Tag: anniversary

Myanmar enters fourth year of post-coup crisis

YANGON, Myanmar, Feb 1, 2024 (AFP) – Myanmar on Thursday entered its fourth year since a coup snuffed out a short-lived dance with democracy, with the embattled junta warning it will do “whatever it takes” to crush opposition to its rule. The junta extended a state of emergency by six months on the eve of the anniversary, once again delaying promised elections, with a fresh round of US sanctions announced hours later. In the early […]

Japan calls Russia nuclear threat ‘unacceptable’ on Hiroshima anniversary

TOKYO, Aug 6, 2023 (AFP) – Japan’s prime minister hit out at Russian threats to use nuclear weapons as the country marked the 78th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima on Sunday. Around 140,000 people died in Hiroshima on August 6, 1945 and 74,000 in Nagasaki three days later, when the United States dropped atomic bombs on the two Japanese cities days before the end of World War II. “Japan, as the only nation […]

20 years after US invasion, war-scarred Iraq faces uncertain future

by Ammar Karim Agence France-Presse BAGHDAD, Iraq (AFP) — Iraq on Monday marks 20 years since the start of the US-led invasion that toppled dictator Saddam Hussein, but no official celebrations are planned. The oil-rich country remains traumatized from the years of war, occupation and bloody sectarian turmoil that followed the operation launched on March 20, 2003. A semblance of normalcy has returned, but Iraq still battles a range of entrenched challenges, from political instability […]

Myanmar junta extends state of emergency, likely delaying polls

Myanmar’s junta was granted a six-month extension to a state of emergency, state media reported Wednesday, likely delaying elections the military had pledged to hold by August. The country has been in turmoil since the army’s power grab in 2021, and a subsequent crackdown on dissent has sparked fighting across swathes of the nation while tanking the economy. On the second anniversary of the putsch, state media reported that the National Defence and Security Council […]

Myanmar streets empty in protest on coup anniversary

YANGON, Myanmar (AFP) — Streets emptied and shops closed in protest across Myanmar on Wednesday, the second anniversary of the coup that toppled Aung San Suu Kyi’s government, with the junta hinting it may extend a state of emergency and delay new elections. Myanmar has been in turmoil since the military’s power grab and bloody crackdown on dissent, which has sparked fighting across swathes of the country and tanked the economy. Western powers launched a […]

Myanmar junta marks Independence Day with show of force, mass pardons

NAYPYIDAW, Myanmar (AFP) — Myanmar’s junta announced an amnesty for 7,000 prisoners to mark Independence Day on Wednesday following a show of force in the capital, days after increasing democracy figurehead Aung San Suu Kyi’s jail term to 33 years. Swaths of the Southeast Asian country have been engulfed by fighting between junta troops and anti-coup rebels since the military seized power almost two years ago. The junta, which recently wrapped up a series of […]

Germany seeks ‘forgiveness’ 50 years after Munich Olympics massacre

  Munich, Germany (AFP) by Ralf ISERMANN with Hui Min NEO in Berlin Germany on Monday sought “forgiveness” from families of victims in the 1972 Munich Olympics attack, admitting responsibility for a litany of failings that led to the deaths of 11 Israelis. The apology by President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on behalf of Germany 50 years on came after a bitter and long fight by bereaved relatives for appropriate compensation and for Berlin to own up […]

‘All dead’: the Munich Olympics massacre 50 years ago

by Pascale JUILLIARD Agence France-Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — September 5, 1972: Palestinian gunmen storm the Olympic Village at the Summer Games in Munich and take a group of Israeli athletes hostage, triggering a standoff that ends in a massacre. AFP was the first news outlet to report on the tragic climax of the attack that shocked the world 50 years ago. Here’s a look at how it unfolded. – ‘Games of Peace and Joy’ […]

Mechanical elephants, homemade howitzers as India turns 75

by Aishwarya KUMAR Agence France-Presse NEW DELHI, India (AFP) — India marked the 75th anniversary of independence on Monday with Prime Minister Narendra Modi giving a speech from Delhi’s historic Red Fort, which was decorated with portraits of freedom fighters and guarded by mechanical elephants. Following a 21-gun salute, reportedly executed using howitzers made domestically for the first time under Modi’s “Make In India” industrial strategy, the prime minister said Indians should shed “colonialism in […]

Britain and Falklands mark 40 years since Argentine surrender

by Charles Onians  Agence France-Presse LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Britain on Tuesday marks 40 years since Argentine forces surrendered after 74 days of conflict on the Falkland Islands, with many veterans still paying the physical and mental price of the gruelling South Atlantic war. The Royal British Legion is to host a remembrance ceremony at the National Memorial Arboretum in central England for veterans, bereaved family members and civilian support staff. The Act of […]

Myanmar shuts shop to defy junta on coup anniversary

Streets emptied and shops shuttered across Myanmar on Tuesday as people defied junta orders to go about their business with a silent strike on the first anniversary of the military coup. The junta that ended the Southeast Asian country’s brief democratic interlude and toppled civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi has triggered mass protests and a crackdown on dissent. Struggling to contain the backlash and contending with daily clashes, the military has killed more than […]

‘Freedom Tower’ – the skyscraper symbolizing New York’s resilience

by Catherine TRIOMPHE NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — It is the skyscraper that replaced the Twin Towers in New York’s skyline. Inaugurated in 2014, the One World Trade Center has become a symbol of resilience after the horror of 9/11. Commonly referred to as the “Freedom Tower,” it is America’s tallest building at 1,776 feet (541 meters) and an emblem of the US economic capital. From its conception, the tower had to testify to […]