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Outstanding performers to be feted by PBA Press Corps

MEDIA covering the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) will once again give awards to outstanding performers in the local professional league.

Set for March 7 at the TV5 Media Center, the virtual special Awards Night will honor players who stood out in various categories at the lone PBA tournament last year held at Clark City in Angeles, Pampanga.

The awardees will join those who won in 2019 who are to be honored belatedly after ceremonies set for last year were cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Leading the awardees for the tournament “bubble” in 2020 is guard CJ Perez, formerly of Terrafirma Dyip, who is the scoring champion anew.

Mr. Perez, who was recently traded to the San Miguel Beermen, averaged 24.4 points throughout the Dyip’s campaign in the league’s successful Philippine Cup bubble, where the participants were holed up in the area for the duration of the tournament to guard against the spread of the coronavirus.

Former National Collegiate Athletic Association most valuable player Perez (Lyceum) improved on his 20.8-point average the previous year, where he was also the scoring champ, apart from being named rookie of the year and a member of the Mythical Team.

Also to be awarded are members of the All-Rookie Team led by rookie of the year Aaron Black of the Meralco Bolts, who helped his team to a first-ever semifinal appearance in the All-Filipino tournament.

Joining Mr. Black in the all-rookie squad are Arvin Tolentino of champion Barangay Ginebra, Terrafirma’s Roosevelt Adams, Barkley Ebona of Alaska, and Renzo Subido of NorthPort.

Phoenix Super LPG players RJ Jazul and Justin Chua are also set to get awards, namely, Mr. Quality Minutes and “Top Bubble D-Fender.”

Veteran Jazul is to be recognized for his valuable contributions off the bench for the Fuel Masters, who came just a win away from barging into their first finals appearance. He averaged 11 points, 2.3 rebounds and 2.1 assists in the bubble.

Teammate Chua, for his part, led the league in blocks in the lone tournament last year with 1.6 per game, helping Phoenix to be a handful on both ends of the court. He padded his play on defense with 11.7 points and 6.7 rebounds.

With Chua in the All-Bubble D-Fenders team are NorthPort’s Christian Standhardinger, Calvin Abueva (formerly of Phoenix but now with Magnolia), San Miguel’s Chris Ross, and Mark Barroca of Magnolia.

Game of the Bubble, meanwhile, is the finals berth-clinching victory of Barangay Ginebra against Meralco in their Game Five rubber match in the semifinals, highlighted by Scottie Thompson’s clutch three-pointer at the buzzer to win it all, 83-80.

Other awards to be handed out are outstanding Coach of the Bubble, Mr. Executive and President’s Award.

2019 AWARDEES
Meanwhile, Leo Austria, coach of San Miguel, leads the honor roll for 2019 awardees as coach of the year.

Joining him are PBA Chairman Ricky Vargas (Executive of the Year), Bulakan, Bulacan Mayor and former league MVP Vergel Meneses (President’s Award), Sean Anthony (Defensive Player of the Year), Terrence Romeo (Mr. Quality Minutes), June Mar Fajardo (Order of Merit), and Mr. Perez (Scoring Champion).

The rest of the 2019 honorees are NorthPort vs. NLEX (Game of the Season); Mr. Perez, Robert Bolick, Bobby Ray Parks, Jr., Javee Mocon, and Abu Tratter (All-Rookie Team); Kiefer Ravena, Mr. Standhardinger, Beau Belga, Vic Manuel, Arwind Santos, and coach Yeng Guiao (All-Interview Team); and PBA D-League Finals MVP Thirdy Ravena (Aspirants’ Cup) and Hesed Gabo (Foundation Cup).

The one-hour awards program is presented by Cignal TV and to be shown on PBA Rush on March 8. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

Jazz rebound with win vs Orlando

DONOVAN Mitchell led seven Utah players in double figures with 31 points as the visiting Jazz bounced back after a rare loss to beat the Orlando Magic (124-109) on Saturday night.

Mitchell hit five 3-pointers and dished out six assists for Utah, which turned a four-point halftime lead into a blowout victory. The Jazz hit 17 of 45 3s and shot 52.9 percent overall to win for the 12th time in 14 games.

The Jazz fell at Miami in Friday night.

