Briefly

MYANMAR

Court video gives 1st glimpse of Suu Kyi

State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi faced court on Monday via video link, being seen by her lawyer for the first time since she was detained by the military one month ago. Suu Kyi, 75, appeared healthy during the appearance, lawyer Khin Maung Zaw said. Her supporters meanwhile marched in several towns and cities. Suu Kyi had already been charged with two offenses－possession of walkie-talkies that had been imported without being registered, and violating an order limiting public gatherings to fight the spread of the coronavirus. The military had alleged that there was massive voting fraud in the country's November 2020 general elections, which saw Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party win a majority of seats in both houses of parliament. The nation is now in a one-year state of emergency.

AFGHANISTAN

US wasted billions on vehicles, buildings

The United States wasted billions of dollars in war-torn Afghanistan on buildings and vehicles that were either abandoned or destroyed, according to a report released on Monday by a US government watchdog. The agency said it reviewed $7.8 billion spent since 2008 on buildings and vehicles. Only $343.2 million worth of buildings and vehicles "were maintained in good condition", said the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, which oversees US taxpayer money spent on the protracted conflict. The report said that just $1.2 billion of the $7.8 billion went to pay for buildings and vehicles that were used as intended. The US public is weary of the nearly 20-year war and President Joe Biden is reviewing a peace deal his predecessor, Donald Trump, signed with the Taliban a year ago.

FRANCE

Ex-president Sarkozy convicted of corruption

Judges found former president Nicolas Sarkozy guilty of trying to bribe a judge and of influence-peddling on Monday and sentenced him to three years in jail, with two years suspended. Sarkozy, who led France from 2007 to 2012, had denied any wrongdoing, saying he was the victim of a witch-hunt by financial prosecutors who used excessive means to snoop on his affairs. Retired from politics but still influential among conservatives, Sarkozy has 10 days to appeal the ruling. He is the second former president in modern France, after the late Jacques Chirac, to be convicted of corruption.

China Daily - Agencies