HE WAS IN EXILE THERE

'Islamic State' military leader arrested in Turkey

An Afghan national, codenamed Basim and who allegedly led the terrorist group's military structure, has been detained in Istanbul.

IS fighters in Syria hold up the terror group's flag in August 2015

The alleged military head of the "Islamic State" (IS) terror group was arrested in Turkey, a police statement said on Sunday.

Codenamed Basim, the Afghan national has been dubbed the right-hand man of dead IS leader Abu Bakr al Baghdadi.

Basim was detained in a suburb of Istanbul and had been traveling on a fake passport, according to the police statement.

Basim had reportedly disappeared months after the terrorist group was overrun in Syria and Iraq in December 2017.

Watch video03:26 'Islamic State' revival in Syria 'a question of time': Journalist Amir Musawy

Turkish media published a photograph of a balding, bearded man in a light coat following the arrest and an earlier image, purportedly of the same person, showing a long-haired, heavily bearded man in military fatigues wielding a curved sword.

The Demiroren news agency said Basim was suspected of organizing training for IS while in Syria and Iraq, as well as serving on its decision-making council.

NTV reported that Basim was being interrogated after a joint operation by the National Intelligence Organization (MIT) and Istanbul's police force.

IS leader Baghdadi killed himself in October 2019 by detonating a suicide vest during a US-led raid on his hideout in Syria's northwestern Idlib province.

Turkey regularly detains IS suspects, many allegedly planning attacks in the country

#STOPFEMICIDE #ENDPATRIARCHY #ENDMISOGYNY

In Guatemala, women fear for their lives

At least 160 women have been killed in the first four months of 2021 in Guatemala — more than one per day. Amid more than 20,000 complaints of violence, few facilities are available for women to get help.



Violence against women hasn't been seen as a serious problem in Guatemala, but protests are growing

Luz Maria had found her dream job. At just 25, she began working at the Guatemalan department of public prosecution. Her main task as a criminologist was to take photographs of victims of violence and the scenes where it had taken place. She always said that her work gave a voice to people who had had their lives stolen from them.

She had her own life stolen from her in mid-January. Garbage collectors found her body, wrapped in plastic, next to a canal in Guatemala City. She was the mother of a 1-year-old.

Since then, her partner has been in pre-trial detention. Neighbors of the couple had regularly heard her screaming loudly when he beat her, but no one thought it necessary to call the police. Instead, they later anonymously sent Maria's mother a recording on which her daughter could be heard pleading for help.

Luz Maria was the latest high-profile victim in a country where just being a woman is a risk factor. The number of women murdered in Guatemala has been hitting record levels amid the restrictions on movement imposed during the coronavirus pandemic. At least one woman has been falling victim to such a murder every day. For many Guatemalan women, mere survival has become a challenge.

Watch video03:50 Violence against women rife

Lack of protection

Silvia Trujillo was born in Uruguay and grew up in Argentina, but she said she first became a feminist in Guatemala. She moved there 20 years ago and has since worked both as a sociologist and the editor of La Cuerda, an internet portal with a "feminist view on reality," according to its website.

"We live here in a state that is incapable of protecting its women and where the political will to do so is lacking. This is compounded by the way society is so pervaded by machismo that violence against women is often not reported," she said.

This year, there have been 161 femicides and more than 20,000 complaints of violence against women, including almost 3,000 rapes. But the perpetrators don't fear any consequences: Fewer than 3% of sexual offenders end up behind bars, according to statistics from the past few years.

"The message you send to society with this is: 'You can do anything here; there will be no consequences.' And that leads to a culture of impunity that is horrifying," said Trujillo.

Growing protests

But something is starting to change in Guatemala. Many women have had enough of being seen as targets for violence and having to fear for their lives every day. In early March, thousands of Guatemalan women got behind the campaign "Tengo Miedo" ("I am scared") and took to the streets in protest against sexual violence.

Watch video 02:42 Young people fight against gender-based violence

"This is more a cemetery than a country," one banner stated. The women called out: "My girlfriends protect me, not the police." But it says quite a lot about Guatemala that one of the initiators of the campaign, who worked in public administration, was fired shortly afterward.