Jordan Clarkson continued his Sixth Man of the Year quest with 18 points off the bench. All-Star center Rudy Gobert contributed 12 points, 16 rebounds, three assists and two blocks, Joe Ingles added 17 points and seven assists, and Georges Niang fired in 13 points. The Jazz also got 10 points apiece from Bojan Bogdanović and Derrick Favors.

All-Star Nikola Vučević was a one-man wrecking crew for Orlando, scoring 34 points with eight rebounds and four assists. Evan Fournier chipped in 16 points.

After a back-and-forth first half, the Jazz came out of the locker room playing like a team that has now won 23 of 26 games. Utah took a 72-59 lead thanks to an 8-0 run, which included six points from Mitchell, and then stretched that to a 79-61 advantage after another Mitchell 3 and free throws from Bogdanović.

Orlando worked the lead down to eight at 90-82 after Mo Bamba hit two 3s early in the fourth quarter. But the Jazz responded with consecutive baskets by Miye Oni (3), Ingles and Clarkson, and soon the lead had blossomed to an insurmountable 19.

The Jazz, who still have stops in New Orleans and Philadelphia on this four-game road trip, ended the first half on an 11-3 run, including a Royce O’Neale tip-in with 0.5 seconds left for a 54-50 lead.

The Magic have now lost three in a row after a three-game winning streak. — Reuters

NBA, cognac brand Hennessy in landmark global deal

THE National Basketball Association (NBA) and Hennessy recently announced a landmark deal, making the cognac maker a global partner of the league.

A multi-year agreement, the NBA said Hennessy is now the “Official Spirit of the NBA” worldwide, which marks the league’s first-ever global partnership with a spirits brand.

It further expands a previous North American deal between the two groups signed in February last year.

“We are honored by the distinction as the first global spirit partner in the NBA’s history,” said Julie Nollet, Hennessy global CMO, in a statement.

Adding, “The NBA is more than basketball, and Hennessy is more than cognac. We represent global communities, and this partnership empowers us to support a game and culture that brings people together through entertainment and camaraderie despite the current challenges faced by fans around the world.  We share the NBA’s core values of integrity, teamwork, respect and innovation…”

For the NBA, it views the upgraded partnership as a “milestone” for the league and a continuation of its thrust of partnering with iconic brands around the world to celebrate not only the league, but the sport of basketball in general.

The expanded partnership will tip off in Africa, Asia-Pacific, Europe, and South America with the launch of an adaptation of the “Hennessy x NBA: Lines” campaign.

Fans around the world, too, will be able get their hands on new exclusive Hennessy VS and VSOP Limited Edition bottles, specially designed to commemorate the partnership. The Limited Edition bottles are now available in the United States, with a worldwide release planned for the second quarter of 2021. 

While it partnered with Hennessy, the NBA reiterated the need for responsible drinking.

For more information on the partnership, visit Hennessy.com or @Hennessy on Instagram. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

Barça sink Sevilla to keep title chase alive

SEVILLE, Spain — Barcelona forwards Ousmane Dembélé and Lionel Messi fired the Catalans to a confidence-boosting 2-0 win at in-form Sevilla on Saturday to keep the pressure on La Liga leaders Atletico Madrid.

Dembélé latched on to a through ball from Messi and knocked it through the legs of Sevilla keeper Bono to give Barça a deserved lead in the 29th minute after dominating the first half and barely giving their hosts a hint of a chance.

Sevilla improved after the break, but Barça continued to have the edge and found a second goal five minutes from time when Messi played a one-two with teenage midfielder Ilaix Moriba and netted with a scrappy finish after his first effort was saved.

The result ended a six-game winning streak in the league for Sevilla, who remained fourth in the standings on 48 points, while Barca climbed above Real Madrid into second place with 53 points, two behind Atletico but having played two more games.

Sevilla can avenge the defeat on Wednesday when they head to the Camp Nou for a Copa del Rey semifinal second leg with a 2-0 lead in the tie.

Barça defender Gerard Piqué praised his side for putting their 4-1 Champions League drubbing by Paris St. Germain and a shock 1-1 draw with Cadiz behind them.

“I’m so proud of the team, we have had some big setbacks recently, but we have bounced back and today we showed that we’re still very much alive,” he said.

“We have a great squad that is good enough to compete with anyone and on Wednesday, we’ll give them a real battle.

“The title race is on, we have come back from far worse situations before.”

