Coup de grce

The Hanoitimes - Vietnam keeps an eye on the developments in Myanmar and hopes that the country will soon stabilize the situation to maintain the national development for peace, stability, and cooperation in the region, Vietnam has raised voice shortly after top leaders of Myanmar were detained by the military. Spokesperson of Vietnam’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs Le Thi Thu Hang. Photo: MOFA “As a regional neighbor and an ASEAN member, Vietnam keeps an eye on the developments in Myanmar and hopes that the country will soon stabilize the situation to maintain the national development for peace, stability, and cooperation in the region, continuing its contribution to the building of the ASEAN Community,” Spokesperson of Vietnam’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs Le Thi Thu Hang said in a statement on February 1, the same day of a coup in Myanmar. In early morning raids Monday, Myanmar’s military has taken control of the country and declared a state of emergency after detaining State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, President U Win Myint, and other senior government leaders. The military confirmed it had detained the country’s de facto civilian leader Suu Kyi, along with other high ranking National League for Democracy (NLD) leaders, in response to alleged voting irregularities in November’s election. Myanmar Radio and Television (MRTV), Myanmar’s state-owned and most widely accessible television and radio stations, announced a year-long state of emergency on Monday. The world’s top leaders, including UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, US State Secretary Antony Blinken, White House Spokesperson Jen Psaki, the UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, and Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne have raised concerns over the situation, calling for immediate release of the arrestees. …

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The Hanoitimes - Some member states are concerned that ASEAN’s goodwill to help would be unlikely to materialize if Myanmar doesn’t open its doors to the bloc. ASEAN member states on March 2 said they are ready to assist Myanmar which records escalating violence against protesters after the military coup in early February. Vietnam’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh said at the meeting on March 2. Photo: MOFA ASEAN chair’s statement issued after foreign ministers’ online meeting stated that they “expressed ASEAN’s readiness to assist Myanmar in a positive, peaceful and constructive manner.” Speaking at the meeting, the first gathering among ministers since the coup, Vietnam’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh said the escalating violence and casualties in Myanmar have left impact on the country and the region. He called for restraint and dialogues to ensure safety for people and bring the situation to normalcy. Minh proposed ASEAN utilizing existing regional and global cooperation mechanisms, including those by the United Nations to help Myanmar. Regional diplomats expressed their concern on the situation in Myanmar and called on all parties to refrain from instigating further violence, and for all sides to exercise utmost restraint as well as flexibility. They called for de-escalation of the situation in Myanmar and all parties concerned “to seek a peaceful solution, through constructive dialogue, and practical reconciliation in the interests of the people and their livelihood.” ASEAN's informal foreign ministers meeting on Myanmar held on March 2. Photo: MOFA ASEAN has a principle of non-interference, which was seen as a hurdle for the member states to hold a ministerial meeting on the matter. Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi told reporters after the meeting that democracy must be restored in Myanmar. Marsudi said “ASEAN met to discuss and …

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LEICESTER, England, Oct 28 - Leicester City soccer club owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, a Thai tycoon, was killed along with four others when his helicopter crashed and then exploded after a Premier League match on Saturday, the soccer club and police said. Vichai bought the unheralded central England side in 2010 and went on to stun the soccer world by beating odds of 5,000/1 to win the Premier League title in 2016 in what amounted to a sporting fairy tale. The father of four and founder of duty-free King Power International was a huge favourite with the club's fans. "It is with the deepest regret and a collective broken heart that we confirm our chairman, Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, was among those to have tragically lost their lives on Saturday evening when a helicopter carrying him and four other people crashed outside King Power Stadium," a club statement said on Sunday. The aircraft came down in a car park near the King Power stadium shortly after 19:30 GMT, about an hour after the end of Leicester City's game against West Ham United, police said. The other victims were believed to be two members of his staff, Nursara Suknamai and Kaveporn Punpare, pilot Eric Swaffer and passenger Izabela Roza Lechowicz, Leicestershire Police said. No one on the ground was believed to have been injured, they said. According to witnesses, the helicopter had barely cleared the top of the stadium before it started to spin. It then plummeted to the ground and burst into flames. John Butcher, who was near the stadium at the time of the crash, told the BBC his nephew saw the helicopter spiral out of control apparently because of a faulty rear propeller. "Within a second, it dropped like a stone to the floor. ... Luckily it did spiral for a little while and everybody sort of ran, sort of scattered." Title win After pumping millions of pounds into the club, Vichai helped steer Leicester back into the top flight in 2014 before they stunned the sport by beating …

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