AFP Asia

A heady aroma of malt and brewing yeast drifts through Pakistan’s oldest and by far largest brewery, which is gearing up for expansion after getting approval to sell abroad after a nearly 50-year ban.Bottles and cans clatter along the production lines at Murree Brewery, a singular scene in the Muslim-majority country where alcohol is largely banned. But Murree, founded in 1860 to quench the thirst of British soldiers and the colonial community during the Raj, has survived Islamist opposition and strict regulations to become one of Pakistan’s most well-known companies.”It’s a journey of a roller-coaster and resilience,” Isphanyar Bhandara, the third generation of his family to run the business, told AFP in an interview.”Getting permission to export is another happy milestone,” he added. “My grandfather, and late father, tried to get the export licence, but couldn’t get it. Just because, you know, we are an Islamic country.” However, Bhandara said he got “a rude surprise” in 2017 when the Chinese-run Hui Coastal Brewery and Distillery got permission to brew beer in Pakistan, mainly for the thousands of Chinese working on major infrastructure projects in the country.”What happened to all the Islamic lectures?” said Bhandara, who hails from Pakistan’s small but influential Parsi (Zoroastrian) community and is also a lawmaker in the National Assembly.Soon he embarked on the years-long lobbying effort to lift the export ban.- Peculiar profits -Originally housed in the mountains outside Islamabad, Murree’s red-brick facility now sits opposite the army chief’s residence in the capital’s twin city Rawalpindi, one of the most heavily guarded places in the country.Revenue surpassed $100 million in the fiscal year to June, with alcohol sales generating just over half of the total, and non-alcoholic drinks and bottle making accounting for the rest.The performance is all the more remarkable given that alcohol sales to Muslims are forbidden, meaning only religious minorities — numbering around nine million — and foreigners can buy beer or liquor in a few authorised shops or upscale hotels.But that has not stopped millions of Pakistanis from getting their occasional tipple, in a country with a long history of appreciating a fine drink. Its revered founder Mohammad Ali Jinnah was known to enjoy spirits, and the military dictator Pervez Musharraf made no secret of his love of whisky.Even prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, who announced the alcohol ban in 1977 in a bid to garner support from right-wing Islamist parties, once told a rally: “Yes, I drink alcohol, but at least I don’t drink the blood of the poor.”These days it’s common for bottles to appear at dinners or parties — there is usually a Christian or Hindu to be found who will buy them for you.”Pakistan’s affair with alcohol is like that of a secret paramour — acknowledged but not talked about extensively,” said Fasi Zaka, a prominent columnist and political commentator. “It’s the tolerable vice — condemned but familiar.”However, many Muslim drinkers obtain alcohol from bootleggers or locally produced moonshine, and every year several people die after consuming methanol-contaminated liquor.”I have to bribe the police and take extra risks, so the price is doubled”, a Christian bootlegger in Islamabad told AFP on condition of anonymity.”The extra charge is to keep everyone happy, whether it’s a Muslim customer or a police officer keeping an eye on me,” he said with a laugh.- Expanding horizons -Before the export ban, Murree had sold its products in neighbouring India and Afghanistan, but also in Gulf countries and as far as the United States.”It sounds very strange or very bizarre today, but we were exporting to Kabul,” where the Taliban now govern with their strict interpretation of Islam, Bhandara said.Murree has already made limited shipments to Japan, Britain and Portugal as it explores distribution channels and strategies. “Right now, the target is not revenue or to make money… the target is to explore new markets”, Bhandara said.The company, which has around 2,200 employees, is looking in particular at Europe, but is also weighing a move into Asian and African markets.Selling abroad could also give Murree a chance to promote its history and brand in ways unimaginable at home.”We are not allowed to advertise, so we keep our heads down — we try to make a good beer with our heads down,” Bhandara said.

A Pakistani firm won an auction Tuesday with a $482 million bid for a majority stake in the embattled national carrier PIA, a deal seen as a litmus test of the government’s pledge to sell off loss-making state companies.Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), long accused by critics of being bloated and poorly run, has been burning through cash as the government struggles with a balance of payments crisis.Three Pakistani firms competed in the auction carried live by state broadcasters, with representatives placing their offers in a clear box during several rounds of bidding.The Arif Habib investment group emerged on top with a bid of 135 billion rupees for the 75 percent stake on offer. It has an option to buy the remaining 25 percent in the coming months.”It was essential to make this process transparent because the biggest transaction of Pakistan’s history is about to take place,” Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif told his cabinet in a televised statement as the bidding began.The rival bidders were a consortium led by Lucky Cement, which bid 134 billion rupees, and the private Pakistani carrier Air Blue, with 26.5 billion. The sale offer comes after last year’s failure to privatise PIA, with just one bid for $36 million — far below the $300 million to $305 million wanted by the government.Before being delisted from the Pakistan stock exchange, the airline reported a net loss of $437 million for the 2022 full year on revenue of $854 million.- More sales on deck? -Islamabad has promised to divest dozens of its cash-burning enterprises in the finance, energy, industrial and retailing sectors by 2029 under a $7 billion loan programme agreed with the International Monetary Fund last year.Many of the companies have incurred billions of dollars in losses because of mismanagement and corruption, forcing the government to inject funds to keep them afloat.Founded in 1955, PIA was a symbol of national pride and rapid growth for years, with a pathbreaking international network and even flight attendant uniforms created by French designer Pierre Cardin in the 1960s.But its reputation suffered after racking up heavy losses as well as serious safety lapses.It was banned from flying to the European Union, Britain and the United States in June 2020, a month after one of its Airbus A-320 jets crashed onto a Karachi street, killing nearly 100 people.Europe and Britain allowed PIA flights to resume this year, but operations have not yet resumed for the United States.Just 18 of its fleet of around 34 planes are in active service, according to officials. 

