Russia called on Washington and Tehran Tuesday to take mutual steps and coordinate their return to the Iran nuclear deal, as signatories to the historic accord work to salvage it.

Formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the 2015 deal offered sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on Tehran's nuclear ambitions and guarantees it would not seek an atomic bomb.
But the accord has been hanging by a thread since former US president Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from it in 2018 and reimposed punishing sanctions on Tehran.
-To resolve this urgent task, we believe it is perfectly possible to work out synchronous steps -- simultaneous steps to be taken in stages by both the Iranians and the United States- Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.
-If we deliberate on which side should be first to return to compliance, then this bargaining could go on forever- he told reporters during a visit to Abu Dhabi.
Following Joe Biden's US presidential election victory in November, Washington, Tehran and the European parties to the deal -- France, Germany and Britain -- have been trying to salvage it.
Biden has signalled his readiness to revive the accord, but insists Iran first return to all its nuclear commitments, most of which it suspended in response to the US sanctions.
Tehran meanwhile demands Washington take the first step by scrapping the sanctions.

Formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the 2015 deal offered sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on Tehran's nuclear ambitions and guarantees it would not seek an atomic bomb

Lavrov: To resolve this urgent task, we believe it is perfectly possible to work out synchronous steps -- simultaneous steps to be taken in stages by both the Iranians and the United States

Russia urges US, Iran to coordinate return to nuclear deal

Authorities in northwest Nigeria's Zamfara state have scaled back a curfew imposed on a town where hundreds of schoolgirls were abducted last month, residents said Tuesday.

The 279 girls were abducted on February 26 from the Government Secondary School in Jangebe by gunmen who are known locally as bandits.
They were released five days later, in the latest mass kidnapping to target schools in Nigeria.
But a round-the-clock curfew was then placed on the remote town, and its market and shops were closed, after violence marred an event to mark the girls' return to their parents.
-The curfew has been relaxed. It is now from 6:00 pm to 6:00 am- resident Bello Gidan-Ruwa told AFP by phone.
-We now go about our daily activities in the daytime undisturbed, but move indoors as soon it is 6:00 pm- he said.
Another resident, Abubakar Zaki, who is the father of two of the girls, confirmed this account.
Violence erupted last Wednesday when the girls were to be returned to their parents at a ceremony in the school's hall.
They had been in the government's custody in Gusau, the state capital, receiving medical care. 
Angered by officials' insistence on a formal handover before parents could leave with their children, mobs began throwing stones at officials outside the school.
Security personnel opened fire and at least four people were shot, two of them fatally, according to residents.
-There was panic that the town would be raided to arrest young men who carried out the violence but nothing like that has happened- said resident Zaki.
-The security personnel, military and police, only patrol the town at night, using sirens to warn everyone to stay indoors- he said.
Heavily-armed criminal gangs in northwest and central Nigeria have stepped up attacks in recent years, kidnapping for ransom, raping, pillaging and killing.
Despite heavy military deployment to the regions, the attacks have persisted.

The 279 girls were abducted on February 26 from the Government Secondary School in Jangebe by gunmen who are known locally as bandits

Freed: The school abduction was Nigeria's third mass kidnapping in less than three months

Nigeria eases curfew in town of kidnapped schoolgirls

Syrian regime President Bashar al-Assad, 55, and his wife Asma, 45, have both tested positive for coronavirus, according to local media reports.

They are both in good health and stable condition, the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported.
The couple will stay at home for two to three weeks of isolation before returning to work, it added.

Bashar al-Assad, his wife Asma to quarantine at home for 2-3 weeks after testing positive, says local media

The couple will stay at home for two to three weeks of isolation before returning to work

Syrian president, wife test positive for COVID-19

Turkey will take new steps to combat violence against women and improve women’s social and economic status, said the nation’s president on Monday, marking March 8, International Women’s Day.

-Women, who make up fully half of humanity, cannot and should not be excluded from politics or any other domain of life- Recep Tayyip Erdogan told a meeting of the ruling party’s women’s branch.
Women also constitute almost half of the ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party’s 11.5 million members, Erdogan added, stressing the importance his party places on women.
Stating that a new parliamentary commission is being formed to deal with violence against women, Erdogan stressed that no form of violence against women is tolerable.
Emphasizing that women are an essential part of Turkish family life and culture, he stressed that women and building stronger families are intertwined.
-We cannot reach our goal of being a global power without fortifying our national and spiritual foundations- Erdogan said.

