Pakistani Politician, Wife Found Dead at Home in Karachi

KARACHI, PAKISTAN — 

Pakistani police say they have found the bullet-riddled bodies of a veteran politician and his wife at their home in Karachi.

Authorities say it is unclear whether Mir Hazar Khan Bijrani, a provincial minister, and his wife died from murder or suicide.

Senior police officer Tauqeer Naeem says servants found the bodies of the couple in their bedroom on Thursday and that there was no sign of robbery.

Bijrani is from the party of former president Asif Ali Zardari and was formerly a federal minister.

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Myanmar Court Refuses Bail for Reporters in Secrets Case

YANGON — 

A lawyer for two Reuters journalists in Myanmar charged with illegally handling government secrets says a court had denied their request to be released on bail.

Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo were arrested Dec.12 after police accused them of violating the country's Official Secrets Act for allegedly acquiring "important secret papers" from two policemen. The charge is punishable by up to 14 years in prison.

Lawyer Than Zaw Aung says the presiding judge declared the case is not the sort for which bail could be granted.

The case has been strongly criticized as an effort to intimidate the press, especially its coverage of the sensitive situation in Myanmar's Rakhine state where the military is accused of carrying out massive human rights abuses against the Muslim Rohingya minority.

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Amid Continued Criticism, Myanmar Still Spending Big on Military

YANGON — 

A reported deal for Myanmar to buy fighter jets from Russia is drawing criticism from some who say the country spends too much on the military and not enough on education and other priorities.

On January 22, the Russian news agency TASS reported that Myanmar is planning to buy six Su-30 fighter jets from Russia, in a deal that a Myanmar media report estimated at $200 million.

Myanmar government officials could not be reached for comment on the Tass report.

The deal was reached during Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu’s visit to Myanmar, according to the deputy defense minister Lieutenant General Alexander Fomin, who said the planes would “become the main fighter aircraft of Myanmar’s air force to protect the country’s territorial integrity and repel any terror threats.”

Fomin added that an estimated 600 Myanmar military personnel are studying in Russia’s higher military educational institutions.

On January 25, U.S. State Department Spokesperson Heather Nauert told reporters the move was part of Russia’s “continued efforts” to arm militaries that violate human rights.

“While the Russian Federation says it favors constructive dialogue to resolve the crisis in Burma, the reports of plans to sell advanced military technology, if true, show otherwise,” she said.

The crisis she was referring to was the Myanmar military’s crackdown in northern Rakhine State, which has seen almost 700,000 people, overwhelmingly Muslim Rohingya, flee over the border into Bangladesh.

Many have arrived with harrowing tales of mass rape, torture and extrajudicial killings at the hands of the Myanmar military, which is known as the Tatmadaw. Authorities in Yangon have largely denied the accusations.

But even though the military operation in Rakhine State has largely attracted support domestically, some residents inside the country have criticized the high expenditure on the jets.

“Why do they need to spend that much? It could be spent on more schools, or better healthcare,” Thura Aung, a computer programmer in Yangon, told VOA.

When the country was under direct military rule, the ruling junta would regularly prioritize spending on defense over issues such as health and education.

The budget

For the budget for the 2017-18 financial year, the first under the administration led by the National League for Democracy, Myanmar, also known as Burma, set aside $2.1 billion to be spent on the Ministry of Defense, the third highest government expenditure behind Planning and Finance and Electricity and Energy.

Although spending on defense dropped slightly from the previous year, it was still more than spending by the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health and Sports combined.

It's not clear if they were linked, but days after the Russian announcement, protests were held at universities in Myanmar, calling for an increase in the country’s education budget.

Of those who protested, almost 40 students have been expelled from their universities, Sai Khaing Myo Tun, president of the Myanmar Teachers Federation told VOA.

“They were expelled immediately after the demonstration. We believe this is not a good way to deal with this situation … because we think this would make students scared, and not allow them to demonstrate,” he said.

He said that while he did not agree with the students’ approach, in which they reportedly tried to enter university classrooms, he supported their calls for the government to spend more on education.

“The salaries for teachers are still very low. There are still a lot of requirements for the development of education across the country,” he said.

In October, Myanmar ratified the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which obliges parties to work towards granting the rights of health and education to its citizens. The agreement went into force on January 6.

Sean Bain, a legal consultant for the International Commission of Jurists, said Myanmar signing the agreement meant it was obliged to protect people’s rights to health and education.

