looking to broker a meeting between Washington, Tehran and other signatories - including Moscow - to salvage the accord after Trump quit it in 2018.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiXmh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmNoYW5uZWxuZXdzYXNpYS5jb20vbmV3cy93b3JsZC9ldS1zYW5jdGlvbnMtbXlhbm1hci1jb3VwLXJ1c3NpYS1jcmFja2Rvd24tMTQyNTk5MzDSAQA?oc=5

2021-02-22 21:02:21Z
52781397139455

US mourns 500000 lives lost to COVID-19 - CNA

WASHINGTON: The United States on Monday (Feb 22) crossed the staggering milestone of 500,000 COVID-19 deaths just over a year after the coronavirus pandemic claimed its first known victim in the country.

The US had recorded more than 28 million COVID-19 cases and 500,054 lives lost as of Monday afternoon, according to a Reuters tally of public health data, although daily cases and hospitalisations have fallen to the lowest level since before the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays.

About 19 per cent of total global COVID-19 deaths have occurred in the US, an outsized figure given that the nation accounts for just 4 per cent of the world's population.

The US also has one of the highest rates of deaths per 100,000 residents, exceeded by only a few countries such as Belgium, the United Kingdom and Italy.

With total deaths above 500,000, one in every 673 US residents has succumbed to the pandemic.

FILE PHOTO: El Paso County Medical Examiner's Office staff help move bodies in El Paso — El Paso County Medical Examiner's Office staff lock up mobile morgues before moving bodies that are in bags labelled "COVID" from refrigerated trailers into the morgue office in El Paso, Texas, on Nov 23, 2020. (File photo: Reuters/Ivan Pierre Aguirre)

"These numbers are stunning," Dr Anthony Fauci, a top infectious-disease adviser to President Joe Biden told ABC News' Good Morning America programme. "If you look back historically, we've done worse than almost any other country, and we're a highly developed, rich country."

The country's poor performance reflects the lack of a unified, national response last year, when the administration of former president Donald Trump mostly left states to their own devices in tackling the greatest public health crisis in a century, with Trump often in conflict with his own health experts.

READ: Biden to revise small business loans to reach smaller, minority firms, says official

Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are set to commemorate the huge loss of life due to COVID-19 later on Monday during an event at the White House that will include a speech by the president, a moment of silence and a candle-lighting ceremony.

Biden will also order that US flags on federal property be lowered to half-staff for five days, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters.

The National Cathedral in Washington will also toll its bells 500 times on Monday evening to honour the lives lost to COVID-19 in a livestream event, according to a notice on its website.

FILE PHOTO: Refrigerated tractor trailers used to store bodies of deceased people are seen at a tem — Refrigerated tractor trailers used to store bodies of deceased people are seen at a temporary morgue during the outbreak of COVID-19 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City on May 13, 2020. (File photo: Reuters/Brendan McDermid)

In 2020, the virus has taken a full year off the average life expectancy in the US, the biggest decline since World War II.

Sweeping through the country at the beginning of last year, the US epidemic had claimed its first 100,000 lives by May.

The death toll doubled by September as the virus ebbed and surged during the summer months.

READ: Reaching out helped ease depression and anxiety brought about by pandemic

Pandemic-weary Americans, like so many around the world, grappled with the mountain of loss brought by COVID-19 as health experts warned of yet another coronavirus resurgence during the upcoming fall and winter months.

Americans lost mothers and fathers, husbands and wives, brothers, sisters and friends to the virus. For many, the grief was amplified by the inability to see loved ones in hospitals or nursing homes and by the physical distancing imposed by authorities to curb the spread of the virus.

FILE PHOTO: Mariachi musicians play during the funeral of Rudy Cruz Sr., who died of coronavirus di — Mariachi musicians play during the funeral of Rudy Cruz Sr, who died of COVID-19, at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Cemetery in El Paso, Texas, on Nov 25, 2020. (File photo: Reuters/Ivan Pierre Aguirre)

By December, the death toll had reached 300,000 as the US entered a deadly post-holiday season that would claim 230,000 lives in the span of less than three months.