Women are essential part of ruling party, nation, and humanity, says President Recep Tayyip Erdogan

Erdogan: We cannot reach our goal of being a global power without fortifying our national and spiritual foundations

Turkish president vows to better women’s status

US President Joe Biden on Monday welcomed the "historic" visit by Pope Francis to Iraq, saying it sent an "important" message of peace.

-To see Pope Francis visit ancient religious sites, including the biblical birthplace of Abraham, spend time with Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani in Najaf, and offer prayers in Mosul -- a city that only a few years ago endured the depravity and intolerance of a group like ISIS -- is a symbol of hope for the entire world- Biden wrote.
The 84-year-old pontiff's packed three-day visit passed off without a hitch despite concerns about security and the coronavirus pandemic. He covered more than 900 miles (1,400 kilometers) inside the conflict-ravaged country.
Biden, only the second Roman Catholic US president, has dramatically raised the Church's profile in the United States with his regular Sunday attendance at Mass and habit of quoting Biblical and other sacred verses.
Pope Francis' visit to Iraq -- the first ever by a head of the Vatican -- came as Biden is grappling with a complex security challenge in the region where Iranian-backed groups have attacked US bases, triggering air strikes in response.

The 84-year-old pontiff's packed three-day visit passed off without a hitch despite concerns about security and the coronavirus pandemic

Biden, only the second Roman Catholic US president, has dramatically raised the Church's profile in the United States with his regular Sunday attendance at Mass and habit of quoting Biblical and other sacred verses

Biden salutes Pope's 'historic' visit to Iraq

Nearly 20 percent of Afghan women journalists have quit or lost their jobs in the past six months, a media watchdog group said Monday, as a wave of murders targeting the press has intensified in the war-torn country. 

The Afghan Journalists Safety Committee said that more than 300 women had left the industry in recent months, citing the "wave of targeted killings" as one of the main reasons -- along with financial difficulties caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
The report comes as the world marks International Women's Day and less than a week after three female media workers from Enikass TV were gunned down by militants in the eastern city of Jalalabad in an attack claimed by the local Islamic State group affiliate.
Another woman working for the station was murdered in December. On Monday, Enikass said it had asked all remaining women staffers to stay home until security improves.
-I love journalism but I also love to live- Nadia Momand, a presenter at Enikass, told AFP.
-I'm not going to go out again unless they send me an armoured vehicle.--There is no protection for them- said Zalmai Latifi, the broadcaster's director.
-We also decided not to hire any additional women employees- he added.
The watchdog noted in a statement that "Afghanistan is celebrating International Women's Day this year at a time where security threats against journalists and media workers, especially women in the media, have intensified".
Journalists, religious scholars, activists and judges have all been victims of a recent wave of political assassinations across Afghanistan, forcing many into hiding and some to flee the country.
The killings have been acutely felt by women, whose rights were crushed under Taliban rule from 1996 to 2001 -- which included a ban on them working.
Intelligence officials have previously linked the attacks against women to demands at ongoing peace talks in Doha -- between the Kabul government and the Taliban -- for their rights to be protected.
The attacks come as speculation is rife over America's future in Afghanistan, after the administration of President Joe Biden announced plans to review the withdrawal agreement signed with the Taliban last year that paved the way for foreign troops to leave the country by May.

The Afghan Journalists Safety Committee said that more than 300 women had left the industry in recent months

A Hazara mother holds her child in a crowd celebrating International Women's Day in Bamiyan Province, Afghanistan

Afghan women leave journalism in droves as violence soars

Several hundred Muslim Uighur women in Turkey staged an International Women's Day march along the Bosphorus on Monday demanding the closure of mass incarceration camps in China's Xinjiang region.

