Boris Johnson has condemned the coup in Myanmar and demanded that all captured civilian leaders be released.
The UK prime minister condemned the "unlawful imprisonment" of Aung San Suu Kyi and said democracy "must be respected".
He joined a list of other world leaders to have spoken out following the armed forces declaring a state of emergencyand detaining a number of leading politiciansover claims there were "huge discrepancies" in last November's election.
Image:A military checkpoint has been set up on the way to the congress compound in Naypyitaw, Myanmar
Ms Suu Kyi's party won 396 out of 476 seats, but the army claimed the election results were fraudulent - allegations that have been rejected by Myanmar's election commission.
Protests broke out near the United Nations University in Tokyo, Japan, with demonstrators carrying signs saying "reject the military" and "we need democracy".
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Aung San Suu Kyi: From hero to the Hague
On Monday morning, Mr Johnson tweeted: "I condemn the coup and unlawful imprisonment of civilians, including Aung San Suu Kyi, in Myanmar. The vote of the people must be respected and civilian leaders released."
In the US, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said the administration is "alarmed" by events in Myanmar, a former British colony that used to be known as Burma and gained independence in 1948.
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Moment Myanmar MP is detained by military
She added: "We continue to affirm our strong support for Burma's democratic institutions and, in coordination with our regional partners, urge the military and all other parties to adhere to democratic norms and the rule of law, and to release those detained today.
"The US opposes any attempt to alter the outcome of recent elections or impede Myanmar's democratic transition, and will take action against those responsible if these steps are not reversed."
Swift criticism also came from EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who said "I strongly condemn the coup".
She called for the "legitimate civilian government" to be restored and the "immediate and unconditional release of all those detained".
India's foreign ministry also said reports Myanmar's commander-in-chief of the armed forces Min Aung Hlaing had taken control prompted "deep concern".
"We believe that the rule of law and the democratic process must be upheld. We are monitoring the situation closely," it said in a statement.
And Amnesty International's deputy regional director for campaigns Ming Yu Hah called it an "ominous moment", telling the Myanmar military to clarify "on what legal basis" senior politicians had been rounded up.
They said: "Previous military coups and crackdowns in Myanmar have seen large scale violence and extrajudicial killings by security forces.
"We urge the armed forces to exercise restraint, abide by international human rights and humanitarian law and for law enforcement duties to be fully resumed by the police force at the earliest opportunity."
Myanmar’s military has seized power and declared a state of emergency for one year following days of escalating tension over the result of November’s parliamentary elections.
Aung San Suu Ky, the country’s de facto leader, President Win Myint and other senior members of the National League for Democracy party were detained in the capital, Naypyidaw, on Monday.
A video broadcast on military-owned television said power was handed to Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, commander-in-chief of the armed forces, citing “huge irregularities” in November’s vote.
The power grab came as parliament – in which the military is given 25 percent of the seats – was set to open in Myanmar, also known as Burma.
Hello, this is Virginia Pietromarchi in Rome, Italy giving you the latest updates.
UK condemns ‘unlawful’ detention of civilians
The United Kingdom’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson joined the chorus of voices who are condemning the latest developments in Myanmar.
“I condemn the coup and unlawful imprisonment of civilians, including Aung San Suu Kyi, in Myanmar,” Johnson said on Twitter.
“The vote of the people must be respected and civilian leaders released,” he added.
I condemn the coup and unlawful imprisonment of civilians, including Aung San Suu Kyi, in Myanmar. The vote of the people must be respected and civilian leaders released.
The army declared a one-year state of emergency in a video broadcast on Myawaddy Television (MWD) citing ‘terrible fraud’ in last November’s general election as a justification for seizing power.
China said that it hoped that all sides in Myanmar could properly manage their differences under the constitution and legal framework and uphold stability, after the military seized power in a coup.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin made the comments at a daily news briefing in Beijing.
EU Council head Michel condemns military’s seizure of power
European Council President Charles Michel condemned the military’s seizure of power in Myanmar and demanded that it release of all those it had detained in raids across the country.
“The outcome of the elections has to be respected and democratic process needs to be restored,” Michel, who heads the body that represents the EU’s 27 national leaders, wrote on his Twitter account.
I strongly condemn the coup in #Myanmar and call on the military to release all who have been unlawfully detained in raids across the country.
The outcome of the elections has to be respected and democratic process needs to be restored.
Human Rights Watch’s Asia Advocacy Director, John Sifton urged the US and other countries to send a strong message to the military by imposing direct sanctions.
“The military junta that ruled Myanmar for decades never really stepped away from power in the first place … They never really submitted to civilian authority in the first place, so today’s events in some sense are merely revealing a political reality that already existed,” Sifton said on Twitter.