With numbers that made the appalling toll early in the pandemic pale by comparison, deaths recorded between December and February accounted for 46 per cent of all US COVID-19 fatalities, even as vaccines finally became available and a monumental effort to inoculate the American public got underway.

READ: Pfizer to double weekly US output of vaccine in next few weeks, says CEO

Despite the grim milestone, the virus appears to have loosened its grip as COVID-19 cases in United States fell for the sixth consecutive week.

However, health experts have warned that coronavirus variants initially discovered in Britain, South Africa and Brazil could unleash another wave that threatens to reverse the recent positive trends.

Fauci cautioned against complacency and urged Americans to continue public health measures such as wearing masks, physical distancing and avoiding crowds while officials race to inoculate the population, particularly with these more contagious new variants circulating.

"We've got be really careful and not just say, 'OK we're finished now, we're through it,'" he told ABC.

BOOKMARK THIS: Our comprehensive coverage of the coronavirus outbreak and its developments

Download our app or subscribe to our Telegram channel for the latest updates on the coronavirus outbreak: https://cna.asia/telegram

Let's block ads! (Why?)

https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiWWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmNoYW5uZWxuZXdzYXNpYS5jb20vbmV3cy93b3JsZC9jb3ZpZC0xOS11cy1tb3VybnMtNTAwLTAwMC1saXZlcy1sb3N0LTE0MjU5NTIy0gEA?oc=5

2021-02-22 20:35:30Z
CBMiWWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmNoYW5uZWxuZXdzYXNpYS5jb20vbmV3cy93b3JsZC9jb3ZpZC0xOS11cy1tb3VybnMtNTAwLTAwMC1saXZlcy1sb3N0LTE0MjU5NTIy0gEA

US Supreme Court allows release of Trump tax returns - CNA

WASHINGTON: The United States Supreme Court on Monday (Feb 22) paved the way for a New York City prosecutor to obtain former president Donald Trump's tax returns and other financial records as part of a criminal investigation, a blow to his quest to conceal details of his finances.

The justices without comment rebuffed Trump's request to put on hold an Oct 7 lower court ruling directing the former Republican president's long-time accounting firm, Mazars USA, to comply with a subpoena to turn over the materials to a grand jury convened by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance, a Democrat.

"The work continues," Vance said in a statement issued after the court's action.

Vance had previously said in a letter to Trump's lawyers that his office would be free to immediately enforce the subpoena if the justices rejected Trump's request.

A lawyer for Trump did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Supreme Court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority with three Trump appointees, had already ruled once in the dispute, last July rejecting Trump's broad argument that he was immune from criminal probes as a sitting president.

Unlike all other recent US presidents, Trump refused during his four years in office to make his tax returns public. The data could provide details on his wealth and the activities of his family real-estate company, the Trump Organization.

Trump, who left office on Jan 20 after being defeated in his Nov 3 re-election bid by Democrat Joe Biden, continues to face an array of legal issues concerning his personal and business conduct.

READ: Trump seeks return to spotlight with address to conservative meeting

READ: Trump 'offered Kim Jong Un a ride home on Air Force One'

Vance issued a subpoena to Mazars in August 2019 seeking Trump's corporate and personal tax returns from 2011 to 2018. Trump's lawyers sued to block the subpoena, arguing that as a sitting president, Trump had absolute immunity from state criminal investigations.

The Supreme Court in its July ruling rejected those arguments, but said Trump could raise other objections to the subpoena. Trump's lawyers then argued before lower courts that the subpoena was overly broad and amounted to political harassment, but US District Judge Victor Marrero in August and the New York-based 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals in October rejected those claims.

Vance's investigation, which began more than two years ago, had focused on hush money payments that Trump's former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen made before the 2016 election to two women - adult-film actress Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal - who said they had sexual encounters with Trump.

In recent court filings, Vance has suggested that the probe is now broader and could focus on potential bank, tax and insurance fraud, as well as falsification of business records.