The protesters chanted "stop the genocide" and "close the camps" as they marched within a few hundred metre's of China's walled-off consulate in Istanbul.
-Rape is a crime against humanity- said one poster, in reference to a BBC report alleging systemic rape and forced sterilisation of women at the camps -- which China says are vocational training centres designed to counter extremism.
Rights groups believe at least one million Uighurs and other mostly Muslim minorities have been incarcerated in camps spread out across the vast northwestern region.
Most of the demonstrators held up sky blue flags of Uighur separatists' self-proclaimed state of East Turkestan.
Uighurs speak a Turkic language and have cultural ties with Turkey that make it a favoured destination for avoiding persecution in Xinjiang.
But many in the 50,0000-strong community fear that Ankara's dependence on Chinese investments and coronavirus vaccines could jeapordize their future status in Turkey.
Dozens of Uighurs have been protesting outside the Chinese consulate in Istanbul for weeks, urging Turkey not to ratify an extradition agreement with China.
The Chinese parliament ratified the 2017 treaty in December.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has said that China's ratification of the pact did not mean "Turkey will release Uighurs to China".

The protesters chanted "stop the genocide" and "close the camps"

Rights groups believe at least one million Uighurs and other mostly Muslim minorities have been incarcerated in camps spread out across the vast northwestern region

Uighur women march in Istanbul against China camps

Seven suspected members of a French terror cell arrested after a massive weapons haul on the eve of the Euro 2016 football tournament go on trial on Monday in Paris.

Police discovered AK-47 assault rifles and handguns in March 2016 in an apartment in a Paris suburb rented by Reda Kriket, a 39-year-old suspected Islamist, along with the same type of explosive used during deadly attacks in Paris in November 2015. 
Kriket, who had been linked to the suspected ringleader of the Paris attacks and had been under surveillance for weeks, was arrested in another Paris suburb and charged with a terrorist conspiracy.
Prosecutors at the time said they believed he was planning to target the Euro 2016 competition, which was being held in France.
A few days later, Dutch police arrested another suspect, 37-year-old French national Anis Bahri.
Investigators said the size of the weapons haul in the Paris suburb of Argenteuil and the timing of the arrests -- days after attacks on Brussels airport and metro -- showed another attack was "imminent", but they never managed to identify a possible target.
Both Kriket and Bahri are believed to have travelled to Syria in late 2014 or early 2015.
The two men and 43-year-old Algerian national Abderrahmane Ameuroud, whose DNA was found in the Argenteuil apartment, are suspected of forming a terror cell on behalf of the Islamic State group.
Four other men aged between 38 and 44 are also accused of playing smaller roles in the suspected plot.
Kriket has denied planning an attack, telling investigators he had intended to sell the weapons to make money.
In July 2015, he was sentenced in absentia to 10 years imprisonment in Belgium over his suspected involvement in a jihadist network supplying fighters to Syria. 
One of his co-accused in that trial was Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the suspected mastermind of the Paris attacks, who was killed in a shootout with French police.
The only surviving member of the group of jihadists who massacred 130 people at the Bataclan concert hall and other venues around Paris, Salah Abdeslam, is set to go on trial in September.&nbsp;

Police discovered AK-47 assault rifles and handguns in March 2016 in an apartment in a Paris suburb rented by Reda Kriket, a 39-year-old suspected Islamist, along with the same type of explosive used during deadly attacks in Paris in November 2015.

Kriket, who had been linked to the suspected ringleader of the Paris attacks and had been under surveillance for weeks, was arrested in another Paris suburb and charged with a terrorist conspiracy

France trial over alleged 2016 Islamist attack plot

Pope Francis concluded on Monday the first-ever papal trip to Iraq, which went off without a hitch despite security worries and a second wave of coronavirus cases in the country.

