Supporters throng streets as Suu Kyi returns

Thousands of supporters of Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi thronged the streets of the capital Naypyitaw on Saturday to celebrate her arrival back from The Hague, where she defended the country against genocide charges.

The Nobel laureate waved as her black car drove slowly past crowds who waved flags, held up pictures of her face and shouted jubilant greetings.

“Mother Suu went to the court on behalf of the country,” local farmer Khin Maung Shwe told Reuters. “Actually the accusation was against the army. But she took the first step of responsibility as a leader of the nation.”

Gambia has accused Myanmar of violating the 1948 Genocide Convention over a military campaign that drove more than 730,000 Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar. It has asked the International Court of Justice to order “provisional measures” to prevent more harm.

WELLINGTON: A New Zealand divers searched contaminated waters near the volcanic White Island for two remaining bodies on Saturday, as the death toll from an eruption rose to 15 people, the police said. Waters around the island were contaminated by the massive eruption of rocks, lava and chemicals on Monday, reducing visibility.

“Divers have reported seeing a number of dead fish and eels washed ashore and floating in the water,” police said in a statement. The remains of six people were successfully recovered on Friday after a military team in gas masks and hazmat suits landed on the uninhabited island and removed the bodies in a high-risk operation.