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- Myanmar junta frees hundreds held for anti-coup protests
- Heat to open vaccinated-only sections for fans on April 1
- At least 15 found dead after Bangladesh Rohingya camp blaze
- Sinovac says its vaccine is safe for children as young as 3
| Myanmar junta frees hundreds held for anti-coup protests Posted: 24 Mar 2021 12:47 AM PDT YANGON, Myanmar -- Hundreds of people imprisoned for protesting last month's coup were released Wednesday, March 24, in the first apparent gesture by the military to try to placate the protest movement. Witnesses outside Insein Prison in Yangon saw busloads of mostly young people, looking happy with some flashing the three-finger gesture of defiance adopted by the protest movement. State-run TV said a total of 628 were freed. The prisoners appear to be the hundreds of students detained in early March while demonstrating against the Feb. 1 coup that ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi. One lawyer, speaking on condition of anonymity because she doesn't want attention from the authorities, said all those released were arrested on March 3. She said only 55 people detained in connection with the protests remained in the prison, and it is likely they will all face charges under Section 505(A) of the Penal Code, which carries a penalty of up to three years in prison. Myanmar's Assistance Association for Political Prisoners says it has confirmed the killings of 275 people in connection with the post-coup crackdown, with additional deaths still unverified. It also says that as of Tuesday, it had verified arrest or charges against 2,812 people, of whom 2,418 remain in custody or with outstanding charges. Demonstrators on Wednesday tried a new tactic that they dubbed a silence strike, calling on people to stay home and businesses to close for the day. The extent of the strike was difficult to gauge, but social media users posted photos from cities and towns showing streets empty of activity save for the occasional stray dog. The online meme posted to publicize the action called silence "the loudest scream" and explained its purpose was to honor the movement's fallen heroes, to recharge protesters' energy and to contradict the junta's claims that "everything is back to normal." The new tactic was employed after an extended onslaught of violence from security forces. Local media reported that a seven-year-old girl in Mandalay, the country's second-biggest city, was among the latest victims on Tuesday. The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners included her in its list of fatalities. "Khin Myo Chit was shot in the abdomen by a soldier while she sat in her father's lap inside her home in Aung Pin Le ward," the online news service Myanmar Now reported, quoting her sister, Aye Chan San. The report said the shooting took place when soldiers were raiding homes in her family's neighborhood. The sister said a soldier shot at their father when he denied that any people were hiding in their home, and hit the girl. Aye Chan San said the soldiers then beat her 19-year-old brother with their rifle butts and took him away. The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners recorded three killings in Mandalay on Tuesday, though some other reports said there were five. (AP)  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Heat to open vaccinated-only sections for fans on April 1 Posted: 23 Mar 2021 05:40 PM PDT MIAMI — Vaccinated fans will soon have their own sections at Miami Heat games. The Heat announced plans Tuesday to open two sections in their lower bowl only for fully vaccinated fans starting with an April 1 game against Golden State. They are the first NBA team to reveal such a plan, though other clubs are believed to be working on similar measures. Masks will still be required, even for the vaccinated fans, but social distancing rules will be slightly relaxed in those areas. The NBA told teams last week that such sections would be allowed, under very specific conditions and in accordance with local and state health and safety guidelines. If any of the sections provided by teams include seats within 30 feet of the court, fans in those seats will have to take a PCR test two days prior to the game or an approved antigen test on game day. "You're already getting a sense that things are starting to change and go in a much more positive direction," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "Just the environment in our building, I remember those first couple games we had at the beginning of the year when there was literally nobody here, that was an eerie experience." The Heat are devoting two sections for the fully vaccinated fans, where pods of groups will be separated by just one seat. Those fans will be admitted through a separate gate and required to show their Centers for Disease Control vaccination card, or proof thereof, along with valid identification. Fans would have to have been fully vaccinated for at least 14 days to be eligible to be in those sections. Miami has allowed a small number of fans to attend games for the past several weeks, plus has had virus-detecting dogs at entrances this season. The Heat are also one of four teams — New Orleans, Atlanta and Portland are the others, with Blazers coach Terry Stotts saying Tuesday that 13 players have received the first dose — to publicly acknowledge in recent days that some players and staff members have started the vaccination process. "Things are moving," Spoelstra said. "All of us can't wait until we get our building full again, and same thing for other arenas." By NBA rules for the vaccinated-only sections, children not yet eligible to receive the vaccine would not be permitted even if with parents or guardians who have been vaccinated. Teams are also being encouraged to have dedicated concession and restroom areas for the