“The U.S. and other countries with sanctions regime should send a strong message today, by immediately revoking sanctions relaxations and imposing strict and directed economic sanctions on the military leadership and its enormous economic conglomerates; and pressing other key counties — including South Korea and Japan — to force businesses to divest. The Burmese junta doesn’t want to go back to being China’s vassal,” he added in another tweet.
“It appears to be a military coup — but from another perspective, the military junta that ruled Myanmar for decades never really stepped away from power in the first place.
The Rohingya community condemned the military power grab, according to its leader Dil Mohammed.
“We Rohingya community strongly condemn this heinous attempt to kill democracy,” Dil Mohammed told Reuters news agency by phone.
“We urge the global community to come forward and restore democracy at any cost.”
US concerned about Myanmar developments
United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expressing alarm about Myanmar’s military detaining Aung San Suu Kyi and other civilian leaders.
“We call on Burmese military leaders to release all government officials and civil society leaders and respect the will of the people of Burma as expressed in democratic elections on November 8,” Blinken said in a statement from Washington, DC.
“The United States stands with the people of Burma in their aspirations for democracy, freedom, peace, and development. The military must reverse these actions immediately.”
UN chief condemns military take of power
United Nations’ Secretary-General Antonio Guterres strongly condemned the detention of the country’s civilian leaders as the military announced it was taking control of the country for one year.
He expressed “grave concern” about the declaration that all legislative, executive and judicial powers have been transferred to the military. “These developments represent a serious blow to democratic reforms in Myanmar,” said a statement from the UN chief’s spokesperson, Stéphane Dujarric.
Guterres said the elections last November provided a strong mandate for Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy to govern. The announcement that the military was taking control came on the first day Myanmar’s Parliament was to convene following the November elections.
The military has argued the vote was tainted by fraud, but the elections commission last week rejected those claims as lacking evidence.
Malaysia calls for peaceful resolution
Malaysia called on all parties to resolve any electoral disputes peacefully.
“Malaysia supports the continuation of discussion among Myanmar’s leaders to avoid adverse consequences to the people and state of Myanmar, especially in the current, difficult COVID-19 pandemic situation,” its foreign ministry said in a statement.
Suu Kyi’s party urges Myanmar’s people to oppose ‘coup’
The National League for Democracy (NLD) released a statement from its chief Suu Kyi, saying the military’s actions were unjustified and went against the constitution and will of voters.
A verified Facebook page for Suu Kyi’s party published comments it said had been written in anticipation of a coup, and which quoted her as saying people should protest against the military takeover.
“The actions of the military are actions to put the country back under a dictatorship,” it said. “I urge people not to accept this, to respond and wholeheartedly to protest against the coup by the military.”
UK seeing 'decline in coronavirus infections' says expert
The study, by the Institute for Genomics and Evolutionary Medicine at Temple University, tracked mutations in the coronavirus back to its ‘progenitor’, or earliest common ancestor.
It concluded the virus first developed in China back in October or early November 2019.
According to their research, the progenitor dates from mid-October to November 2019.
Sergei Pond, one of the team behind the report, said: “All the genetic evidence makes it clear this virus is from China.
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“The pattern of worldwide spread is also consistent with Chinese viruses seeding epidemics in other countries.”
Beijing only announced to the world it was fighting a new infectious disease on December 31 2019.
In a separate paper, published last year, scientists analysed the genetic trees of 7,666 SARS-CoV-2 genomes collected from around the world.
They estimated a common ancestor to the circulating COVID virus strains most likely appeared in China at some point between Oct 6 and Dec 11, 2019.
"All the genetic evidence makes it clear this virus is from China" (Image: GETTY)
They wrote in Infection, Genetics and Evolution: “The genomic diversity of the global SARS-CoV-2 population being recapitulated in multiple countries points to extensive worldwide transmission of COVID-19, likely from extremely early on in the pandemic.”
Separate research involved examining medical records which show patients experienced a mystery pneumonia-like illness from as early as September, according to a Mail on Sunday report last month.
Forty patients were treated with the new illness which resembled Covid-19 - and eight died during treatment in hospital, according to the files.
Chinese officials have promoted a number of unproven theories about the origins of coronavirus including that it began in Italy or was imported into Wuhan by visiting American troops.
Donald Trump suggested coronavirus could originate from the Wuhan Institute of Virology (Image: GETTY)
Last week a foreign ministry spokeswoman said it could have originated in a laboratory in Maryland, USA.
A number of senior US figures, including former president Donald Trump, have suggested coronavirus originated at the Wuhan Institute of Virology which was working with bat coronaviruses.