In separate litigation, the Democratic-led US House of Representatives was seeking to subpoena similar records. The Supreme Court in July sent that matter back to lower courts for further review.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiZWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmNoYW5uZWxuZXdzYXNpYS5jb20vbmV3cy93b3JsZC90cnVtcC10YXgtcmV0dXJucy11cy1zdXByZW1lLWNvdXJ0LWFsbG93cy1yZWxlYXNlLTE0MjU3Nzcy0gEA?oc=5

2021-02-22 15:37:50Z
52781395735804

Indonesia calls for Asean to hold Myanmar junta to election pledge - The Straits Times

JAKARTA (REUTERS) - Indonesia is pushing South-east Asian neighbours to agree on an action plan over Myanmar's coup that would keep the junta to its promise of holding elections, with monitors to ensure they are fair and inclusive, three sources familiar with the move said.

The proposal from the biggest regional nation falls short of the public demands of protesters and some Western countries for the immediate release of elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi and the recognition of the Nov 8 ballot her party won in a landslide.

Two senior officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters a diplomatically led solution had to focus on preventing bloodshed and helping the military to honour its commitment to hold a new election and hand power to the winner.

Protesters have scorned the junta's promise of a new election, saying it should recognise the one held last year. The army staged the coup after the electoral commission rejected its accusations of fraud in the November poll.

But the junta has not given a timetable for a fresh vote.

The UN Security Council, China, the European Union and the United States, among others, have urged the Asean regional grouping to help mediate in the crisis.

The Indonesian plan also calls for Asean to facilitate dialogue between the junta and protesters, according to the two officials, and a third source familiar with it.

An Indonesian foreign ministry spokesman declined to comment on the proposal, saying Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi "will make an announcement after she has completed her consultations with other Asean foreign ministers".

Ms Retno has been travelling across South-east Asia to rally support among Asean's disparate membership for a special summit of foreign ministers on the Myanmar crisis.

Indonesia's proposal has strong support from several Asean countries, but the diplomatic effort under way is challenging, the three sources said.

Asean is governed by consensus decision-making.

Its members range in diversity from Indonesia, the world's third-biggest democracy, to communist one-party states Vietnam and Laos, and one of the world's last absolute monarchies, Brunei. Myanmar is also a member, as are Cambodia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.

One of the senior officials said denouncing the coup was easy but concrete progress depended on engaging the secretive military, a task Asean was best placed to execute, given its regional standing and relationships.

"This is our family, so our approach will be different," the official added.

The two senior officials, and a regional diplomat, told Reuters that some Asean countries and Indo-Pacific nations were involved in "back channel" talks with some of the junta, urging compromise and no repeat of past bloody crackdowns on dissent.

"The message we want to send to Myanmar is, you are facing a different situation to the past," the senior official said.

But persuading Myanmar to participate in the proposed Asean special summit was proving difficult, the two senior officials said. Initially, it rejected an invitation from Asean chair Brunei, saying the coup could be discussed at a scheduled meeting of Asean foreign ministers in August.

Myanmar's government spokesman and foreign minister did not respond to requests from Reuters for comment.

One possible compromise was to hold the summit at the Asean secretariat in Jakarta and not explicitly say it was about Myanmar, the two officials said.

It was crucial for Asean to act strongly on Myanmar, said Dr Dewi Fortuna Anwar, a foreign policy analyst based in Jakarta.

"If Asean does nothing, it will lose credibility," she said. "Its claims to centrality in the Indo-Pacific will be shot down."

Let's block ads! (Why?)

https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMifGh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LnN0cmFpdHN0aW1lcy5jb20vYXNpYS9zZS1hc2lhL2luZG9uZXNpYW4tcGxhbi1jYWxscy1mb3Itc291dGgtZWFzdC1hc2lhLXRvLWhvbGQtbXlhbm1hci1qdW50YS10by1lbGVjdGlvbi1wbGVkZ2XSAQA?oc=5

2021-02-22 09:42:11Z
52781393947149

Protests swell after Myanmar junta raises spectre of force - CNA

YANGON: Protesters gathered in Myanmar’s biggest city on Monday (Feb 22) despite the ruling junta’s thinly veiled threat to use lethal force if people answered a call for a general strike opposing the military takeover three weeks ago.