"Here, there is still the sexist attitude that women are not capable of making decisions, for example," said Trujillo. "That is why they earn a quarter less than their male colleagues and why there are just 10 women among the 340 mayors in Guatemala."
Abortion still a criminal offense

Carmen Quintela is another woman who wants to change this state of affairs. Quintela, a Spanish journalist, ended up in Guatemala eight years ago. Today, she is a member of the team running the most important independent news portal in the country, Ocote. The website recently exposed the rape of a woman by two policemen whom she had previously called for help.

"Violence against women is part of everyday life here; it is normal, and no one is surprised when a new femicide comes to light," said Quintela. "Even as young girls, women are just objects that are sexually abused by their uncles, grandfathers or brothers. The result is thousands of teenage pregnancies every year."

Watch video 02:33 Calls for tougher stance on femicide in Germany

But in this extremely Catholic country, even women who have been the victims of rape are forbidden to have an abortion. A bid to amend the law three years ago was vehemently rejected. Abortions, which have always been a taboo topic in Guatemala, continue to be considered a criminal offense; many women end up in prison for years for having had one.
Little help for abused women

The government has done little to introduce necessary, and long overdue, reforms. A year ago, as one of his first acts in office, President Alejandro Giammattei slashed the budget of the so-called Presidential Secretariat for Women, which is meant to protect women's rights.

The few facilities for women where they can receive psychological and legal assistance after suffering sexual abuse or find temporary shelter are neglected by the government. "The staff there often have to wait months to be paid," said Quintela. "As a consequence, many of them resign. The victims are the ones to suffer. Women in Guatemala who have suffered abuse do not receive the necessary support.

Quintela criticizes the fact that to this day, Guatemala does not consider violence against women to be a social problem. One glaring example: Victims of sexual violence are now able to report their abuse to a hotline, available in four languages. However, in Guatemala that's not nearly enough — 22 languages are spoken in all.

This article has been translated from German.

Berlin police denounce May Day violence
NEXT TIME JOIN YOUR UNION BROTHERS AND SISTERS
The German police union said more than 90 officers were injured during the evening "riots" that followed protests to mark International Workers' Day.



Hundreds of people were detained during Saturday's protest in Berlin


Berlin's police chief Barbara Slowik on Sunday hit out at violent attacks on police officers during May Day protests a day earlier, describing them as "unacceptable."

The rallies, to mark International Workers' Day rallies, had gone ahead without incident during the day, involving up to 30,000 people.

But by evening, tensions rose when police pulled far-left protesters out of the crowd for not adhering to pandemic hygiene regulations such as social distancing.

Heavy scuffles ensued, with protesters throwing glass bottles and stones at police and setting dustbins and wooden pallets ablaze in the streets.

DW journalist Elliot Douglas tweeted photos from the scene of one of the fires, in the suburb of Neukölln shortly before curfew

The fire brigade was brought in, and police used water cannon, to extinguish the fires.




Several officers injured, hundreds arrested

At least 93 officers were injured by the time the protests was broken up and 354 people were detained, according to the state of Berlin's Interior Ministry.

"Violence against police officers and a blind, destructive rage has nothing to do with political protest," state Interior Minister Andreas Geisel said.

Slowik admitted the "situation did degenerate but was quickly brought under control."

The German capital had deployed around 5,600 officers on Saturday to monitor the May Day protests, which have turned violent in the past.

Similar protests took place elsewhere in Germany and around the world, some of which also descended into skirmishes.

In Paris, police fired tear gas at protesters who smashed windows of bank branches, set fire to dustbins and threw projectiles at police.

mm/rc (AFP, dpa)

Over 50 police injured, 250 detained in Berlin May Day riots


1 of 10

Police officers stand in front of a fire set up by demonstrators during a May Day rally in Berlin, Germany, Saturday, May 1, 2021. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

BERLIN (AP) — More than 50 police officers were injured and over 250 protesters were detained after traditional May Day rallies in Berlin turned violent, the German Police Union said Sunday.

More than 20 different rallies took place in the German capital on Saturday and the vast majority of them were peaceful. However, a leftist march of 8,000 people through the city’s Neukoelln and Kreuzberg neighborhood, which has often seen clashes in past decades, turned violent. Protesters threw bottles and rocks at officers, and burned garbage containers and wooden pallets in the streets.

“We don’t have any final numbers, but regarding the known more than 50 injured colleagues and more than 250 detainments, it’s clear that we were far removed from a peaceful May 1,” Stephan Kelm, Berlin’s deputy chief of the police union, told German news agency dpa.