Barça are likely to be without defender Ronald Araujo for the second leg after he made his return from injury off the bench but had to be taken off with an ankle problem 15 minutes later.

Barça coach Ronald Koeman got his tactics spot on against Julen Lopetegui’s side, lining up with a 3-5-2 formation he has used on special occasions this season.

The shape gave Barça extra width but above all helped limit Sevilla’s ability to counterattack and they barely managed to trouble keeper Marc-André ter Stegen.

“This was a complete performance from us,” added Koeman.

“The most important thing today was our ambition, our fighting spirit and we pressed as an entire team. We had the mentality to press them for 95 minutes, and that was the key thing.”

Sergio Busquets and Pedri dominated in midfield for Barça, while Dembélé used his electric pace to get in behind Sevilla’s defence and cause havoc.

The French forward is in the form of his life and after breaking the deadlock with a confident finish, he nearly set up a second goal when he danced through Sevilla’s defense to tee up Messi, who uncharacteristically skied his effort.

Barça’s captain made amends for the miss, however, scoring his 19th La Liga goal this season and a 30th league goal against Sevilla. — Reuters

Cavs overcome Joel Embiid; Sixers to get OT win

COLLIN Sexton scored 28 points, Darius Garland added 25 points and nine assists and the depleted Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the host Philadelphia 76ers (112-109) in overtime (OT) on Saturday.

Isaac Okoro had 15 points and eight rebounds, Jarrett Allen contributed 14 points and 10 rebounds and Damyean Dotson had 10 points for the Cavaliers.

The Cavaliers had only nine players available with the likes of Kevin Love, Taurean Prince and Cedi Osman all out. Still, Cleveland managed to win its third in a row.

Joel Embiid led the Sixers with 42 points and 13 rebounds. Ben Simmons added 24 points, eight assists and seven rebounds, and Shake Milton had 11 points.

The Sixers, who played without Tobias Harris (right knee contusion), lost for only the third time at home all season.

When Dean Wade dropped in a 3-pointer from the top of the key, the Cavaliers pulled out to a 47-34 lead with 6:10 left in the second quarter.

Cleveland managed 17 fast-break points and held a surprising 56-47 lead at halftime thanks in large part to Sexton’s 16 points.

Embiid kept the Sixers relatively close with 21. But the Sixers struggled as a group and made only 3 of 11 shots from beyond the arc.

The Cavaliers missed their first seven shots to open the third and the Sixers crept closer, pulling within 58-53. After a Cleveland turnover, Danny Green made a trey and the deficit was just two.

Sexton converted a driving layup with 1.8 seconds remaining in the third and the Cavaliers led 72-70 at the end of the quarter.

Embiid’s short jumper pulled the Sixers within 81-80 with 6:40 to go in the fourth.

Sexton’s 3-pointer gave the Cavaliers a 92-90 lead with 1:46 remaining.

On the Sixers’ next possession, Embiid threw down a dunk to tie the game at 92.

Embiid missed a short jumper from the baseline at the buzzer and the game went to overtime.

Garland’s floater extended Cleveland’s advantage to 101-96 with 1:17 to go in overtime.

Embiid’s layup cut the deficit to 108-105 with 18.5 seconds left, but the Sixers were unable to string together a run down the stretch. — Reuters

Świątek claims second career title with Adelaide crown

FRENCH Open champion Iga Świątek breezed past second seed Belinda Bencic (6-2, 6-2) in the Adelaide International final on Saturday to claim the second title of her career.

The 19-year-old Pole shot out of relative obscurity last year when she became the youngest woman to win the Roland Garros title since Monica Seles in 1992.

The world number 18 showed again why she is so highly rated with a superb week in Adelaide.

Świątek did not drop a set throughout the WTA 500 tournament and lost only 22 games in all. She fired 22 winners and made only six unforced errors in the final.

“For sure, there is something that clicks,” Świątek, who will rise to a new career-high ranking of number 15 on Monday, said of her good form during her title runs.

“Not only in my head, but also tennis-wise. I feel pretty good on court. I feel sometimes I have weeks when everything clicks and that’s the effect of the work we’re doing.

“It’s good because I can see that I can play good tennis for the whole week. It wasn’t like one time during the French Open. It gives me more confidence that I’m more developed (as a) player… It gives me motivation.”