Asked whether he’d seen anything that “gives you a high degree of confidence that the Wuhan Institute of Virology was the origin of this virus” last May Mr Trump replied: “Yes, I have. Yes, I have.”
Asked to provide proof he added: “I can’t tell you that. I’m not allowed to tell you that.”
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According to the US State Department “several” researchers at the facility fell ill during the autumn of 2019.
However the accusation has been fiercely denied by Chinese authorities.
A World Health Organisation team is currently investigating the pandemic’s origins though there are fears its efforts could be frustrated by Beijing.
Speaking to the Daily Mail Tom Turgendhat MP, the Tory chair of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, commented: “The evidence of the virus emerging from Wuhan is compelling but Beijing continues to blame others.”
The UK injected nearly 600,000 coronavirus vaccines on Saturday (Image: GETTY)
In total over 2.2 million people across the world have been killed by coronavirus, with the United States, Brazil, Mexico and India seeing the most deaths.
Britain has recorded over 100,000 deaths within 28 days of a positive coronavirus test.
On Saturday nearly 600,000 people across the UK received a Covid-19 vaccine, the highest daily figure for the country yet.
Myanmar’s military has seized power in a coup, detaining Aung San Suu Kyi and other senior members of the country’s ruling party after several days of rising tensions over the results of a recent election.
Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar’s 75-year-old state counsellor, President Win Myint and other members of the ruling National League for Democracy party were arrested at their residences in the capital Naypyidaw early on Monday.
Later in the morning, Myanmar’s military said that it had taken control of the country and declared a state of emergency for a year, handing power to Min Aung Hlaing, the military’s powerful commander-in-chief.
Residents of the commercial capital Yangon and other cities said that service for all four of the country’s telecoms companies had been cut off, some internet service providers were down and terrestrial television service was restricted to the military’s Myawaddy TV channel.
The military’s power grab came hours before Myanmar’s newly elected parliament was due to meet for the first time since a November 8 election, the results of which the military has contested.
Sean Turnell, an Australian academic who serves as an adviser to Aung San Suu Kyi, confirmed news agency reports of the arrests.
“All the people in Naypyidaw have been cut off, so it looks like the reports about Aung San Suu Kyi and the president being detained appear to be true,” he told the Financial Times from Yangon.
Last week, Myanmar’s military and Min Aung Hlaing suggested they were ready to launch a coup after complaining about alleged irregularities in the November election.
The NLD won the poll by a landslide, ensuring Aung San Suu Kyi a second five-year term in office. The military-backed Union Solidarity and Development party was trounced, but it refused to recognise the results, with the backing of senior military leaders.
As tensions between the government and military rose last week, Myanmar’s election commission rejected the military’s allegations of vote fraud. A group of domestic election observer organisations that had monitored the vote said that while there were some shortcomings in the process, overall “the results of the elections were credible and reflected the will of the majority voters”.
On Friday, the UN and the embassies of several European countries and the US issued statements saying they opposed any effort by Myanmar’s military to overturn the election’s result.
However, on Saturday the military appeared to step away from the coup threat, saying it would abide by and protect the constitution.
The coup was a blow to democratic hopes in a country that was ruled by the military from 1962 to 2011, when Myanmar began its transition to democracy under a constitution that reserved three important ministries and 25 per cent of parliament for army appointees. The NLD took power in 2016 under a civilian government headed by Aung San Suu Kyi.
Thant Myint-U, a historian and author of several books on Myanmar, said Monday’s events opened the door to “an incredibly uncertain future”.
“Myanmar’s a country awash in weapons, with millions in desperate poverty and deep ethnic and religious divisions,” he said. “The possibility of far more bloodshed than we’ve seen in recent years is not unimaginable.”
The US and Australia condemned the military’s actions on Monday. The White House issued a statement saying it was “alarmed” at news of the arrests and said that President Joe Biden had been briefed by national security adviser Jake Sullivan abut the situation.
“We continue to affirm our strong support for Burma’s democratic institutions and, in co-ordination with our regional partners, urge the military and all other parties to adhere to democratic norms and the rule of law, and to release those detained today,” the statement said.
Australia’s government said it was “deeply concerned at reports the Myanmar military is once again seeking to seize control of Myanmar” in a statement by Marise Payne, the minister of foreign affairs.
Soldiers are on the streets of the capital, Naypyitaw, and the main city, Yangon.
Mobile internet data connections and some phone services have been disrupted in major cities, while the state broadcaster MRTV says it is having technical issues and is off air.
The BBC's South East Asia correspondent, Jonathan Head, says this looks like a full-scale coup, despite the military promising only last week to abide by the constitution which it drafted more than a decade ago.