The 84-year-old pontiff covered more than 1,400 kilometres (900 miles) inside the country, bringing encouragement to its diminished Christian community and extending a hand to Shiite Muslims by meeting top cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani.
-In my time among you, I have heard voices of sorrow and loss, but also voices of hope and consolation- Francis said on Sunday, concluding his last public event. 
-Now the time draws near for my return to Rome. Yet Iraq will always remain with me, in my heart.-In his packed three full days in Iraq, the Pope made more than a half-dozen speeches in nearly as many cities, repeatedly evoking hope and fraternity.
In Baghdad on Friday, he called for an end to violence and extremism and urged officials to do more to fight corruption.
Francis called the minority Yazidis "innocent victims of senseless and brutal atrocities," following the Islamic State group's rampage against their esoteric community in 2014.
He also met members of Iraq's other minorities in a moving interfaith ceremony at Ur, where the Prophet Abraham is thought to have been born. 
On Saturday, he held an extraordinary meeting with the reclusive but highly respected Sistani, who afterwards said Iraq's Christians should have the right to live in "peace."
Francis' full day in Iraq's war-battered north on Sunday embodied a cause close to his heart -- supporting traumatised Christians.
There, he said the "tragic" exodus of Christians "does incalculable harm not just to the individuals and communities concerned, but also to the society they leave behind".&nbsp;

The 84-year-old pontiff covered more than 1,400 kilometres inside the country, bringing encouragement to its diminished Christian community and extending a hand to Shiite Muslims by meeting top cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani

Iraq's President Barham Saleh (C-R) and his wife Sarbagh (C-L) escort Pope Francis (C) during the farewell ceremony for the pontiff at the Iraqi capital's Baghdad International Airport on March 8, 2021.

Pope Francis departs Iraq after historic visit

At least eight migrants and guards were killed, and scores more injured, in a fire on Sunday at a holding facility in Yemen's capital, the International Organization for Migration said. 

-Eight people confirmed dead, the total death toll is reported to be much higher- tweeted Carmela Godeau, IOM's regional director for the Middle East and North Africa. 
-IOM is responding particularly with emergency health care for over 170 injured, more than 90 of them are in a serious condition.-Godeau said that it "remains unclear" how the fire at the centre in Sanaa started, adding: -This is just one of the many dangers that migrants have faced during the past six years of the crisis in Yemen.-It is believed thousands of migrants are stranded in Yemen, where a years-long conflict has claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced millions in what the UN calls the world's worst humanitarian crisis.
Every year thousands of migrants make perilous boat journeys from the Horn of Africa to the war-torn nation, many with the aim of travelling overland to Gulf countries in search of work.
Last week, at least 20 people drowned after smugglers threw dozens of migrants overboard during a crossing between Djibouti and Yemen, according to IOM.

More than 90 of them are in a serious condition

Displaced Yemen youths sit by a calcined wooden pols after a fire broke out

At least 8 dead, 170 injured in fire at Yemen migrant facility

A Democratic congressman filed a lawsuit on Friday against former president Donald Trump, his son Donald Jr, his lawyer Rudy Giuliani and a Republican lawmaker for allegedly inciting the January 6 attack on the US Capitol.

Trump, 74, and the other defendants waged a "campaign of lies and incendiary rhetoric" which led to the assault on Congress, Representative Eric Swalwell of California charged in the civil suit filed in a US District Court in Washington.
Another Democratic congressman, Representative Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, filed a similar suit against Trump last month.
Both suits cite a little used law, the Ku Klux Klan Act, to make the case against the former president.
The 1871 rule was designed to prevent the white supremacist KKK from intimidating elected officials.
Trump, Donald Jr, Giuliani and Representative Mo Brooks, a congressman from Alabama, all spoke at a rally which preceded the January 6 attack on Congress by Trump supporters seeking to block the certification of Democrat Joe Biden's election victory.
-Unable to accept defeat, Donald Trump waged an all out war on a peaceful transition of power- Swalwell said in a statement announcing the lawsuit.
-He lied to his followers again and again claiming the election was stolen- he said, -and finally called upon his supporters to descend on Washington DC to 'stop the steal.'--The defendants assembled, inflamed and incited the mob, and as such are wholly responsible for the injury and destruction that followed- Swalwell said.
The suit demanded unspecified monetary and punitive damages to be determined at a jury trial.
Swalwell was one of the impeachment managers for Trump's trial in the Senate on the charge of inciting insurrection.
Trump was impeached by the Democratic-majority House of Representatives for his role in inciting the attack on the Capitol but acquitted by the Senate.
Thompson and the NAACP, a civil rights organization, filed suit against Trump, Giuliani and two right-wing groups, the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, last month.
Jason Miller, a Trump spokesman, responded to the latest lawsuit in a statement to The Washington Post. "Eric Swalwell is a low-life with no credibility," Miller said.