Bangladesh on Tuesday summoned the top Indian envoy as fresh protests erupted outside its high commission in New Delhi over the mob lynching of a Hindu worker in Dhaka.The garment worker was accused of blasphemy and lynched on December 18 as anti-India sentiment rises in the neighbouring majority Muslim nation. Seven suspects have been arrested over the killing.On Tuesday, hundreds of demonstrators converged near Bangladesh’s High Commission in New Delhi waving saffron flags and banners, including one that read: “Stop Killing Hindus in Bangladesh”.”Hindus are warning Bangladesh that it is taking the wrong approach,” said Puneet Gautam, 37, a protester and member of the right-wing Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) organisation.VHP members and security personnel clashed outside Dhaka’s outpost as the crowd shoved its way through yellow metal barricades around 300 metres from the building.Earlier on Tuesday, Bangladesh’s foreign ministry had summoned Indian High Commissioner Pranay Verma to express “grave concern” over previous protests outside its visa centres. In its statement, the ministry cited “regrettable incidents” and vandalism outside its visa centres in New Delhi and Siliguri last week. India has dismissed reports of vandalism as “misleading propaganda”. Ties between the neighbours have deteriorated since ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina fled the pro-democracy uprising last year and sought refuge in India. India says it is still considering Dhaka’s requests to extradite Hasina, who was sentenced to death in absentia for orchestrating a deadly crackdown on the uprising. Bangladesh has been in political turmoil since the end of Hasina’s rule, with violence marring the campaigning ahead of next year’s election. This month, parliamentary hopeful and vocal India critic Sharif Osman Hadi was shot by masked assailants in Dhaka, with unconfirmed reports suggesting his attackers might have fled to India.The killing set off protests in Dhaka with arsonists torching several buildings, including two major newspapers deemed to favour India as well as a prominent cultural institution.Mobs also pelted stones at the Indian High Commission in the port city of Chattogram, where India has since suspended visa services.On Monday, Dhaka temporarily suspended visa services in Delhi.Russia has urged Delhi and Dhaka to mend fences.”The sooner this happens, the better,” Russian Ambassador to Bangladesh, Alexander G. Khozin, was quoted as saying in the Dhaka Tribune.

Myanmar’s top general Min Aung Hlaing was months from retirement when he made a dictatorial about-face nearly five years ago, deposing the democratic government and promoting himself to leader.The bespectacled and diminutive officer became military chief in 2011, as Myanmar broke with its history of iron-fisted martial rule and began its latest experiment with democracy.The 69-year-old soldier spent a decade jostling with civilian leaders before overturning them in a coup, jailing Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and triggering a vicious civil war that is still ongoing.He is now presiding over a poll due to start Sunday, promising it will return peace and democracy despite scepticism at home and abroad.- General non grata -Min Aung Hlaing was born in Dawei city in Myanmar’s elongated southern reach, studying at university before enrolling into officer training school — albeit on his third attempt.He rose through the ranks, burnishing his credentials by leading a campaign battling an ethnic rebel insurrection around crucial trade crossings with China.His predecessor Than Shwe directly ruled Myanmar for nearly two decades, but it was Min Aung Hlaing’s rare fate to be a top general under civilian command.A military-drafted constitution still gave him a central role in politics, though, with a quarter of parliamentary seats and essential cabinet positions reserved for his officers.Before the coup, Min Aung Hlaing was already persona non grata in many countries for commanding a 2017 military crackdown on the Rohingya minority that drove around 750,000 people into Bangladesh.He was banned from Facebook for stoking hate speech, heavily sanctioned, and the International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor is seeking his arrest for crimes against humanity.Min Aung Hlaing has said military operations were justified to root out insurgents and steadfastly denies allegations of human rights abuses.He also embarked on an ambitious and expensive programme to outfit the army with modern equipment, sourcing weapons and hardware from China, Russia and Israel.Every March 27 he oversees a parade of troops and materiel in the capital Naypyidaw for Armed Forces Day, standing on an open-top jeep and festooned with his many military and civilian awards.His official title in state media is “State Security and Peace Commission Chairman Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services Senior General Thadoe Maha Thray Sithu Thadoe Thiri Thudhamma Min Aung Hlaing”.But as his nomenclature has become longer, the number of soldiers assembled for inspection has shrunk each year with embattled forces deployed to frontlines elsewhere.- Reinforced rule -In 2021 Min Aung Hlaing was about to turn 65 — mandatory military retirement age at the time — when he toppled Suu Kyi’s democratically elected government and jailed her.He claimed her National League for Democracy party had swept a landslide electoral victory over pro-military parties by means of voter fraud.Analysts at the time said he was probably anxious about the military’s waning power.Security forces crushed pro-democracy protests, but activists quit the cities to fight as guerrillas alongside ethnic rebels — including those Min Aung Hlaing battled earlier in his career.There is no official death toll for Myanmar’s civil war and estimates vary widely.According to non-profit organisation Armed Conflict Location & Event Data (ACLED), which tallies media reports of violence, 90,000 have been killed on all sides since the coup.That number almost certainly includes conscripts the military has begun forcibly recruiting to bolster its ranks.Min Aung Hlaing ruled by fiat as military chief over four years of emergency rule after the coup.He ended the state of emergency this summer and handed back power to the president’s office — which he also occupies.Many analysts, democracy monitors and Myanmar citizens believe the election is most likely to see a power transfer from Min Aung Hlaing to himself.