Despite roadblocks around the US Embassy in Yangon, more than a thousand protesters gathered there, while 20 military trucks with riot police had arrived nearby.

The crowds gathered after supporters of the Civil Disobedience Movement, a loosely organised group leading the resistance, called for people to unite on Monday's date for a "Spring Revolution".

For protester Kyaw Kyaw in the main city of Yangon, losing pay to join the strike was a small price to pay.

"Nothing's going to happen if my salary is cut but if we stay under a military dictatorship we'll be slaves," he said.

In the capital Naypyidaw, where the military is headquartered, a police water cannon truck and a fleet of other vehicles closed in to break up a procession of chanting protesters who scattered when police on foot rushed in, wrestling several to the ground.

The response of security forces this month has been less deadly than in earlier bouts of turmoil in almost half a century of direct military rule but three protesters have been killed - two shot dead in Mandalay on Saturday, and a woman who died on Friday after being shot more than a week earlier in Naypyidaw.

The army has said one policeman died of injuries sustained during the protests.

Many civil servants have been staying away from work as part of the civil disobedience campaign and government services have been crippled. The military has accused protesters of intimidation and provoking violence.

The junta warned against the general strike in a public announcement carried last Sunday on state television broadcaster MRTV.

"Protesters are now inciting the people, especially emotional teenagers and youths, to a confrontation path where they will suffer loss of life," the broadcaster said.

Facebook said on Monday it had removed MRTV's pages for violations of its standards, including its violence and incitement policy. On Sunday, it deleted the military's main page for the same reason.

READ: Myanmar protesters grieve as funeral rites held for woman who was shot in head

Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar Feb 22 — Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar on Feb 22, 2021. (Photos: Naung Kham)

The junta's statement also blamed criminals for past protest violence, with the result that "the security force members had to fire back". Three protesters have been shot dead so far.

The protest movement has embraced nonviolence and only occasionally got into shoving matches with police and thrown bottles at them when provoked.

In Yangon, trucks cruised the streets Sunday night blaring warnings against attending gatherings of five or more people. A ban on such gatherings was issued shortly after the coup but not widely enforced as cities saw large daily demonstrations.

READ: Myanmar protesters gather again after worst day of violence

Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar Feb 22 (2) — Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar on Feb 22, 2021. (Photos: Naung Kham)

The government warning did not put people off.

"We need to come out," said San San Maw, 46, at a main rallying point in Yangon.

Later, riot police lined up, apparently preparing to disperse protesters from outside a UN office, but the crowd broke up after singing a festive song that features the line: "Goodbye, we're going."

Crowds elsewhere in Yangon melted away by late afternoon.

As well as local stores, international chains announced closures on Monday, including Yum Brands KFC and delivery service Food Panda, owned by Delivery Hero. Southeast Asian company Grab stopped delivery services too, but left its taxis running.

Authorities were "exercising utmost restraint", the foreign ministry said. It rebuked some countries for remarks it described as interference in Myanmar's internal affairs.

The ominous signs of potential conflict drew attention outside Myanmar, with the US reiterating that it stood with the people of Myanmar.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Twitter the US would take firm action "against those who perpetrate violence against the people of Burma as they demand the restoration of their democratically elected government".

“We call on the military to stop violence, release all those unjustly detained, cease attacks on journalists and activists, and respect the will of the people,” spokesman Ned Price said on Twitter.

READ: Myanmar protesters' call for general strike draws junta threat

Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar Feb 22 (3) — Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar on Feb 22, 2021. (Photos: Naung Kham)

Britain, Germany and Japan have condemned the violence and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged the military to stop the repression.

The generals put up with years of sanctions after crushing the 1988 protests and are likely to shrug off pressure again.