He condemned the throwing of bottles and rocks and the burning barricades on the streets, saying, “These are clear signs that it’s not about political expression but that the right to assemble was abused to commit severe crimes.”

There’s a nightly curfew in most parts of Germany currently because of the high number of coronavirus infections. But political protests and religious gatherings are exempt

 from the curfew.

 

Police officers detain a demonstrator during a May Day rally in Berlin, Germany, Saturday, May 1, 2021. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

Berlin police slam 'unacceptable' May Day violence

AFP Issued on: 02/05/2021 

The German capital deployed around 5,600 officers on Saturday to monitor the May Day protests Tobias SCHWARZ AFP


Berlin (AFP)

Berlin police on Sunday said they had arrested some 240 people after May Day rallies descended into "unacceptable" violence that saw protesters pelt officers with stones and bottles and set fire to bins.

More than 30,000 people from across the political spectrum took part in several marches in the German capital on Saturday as part of the traditional Labour Day workers' rights demonstrations.

Most of the demonstrations passed off peacefully, police said.

But the mood darkened in the evening after police pulled far-left "black block" protesters out of the crowd for not adhering to pandemic hygiene regulations such as social distancing.

Along with thousands of others, they had been marching in the "Revolutionary May Day" demonstration to protest racism, capitalism and rising rents in the city.

Heavy scuffles ensued, with protesters throwing glass bottles and stones at police and setting dustbins and wooden pallets ablaze in the streets.

Around 20 officers were injured by the time the protest was broken up, Berlin police said.

"Violence during demonstrations is absolutely unacceptable," said Berlin police chief Barbara Slowik.

"The situation did degenerate but was quickly brought under control," she added.

The German capital had deployed around 5,600 officers on Saturday to monitor the May Day protests, which have turned violent in the past.

Similar protests took place around the world, some of which also descended into skirmishes.

© 2021 AFP

DW journalist attacked by Kenyan police at protest in Nairobi

The attack on a DW correspondent comes ahead of World Press Freedom Day on May 3.

Police fired tear gas canisters at DW's East Africa correspondent Mariel Müller while she was covering a protest in Nairobi. Amnesty International and the Foreign Press Association of Africa have condemned the attack.

Watch video 03:31 DW journalist Mariel Müller on police attack in Kenya

A Deutsche Welle correspondent was attacked by police while covering a demonstration in Nairobi on Saturday.

Kenyan authorities fired tear gas canisters at DW's East Africa correspondent Mariel Müller with one canister grazing her and a second injuring her leg while she was conducting an interview.

'You just shot me'

Müller was covering a peaceful protest against police brutality and coronavirus lockdown measures in central Nairobi at the time of the attack.

Around 40 protesters gathered to voice their opposition to COVID restrictions and the economic impact on poorer communities. The demonstrators were careful to adhere to social distancing rules "to not anger the police," Müller told DW.

"The police were there and observed the first part [of the protest] and then eventually started firing tear gas," she said.

The first time Müller was struck, she said she was grazed by a canister when police began launching tear gas in the direction of protesters and reporters.

Police moved in with batons and detained several demonstrators. One man was shoved in a truck after police tried to take away the sign he was holding.

After a while, "it appeared as if the situation had calmed down," said Müller. She and the camera team moved to the sidelines of the demonstration and began interviewing an older woman taking part in the protest.

"We noticed that something was happening. But then it was too late — a shot was fired. I noticed that my leg started hurting and that I'd been hit there," she said.

The canister was shot from a tear gas launcher.

"It's not like they just throw [the canister] and then it's on the ground and rolls somewhere, but it's really a gun," she said. "They load the gun with these small silver canisters."

Müller added that police appeared to be purposefully aiming at her and the camera crew.

She approached authorities afterward, telling the officer who had been firing the canisters: "You just shot me, you just hit me in my leg."

The officer denied it and walked away, "but he knew exactly what had happened," Müller said.

DW condemns targeted attack

DW Director General Peter Limbourg strongly condemned the attack and called for an investigation.

"We condemn this act of police violence. Any attack against the media must be investigated and lead to consequences," he said.

 

DW Editor-in-Chief Manuela Kasper-Claridge called the attack "absolutely unacceptable," adding that "freedom of the press has to be protected."

Amnesty International's Kenya branch also called for authorities to launch an investigation, and slammed "the brutal attack on journalists and protesters" in Nairobi.