Jason Miller, a Trump spokesman, responded to the latest lawsuit in a statement to The Washington Post: "Eric Swalwell is a low-life with no credibility"

Trump facing another lawsuit over Capitol attack

A prominent German-Turkish lawyer said Friday that her family needed security as they continue to get death threats from neo-Nazis with ties to extremists within the ranks of police departments.

Lawyer Seda Basay-Yildiz, who represented families of the Turkish victims killed by the NSU, a neo-Nazi terror group, told local media that she has recently received another letter containing a death threat.
Basay-Yildiz said the letter had the signature of “NSU 2.0,“ a reference to the National Socialist Underground (NSU), which killed 10 people, including eight Turkish and one Greek immigrant as well as a police officer, between 2000 and 2007.
She criticized authorities in the central state of Hesse for failing to conduct an effective investigation against those police officers who took her personal information from official records, and shared them with the neo-Nazis.
Basay-Yildiz said although she moved to a new house after receiving the first serious threats in August 2018, her new address was also given to the far-right extremists, along with the names and other personal details of her family members.
Several police officers in Frankfurt were suspended in 2019 following an initial investigation by Hesse’s Interior Ministry but death threats with the signature of “NSU 2.0” continued since then, Basay-Yildiz told German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.
Despite the ministry’s failure to protect her personal information in official records, authorities have declined to pay the costs of additional security protection which was recommended by the local police, the daily reported.
-My family has become an open target, but Hesse’s Interior Minister is not willing to take any responsibility- Basay-Yildiz said, criticizing the conservative minister Peter Beuth.

German-Turkish lawyer says threat letters are linked to extremists within ranks of police in state of Hesse

Lawyer Seda Basay-Yildiz: My family has become an open target

Lawyer continues to gets death threats from neo-Nazis

New Zealand on Friday said a tsunami warning issued in response to powerful earthquakes that struck the island nation have been canceled.

-The National Advisory issued following the earthquakes near the Kermadac island region is canceled- said a statement by New Zealand’s National Emergency Management Agency.
Earlier, powerful earthquakes measuring 8.1 and 7.3 on Richter scale hit the northern parts of New Zealand triggering a tsunami alert for the region.
The two earthquakes hit the country in less than six hours apart.
Following a government warning, people in the Bay of Islands, Whangarei, the Great Barrier Islands, and from Matata to Tolaga Bay, including Whakatane and Opotiki, rushed to high ground in the region.

2 earthquakes of 8.1, 7.3 on Richter scale hit northern parts triggering tsunami alert

The two earthquakes hit the country in less than six hours apart

New Zealand cancel tsunami alert issued after quakes

The 11 Turkish soldiers martyred by a helicopter crash were honored by state and military funeral services on Friday.

Besides the martyred soldiers, including one corps commander, two other soldiers were injured when a military helicopter crashed in the eastern Bitlis province on Thursday.
Contact with the Cougar-type military helicopter, which took off from Bingol for the Tatvan district of Bitlis at 1.55 PM local time (1055GMT), was lost at 2.25 PM (1125GMT).
The state ceremony was held in Ahmet Hamdi Akseki Mosque in the capital Ankara for 8th Corps Commander Lt. Gen. Osman Erbas, Technical Sgt. Nazmi Yilmaz, Col. Senturk Aydinyer, Lt. Salih Sarioglu, Chief Master Sgt. Mehmet Demir, Master Sgt. Omer Umulu, Lt. Cpts. Tayfun Kures and Gokhan Uysal, Staff Sgt. Sukru Karadirek, and Specialized Sgts. Tolga Demirci and Hakan Gul.
The funeral prayers were performed following the Friday prayers.
Speaking at the ceremony, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan wished patience for the families of the deceased and conveyed his condolences.
Erdogan remembered Erbas with gratitude, saying he was a very humble person.
The service was also attended by Parliament Speaker Mustafa Sentop, Vice President Fuat Oktay, political party leaders, as well as ministers, commanders, and officials.
Bodies of Erbas, Aydinyer, Sarioglu, Kures, and Uysal will be buried in Ankara, while Karadirek will be laid to rest in the western Afyonkarahisar province later in the day.
Other martyrs will be sent to their hometowns to be buried on Saturday.
Before the state ceremony, a military funeral was held in the eastern Elazig province with the attendance of National Defense Minister Hulusi Akar, Chief of General Staff Gen. Yasar Guler, Deputy Interior Minister Ismail Catakli, Elazig Governor Erkaya Yirik, Bingol Governor Kadir Ekinci, other commanders, families of the martyrs, and officials.
Following the funeral, the bodies of the martyrs were sent to Ankara for the state ceremony.

