International

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) — Sightings of armored personnel carriers in Myanmar’s biggest city and an internet shutdown raised political tensions late Sunday, after vast numbers of people around the country flouted orders against demonstrations to protest the military’s seizure of power.

TOKYO (Kyodo) — Japan received its first doses of a coronavirus vaccine developed by U.S. pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc. on Friday and is planning to make the vaccine the first approved for domestic use against COVID-19 on Sunday, sources familiar with the matter said.

BEIJING (AP) — China has banned the BBC World News television channel in a diplomatic fight with Britain after British regulators revoked the license of state-owned Chinese broadcaster CGTN.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ripped into the performance of his Cabinet and fired a senior economic official he appointed a month ago, saying they’d failed to come up with new ideas to salvage an economy in decay.

TOKYO (Kyodo) — Tokyo Olympic chief Yoshiro Mori will step down over his remarks about women talking too much that sparked outrage at home and abroad as sexist and cast another shadow over the prospects of the rescheduled games opening this summer amid the coronavirus pandemic, sources familiar with the matter said Thursday.

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) — Large crowds demonstrating against the military takeover in Myanmar again defied a ban on protests Wednesday, even after security forces ratcheted up the use of force against them and raided the headquarters of the political party of ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

TOKYO (Kyodo) — Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike said Wednesday she will not attend a four-party meeting involving International Olympic Committee chief Thomas Bach planned for this month following controversial remarks about women by the head of the Tokyo Games organizing committee last week.

ALPINE, Texas (AP) — A West Texas judge has a word of caution to those attending court hearings via Zoom: Always check for filters before logging on.

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) — Police cracked down on demonstrators opposing Myanmar’s military coup, firing warning shots and shooting water cannons to disperse crowds that took to the streets again Tuesday in defiance of new protest bans.

TOKYO (Kyodo) — A raccoon was spotted roaming in central Osaka past midnight earlier this month, in a rare sighting highlighting how measures against the coronavirus have left one of the country's busiest entertainment districts deserted late at night.