The leader of Myanmar's military made the threat at a parade marking Armed Forces Day. The junta ousted civilian leaders, including State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, in February 2021.

Sri Lanka's cabinet ministers have resigned from their posts as an economic crisis deepens in the country. Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksahas has yet to step down, despite growing demands for his resignation.

Sri Lanka's government said restrictions on access to social media platforms came a day after protesters defied a nationwide curfew to demand government accountability.

Sri Lanka's president said a nationwide state of emergency was necessary to ensure order in the country, a day after protesters clashed with the police. Sri Lanka is in the throes of a financial crisis.

Protesters have called for the naming of the white police officer who killed Patrick Lyoya. It comes after police release footage showing the officer shoot the him in the head.

Myanmar's military junta announced that it will pardon hundreds of prisoners, including 42 foreigners, as the country marks the Buddhist new year. But political prisoners are reportedly not included.

Courts in the military-ruled country have already sentenced the deposed Myanmar leader to six years in prison, but her combined maximum sentences could see her jailed for decades.

Duwa Lashi La is the acting president of the National Unity Government (NUG) of Myanmar, a parallel government formed in opposition to the junta after the latter seized power in a February 2021 coup. Speaking to FRANCE 24 from a secret location in the country, Duwa Lashi La said that "within a year, we achieved significant success on the military and administrative fronts". He claimed that his People's Defence Force (PDF) controls 15 percent of Myanmar and that combined with the ethnic resistance groups, the "collective resistance forces" control "almost 50 percent" of the country.

The president has warned against "racial and religious disharmony." Police have received orders to use live ammunition against protesters deemed to be participating in violence.

On May 15, parliamentary elections will take place nationwide in Lebanon. The Lebanese diaspora, estimated to be double the size of the domestic population, already cast their ballots last week. Around 60 percent of people across 58 countries turned out, slightly more than in 2018. We bring you a special edition of Middle East Matters on Lebanon's first elections since the mass protests of 2019.

Pro-choice demonstrators are rallying across the US in opposition to the Supreme Court's draft opinion that could scrap the right to abortion. Protesters say it is only the beginning of their fight against the decision.

In 2020, Thai youth sparked the largest wave of anti-government protests since the 2014 military coup. But human rights activists say persecutions and systematic harassment have weakened the pro-democracy movement.