Border Area
Rebels attack Myanmar army near border, junta knocks back ASEAN plan
Ethnic minority Karen insurgents attacked a Myanmar army outpost near the Thai border on Tuesday in some of the most intense clashes since a military coup nearly three months ago threw the country into crisis. The Karen National Union (KNU), Myanmar’s oldest rebel force, said it had captured the army camp on the west bank of the Salween river, which forms the border with Thailand. The Myanmar military later hit back against the insurgents with air strikes, an aid worker in the area said. The fighting took place as the junta, in a setback for diplomatic efforts by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), said it would “positively” consider the bloc’s suggestions to end the turmoil in Mynamar but only when stability was restored. The ASEAN leaders said after meeting at the weekend...
China accuses India of discrimination over latest app ban
Beijing lashed out at India on Wednesday after it banned another tranche of Chinese apps for national security reasons, the latest sore point between the two nuclear-armed neighbours. Tensions remain high between Beijing and New Delhi after a deadly June clash in a disputed border area that left 20 Indian soldiers dead and an unspecified number of Chinese casualties. India banned 43 Chinese apps on Tuesday — including some from e-commerce giant Alibaba — for threatening “sovereignty and integrity”. China said it had “serious concerns” about the move and India’s “so-called pretext of upholding national security”. “The relevant methods clearly violate market principles and WTO guidelines, and severely harm Chinese companies’ legal rights and interests,” said foreign ministry spokesman Zhao L...
Oyo ADC: We’ll stand by Senator Lanlehin in whatever political decision he makes
The Oyo State chapter of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) has reaffirmed support and loyalty to its governorship candidate in the 2019 elections, Senator Olufemi Lanlehin, promising to stand by him in “whatever political decisions he makes.” The party stated this in a communiqué at the end of its meeting held in Ibadan, at the weekend, against the background of the breakdown of the coalition over non-fulfilment of the agreement reached before the election. Senator Lanlehin and Chief Sharafadeen Alli of Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) are two major governorship candidates that dropped their aspiration to support the candidature of Makinde in the election. ADC leadership, in the communiqué jointly signed by Reverend Ezekiel Adeniran and Pastor David Orolade, acting state chairman and assistan...
