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A30 world news
Diamars 6 aPriL 2021

Myanmar junta charges celebrities with promoting protests

New Light of Myanmar tweeted after the TV an- around the country, but gen-
newspaper include actors, ac- nouncement that her arrest erally on a smaller scale than
tresses, musicians and social warrant was “for simply do- recently and often in ways
media influencers charged ing my job as a civilian: using intended to avoid confronta-
with violating Section my platform to speak out the tions. On Sunday, an “Easter
505(A) of the Penal Code truth.” Egg Strike” was held with
for “spreading news to affect eggs painted in support of the
state stability.” The penalty “Please always pay attention protests displayed in public
for the offense is up to three to news in Myanmar until we places and online.
years' imprisonment. win,” she wrote.
In Dawei, a city in southeast-
A chart filling most of a page What appears to be a leaked ern Myanmar that is a strong-
lists 20 people, along with document from the Informa- hold of the protest move-
photos, hometowns and tion Ministry advises broad- ment, a short march was ac-
Facebook pages of each. casters and production agen- companied by a motorcycle
cies of the cases against peo- procession.
(AP) — Myanmar’s ruling government of Aung San Several actors and directors ple in the fields of literature,
junta stepped up its cam- Suu Kyi. At least 570 protest- were also charged in Febru- film, theater arts, music and In Yangon, the country’s big-
paign against celebrities ers and bystanders, including ary, but the campaign against journalism. It warns them gest city, a memorial march
who support nationwide 47 children, have been killed celebrity protest support- not to publish or broadcast for the dead was held by
protests against its sei- since the takeover, according ers was stepped up last week any of their work or face mourners clad in black. Sepa-
zure of power, publishing to the Assistance Association when army-controlled My- prosecution themselves. rately, about 20 people gath-
wanted lists in the state for Political Prisoners, which awaddy TV broadcast a want- ered briefly on a city street
press and warning against monitors casualties and ar- ed list. There are now at least The April 4 document, which and burned Chinese flags.
using their work. rests. The coup reversed the 60 people on such lists. could not be authenticated Many protesters believe that
country’s gradual return to by The Associated Press, was Beijing backs the military re-
The move follows weeks of democracy after five decades May Toe Khine, who de- reported by Khit Thit Media gime with economic and po-
escalating violence by securi- of military rule. scribes herself in her Twitter and widely circulated on so- litical support, including the
ty forces in breaking up street profile as “Full Time Bur- cial media. threat of a veto at the U.N.
protests against the Feb. 1 The lists published Sunday mese Actress / Part Time Security Council against in-
coup that ousted the elected and Monday in the Global Fashion Designer Student,” Protests continued Monday ternational sanctions.

Putin signs law that allows him to serve two more terms

(AP) — Russian President legislature and the relevant the term count was necessary
Vladimir Putin on Mon- law signed by Putin was to keep his lieutenants from
day signed a law allowing posted Monday on an official “darting their eyes in search
him to potentially hold portal of legal information. for possible successors" in-
onto power until 2036, a stead of normal work.”
move that formalizes con- The 68-year-old Russian
stitutional changes en- president, who has been in The constitutional amend-
dorsed in last year's popu- power for more than two ments also emphasized the
lar vote. decades — longer than any priority of Russian law over
other Kremlin leader since international norms, out-
The July 1 constitutional Soviet dictator Josef Stalin lawed same-sex marriages
vote included a provision that — said he would decide later and mentioned “a belief in
reset Putin's previous terms, whether to run again in 2024 God” as a core value. Russian
allowing him to run for pres- when his current six-year lawmakers have methodically
ident two more times. The term ends. modified the national legisla-
change was rubber-stamped tion, approving the relevant
by the Kremlin-controlled He has argued that resetting laws.

Hikers scramble as new fissure opens up at Icelandic volcano

(AP) — Steam and lava spurted sightseeing helicopter, was about 500 ter tens of thousands of earthquakes said the volcanic eruption could be
Monday from a new fissure at meters (550 yards) long and about a were recorded in the area in the past moving north from its original loca-
an Icelandic volcano that began kilometer (around a half-mile) from three weeks. It was the area’s first vol- tion.
erupting last month, prompting the original eruption site in the Geld- canic eruption in nearly 800 years.
the evacuation of hundreds of inga Valley. “We now see less lava coming from
hikers who had come to see the The volcano’s proximity to Iceland’s the two original craters,” he told The
spectacle. The Icelandic Department of Emer- capital, Reykjavík, about 32 kilome- Associated Press. “This could be the
gency Management announced an ters (20 miles) away, has brought a beginning of second stage.”
The new fissure, first spotted by a immediate evacuation of the area. It steady stream of tourists to the area,
said there was no imminent danger even with the country in partial lock- Iceland, located above a volcanic
to life due to the site’s distance form down to combat the coronavirus. hot spot in the North Atlantic, av-
popular hiking paths. Around 30,000 people have visited erages one volcanic eruption every
the area since the eruption began, four to five years. The last one was
The Icelandic Meteorological Office according to the Icelandic Tourist at Holuhraun in 2014, when a fis-
said the new volcanic activity wasn't Board. sure eruption spread lava the size of
expected to affect traffic at nearby Ke- Manhattan over the interior highland
flavik Airport. Live footage from the area showed region.
small spouts of lava coming from the
The long-dormant volcano on the new fissure. In 2010, ash from Iceland's Eyjafjal-
Reykjanes Peninsula in southwest lajokull volcano shut down much in-
Iceland flared to life March 20 af- Geophysicist Magnus Gudmundsson ternational air travel for several days.