Under the constitution it does have significant powers to declare a state of emergency, but detaining political leaders like Ms Suu Kyi is a provocative and very risky move, one which may well be strongly opposed, our correspondent says.
NLD spokesman Myo Nyunt told the Reuters news agency by phone that Ms Suu Kyi, President Win Myint and other leaders had been "taken" in the early hours of the morning.
"I want to tell our people not to respond rashly and I want them to act according to the law," he said, adding he also expected to be detained.
Soldiers also visited the homes of chief ministers in several regions and took them away, family members said.
What happened in the election?
The NLD won 83% of available seats in the 8 November election in what many saw as a referendum on Ms Suu Kyi's civilian government.
It was just the second election since the end of military rule in 2011.
But the military has disputed the result, filing complaints at the Supreme Court against the president and the chair of the electoral commission.
Fears of a coup rose after the military recently threatened to "take action" over alleged fraud. The election commission has rejected the allegations.
Who is Aung San Suu Kyi?
Aung San Suu Kyi is the daughter of Myanmar's independence hero, General Aung San. He was assassinated when she was only two years old, just before Myanmar gained independence from British colonial rule in 1948.
Ms Suu Kyi was once seen as a beacon for human rights - a principled activist who gave up her freedom to challenge the ruthless army generals who ruled Myanmar for decades.
In 1991, she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, while still under house arrest, and hailed as "an outstanding example of the power of the powerless".
Ms Suu Kyi spent nearly 15 years in detention between 1989 and 2010.
In November 2015 she led the National League for Democracy (NLD) to a landslide victory in Myanmar's first openly contested election for 25 years.
The Myanmar constitution forbids her from becoming president because she has children who are foreign nationals. But Ms Suu Kyi, now 75, is widely seen as de facto leader.
But since becoming Myanmar's state counsellor, her leadership has been defined by the treatment of the country's mostly Muslim Rohingya minority.
In 2017 hundreds of thousands of Rohingya fled to neighbouring Bangladesh due to an army crackdown sparked by deadly attacks on police stations in Rakhine state.
Ms Suu Kyi's former international supporters accused her of doing nothing to stop rape, murder and possible genocide by refusing to condemn the still powerful military or acknowledge accounts of atrocities.
A few initially argued that she was a pragmatic politician, trying to govern a multi-ethnic country with a complex history.
But her personal defence of the army's actions at the International Court of Justice hearing in 2019 in the Hague was seen as a new turning point that obliterated what little remained of her international reputation.
At home, however, "the Lady", as Ms Suu Kyi is known, remains wildly popular among the Buddhist majority who hold little sympathy for the Rohingya.
Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of Myanmar's governing National League for Democracy (NLD) party, has been arrested, a party spokesman said.
It comes amid tensions between the civilian government and the military, stoking fears of a coup.
At elections in November, the NLD won enough seats to form a government, but the army says the vote was fraudulent.
Myanmar, also known as Burma, was ruled by the military until 2011. Ms Suu Kyi spent many years under house arrest.
The newly elected lower house of parliament was due to convene for the first time on Monday but the military was calling for a postponement.
The BBC's South East Asia correspondent, Jonathan Head, says there are soldiers on the streets of the capital, Naypyitaw, and the main city, Yangon.
NLD spokesman Myo Nyunt told the Reuters news agency by phone that Ms Suu Kyi, President Win Myint and other leaders had been "taken" in the early hours of the morning.
"I want to tell our people not to respond rashly and I want them to act according to the law," he said, adding he also expected to be detained.
Telephone and internet lines in Naypyitaw have been cut, the BBC's Burmese Service reports.
State media MRTV is having technical issues and is unable to broadcast, the network said.
Soldiers also visited the homes of chief ministers in several regions and took them away, family members said.
On Saturday Myanmar's armed forces promised to abide by the constitution as concerns grew that they were preparing to stage a coup.
What happened in the election?
The NLD won 83% of available seats in the 8 November election in what many saw as a referendum on Ms Suu Kyi's civilian government.
It was just the second election since the end of military rule in 2011.
But the military has disputed the result, filing complaints at the Supreme Court against the president and the chair of the electoral commission.
Fears of a coup rose after the military recently threatened to "take action" over alleged fraud. The election commission has rejected the allegations.
Who is Aung San Suu Kyi?
Aung San Suu Kyi is the daughter of Myanmar's independence hero, General Aung San. He was assassinated when she was only two years old, just before Myanmar gained independence from British colonial rule in 1948.
Ms Suu Kyi was once seen as a beacon for human rights - a principled activist who gave up her freedom to challenge the ruthless army generals who ruled Myanmar for decades.
