Myanmar, Pakistan, Singapore
Today's three stories you should know
Myanmar
Myanmar's detained former leader and longtime democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi has appeared in public, providing the first sign of life from the Nobel Peace Prize winner since a letter to her son two and a half years ago. Suu Kyi met with a delegation from the International Committee of the Red Cross after growing concerns about the health of the 81-year-old. Myanmar collapsed into civil war in early 2021 after the military toppled a democratically elected government led by Suu Kyi. The junta’s decision to allow the meeting and release photos of it may indicate a desire to end its diplomatic isolation.
More from BBC here.
Episode 10 of The Proximities Podcast is now live. This week, we were joined from the epicenter of the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo by Dr. Abdou Sebushishe of the International Medical Corps. Dr. Abdou gave us an update from the frontlines, told us personal stories of people who have contracted the virus and reflected on his experiences as a Congolese doctor facing down an outbreak in his own community.
Our conversation is on Apple Podcasts here, Spotify here and YouTube here.
Pakistan
A suspected suicide bomber has killed at least 17 people outside a police station in northwestern Pakistan, police said, as the country grapples with increasing insecurity. Locals were holding a pro-police rally at the time, but it was not immediately clear whether it was the intended target. The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan armed group claimed responsibility in a statement. Attacks on police and the military have escalated sharply in recent months in Pakistan’s border areas. The government in Islamabad blames the ruling Taliban in Afghanistan for the attacks and says it is harboring armed groups. The Taliban denies that.
More from Reuters here.
Singapore
British band Massive Attack has said members were detained in Singapore and “isolated and separately questioned” after two of the group unfurled a Palestinian flag at a concert last week. In a statement on Instagram, the band said several members had their hotel rooms searched and passports confiscated. Robert Del Naja and Grant Marshall held the flag over their heads as the crowd chanted “Free Palestine.” Singapore does not allow the display of foreign emblems, and the Palestinian flag is considered especially sensitive due to a significant Muslim minority. “We did not imagine that merely holding up the flag of a sovereign state recognized by 157 countries would violate any law,” the band said.
More from NBC here.