State, military funerals held for 11 soldiers martyred in helicopter crash

Speaking at the ceremony, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan wished patience for the families of the deceased and conveyed his condolences

State ceremony held for martyrs from crash

Cyprus will open its doors from May 1 to British tourists who have been vaccinated against Covid-19, a government minister said.

The coronavirus pandemic has devastated the Mediterranean island's vital tourism industry, with arrivals slumping to 631,609 in 2020 from nearly four million in 2019.
-We informed the British government that as of May 1, we would facilitate the arrival of British citizens immunised with EU-licenced vaccines to enter Cyprus with no negative Covid-19 test and no quarantine- Tourism Minister Savvas Perdios said, quoted by the state-funded Cyprus News Agency.
Perdios said the policy was subject to the British government's Covid-19 restrictions, which currently ban international travel.
The announcement comes after Cyprus and Israel agreed a deal last month allowing vaccinated citizens of the two countries to travel each way without limitations, once passenger flights resume.
-This is a very important development for tourism and follows the arrangement with Israel, as they are two of Cyprus' main tourist markets- said Perdios.
Britain is the island's largest market for tourists, making up a third of its arrivals in 2019, while nearby Israel is its third-biggest source.
Under the Cypriot government's plan, UK citizens who have received the second dose of a Covid vaccine at least seven days before travelling would be allowed entry, but could still be subject to random testing at airports.
Britons would also still have to comply with health protocols such as mandatory mask-wearing and social distancing.
Although Cyprus has imposed two national lockdowns during the year-long pandemic, it has had a milder outbreak than many other European Union countries.
The Republic of Cyprus has recorded 232 coronavirus deaths and 36,004 infections since the onset of the pandemic.

The coronavirus pandemic has devastated the Mediterranean island's vital tourism industry

The announcement comes after Cyprus and Israel agreed a deal last month allowing vaccinated citizens of the two countries to travel each way without limitations, once passenger flights resume

Cyprus opens doors to vaccinated British tourists

Police in Myanmar on Friday opened fire on protesters against last month’s military coup, killing one man, as international condemnation rained down on the junta ahead of a United Nations Security Council meeting to discuss the crisis.The violence took place as the military lost a tussle over leadership of its U.N. mission in New York and the United States announced new sanctions targeting military conglomerates after the deaths of dozens of civilian protesters.
Activists demanding the restoration of the elected government of veteran democracy champion Aung San Suu Kyi held more demonstrations in several towns and cities, with a crowd of thousands marching peacefully through the second city of Mandalay.
-The stone age is over, we’re not scared because you threaten us- the crowd chanted.
Police opened fire and one man was killed, witnesses and a doctor told Reuters by telephone.
In the main city of Yangon, police fired rubber bullets and stun grenades to disperse protesters who had been joined by about 100 doctors in white coats, witnesses said.
Crowds also gathered in the town of Pathein, to the west of Yangon, and in central Myingyan, where dozens of women in straw hats held up signs calling for Suu Kyi’s release, witnesses said.
On Thursday, police broke up rallies with tear gas and gunfire in several cities but their crackdown was more restrained than on Wednesday, when the United Nations said 38 people were killed in the bloodiest day of protests.
In all, at least 55 people have been killed since the Feb. 1 coup.

U.N. human rights chief Michelle Bachelet demanded the security forces halt what she called their “vicious crackdown on peaceful protesters”. Bachelet said more than 1,700 people had been arrested, including 29 journalists.