The Foreign Press Association of Africa criticized the actions of the police officer who "deliberately" fired on Müller.

"No journalist should be harmed while doing their jobs," responded the Foreign Correspondent's Association of East Africa, adding that they were "extremely disturbed" by the reports.

Journalists increasingly targeted

A UNESCO report published in September found that journalists "have been increasingly attacked, arrested and even killed" while covering protests.

The report also revealed a "wider upward trend" in the use of force by security forces and police at demonstrations.

According to media watchdog Reporters Without Borders, 54 media workers were killed in 2020.

The attack on a DW correspondent comes ahead of World Press Freedom Day on May 3.

DW's Andreas Noll contributed reporting to this article.

Why doesn't Pakistan tap its solar power potential?

Pakistan's sunny climate makes it a perfect place to develop solar power. But it still depends on dirty fossil fuels, and is building more coal power plants.



Pakistani environmentalists want the government to invest more in solar power

Pakistan has immense potential for generating electricity through solar power. Almost all parts of the South Asian country are dry and hot, barring a few areas in the northwest.

However, the country currently only produces a meager 1.16% of its electricity through solar power and 64% with fossil fuels. Other electricity sources include hydropower at 27% and nuclear at 5%. Renewable energy sources count for only 4% of total electricity production.

Despite being located in a region severely affected by climate change, Pakistan continues to invest in environmentally unfriendly methods of power production.

Recently, the government approved seven Chinese-funded coal power projects, which will add up to 6,600 megawatts to the national grid in the coming years.
Political support needed for renewables

Last year, Prime Minister Imran Khan's government promised that Pakistan would produce 60% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030. This would require Pakistan to install around 24,000 megawatts of solar and wind power capacity by 2030, up from just over 1,500 megawatts now.

Watch video03:05 Pakistan: Can solar energy remedy power woes at health centers in the Thar desert?

Environmentalists have said that building solar power is well within the nation's capabilities, if there is enough political will to support development.

Hassan Abbas, an environmentalist, told DW that Pakistan could conceivably generate more than 2,900 gigawatts of solar power capacity. For reference, 1 gigawatt could power 110 million LED lights, according to the US Department of Energy.

"There are influential bureaucrats, policymakers and hydropower lobbies that are against solar energy," said Abbas.

"An outdated solar system installed in Punjab by China lent credence to the claims of skeptics who assert solar would not work in Pakistan," he added.

Abbas said that developing solar power would be cheaper than hydroelectric power, and claimed that a $10 billion (€8.3 billion) investment in solar power could generate 50 to 60 gigawatts of capacity. This would represent 10 times more than what is produced from the Tarbela and Mangla dams, two large hydropower projects.
What is holding solar power back?

Ghazala Reza, a Pakistani energy expert, told DW that many factors are keeping solar power from flourishing. These include complications in finding space for solar farms, procedural delays in construction approvals and unattractive tariffs for selling power to national grid.

"Lack of political will and reluctance of government investment dash the hopes of generating electricity through this sustainable method," Reza said.

Watch video02:32 Explained: Renewable energy

Economist Shahida Wizarat said the high costs of initial investment is hampering the growth of solar power, even if diversifying energy sources makes economic sense in the long run.

However, not all Pakistani economists agree. Azra Talat Saeed warns against investing heavily in solar power without taking all factors into consideration. She told DW that although solar power is much better for the environment than fossil fuels, solar technology runs the risk of increasing Pakistan's dependence on technology owned by the US and China.

"Solar panels also occupy much space if installed on a massive scale, this could greatly hurt our agriculture, exacerbating food insecurity. Their durability is also an issue besides the huge initial investment, which can only be made by big landlords and not by poor farmers," Saeed said.

Pakistan still suffers power shortages

Energy expert Reza added it would be a bad idea to dismantle existing power plants, which can operate for decades, in exchange for solar power.

"Pakistan invested billions of dollars in hydro and thermal plants. Many of them can work for years. Scrapping them would be a financial disaster," Reza said.

Environmentalist Abbas said that although the government should not dismantle existing plants, it should not make new investments in environmentally unfriendly power projects.

Pakistan still suffers from power shortages caused by shaky transmission infrastructure, and localized solar power projects could be a solution.

SPACE RACE 2.0

World in Progress: Who owns space?