vaccinated fans, and make efforts to limit any chance for those fans to commingle with others inside the arena. (AP)  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| At least 15 found dead after Bangladesh Rohingya camp blaze Posted: 23 Mar 2021 05:25 PM PDT COX'S BAZAR, Bangladesh — Rescuers recovered at least 15 charred bodies from a Rohingya refugee camp in southern Bangladesh after a devastating fire destroyed thousands of shelters, officials said Tuesday. At least 400 people were still missing and around 560 were injured by the fire, according to Louise Donovan, a spokesperson for the United Nations' refugee agency. The UNHCR said around 45,000 people were displaced by the fire, which broke out Monday afternoon and burned well into the night. In the aftermath, refugees picked through the burned debris looking for their belongings. Others wept. "Yesterday before the fire started, my kids went to study at the Islamic school. I did not see them after they came back. I found two of my older kids but I still can't find my youngest son," said Shappuni, a Rohingya refugee who uses only one name. At least three of the dead were children and the search for victims was still ongoing, said Nizam Uddin Ahmed, the top government official in Ukhiya, a sub-region of the Cox's Bazar district where the camp is located. Relief teams on the ground were stunned by the unprecedented level of destruction, said Jan Egeland, secretary general of the Norwegian Refugee Council. "This tragic event could have been less disastrous had barbed wire fencing not been erected encircling the camps. NRC staff have heard horrific accounts from refugees about their scramble to cut through the wire fences to save their families, escape the fire and reach safety," Egeland said. Bangladesh has sheltered more than a million Rohingya Muslims in crowded refugee camps, the vast majority having fled neighboring Myanmar in 2017 amid a major crackdown by that country's military. The U.N. has said the crackdown had a genocidal intent, a charge Myanmar rejects. Bangladesh is eager to begin sending the refugees back to Buddhist-majority Myanmar. Several attempts at repatriation under a joint agreement failed because the Rohingya refused to go, fearing more violence in a country that denies them basic rights including citizenship. The huge fire comes just months ahead of Bangladesh's monsoon season, when cyclones and heavy rains between June and October batter the region and often lead to floods. In January, another fire destroyed hundreds of shanty-like homes in the camp, leaving thousands without shelter. The Danish Refugee Council characterized the Rohingya camps in Cox's Bazar as the world's largest refugee complex, and said Monday's fire displaced 27,000 people. A situation report from the U.N. World Food Program said up to 87,855 people were affected by the fire, with many taking refuge in nearby camps, at friends' shelters, learning centers or temporary transit sites. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said an estimated 123,000 refugees in the camps were affected by the fire. The differing figures between could not immediately be reconciled. The federation said more than 1,000 staff and volunteers had worked through the night with firefighters, camp residents and other agencies to rescue people and douse the fire. "We are providing relief through food and water, and erecting emergency shelters for people who have lost their homes. These devastating fires will require even greater efforts by all agencies in the coming weeks, particularly as the cyclone season approaches," said M. A. Halim, head of operations in Cox's Bazar for the Bangladesh Red Crescent Society, in a statement. (AP)  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Sinovac says its vaccine is safe for children as young as 3 Posted: 23 Mar 2021 06:05 AM PDT TAIPEI, Taiwan -- Sinovac said its Covid-19 vaccine is safe in children ages 3-17, based on preliminary data, and it has submitted the data to Chinese drug regulators. More than 70 million shots of Sinovac's vaccine have been given worldwide, including in China. China has approved its use in adults but it has not yet been used in children, because their immune systems may respond differently to the vaccine. Early and mid-stage clinical trials with over 550 subjects showed the vaccine would induce an immune response, Gang Zeng, the medical director at Sinovac, said at a news conference Monday, March 22. Two recipients developed high fevers in response to the vaccine, one a three-year-old and the other a six-year-old. The rest of the trial subjects experienced mild symptoms, Zeng said. "Showing that the vaccine is safe and would elicit potentially useful immune response against Sars-CoV-2 is very welcomed," said Eng Eong Ooi, a professor at the Duke NUS Medical school in Singapore who is co-leading the development of a separate Covid-19 vaccine. However, he said the data presented publicly by the company was not enough to give a conclusive answer on the findings. Children are far less likely to be seriously ill with Covid-19, but they are still at risk and can spread the virus. And while vaccination campaigns worldwide have focused on adults, children will need to be immunized to end the pandemic. The Pfizer vaccine is cleared for use starting at age 16 and is being studied in ages 12-16. Moderna has been studying its vaccine in children aged 12 and older, and last week announced a new study testing its use in children younger than 12. State-owned Sinopharm, who has two Covid-19 vaccines, is also investigating the effectiveness of its vaccines in children. The company said in January it had submitted clinical data to regulators, though it was unclear if it was for one or both vaccines. (AP)  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
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