A spokesman for the ruling military council did not answer telephone calls seeking comment.
Singapore has been the most outspoken of Myanmar’s neighbours and its foreign minister, Vivian Balakrishnan, said it was a “national shame” for armed forces to use weapons against their people.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said some Red Cross volunteers had been injured and wrongfully arrested and Red Cross ambulances had been damaged. It called for a halt to the violence.
The military seized power on Feb. 1, saying that the landslide victory of Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) in an election in November was fraudulent. The electoral commission has said the ballot was fair.
The junta has promised to hold new elections at an unspecified date, but activists have rejected that and demand the release of Suu Kyi, who has been held in detention since the coup.

Condemnation of the coup and subsequent violence has come largely from the West, with Mynamar’s Asian neighbours, including India, mostly more restrained. The junta can count on some support from Russia and China - a major investor - at the United Nations.The military has weathered isolation and sanctions during previous eras of rule by generals and has indicated it will not be swayed this time round.
The U.N. human rights investigator on Myanmar, Thomas Andrews, urged the Security Council - which meets to discuss the situation later on Friday - to impose a global arms embargo and targeted economic sanctions on the junta.
The United States has told China, which has declined to condemn the coup, that it expects it to play a constructive role. China has said stability is a top priority.
The military, which ruled directly for nearly 50 years until it embarked on a tentative transition to democracy a decade ago, has been struggling to impose its authority on a country where many people abhor the thought of a return of army rule.

A civil disobedience campaign of strikes running parallel with the protests has been supported by many government workers including a trickle of policemen. Nineteen policemen crossed into India this week fearing persecution for disobeying orders, Indian police told Reuters.

More than 10 Myanmar diplomats in foreign missions have also declared their support for the pro-democracy campaign, the Irrawaddy news outlet reported. In Washington, it was unclear whether Myanmar’s embassy was still representing the junta.
Opposition to the junta has also united people across the ethnically diverse country.
In eastern Myanmar, former insurgents from the Karen ethnic minority guarded anti-coup protesters from security forces, saying in a statement everyone had to work together to end military dictatorship.
In New York, a clash over who represents Myanmar at the United Nations was averted after the junta’s replacement quit and the Myanmar U.N. mission confirmed that Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun remained in the job.The junta fired Kyaw Moe Tun on Saturday after he urged countries at the U.N. General Assembly to use “any means necessary” to reverse the coup.

In all, at least 55 people have been killed since the Feb. 1 coup.

Smoke rise from burning objects during a protest in Yangon, Myanmar, March 4, 2021, in this still image taken from a video.

Russia urges US, Iran to coordinate return to nuclear deal

Nigeria eases curfew in town of kidnapped schoolgirls

Syrian president, wife test positive for COVID-19

Turkish president vows to better women’s status

Biden salutes Pope's 'historic' visit to Iraq

Afghan women leave journalism in droves as violence soars

Uighur women march in Istanbul against China camps

France trial over alleged 2016 Islamist attack plot

Pope Francis departs Iraq after historic visit

At least 8 dead, 170 injured in fire at Yemen migrant facility

Trump facing another lawsuit over Capitol attack

Lawyer continues to gets death threats from neo-Nazis

New Zealand cancel tsunami alert issued after quakes

State ceremony held for martyrs from crash

Cyprus opens doors to vaccinated British tourists

Myanmar police open fire, kill one protester, ahead of U.N. Security Council meeting on crisis

World

Russia urges US, Iran to coordinate return to nuclear deal

Nigeria eases curfew in town of kidnapped schoolgirls

Syrian president, wife test positive for COVID-19

Turkish president vows to better women’s status

Biden salutes Pope's 'historic' visit to Iraq

Afghan women leave journalism in droves as violence soars

Uighur women march in Istanbul against China camps

France trial over alleged 2016 Islamist attack plot

Pope Francis departs Iraq after historic visit

At least 8 dead, 170 injured in fire at Yemen migrant facility

Trump facing another lawsuit over Capitol attack

Lawyer continues to gets death threats from neo-Nazis

New Zealand cancel tsunami alert issued after quakes

State ceremony held for martyrs from crash

Cyprus opens doors to vaccinated British tourists

Myanmar police open fire, kill one protester, ahead of U.N. Security Council meeting on crisis