Military takes control of Myanmar; Suu Kyi reported detained

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FEB 1, 2021 @ 1800 GMT | FILE – In this Oct. 29, 2020, file photo, Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi casts her ballot during advance voting at the Union Election Commission office in Naypyitaw, Myanmar. Reports says Monday, Feb. 1, 2021 a military coup has taken place in Myanmar and Suu Kyi has been detained under house arrest. (AP File Photo)

NAYPYITAW, Myanmar (AP) — Myanmar military television said Monday that the military was taking control of the country for one year, while reports said many of the country’s senior politicians including Aung San Suu Kyi had been detained.

An announcement read on military-owned Myawaddy TV cited a section of the military-drafted constitution that allows the military to take control in times of national emergency. It said the reason for takeover was in part due to the government’s failure to act on the military’s claims of voter fraud in last November’s election and its failure to postpone the election because of the coronavirus crisis.

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13 killed in car bombs, shooting in northern Syria

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JAN 31, 2021 @ 1245 GMT | In this photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, pro-government demonstrators protest the siege on their neighborhood by Kurdish security forces, in Hassakeh, Syria, Sunday, Jan. 31, 2021. The state news agency SANA said one Syrian was killed and four injured after Kurdish security forces opened fire at pro-government demonstrators in Hassakeh. A Kurdish-run news agency, Hawar, said security forces at a checkpoint in the city had come under fire, prompting its members to respond to the source of fire that led to the death of a government security member. (SANA via AP)

BEIRUT (AP) — One Syrian was killed on Sunday and four injured after Kurdish security forces opened fire at pro-government demonstrators in a northeastern city, state media said.

The state news agency SANA said the Kurdish forces opened fire at demonstrators protesting the siege on their neighborhood in Hassakeh city. The area is known as the security square and is controlled by government forces.

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Asian shares drop after US stocks’ worst day since October

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JAN 28, 2021 @ 1800 GMT | A currency trader watches monitors at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Jan. 28, 2021. Asian shares skidded on Thursday as a reality check set in about longtime economic damage from the coronavirus pandemic, giving Wall Street its worst day since October.(AP Photo)

TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares skidded on Thursday as a reality check set in about longtime economic damage from the coronavirus pandemic, giving Wall Street its worst day since October.

Benchmarks in Japan, South Korea, Australia and China declined Thursday. The region is looking ahead to earnings season for a read on how companies are faring amid COVID-19 infections, which have been relatively low in some nations such as New Zealand, compared to other global regions.

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Protesting farmers return to camp after storming Indian fort

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JAN 27, 2021 @ 1500 GMT | FILE – In this Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2021, file photo, a Sikh man hangs on to pole holding a Sikh religious flag along with a farm union flag at the historic Red Fort monument during a farmers protest against new farm laws in New Delhi, India. A sea of tens of thousands of farmers riding tractors and horses stormed India’s historic Red Fort this week — a dramatic escalation of their protests, which are posing a major challenge to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government. (AP Photo)

NEW DELHI (AP) — Leaders of a protest movement sought Wednesday to distance themselves from a day of violence when thousands of farmers stormed India’s historic Red Fort, the most dramatic moment in two months of demonstrations that have grown into a major challenge of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government.

Farmers demanding the repeal of new agricultural laws briefly took over of the 17th-century fort, and images broadcast live on television shocked the nation. In a particularly bold rebuke to Modi’s Hindu-nationalist government, the protesters hoisted a Sikh religious flag.

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Capitol attack reflects US extremist evolution over decades

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JAN 24, 2021 @ 1400 GMT | FILE – In this Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021 file photo, the deadly attack by rioters on the U.S. Capitol targeted the very heart of government. It brought together members of disparate groups, creating the opportunity for extremists to establish links with each other. (AP Photo)

WASHINGTON, United States (AP) — The takeover in 2016 by right-wing extremists of a federal bird sanctuary in Oregon. A standoff in 1992 between white separatists and federal agents in Ruby Ridge, Idaho. The 1995 bombing of a federal building in Oklahoma City that killed 168 people.

Right-wing extremism has previously played out for the most part in isolated pockets of America and in its smaller cities. The deadly assault by rioters on the U.S. Capitol, in contrast, targeted the very heart of government.

