13 killed in Myanmar junta strike on rebel-occupied ruby mine
Civil war has consumed Myanmar since the military seized power in a 2021 coup, sparking resistance from pro-democracy guerillas who found common cause with long-active ethnic armed groups.
Their scattered forces initially struggled to make headway, but a combined offensive starting in late 2023 seized swathes of territory, including the town of Mogok – the centre of the ruby trade.
Myanmar is rich in precious stones and rare earth elements coveted by all factions and sold, mostly to neighbouring China, to boost war chests.
A junta spokesperson could not be reached for comment.
However, a local who declined to be named for security reasons said the strike took place around 8.15am, killing seven instantly, with six dying later of their wounds.
He said among the dead were a Buddhist monk collecting alms and a father and son who were riding the same motorbike.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South China Morning Post
11 minutes ago
- South China Morning Post
When a family and servant were murdered in their Macau restaurant in 1985
On August 4, 1985, a family of nine and their servant were murdered in the Eight Immortals Restaurant in Macau. Advertisement Investigations began when severed limbs were discovered in waters off Hak Sa beach the same month, but it was not until September 1986 that Wong Chi-hung was arrested. The 50-year-old man, who was charged with 10 counts of murder, would later kill himself in prison. Police subsequently closed their files on the case. A clipping from SCMP's August 9, 1985 issue. Photo: SCMP The murder is considered one of the most brutal in Macau's history and is sometimes referred to as the 'pork bun murders', owing to grisly speculation that some of the victims' remains were served in the restaurant's signature pork buns. In this On This Day article, we take a look at the Post's coverage of the gruesome crime. Man charged in 'limbs' murder case by Tommy Lewis Advertisement This article was first published on October 1, 1986
South China Morning Post
41 minutes ago
- South China Morning Post
Ex-Huawei employees sentenced to jail for stealing semiconductor-related secrets
A Shanghai court sentenced 14 former Huawei Technologies employees to jail for stealing chip-related business secrets from the company, the state-owned Securities Times newspaper reported on Saturday. According to the report, the Shanghai Third Intermediate People's Court on July 28 sentenced 14 employees of Zunpai Communication Technology, a start-up founded by engineers from Huawei's chip development unit HiSilicon , to jail terms of up to six years on top of financial penalties. The court has not published the verdict on its website and it is not known whether the engineers will appeal the ruling. Huawei did not immediately reply to a request for comment. The case sent shock waves through China's semiconductor industry and highlighted the issue of intellectual property theft on the mainland. According to the Securities Times report, Zhang Kun, a former researcher at HiSilicon, left Huawei in 2019 and founded Zunpai in March 2021 to develop Wi-fi communication chips. Zhang managed to persuade some of his former colleagues to join him at the start-up. Huawei Technologies quickly took action against Zunpai. According to a legal document published in August 2023, Shanghai HiSilicon Technology, a Huawei subsidiary, applied to the Shanghai Intellectual Property Court to freeze 95 million yuan (US$13.1 million) worth of assets under Zunpai and its subsidiaries.
South China Morning Post
2 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
F1 tycoon Ong Beng Seng admits guilt in Singapore's Iswaran corruption case
Ong Beng Seng, a Singapore -based billionaire hotelier and architect of the city state's Formula One Grand Prix , pleaded guilty on Monday to abetting former transport minister S. Iswaran in a corruption scandal. Ong, a 79-year-old Malaysian national, entered a guilty plea to a single charge of abetting Iswaran in obstructing justice, admitting to relaying sensitive information about an ongoing anti-corruption investigation to the then minister. His sentencing is scheduled for August 15. The case has riveted Singapore, a nation that consistently tops global anti-corruption rankings and prides itself on the probity of its public officials, who are among the world's best paid. Iswaran was sentenced to 12 months' imprisonment by a High Court judge last October after being convicted on four counts of accepting gifts from individuals with whom he had professional dealings as a public servant, and one charge of obstructing justice. According to court documents, Ong's offence centred on phone conversations held in May 2023. The majority shareholder of Singapore GP Pte Ltd – the company that organised the Singapore F1 Grand Prix – was informed by his associates on May 18 that the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau had seized a flight manifest detailing a trip to Doha. Ong then passed this information to Iswaran, the court heard, who subsequently requested that Singapore GP invoice him S$5,700 (US$4,260) for a business class ticket from Doha to Singapore.