This week we dive deep into outer space. Who owns space? Who owns mineral resources and water? The race is on — it's about big money, new business models and the future of our economy. And that of our environment. There are ideas of moving dirty industries to space, while our Earth would be reserved for clean living.



Listen to audio29:59
https://radiodownloaddw-a.akamaihd.net/Events/dwelle/dira/mp3/eng/DA78B48B_2.mp3


Space stations are also used for research into cancer treatment. And then of course there's space tourism. Tickets go for 55 million US dollars at the moment.

Arthur Landwehr brings us this feature about the future of our world and beyond. His report is presented by Charli Shield.

China: Sandstorm engulfs town in Gansu province

Meteorologists have warned people to stay indoors to avoid the sand lifted from the Gobi desert in the north.



Towns in Linze country, northern China, were hit hardest

A towering wall of sand hit northwestern China's Gansu province, covering factories and apartment blocks.

Recently released aerial images showed a billowing cloud of yellow dust smothering Gansu's Linze county on Sunday.

Low visibility resulted in multiple car accidents in the province, state media CCTV reported.

Meteorologists warned people to stay indoors and keep windows shut.
Where does the sand come from?

China suffers from enormous sandstorms each spring when sand is lifted from the Gobi desert in the north of the country and Mongolia. It is then dumped onto cities as far away as Shandong on the eastern coast and elsewhere across Asia.

The sand is lifted from the Gobi desert in the north

The sandstorms have been made worse by desertification — the Gobi desert increases in size each year, transforming farmland into desert.

In March, the worst sandstorm in a decade hit China's capital, Beijing, pushing air pollution levels off the charts and forcing airlines to ground hundreds of flights.
China's plan to stop sandstorms

China is planting a natural barrier of trees, also known as the "Great Green Wall," in stripped forest areas in a bid to curb the sandstorms.

Last year, Beijing said it expected fewer and weaker sandstorms to hit northern China due to the reforestation efforts.

Meanwhile, meteorologists said more storms can be expected across northern China on Tuesday.

Myanmar enters fourth month under junta with bomb blasts, flash mobs

Issued on: 01/05/2021 -

Handout photo taken and released by Dawei Watch on May 1, 2021 shows protesters at a demonstration against the military coup in Dawei. © Dawei Watch, AFP

Text by:FRANCE 24


Protesters against military rule marched in Myanmar on Saturday three months after a coup ended a democratic transition, with several small blasts rocking the commercial capital, Yangon.

The country has been in turmoil since the military ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi on February 1, bringing an abrupt end to Myanmar's short-lived experiment with democracy.

The power grab triggered a massive uprising that authorities have tried to quell with lethal force and live ammunition.

As Myanmar entered its fourth month under military rule on Saturday, protesters in the commercial hub Yangon, an epicentre of unrest with a heavy security presence, staged flash demonstrations, marching rapidly through the streets to avoid confrontation with police and soldiers.

The lightning-quick pace of the protests is "so that people will have time to disappear when the security forces come, or else they would die or get arrested", said student activist Min Han Htet.

In Yangon's Insein township, a bomb blast went off around 10am near a local school, said a resident staying nearby.

"Some security forces came to check the blast area, but I only watched from a distance from my home because I was worried they would arrest me," he told AFP.

By afternoon, two more blasts went off in Yankin, further south, according to residents of the leafy residential township.

"I thought it was thunder," a resident told AFP, adding that the explosions left the security forces nervous.

The state-run evening news said a woman was wounded in the Yankin blasts, which it blamed on "instigators".

No one has yet claimed responsibility for the bombings that are taking place with increasing frequency in Yangon.





'They made people live in fear'

The former capital has been completely transformed since the junta seized power on February 1, with barricades erected in key protest hotspots, security forces on patrol, and residents reporting nighttime arrests of suspected dissidents.

"They (the junta) have made people live in fear and it is good to have them on edge as well," the Yankin resident said.

He also praised the flash protesters for their ingenuity in evading arrest and crackdowns.

"Any show of defiance without getting captured or killed is great for the resistance."

Across the country, nearly 760 civilians have been killed in the anti-coup unrest, according to a local monitoring group, though the junta has recorded a far lower death toll.

But the democracy movement remains undeterred, with demonstrators gathering Saturday in central Monywa city – a flashpoint for violence – carrying signs that said "Monywa cannot be ruled".

In southern Dawei, protesters waved the signature red flags of Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) party, and carried signs that said "We want democracy".