Świątek went ahead 3-2 in the opening set of the final and broke Bencic’s serve when the Swiss double-faulted three times before switching gears to gain the early advantage in the contest at Memorial Drive Park.

The fifth seed then surged ahead 3-1 in the second set before closing out a comfortable victory. — Reuters

Jazz for real

It’s fair to argue that the Jazz were expected to triumph over the Magic yesterday. After all, they sported a win-loss slate that was at least three and a half games better than the rest of the National Basketball Association. Meanwhile, their hosts were among the worst in the league, eight wins under .500 and much closer to the bottom than to the top. Then again, nothing is etched in stone amid a pandemic that continues to wreak havoc on schedules and rosters alike. And they did head to the Amway Center with a handicap in the absence of starting point guard Mike Conley, arguably the best player in pro hoops annals never to be named an All-Star.

When the final buzzer sounded, however, projection turned to reality with plenty of wiggle room. After a sluggish first half that had them hard-pressed to shake off the Magic, they managed to assert themselves the rest of the way. And if there’s anything their 15-point victory showed, it’s that they’re for real. Propelled by head coach Quin Snyder’s egalitarian offense and stout defense, they’re running roughshod over their supposed peers. They’ve proven to be remarkably deep; for all the importance of Conley to the cause, they’re a heady seven of seven when Joe Ingles steps in to start. Meanwhile, reserve Jordan Clarkson appears to be a lock for the Sixth Man of the Year award.

There can be no forgetting Donovan Mitchell, of course, not even while Gobert has played so well as to be considered among the leading Most Valuable Player candidates. Indeed, the 13th overall pick in 2017, just named to a second straight All-Star berth, remains on an upward trajectory; he still paces the Jazz in scoring, but has become a much-improved playmaker of late. Forget Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal’s claim that “he great, but he ain’t that great;” the unwarranted criticism notwithstanding, he figures to keep getting better and better.

The question, of course, is whether the Jazz can keep up their scorching run — enough, at least, to be deemed bona fide contenders to the throne. Last week, they made short work of the Lakers, defending titleholders in a rut, seemingly signaling the answer. Then again, the reckoning that truly counts will come in the playoffs. Can they beat the best of the best in multiple seven-game series? If nothing else, they’re getting the reps they need to do so.

 

Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is a consultant on strategic planning, operations and Human Resources management, corporate communications, and business development.

China’s factory activity expands at a slower pace in February, misses expectations – official PMI

BEIJING – China’s factory activity expanded in February at a slower pace than a month earlier, hitting the lowest level since last May and missing market expectations after brief COVID-19-related disruptions earlier in the year.

The official manufacturing Purchasing Manager’s Index (PMI) fell to 50.6 from 51.3 in January, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed on Sunday, remaining above the 50-point mark that separates growth from contraction.

Analysts had expected it to decline to 51.1.

Chinese factory activity normally goes dormant during the Lunar New Year break as workers return to their home towns. This year, the government appealed to workers to remain local to curb the spread of COVID-19.

Generally, China’s economic recovery has been gathering pace due to robust exports, pent-up demand and government stimulus.

The official PMI, which largely focuses on big and state-owned firms, showed the sub-index for new export orders was 48.8 in February compared with 50.2 in January, slipping back into contraction after months boosted by overseas demand.

A sub-index for activity among small firms stood at 48.3 in February versus 49.4 a month earlier. Smaller firms were more affected by the seasonal effects of the Lunar New Year, said Zhao Qinghe, an official with the NBS in comments released with the data.

A sub-index for employment in the official PMI stood at 48.1 in February, down from January’s 48.4 as firms laid off more workers and at a faster pace.

Still, some manufacturing sector firms are seeing increasing pressure from rising labour costs and a shortage of workers, said Zhao.

China’s factory gate prices rose on year in January for the first time in a year, as months of strong manufacturing growth pushed raw material costs higher.

China eked out 2.3% economic growth last year. This year, the government may avoid setting a growth target for fear of provincial economies feeling pressured to take on more debt, policy sources previously told Reuters.

China will reinforce policy support for foreign trade and ensure the smooth operation of supply chains, its new commerce minister said earlier this week.

In the services sector, activity expanded for the 11th consecutive month but at the slowest pace in a year. – Reuters

Philippine small-caps thrive in Asia’s worst performing market

Small stocks in the Philippines are thriving amid a surge in demand from retail investors, generating the best returns in Asia’s worst performing equity market this year.