In 1991, she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, while still under house arrest, and hailed as "an outstanding example of the power of the powerless".
Ms Suu Kyi spent nearly 15 years in detention between 1989 and 2010.
In November 2015 she led the National League for Democracy (NLD) to a landslide victory in Myanmar's first openly contested election for 25 years.
The Myanmar constitution forbids her from becoming president because she has children who are foreign nationals. But Ms Suu Kyi, now 75, is widely seen as de facto leader.
But since becoming Myanmar's state counsellor, her leadership has been defined by the treatment of the country's mostly Muslim Rohingya minority.
In 2017 hundreds of thousands of Rohingya fled to neighbouring Bangladesh due to an army crackdown sparked by deadly attacks on police stations in Rakhine state.
Ms Suu Kyi's former international supporters accused her of doing nothing to stop rape, murder and possible genocide by refusing to condemn the still powerful military or acknowledge accounts of atrocities.
A few initially argued that she was a pragmatic politician, trying to govern a multi-ethnic country with a complex history.
But her personal defence of the army's actions at the International Court of Justice hearing in 2019 in the Hague was seen as a new turning point that obliterated what little remained of her international reputation.
At home, however, "the Lady", as Ms Suu Kyi is known, remains wildly popular among the Buddhist majority who hold little sympathy for the Rohingya.
Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of Myanmar's governing National League for Democracy (NLD) party, has been arrested, the spokesman for the party said.
It comes amid tensions between the civilian government and the military, stoking fears of a coup.
At elections in November, the NLD won enough seats to form a government, but the army says the vote was fraudulent.
Myanmar, also known as Burma, was ruled by the military until 2011. Ms Suu Kyi spent many years under house arrest.
The newly elected lower house of parliament was due to convene for the first time on Monday but the military was calling for a postponement.
The BBC's South East Asia correspondent, Jonathan Head, says there are soldiers on the streets of the capital, Naypyitaw, and the main city, Yangon.
NLD spokesman Myo Nyunt told the Reuters news agency by phone that Ms Suu Kyi, President Win Myint and other leaders had been "taken" in the early hours of the morning.
"I want to tell our people not to respond rashly and I want them to act according to the law," he said, adding he also expected to be detained.
Telephone and internet lines in Naypyitaw have been cut, the BBC's Burmese Service reports.
Soldiers also visited the homes of chief ministers in several regions and took them away, family members said.
On Saturday Myanmar's armed forces promised to abide by the constitution as concerns grew that they were preparing to stage a coup.
What happened in the election?
The NLD won 83% of available seats in the 8 November election in what many saw as a referendum on Ms Suu Kyi's civilian government.
It was just the second election since the end of military rule in 2011.
But the military has disputed the result, filing complaints at the Supreme Court against the president and the chair of the electoral commission.
Fears of a coup rose after the military recently threatened to "take action" over alleged fraud. The election commission has rejected the allegations.
Who is Aung San Suu Kyi?
Aung San Suu Kyi is the daughter of Myanmar's independence hero, General Aung San. He was assassinated when she was only two years old, just before Myanmar gained independence from British colonial rule in 1948.
Ms Suu Kyi was once seen as a beacon for human rights - a principled activist who gave up her freedom to challenge the ruthless army generals who ruled Myanmar for decades.
In 1991, she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, while still under house arrest, and hailed as "an outstanding example of the power of the powerless".
Ms Suu Kyi spent nearly 15 years in detention between 1989 and 2010.
In November 2015 she led the National League for Democracy (NLD) to a landslide victory in Myanmar's first openly contested election for 25 years.
The Myanmar constitution forbids her from becoming president because she has children who are foreign nationals. But Ms Suu Kyi, now 75, is widely seen as de facto leader.
But since becoming Myanmar's state counsellor, her leadership has been defined by the treatment of the country's mostly Muslim Rohingya minority.
In 2017 hundreds of thousands of Rohingya fled to neighbouring Bangladesh due to an army crackdown sparked by deadly attacks on police stations in Rakhine state.
Ms Suu Kyi's former international supporters accused her of doing nothing to stop rape, murder and possible genocide by refusing to condemn the still powerful military or acknowledge accounts of atrocities.
A few initially argued that she was a pragmatic politician, trying to govern a multi-ethnic country with a complex history.
But her personal defence of the army's actions at the International Court of Justice hearing in 2019 in the Hague was seen as a new turning point that obliterated what little remained of her international reputation.
At home, however, "the Lady", as Ms Suu Kyi is known, remains wildly popular among the Buddhist majority who hold little sympathy for the Rohingya.
