Washington: The United States placed a Myanmar general on its sanctions blacklist on Wednesday for arms deals with North Korea that violated a UN Security Council embargo on buying weapons from Pyongyang.
The US Treasury named Lt General Thein Htay, the head of Myanmar`s Directorate of Defence Industries, for the sanctions, saying he was involved in buying North Korean military goods despite his government`s support of the Security Council ban.
It also said he acted on behalf of the Directorate of Defense Industries, which was already on the US sanctions blacklist for arms deals with North Korea.
"This action specifically targets Thein Htay, who is involved in the illicit trade of North Korean arms to Burma," the US Treasury said in a statement, using the former official name for Myanmar.
"It does not target the Government of Burma, which has continued to take positive steps in severing its military ties with North Korea."
The sanctions forbid any American from doing business with Thein Htay and freeze any assets he might have in the United States. AFP
Two arrested in Canada over terror bomb plot: police
Montreal: Canadian police said today they had arrested two people "inspired by Al-Qaeda" who allegedly plotted to bomb the provincial legislature in western British Columbia.
John Stewart Nuttall and Amanda Marie Korody -- who were detained Monday, Canada Day -- allegedly planned to use pressure cooker devices on the building in Victoria, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said.
Police said that while Nuttall, 38, and Korody, whose age was given as either 28 or 29, were "inspired by al Qaeda ideology," they appeared to be acting alone.
"There is no evidence to indicate that these individuals had the support or were acting at the direction of a terrorist group, per se," police said.
Police said the duo had been shadowed by investigators since February after coming to the attention of Canadian intelligence.
There was no evidence linking the two arrested individuals to those behind the Boston Marathon bombing in April, who also used pressure cooker devices, or the two people arrested in Toronto the same month for a plot to bomb a passenger train, police said.
AFP
