By AFP 01 February 2023 | 2:14 pm Myanmar’s National Defence and Security Council have agreed to extend the country’s state of emergency by six months, state media said Wednesday, likely delaying elections the junta had pledged to hold by August. A man rides his trishaw an almost empty street during a “silent strike” to protest and mark the second anniversary of the military coup in Yangon on February 1, 2023. – Streets in commercial hub Yangon were largely emptied from late morning, AFP correspondents said, after activists called for people across the country to close businesses and stay indoors from 10 am (0330 GMT) to 4 pm. (Photo by STR / AFP) Myanmar’s National Defence and Security Council have agreed to extend the country’s state of emergency by six months, state media said Wednesday, likely delaying elections the junta had pledged to hold by August. Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing’s request to prolong the state of emergency declared when the generals toppled Aung San Suu Kyi’s government in February 2021 was granted, state broadcaster MRTV said. The “state of emergency will be extended for another six months starting from February 1”, Acting President Myint Swe was quoted as saying. “Sovereign power of the state has been transferred to the commander in chief again,” he added. The state of emergency was due to expire at the end of January but on Tuesday the junta-stacked National Defence and Security Council met to discuss the state of the nation and concluded it “has not returned to normalcy yet”. Junta opponents, including anti-coup “People’s Defence Forces” and a shadow government dominated by lawmakers from Suu Kyi’s party, had tried to seize “state power by means of unrest and violence”, the military’s information team said in a statement. Latest 40 mins ago Leicester chairman Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha has relieved the club of an outstanding £194 million ($239 million) debt which had been owed to parent company King Power International (KPI). 1 hour ago The Supreme Court on Wednesday nullified the nomination of Emmanuel Bwacha as the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Taraba State. A five-member panel led by Kudirat Kekere-Ekun delivered the judgment on Wednesday. A federal high court in Jalingo, Taraba state, first sacked Bwacha as the APC’s governorship candidate in September 2022… 1 hour ago The All Progressives Congress presidential campaign council (APC PCC) says the conspiracy against the presidential aspiration of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu by forces within the presidential villa should not be seen as a surprising development. APC PCC’s Director strategic communications, Mr Dele Alake insist that Tinubu remains unbeatable in the presidential poll scheduled to hold… 1 hour ago In a bid to improve technology in the country, a social enterprise, Teens can code in collaboration with Lagos State Science Research and Innovation Council (LASRIC) has unveiled the STEM 360 program with a focus on skills development for secondary school students living in underserved communities of Lagos by expanding access to computer science education and coding opportunities that produce digital transformation literacy. 1 hour ago The presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) Peter Obi has sent his message of condolence to the Government and people of Jigawa over the death of the Emir of Dutse, Alhaji Mohammed Nuhu Sanusi ll. Obi in a statement said, “It is with deep shock, but with submission to the will of Almighty Allah,…
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