The army seized power after alleging fraud in Nov 8 elections in which Aung San Suu Kyi's party trounced a pro-military party, detaining her and much of the party leadership. The electoral commission dismissed the fraud complaints.

Myanmar's Assistance Association for Political Prisoners said 640 people have been arrested, charged or sentenced since the coup, including former members of government and opponents of the coup.

Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar Feb 22 (6) — Police are seen in Yangon, Myanmar on Feb 22, 2021. (Photos: Naung Kham)

Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar Feb 22 (7) — Police are seen in Yangon, Myanmar on Feb 22, 2021. (Photos: Naung Kham)

Let's block ads! (Why?)

https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMibGh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmNoYW5uZWxuZXdzYXNpYS5jb20vbmV3cy9hc2lhL215YW5tYXItcHJvdGVzdHMtY3Jvd2QteWFuZ29uLW1pbGl0YXJ5LWp1bnRhLWxvc3Mtb2YtbGlmZS0xNDI1NDgxMNIBAA?oc=5

2021-02-22 09:18:47Z
52781387357735

Protests swell after Myanmar junta raises spectre of force - CNA

Despite roadblocks around the US Embassy in Yangon, more than a thousand protesters gathered there, while 20 military trucks with riot police had arrived nearby.

The crowds were gathering after supporters of the Civil Disobedience Movement, a loosely organised group leading the resistance, called for people to unite on Monday's date for a "Spring Revolution".

The junta warned against the general strike in a public announcement carried last Sunday on state television broadcaster MRTV.

“It is found that the protesters have raised their incitement towards riot and anarchy mob on the day of 22 February. Protesters are now inciting the people, especially emotional teenagers and youths, to a confrontation path where they will suffer the loss of life,” the onscreen text said in English, replicating the spoken announcement in Burmese.

READ: Myanmar protesters grieve as funeral rites held for woman who was shot in head

The junta's statement also blamed criminals for past protest violence, with the result that "the security force members had to fire back". Three protesters have been shot dead so far.

The protest movement has embraced nonviolence and only occasionally got into shoving matches with police and thrown bottles at them when provoked.

READ: Myanmar protesters gather again after worst day of violence

The authorities overnight also tried to block off key streets with barriers including tractor-trailers with flattened tires, but they were swept aside by protesters.

The ominous signs of potential conflict drew attention outside Myanmar, with the US reiterating that it stood with the people of Myanmar.

READ: Myanmar protesters' call for general strike draws junta threat

Earlier Sunday, crowds in Myanmar’s capital attended a funeral for the young woman who was the first person confirmed to have been killed in the protests, while demonstrators also mourned two other protesters who were shot dead on Saturday.

Demonstrators turned out in force in Mandalay, the country’s second-biggest city, where security forces shot dead two people on Saturday near a dockyard where the authorities had been trying to force workers to load a boat. The workers, like railway workers and truckers and many civil servants, have joined the civil disobedience campaign.

[embedded content]

The junta prevented Parliament from convening Feb 1, claiming the elections last November, won by Aung San Suu Kyi's party in a landslide, were tainted by fraud. The election commission that affirmed the victory has since been replaced by the junta, which says a new election will be held in a year’s time.

The coup was a major setback to Myanmar’s transition to democracy after 50 years of army rule that began with a 1962 coup. Aung San Suu Kyi came to power after her party won a 2015 election, but the generals retained substantial power under a military-drafted constitution.

Under the junta, 640 people have been arrested, charged or sentenced, with 593, including Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint, still in detention, according to the independent Assistance Association for Political Prisoners.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

Protests swell after Myanmar junta raises spectre of force - CNA

Despite roadblocks around the US Embassy in Yangon, more than a thousand protesters gathered there, while 20 military trucks with riot police had arrived nearby.

The crowds were gathering after supporters of the Civil Disobedience Movement, a loosely organised group leading the resistance, called for people to unite on Monday's date for a "Spring Revolution".

The junta warned against the general strike in a public announcement carried last Sunday on state television broadcaster MRTV.