Wanted posters of junta leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing were also pasted around town, calling him a "power addict".

He has continuously justified the putsch as necessary to protect democracy, alleging fraud in November's election that Suu Kyi's party won in a landslide.

UN calls for return to democracy

The UN Security Council on Friday again demanded the restoration of democracy in Myanmar and the release of all detainees including Suu Kyi, and strongly backed calls by Southeast Asian nations for an immediate cessation of violence and talks as a first step toward a solution following the military coup.

The council’s press statement followed a briefing by the top UN envoy that the strong, united demand for democracy by the people of Myanmar who have been protesting since the coup has created “unexpected difficulties” for military leaders in consolidating power and risks bringing the administration of the nation to a standstill.

Christine Schraner Burgener said in remarks to the closed council meeting obtained by the Associated Press that her discussions in the region “compounded” her concern that the situation in Myanmar is deteriorating in all areas.

She pointed to a resurgence of fighting in ethnic areas, more poor people losing jobs, civil servants refusing to work to protest the coup and a brewing crisis of families in and around the main city Yangon “pushed to the edge” for food, going into debt and trying to survive.

Rebels fighting

The unceasing violence against protesters has drawn the ire of some of Myanmar's myriad ethnic armies, many of which have been battling the military for decades in border regions.

Several have condemned the military and come out in support of the anti-junta movement, offering shelter to fleeing activists in the territory they control.

Clashes between the military and the Karen National Union (KNU), one of the leading rebel groups, have escalated since the coup.

The KNU have seized and razed military posts and the junta has responded with repeated air strikes in the rebels' Karen state heartland – the latest taking place right after midnight Saturday.

The targeted area is right next to Thailand's northern Mae Hong Son province, and displaced residents have fled across the Salween river, which demarcates the border.

"Myanmar soldiers used a fighter aircraft to launch an air strike operation, firing two rockets and artilleries" around 12.48am, said a statement released by Mae Hong Son's governor Sithichai Jindaluang.

He added that more than 2,300 Myanmar nationals have crossed into Thailand.

Media and local Karen aid groups were blocked from access to the refugees, with authorities citing the spread of Covid-19 as a reason – stopping to check the temperatures of locals returning home.

Violence has also flared in Myanmar's northern Kachin state between the Kachin Independence Army and the military, which launched air strikes in Momauk township Friday.

Saturday saw fresh artillery shelling hit two small towns, according to a humanitarian worker, who said residents were fearful about the fighting getting closer.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and REUTERS)

Thousands rally against Myanmar junta, calling for 'spring revolution'


Issued on: 02/05/2021 -

Anti-coup protesters in Myanmar marched again despite a bloody crackdown by the military junta Handout KACHINWAVES/AFP

Yangon (AFP)

Thousands of anti-coup protesters marched in Myanmar Sunday, calling for a "spring revolution" with the country in its fourth month under a military regime.

Cities, rural areas, remote mountainous regions and even Myanmar's rebel-controlled border territories have been in uproar since the military ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi in a February 1 coup.

The junta has aimed to suppress dissent through a brutal crackdown that has seen mass arrests and an escalating death toll.

Demonstrations kicked off early in commercial hub Yangon as activists called for a show of force and a "spring revolution".

Youths gathered on a street corner before marching swiftly down the streets in a flash mob -- dispersing soon after to avoid clashing with authorities.

"To get democracy is our course!" they chanted, waving a three-finger salute of resistance.

"To bring down the military dictatorship is our course!"

Central Mandalay region saw hundreds take the streets led by monks in saffron-coloured robes, carrying the flag of Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy.

In northern Shan state, youths carried a banner that read: "We cannot be ruled at all."

By 10 am, violence erupted in the state's Hsipaw township, when security forces cracked down on protesters there, killing at least one.

"He was shot in the head and died immediately," said one protester, who said he rushed to hide his friend's body in case authorities tried to take it away.

"They are asking for his dead body, but we will not give them... We will have his funeral today," he told AFP.

By midday, local media reported that security forces were chasing protesters down and arresting them.

"They are arresting every young person they see," a source in Yangon told AFP, adding that he was hiding at the moment.

"Now I am trapped."

Bomb blasts also went off across different parts of the city in the morning.

The explosions have been happening with increasing frequency in the former capital, and authorities have blamed it on "instigators".

