Turkish court removes opposition leader Özel citing procedural irregularities
A Turkish court has effectively removed the main opposition leader, Özgür Özel, in a ruling that has deepened political tensions and...
The legal team of Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi plans to meet the detained former leader this weekend after she was transferred to house arrest in the capital by the military-backed government, a representative said on Friday.
Nobel laureate Suu Kyi has been detained since the military ousted her civilian government in a coup in February 2021. The coup triggered a deadly civil war that has engulfed much of the impoverished Southeast Asian nation, and her whereabouts had been unclear.
"Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is currently still in Naypyidaw," a member of her legal team told Reuters, using an honorific for the veteran politician, and confirming that she had been moved to house arrest on Thursday night.
On Thursday, state media reported she would be moved to house arrest, but did not say where.
Suu Kyi's legal team planned to meet the 80-year-old on Sunday to discuss her position and bring her some supplies.
"The situation has shifted. I think it will no longer be just a standard prison visit, but rather a meeting where the legal team will go and discuss matters with her," the legal representative said.
After a marathon run of secret trials following the coup, Suu Kyi was sentenced to 33 years after she was convicted of charges ranging from corruption and inciting election fraud to violating state secrecy rules. Her allies maintain the charges were politically motivated and aimed at sidelining her.
The sentence was later reduced to 27 years, and then by a sixth in a Myanmar New Year amnesty on 17 April that freed her ally and co-defendant Win Myint, the former president.
On Thursday her sentence was reduced by a further one-sixth as part of a wider amnesty of prisoners in Myanmar's jails, before the move to house arrest was announced.
Myanmar's junta chief-turned-president Min Aung Hlaing, who led the coup, has faced persistent international pressure to release political detainees since a recent election, including from ASEAN. He is seeking to reengage with the Southeast Asian bloc after it banned Myanmar from its summits as a result of the coup.
Suu Kyi, the daughter of the country's independence hero General Aung San, was held under house arrest for a total of 15 years under a previous junta at her family residence on Yangon's Inya Lake, where she famously gave impassioned speeches to crowds of supporters over the metal gates of the property.
Asian stocks surged on Thursday as some vessels resumed passage through the Strait of Hormuz, while forecast-beating results at Nvidia and a suspended workers' strike at Samsung Electronics lifted shares of chipmakers.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has said Belarus will not be dragged into the war in Ukraine, while also stressing that Minsk and Moscow would jointly respond to any aggression against them.
The penultimate day of the World Urban Forum 13 in Baku will see Azerbaijan's Pavilion highlight post-construction efforts in Garabagh and East Zangezur, as well as host events on the future of Baku and architectural education.
Lithuania on Wednesday issued an “air danger” warning urging residents to seek shelter and temporarily suspended operations at the capital’s airport amid fears that drones had entered the country’s airspace, as tensions between Russia and the Baltic states continue to escalate.
NATO fighter jets were activated on Thursday (21 May) after at least one drone entered Latvian airspace, according to Latvia’s armed forces, marking the latest in a series of security incidents across the Baltic region linked to the war in Ukraine.
U.S. President Donald Trump surprised NATO allies by announcing plans to deploy an additional 5,000 American troops to Poland, just hours before Secretary of State Marco Rubio was due to meet alliance ministers in Sweden on Friday against the backdrop of growing divisions over the Iran war.
SpaceX stopped the launch of its 12th Starship rocket from Texas on Thursday and said it will attempt the high-stakes test flight again on Friday, as Elon Musk's space company nears a record-breaking public listing.
The U.S. has arrested Adys Lastres Morera, the sister of the head of GAESA, a military-run business group which owns Cuba’s most profitable enterprises, including the island’s five-star hotels, and its largest port.
Start your day informed with the AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top stories for the 22nd May, covering the latest developments you need to know.
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