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Poverty and hopelessness beget violence in Tunisia’s suburbs

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JAN 22, 2021 @ 1155 GMT | FILE – In this Jan. 19, 2021 file photo, demonstrators face police officers during clashes in Ettadhamen City near Tunis. Protests have swept towns and cities throughout Tunisia for a week, often turning to violence as demonstrators denounce what they say are broken promises from the government, which hasn’t been able to turn around an economy on the verge of bankruptcy. (AP Photo)

TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — Protests have swept towns and cities throughout Tunisia for a week, often turning to violence as demonstrators denounce what they say are broken promises from the government, which hasn’t been able to turn around an economy on the verge of bankruptcy.

Many protesters are disenfranchised young people, a third of whom are unemployed, taking their voices to the street after being left behind by the country’s leadership. But Tunisian students, artists and left-wing activists have also protested, only to be met with tear gas and a muscular police response.

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Restructuring Norwegian Air to get government support

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JAN 21, 2021 @ 1500 GMT | FILE – In this file photo dated Monday, June 12, 2017, showing a Boeing 787 airplane being built for Norwegian Air Shuttle is shown at Boeing Co.’s assembly facility, in Everett, Wash, USA. Low-cost carrier Norwegian Air Shuttle said Thursday Jan. 14, 2021, it will focus on European destinations and close its long-haul operations as it struggles with the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic and debt restructuring. (AP File Photo)

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Norway’s government said Thursday it will help ailing low-cost carrier Norwegian Air Shuttle – a U-turn from its previous refusal to do so – as long as the company manages to raise 4.5 billion kroner ($529 million) from other investors.

Trade Minister Iselin Nyboe said the government is now open to the idea of contributing money to a reconstructed Norwegian Air but expects private investors to pitch in as well.

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Trump bids farewell to Washington, hints of comeback

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JAN 20, 2021 @ 1800 GMT | FLORIDA, United States | Former President Donald Trump and Melania Trump wave as they disembark from their final flight on Air Force One at Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach, Fla., Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021. (AP Photo)

WEST PALM BEACH, USA (AP) — His presidency over, Donald Trump bid farewell to Washington on Wednesday but also hinted at a comeback despite a legacy of chaos, tumult and bitter division in the country he led for four years.

“Goodbye. We love you. We will be back in some form,” Trump told supporters at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland where he received a 21-gun salute as part of a military send-off before boarding Air Force One for his last time as president.

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US soldier arrested in plot to blow up NYC 9/11 Memorial

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JAN 19, 2021 @ 1800 GMT | FILE – In this Sept. 11, 2020, file photo, mourners place flowers in the name cut-out of Kyung Hee (Casey) Cho at the National September 11 Memorial and Museum in New York. A U.S. Army soldier was arrested Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2021, in Georgia on terrorism charges after he spoke online about plots to blow up New York City’s 9/11 Memorial and other landmarks and attack U.S. soldiers in the Middle East, authorities said. (AP Photo)

NEW YORK (AP) — A U.S. Army soldier was arrested Tuesday in Georgia on terrorism charges after he spoke online about plots to blow up New York City’s 9/11 Memorial and other landmarks and attack U.S. soldiers in the Middle East, authorities said.

Cole James Bridges of Stow, Ohio, was in custody on charges of attempted material support of a terrorist organization — the Islamic State group — and attempted murder of a military member, said Nicholas Biase, a spokesperson for Manhattan federal prosecutors.

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Selena Gomez: Big Tech ‘cashing in from evil’

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JAN 17, 2021 @ 1700 GMT | FILE – This combination of photos, clockwise, from upper left: a Google sign, the Twitter app, YouTube TV logo and the Facebook app. Selena Gomez is laying much of the blame for the violent attack on the U.S. Capitol at the feet of Big Tech. The singer told the leaders of Facebook, Twitter, Google and YouTube that they’ve allowed “people with hate in their hearts” to thrive and therefore “failed all the American people.” It’s just the latest in the 28-year-old Gomez’s efforts to draw attention to the dangers of internet companies. (AP Photo)

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Hours after an angry mob of Trump supporters took control of the U.S. Capitol in a violent insurrection, Selena Gomez laid much of the blame at the feet of Big Tech.

“Today is the result of allowing people with hate in their hearts to use platforms that should be used to bring people together and allow people to build community,” tweeted the singer/actor. “Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Google, Mark Zuckerberg, Sheryl Sandberg, Jack Dorsey, Sundar Pichai, Susan Wojcicki — you have all failed the American people today, and I hope you’re going to fix things moving forward.”

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