World Biz
Suu Kyi, Australian Economist Sean Turnell jailed for 3 years
A Myanmar military court has sentenced ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her former adviser to 3 years in prison for violating the country’s Official State Secrets Act, a source familiar with the court proceedings confirmed to international news media.
Thursday’s verdict is the latest in a string of punishments meted out against the 77-year-old Nobel laureate and means she now faces a total prison term of 23 years.
Suu Kyi’s former economic adviser, Australian Sean Turnell, also received a 3 years prison term for violating state secrets, a charge both he and Suu Kyi denied. Turnell, an economist at Sydney’s Macquarie University, had served as a special economic consultant to the former leader and her cabinet.
Suu Kyi was first charged with breaking the secrets law in 2021. She has denied all allegations against her and her supporters say the charges are political.
Prior to this month, Suu Kyi was sentenced to 3 years of hard labor for electoral fraud.
Since the military junta seized power in Myanmar in a coup early last year, freedoms and rights in the country have deteriorated, rights groups and observers say. State executions have returned and the number of documented violent attacks by the army on schools has surged, according to non-governmental organizations.
Thursday’s verdict follows the detention last month of Vicky Bowman, the United Kingdom’s former ambassador to Myanmar, who served as the UK’s top diplomat in Myanmar between 2002 and 2006.
Along with her husband, Bowman was charged with immigration offenses and sent to Yangon’s notorious Insein Prison.
This week, a beauty queen from Myanmar who had fled to Thailand after speaking out against the junta narrowly escaped being deported to her home country. She is now in Canada where she plans to seek asylum.
And Ma Htet Htet Khine, a journalist who had been working for the BBC’s international charity BBC Media Action, received an additional 3 years hard labor prison term after being arrested and charged with incitement under the junta government in 2021.
Experts have expressed concern about her well-being in detention and personal safety.
South Asian Bourse or Stock Markets saw growth last week. Among them, the hike was in the stock markets of India and Pakistan.
A review of South Asian markets shows that India’s Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) index BSE Sensex has hiked 1,464 points during the week. At the end of the week, the index stood at 58,991 points. On the other hand, the Nifty-50 index of the country’s National Stock Exchange rose by 414 points last week. At the end of the week, the index stood at 17,359 points.
Pakistan Stock Exchange Index ‘KSE 100’ earned 58 points last week. After a week of gaining, the index settled at 40,000 points.
On the hand The Sri Lankan stock market hiked, the Colombo Stock Exchange index ‘ASPI’ lost 118 points in a week. After a week the index settled at 9,301 points.
Bhutan’s stock market index ‘BSI’ hiked by 68 point and the index stood at 1,195 points throughout the whole week. Nepal’s ‘NEPSE’ lost 7 points last week, as the index stands at 1,908 points.
At least 20 Umrah pilgrims were killed and 29 injured in a horrific bus crash southwest of Saudi Arabia, according to Gulf News reports.
The passenger bus crashed into a bridge on Monday, overturned, and caught fire, killing 20 and injuring 29.
According to Saudi media, the accident occurred around 4pm on the 14 km-long Aqabat Shaar road in the Asir province, as the bus was traveling from Khamis Mushayt to Abha.
The road, according to Saudi Press Agency, cuts through mountains, and has 11 tunnels and 32 bridges. When the bus was making its way down a bridge it underwent a brake failure, which caused it to crash into a barrier at the end of the bridge, overturn and catch fire. About 29 other people were also injured in the accident, according to reports.
The Saudi civil defense and Red Crescent Authority teams rushed to the site of the accident and cordoned off the area.
The deceased and the injured have reportedly been transferred to nearby hospitals.
Greeting Bangladesh, the United Nations on Sunday (26th March) said Bangladesh has many accomplishments — extraordinary economic development, a significant cultural legacy, leadership on a global stage for climate-vulnerable countries, and immense generosity in welcoming and hosting nearly a million Rohingya refugees.
“The hospitality of Bangladesh’s diverse people is just one of the many facets of a country that my colleagues and I have been fortunate to experience every day,” UN Resident Coordinator in Bangladesh Gwyn Lewis said in a press statement on the occasion of the country’s Independence Day.
“On behalf of the United Nations, I warmly congratulate the people of Bangladesh on the 52nd anniversary of independence,” she said.
Over the last 52 years, Bangladesh has made impressive and remarkable achievements: evolving from a war-torn country to one of the leading economic powers in South Asia, standing at the threshold of upcoming graduation from least developed countries (LDCs) in 2026, and planned achievement of the sustainable development goals (SDG) by 2030, she said.
The UN fully supports Bangladesh’s commitments to economic and sustainable development and appreciates the strong and long-lasting relationship with Bangladesh and our shared values.
The constitution of the country, which was adopted even before Bangladesh had formally become a member of the United Nations in 1974, guarantees fundamental human rights. The right to freedom of speech, religion, movement and assembly, the right to speak one’s own language and other rights that are in line with the UN charter, said the UNRC.
“Wishing you all a Happy Independence Day!” — she concluded.