All but one of the 10 biggest gainers in the country in 2021 have a market value of less than $171 million. The sole exception, Apollo Global Capital Inc., is worth $1.47 billion — about as much as the smallest of the 30-member Philippine Stock Exchange Index. That benchmark is down more than 4.8% this year.

But investors looking to jump into small-caps should exercise caution, according to Jonathan Ravelas, chief market strategist at BDO Unibank Inc.

“These aren’t stocks institutional investors would touch,” Mr. Ravelas said. “These are mostly speculative. Those who rode these stocks on the way up should be fast to get off for things could turn quickly.”

Here are the five top performers this year:

 

Prime Media Holdings Inc. (+199%)

The stock has surged even after a property-for-share agreement with a prospective investor and the company’s owner was mutually ended in December, due to the impact of the pandemic on the real estate sector.

 

Premiere Horizon Alliance Corp. (+168%)

The company, which has investments in mining and real estate, gained on its inclusion in the FTSE Micro Cap and FTSE Total-Cap indexes.

 

Vulcan Industrial & Mining Corp. (+162%)

The producer of rock fragments used in concrete won government approval to transfer its mining areas to an affiliate and exit the industry. Its market cap reached a record P5.58 billion ($115 million) on Feb. 15.

 

Basic Energy Corp. (+134%)

The developer of renewable energy said a 2.8 billion peso capital infusion from the sale of a 67% stake will help fund a wind energy and geothermal projects at home. The company saw its market cap jump to a record P5.20 billion in January.

 

Lodestar Investment Holdings Inc. (+111%)

Most of this stock’s surge happened since the end of January when the firm said it’s conducting due diligence into several companies for possible investment. Lodestar said it is seeking businesses with substantial returns, including startups in information technology. – Bloomberg

Dozens of leading Hong Kong democrats brace for national security charges to be laid

HONG KONG – Several dozen Hong Kong democrats are due to report to local police stations across the city on Sunday, with some expecting to be charged with breaches of national security as a crackdown on the democratic opposition intensifies.

Benny Tai, one of the organisers of an unofficial primary election last summer, said in an online post that there was a chance he would be “formally charged”.

Tai was arrested in a dawn raid along with more than 50 other democrats on Jan. 6 in the largest national security operation since the law’s passage last June.

They were accused of organising and participating in an unofficial “primary election” last July aimed at selecting the strongest candidates for a legislative council election.

The democrats were detained at the time, questioned, and some had their mobile phones and computers confiscated, but released pending further investigations.

“My chance of bail won’t be too great,” wrote Tai, who has been accused by Chinese authorities of being a key tactician for the pro-democracy movement in the former British colony.

Those also called in by Hong Kong police include John Clancey, a U.S. citizen and human rights lawyer, as well as a group of younger “resistance camp” democratic activists including Lester Shum, Sam Cheung, Ventus Lau and Fergus Leung.

The democrats denounced the arrests as political persecution for the informal, peaceful poll that drew 600,000 votes in a city of 7.5 million.

A rights advocacy group, “Power for Democracy”, that co-organised the primary elections, said in a Facebook post on Friday that it had disbanded.

When contacted by Reuters, a local police spokeswoman would not immediately say whether the democracy advocates would be charged with breaching the national security law.

The Hong Kong police say 99 individuals have been arrested for suspected violations of the security laws so far.

Some of these have been denied bail, including media mogul and prominent China critic Jimmy Lai, despite protracted legal appeals.

The sweeping national security laws — seen by critics as a threat to Hong Kong’s freedoms and autonomy — punish acts of subversion, secession, collusion with foreign forces and terrorism with possible life imprisonment. – Reuters

Thailand starts COVID-19 vaccination campaign

BANGKOK – Thailand kicked off its COVID-19 inoculation campaign on Sunday, with cabinet ministers, health officials and medical professionals among the first in the queue to receive vaccinations.

The first doses of vaccine, developed by China’s Sinovac Biotech, were given to Deputy Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, who is also the health minister, among others at an infectious diseases institute on the outskirts of Bangkok.

“I hope that the vaccination will result in people being safe from the spread of COVID-19 and it allows Thailand to return to normalcy as soon as possible,” Anutin told reporters afterwards.

Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, 66, attended the event, although his age falls outside the range of 18 to 59 suitable to receive SinoVac’s CoronaVac vaccine, so he did not get it.

Thailand received its first 200,000 doses of the Sinovac vaccine from China and 117,00 imported doses of AstraZeneca’s vaccine this week.

CoronaVac has been distributed to 13 high-risk provinces, which will start injecting front-line health professionals and volunteers on Sunday, the health ministry has said.

AstraZeneca’s vaccine will be ready for use by the second week of March, after going through quality control tests, the company said in a statement.

Thailand is expected to take delivery of a further 1.8 million doses of CoronaVac in March and April.

A mass campaign to administer 10 million doses a month is set to begin in June, with 61 million shots of AstraZeneca vaccines produced by local firm Siam Bioscience.

With a tally of just over 25,000 infections, Thailand has escaped the kind of fallout suffered by some other countries since the pandemic began last year. – Reuters

Myanmar police crack down on protests for second day

Myanmar police threw stun grenades and fired into the air on Sunday to disperse opponents of military rule, sustaining a sweeping crackdown launched the previous day when security forces arrested hundreds in town and cites across the country.

The action to stamp out the protests came after state television announced that Myanmar’s U.N. envoy had been fired for betraying the country after he urged the United Nations to use “any means necessary” to reverse the Feb. 1 coup that ousted elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Myanmar was thrown into chaos when the army seized power and detained Suu Kyi and much of her party leadership, alleging fraud in a November election her party won in a landslide.

The coup, which stalled Myanmar’s progress toward democracy after nearly 50 years of military rule, has brought hundreds of thousands of protesters onto the streets and drawn condemnation from Western countries, with some imposing limited sanctions.

Police were out on the streets in force again at a main protest site in the city of Yangon early on Sunday as hundreds of protesters, many clad in protective gear, began to congregate, a witness said.

Police moved swiftly to break up groups.

“Police threw stun grenades at us,” said protester Myint Myat, 29.

“We had to run and hide but I’ll get out again because today is very important. If all of us get out, they can’t win.”

Police in the second city of Mandalay fired guns into the air, trapping protesting medical staff in a city hospital, a doctor there said by telephone.

Police and the spokesman for the ruling military council were not available for comment.

Saturday brought disturbances in towns and cities across the country as police moved forcefully to crush the protests, firing tear gas, setting off stun grenades and shooting into the air.

Uniformed police and plain-clothes security men set upon some people with clubs, witnesses said.

One woman was shot and wounded in the central town of Monwya, 7Day News and an emergency worker said. 7Day and two other media organisations had earlier reported that she was killed.

Junta leader General Min Aung Hlaing has said authorities have been using minimal force. Nevertheless, at least three protesters have died over the days of turmoil. The army said a policeman has been killed in the unrest.

State-run MRTV television said more than 470 people had been arrested in all. It said police had given warnings before using stun grenades to disperse people.

Several journalists were among those detained, their media organisations and colleagues said.

 

‘INSTIL FEAR’

Youth activist Esther Ze Naw said people were battling to overcome the fear of the military they had lived with for so long.

“This fear will only grow if we keep living with it and the people who are creating the fear know that. It’s obvious they’re trying to instil fear in us by making us run and hide,” she said.

“We can’t accept that.”

Saturday’s violence came after Myanmar’s Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun told the U.N. General Assembly he was speaking on behalf of Suu Kyi’s government and appealed for help to end the coup.

MRTV television said he had been fired in accordance with civil service rules because he had “betrayed the country” and “abused the power and responsibilities of an ambassador”.

However, the United Nations has not officially recognised the junta as Myanmar’s new government.

The ambassador vowed to fight on.

“I decided to fight back as long as I can,” Kyaw Moe Tun told Reuters in New York.

U.N. Special Rapporteur Tom Andrews said he was overwhelmed by the ambassador’s “act of courage”, adding on Twitter, “It’s time for the world to answer that courageous call with action”.

Myanmar’s generals have traditionally shrugged off diplomatic pressure. They have promised to hold a new election but not set a date.

Suu Kyi’s party and supporters said the result of the November vote must be respected.

Suu Kyi, 75, spent nearly 15 years under house arrest during military rule. She faces charges of illegally importing six walkie-talkie radios and of violating a natural disaster law by breaching coronavirus protocols.

The next hearing in her case is set for Monday. – Reuters

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