So far, security forces have killed 759 civilians, according to the local monitoring group Assistance Association for Political Prisoners.

The junta -- which has labelled AAPP as an unlawful organisation -- says 258 protesters have been killed, along with 17 policemen and seven soldiers.

Myanmar's media under pressure from all sides

 World Press Freedom Day on May 3.

The Burmese military regime has routinely arrested journalists and banned independent media. But reporters continue to work underground — under pressure from the ruling junta, but also from the opposition.



Myanmar's independent media outlets have been banned or have gone underground

Myanmar's military government, which overthrew the elected government on February 1, continues to violently crack down on protesters and the opposition movement. At the same time, it has also been trying to gain control over information.

Step by step, authorities have restricted access to social media and the internet. On February 4, Facebook, Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp were blocked, followed the day after by Twitter and Instagram. Blocking Facebook was a crucial move: about half of the country's residents used the social media giant as their main news source.

The military has also imposed nationwide internet blockades since February 15, which have regularly lasted from 1 a.m. to 9 a.m. Mobile internet has been shut down since March 15, with only broadband connections providing access to the internet. For a few days now, the nightly shutdown has no longer applied to these connections. But the move worked: large parts of the population now receive their news almost exclusively from sources permitted by the military.

State media holds a monopoly

In addition to cutting off online communication, the state television station MRTV has been brought into line. The broadcaster now regularly shows photos of activists and demonstrators, naming them as alleged enemies of the state. Military broadcaster Myawaddy TV recently announced that for the first time in 30 years, 19 people had been sentenced to death for killing a soldier. And the state-owned newspaper The Global New Light of Myanmar has reported in detail the military's legal and moral obligations for ousting the elected government.

Watch video 02:45 A Burmese protester speaks out

Meanwhile, independent or private media outlets such as Mizzima, Democratic Voice of Burma, Khit Thit Media, Myanmar Now, 7Day News and others have been banned. Most have retreated to parts of the country controlled by ethnic minorities and their troops, such as Karen state on the border with Thailand. From there, they continue to publish their views against the military government.

Journalists are in hiding

According to Human Rights Watch, some 48 journalists are currently in detention; 23 others were detained but have since been released. Most have been accused of violating a new section of the penal code which criminalizes the dissemination of "statements, rumors or reports" that can lead to fear among the population and may incite people to "attack the state and public order" or to lead to "attacks between different classes and communities."

DW spoke with several journalists, who cannot be named for security reasons. They have not slept in their homes for weeks, and fear being arrested during nightly searches by the military — as was the case with Kaung Myat Hlaing of the Democratic Voice of Burma. The journalist from the southern coastal town of Myeik livestreamed police shooting near his apartment as they detained him in a crackdown on March 1. He remains in custody.

Watch video 01:26 Protesters find sanctuary with rebel groups

"I'm doing well, so far," one journalist told DW, who has moved from place to place living with other reporters. "But the nights have their terrors." As soon as the barking of stray dogs or the banging of pots by neighbors announce that the military is moving into the neighborhood, they instantly turn off their computers and lights in the hope staying hidden.

"We talk a lot about work. It's easier to bear the situation in a group," one said. "But many journalist friends have left the military-controlled areas and taken off to support the underground or exile media."

Underground media forced self-censor

But it's not just the military putting pressure on the media. Most local media reporting from the underground cannot afford to take a neutral position on the situation without incurring the wrath of the protesters. For example: Instead of using the military government's self-imposed name, "State Administrative Council," they write "State Terrorist Council." People are not "arrested" by the security forces, but "kidnapped."

"It's no longer possible to write a report or analysis without making a clear commitment to the revolution or the military," one journalist told DW. The problem, he said, is that now many journalists no longer write what is happening, but what people want to hear.

Watch video03:42 Journalist recounts escape to Thailand

Basically, he said, almost all local media outlets have an agenda: instead of journalism, it's about activism. "I have decided to stop writing anything for the time being, because every statement is misinterpreted," he said.

As a result of this polarization, only supporters of the military or supporters of the revolution get a chance to speak. But there are also people in Myanmar who, while not friends of the military, also don't want a revolution. They fear the complete collapse of the state and years of chaos.

One university official told DW that he hoped the situation would soon stabilize, and that banks would reopen and it would finally be possible to go back to work. Even if that stabilization meant stopping the protests against the military.

This article has been translated from German