12/01/2026

MONDAY | JAN 12, 2026

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Myanmar votes in second phase of election Four injured in bomb attacks on Thai petrol stations BANGKOK: Assailants detonated bombs at eleven petrol stations in Thailand’s south early yesterday, injuring four people, the army said. Several bombs exploded within a 40-minute period after midnight yesterday, igniting 11 petrol stations across Thailand’s southernmost provinces of Narathiwat, Pattani and Yala, an army statement said. One police officer was injured in Narathiwat and a firefighter and two petrol station workers were injured in Pattani province, the army said. All four were admitted to hospitals, none with serious injuries, said a Thai army spokesman. Thai Prime Minister Anutin

North Korea demands drone incursion probe SEOUL: North Korea’s Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of leader Kim Jong Un, urged South Korea to investigate recent drone incidents over North Korean airspace, in a statement carried by state media KCNA yesterday. Kim said she appreciated Seoul for making a wise decision to announce its official stance that it has no intention of provocation, warning that any provocations will result in terrible situations. Drones were flown from South Korea into North Korea earlier this month, after another intrusion in September, North Korea’s military said on Saturday, which was soon followed by South Korea’s response that they were not operated by the military. South Korea also said there would be a thorough investigation of a civilian possibly having operated the drones, making clear its stance of having no intention of provocation. “Clear is just the fact that the drone from the ROK violated the airspace of our country,” Kim said. ROK stands for the Republic of Korea, South Korea’s official name. “No matter who is the perpetrator and whether it is a deed by any civilian organisation or individual, the authorities responsible for national security can never evade their responsibility for it,” she said. South Korea’s Office of National Security said yesterday it would swiftly release results of its investigation into the drone incidents, as it reaffirmed the government’s stance of having no intention to provoke North Korea. The administration of South Korean President Lee Jae Myung is seeking to improve ties with North Korea and has proposed military talks. North Korea has not responded to any calls for dialogue with the South since leader Kim Jong Un defined the two Koreas as separate, “hostile” nations at the end of 2023. – Reuters

Charnvirakul told reporters that security agencies believed the attacks were a “signal” timed with elections for local administrators taking place yesterday, and “not aimed at insurgency”. – AFP

KAWHMU: Myanmar opened polls yesterday in the second phase of its elections. The centres opened at 6am (7.30am in Malaysia) in Aung San Suu Kyi’s former constituency

of staging drone, rocket and bomb attacks on the weekend of the election’s first phase, killing five people. Regardless of the vote, a quarter of parliamentary seats will be reserved for the armed forces under the terms of a constitution drafted during a previous stint of military rule. More than 330 people are being pursued under laws punishing protest or criticism of the poll with up to a decade in prison. More than 22,000 political prisoners are languishing in jail, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners advocacy group. Voting has been cancelled in dozens of constituencies, many known battlegrounds or regions where rebels run parallel administrations beyond the government’s reach. Ahead of voting, the military has waged offensives to claw back ground including airstrikes which have targeted civilian sites, according to witnesses. While there is no official toll for Myanmar’s civil war, monitoring group ACLED, which tallies reports of violence, estimates that 90,000 people have been killed on all sides. State Administration Council Chairman Min Aung Hlaing has not ruled out swapping his military uniform for the civilian sash of president when a new government is formed. – AFP

o Quarter of seats reserved for military

of Kawhmu, around 25km south of Yangon city. Farmer Than Than Sint acknowledged the country’s “many problems”, telling AFP she voted to fulfil her civic duty and wanted peace in Myanmar. “We know it will not come right away. But we need to go step-by step for our future generations,” the 54-year-old said after leaving a polling station at a primary school in Kawhmu. “I think things will be better after the election,” she said. After ruling by force for five years, the government has pledged a three-phase election, due to end on Jan 25, will return power to the people. But the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), described by many analysts as the military’s prime proxy, won nearly 90% of lower house seats in the first phase late last month. “The people have very little interest in this election,” said a 50 year-old resident of Yangon, speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity for security reasons. “This election has absolutely nothing to do with escaping this suffering.” The first phase had a turnout of around 50%, far below the roughly 70% of the 2020 election when most voters backed Suu Kyi’s party. Polling is not happening in large enclaves carved out by rebel factions, who the military accused

A Myanmar voter casting her ballot at Kawhmu township in Yangon yesterday. – AFPPIC

Human remains found in wake of Victoria bushfires SYDNEY: Human remains were found in Australia’s southeast where bushfires raging for days have razed buildings, cut power to thousands of homes and burned swathes of bushland, police said yesterday. The blazes, burning out of destroyed properties, vineyards and agricultural land. Victoria Premier Jacinta Allan said more than 30 fires were burning across the state.

In neighbouring New South Wales, which includes Sydney, several fires close to the Victorian border were burning at the highest danger rating, the state’s Rural Fire Service said. The chief fire officer of Forest Fire Management Victoria, Chris Hardman, said it would likely take firefighters weeks to get the upper hand on the fires. “These fires will not be contained before it gets hot, dry and windy again,” he told Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Allan posted on X that a total fire ban was in place for Victoria as thousands of firefighters and more than 70 aircraft battled the blazes. “Bushfire smoke is affecting air quality in many areas across Victoria, including metropolitan Melbourne,” she said.

control during a summer heatwave, have torn through more than 350,000ha of bushland in Victoria state since the middle of last week, destroying more than 300 structures, including homes, and leaving thousands without power. Authorities have said the fires are the worst to hit the southeast since the 2019-2020 Black Summer blazes that destroyed an area the size of Turkiye and killed 33 people. The human remains were found by a vehicle near the town of Longwood, some 110km north of the state capital Melbourne, Victoria police said in a statement, adding that the victim was not yet identified. That fire, one of the largest burning yesterday, has already

Firefighters extinguishing embers at hot spots near Alexandra, Victoria. – REUTERSPIC

Prime

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well as to farmers, who had the “extraordinary cost of undertaking immediate and emergency livestock fodder distribution”.

“It’s estimated that thousands of head of cattle are likely to have been affected,” Albanese said in televised remarks. – Reuters

Albanese federal government would offer emergency funding to bushfire-hit residents as said the