“A budget that prioritizes military expenditure to the detriment of health and education needs may be a violation of the state’s new international human rights law commitments,” Bain told VOA by email. “The next budget will be the first in which Myanmar’s government has to consider its new international law obligations to protect the right to health and education.”

Officials from the government and the NLD (National League for Democracy) could not be reached for comment on the size of government spending or the spending priorities of the Myanmar government.

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North Korean Flag Raised Over Olympic Villages in South Korea

North Korea’s national flag has been raised above the living quarters for the athletes taking part in the upcoming Winter Olympics in South Korea.

The flag began flying Thursday over the Olympic villages in the host cities of Pyeongchang and Gangneung, about 230 kilometers east of Seoul, one day after ceremonies were held marking the villages’ official opening.

The one-day delay was because of South Korea’s strict national security law that prohibits flying the North’s flag. Authorities have exempted all venues connected with the Winter Games, including the athletes’ dormitories and stadiums.

The North’s flag was raised in time to greet 10 members of the North’s Olympic squad who are scheduled to arrive in South Korea later Thursday. They will join 12 female hockey players who arrived last week to join their South Korean counterparts to train as a unified Korean team.

The surprise offer by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to send a delegation to the Pyeongchang Games during his New Year’s Day speech paved the way for restored dialogue between Pyongyang and Seoul, which had been frozen because of North Korea’s development of its nuclear and ballistic missile weapons programs in defiance of international sanctions.

The talks led to an agreement for both sides to march in the Feb. 9 opening ceremonies under a unified flag.

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Petrol Bomb Thrown at Suu Kyi's Myanmar Home, No Injuries

YANGON, MYANMAR — 

A crude petrol bomb was tossed Thursday morning into the residential compound of Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi, but she was not at home and damage was minor, officials said.

Suu Kyi was in the capital Naypyitaw when the incident took place, government spokesman Zaw Htay said.

Suu Kyi's main residence and the target of the petrol bomb is in the country's biggest city, Yangon. The Nobel Peace Prize laureate lived there under house arrest for several years during military rule while she headed her pro-democracy movement. Her National League for Democracy party took power in 2012.

Zaw Htay said witnesses saw an unidentified man running away from the residence, after which police found an exploded bottle with gasoline traces inside the compound that had burned external water pipes. He did not speculate on possible motives.

Suu Kyi is hugely popular among Myanmar's majority Buddhists, but has been heavily criticized abroad for failing to stake a stand against army abuses against the Muslim Rohingya minority.

She holds the official positions of state counselor and foreign minister. The job of state counselor was created especially for her so she could be the country's chief executive despite a constitutional clause instituted under military rule that barred her from becoming president.

Zaw Htay said a video made by a passenger in a passing car showed the alleged bomb-thrower fleeing the scene, and police were searching for a male suspect.

Makeshift barricades were hastily erected on the street outside the residence soon after the attack.

Suu Kyi's personal security used to be a major concern when she led opposition to military rule.

In 1996, she was the target of an apparent assassination attempt that her supporters speculated was orchestrated by a faction of the military. She and her party's deputy leader were in a motorcade on a remote road in northern Myanmar when they were waylaid by a group of about 200 thugs who smashed up their car until their driver was able to make a getaway. Several supporters who were in other cars were killed.

No one was charged in the attack.

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Olympic Doping Bans Lifted for 28 Russians

PYEONGCHANG, SOUTH KOREA — 

The Olympic doping bans for 28 Russian athletes have been overturned, throwing the International Olympic Committee's policy on Russian doping into turmoil.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled Thursday that evidence was insufficient that the 28, including several medalists, had broken anti-doping rules at the 2014 Olympics in Sochi.

The 28 whose bans were lifted could now seek late entry into the Pyeongchang Games, which open Feb. 9.

Eleven more were ruled to have been guilty of doping, but their lifetime bans were cut to a ban from the Pyeongchang Games alone.

The IOC has already invited 169 Russians to the Pyeonchang Olympics under a neutral flag, but may now be forced to allow in athletes it deems dopers, eight days before the Games begin.

It wasn't immediately clear how many of the 28 Russians would now seek to compete. Some have retired from competitive sports.

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Child Soldiers Recount Life with IS in Afghanistan

In 2015, Islamic State announced a new chapter for Pakistan and Afghanistan. It was called Islamic State Khorasan Province. Eastern Afghanistan became its stronghold. ISKP recruited from the local population, including children. VOA's Ayesha Tanzeem met two such boys. This is their story.

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