Cyclone Ditwah, which struck Sri Lanka last month, caused an estimated $4.1 billion in direct physical damage to buildings, agriculture and critical infrastructure, according to a World Bank report released Monday.The natural disaster killed more than 640 people, and affected more than 10 percent of Sri Lanka’s population. Floods and landslides caused by the cyclone left extensive damage throughout the South Asian island nation. The total damage estimated by the World Bank is equivalent to about 4 percent of Sri Lanka’s GDP.Infrastructure, including roads, bridges, railways and water supply networks, accounted for the largest share of damage, at an estimated $1.735 billion, according to the World Bank’s Global Rapid Post-Disaster Damage Estimation (GRADE) report. Housing damage was valued at $985 million, accounting for 24 percent of the total damage.The estimate is limited to direct physical damage and “does not include losses related to income or production, nor the full costs of recovery and reconstruction”.Buildings such as “schools, health facilities, businesses, and large industrial facilities and factories located along major rivers and creeks, were also heavily impacted, accounting for $562 million in estimated damages,” the World Bank said.The Sri Lankan government has also secured a World Bank agreement to repurpose $120 million from an ongoing project for disaster recovery spending. The latest World Bank report comes after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said Friday that its board had approved $206 million in emergency financing for Sri Lanka, to help in the country’s recovery.The cyclone struck as the country was emerging from its worst ever economic meltdown in 2022, when it ran out of foreign exchange reserves to pay for essential imports such as food, fuel and medicines.Following a $2.9 billion bailout from the IMF approved in early 2023, the country’s economy has stabilised.

Bangladeshi journalists protested on Monday against arson and vandalism at the offices of two leading newspapers, attacked last week as anger over a student leader’s death spilled into violence.Dozens of journalists and media workers formed a human chain in the capital Dhaka, holding placards condemning attacks on “freedom of the press” and on “democratic values”, as security personnel stood guard.On Thursday, angry mobs attacked the offices of Prothom Alo and the Daily Star, torching parts of the buildings and vandalising the premises of the two publications caught up in surging anti-India sentiment in the wake of popular student leader Sharif Osman Hadi’s death.A staunch India critic, 32-year-old Hadi was a key figure in last year’s pro-democracy uprising that ousted former prime minister Sheikh Hasina.He was shot by masked gunmen earlier this month as he was leaving a mosque in Dhaka and succumbed to his injuries on Thursday at a hospital in Singapore.Protesters, roused by his killing, set fire to several buildings including the offices of the two newspapers deemed to favour India, where Hasina, 78, has taken refuge since fleeing the uprising.Nurul Kabir, editor of New Age daily and president of the national Editors’ Council, said the attackers had tried to burn journalists alive.”They set the buildings on fire while journalists were working inside and prevented the fire service from launching rescue operations,” he said at Monday’s rally.”They made their stance clear — that they would burn dissenters alive.”Kabir, who tried to help journalists trapped on a rooftop, said he was assaulted during the rescue attempt.Dhaka Metropolitan Police said 17 people had been arrested in connection with the attacks on the dailies.- ‘Murder threats’ -Senior police officer S.N. Nazrul Islam defended the force’s response.”There was no loss of life, and I consider that a success,” he said.The violence has drawn sharp criticism from rights groups and media houses, who accused the government led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus of failing to prevent the unrest.Anti-India sentiment has been fuelled in part by unconfirmed reports that Hadi’s killers were hiding there.Demonstrators last week also pelted the Indian High Commission in Chattogram with stones and vandalised cultural institutions.Mahfuz Anam, editor and publisher of the Daily Star, said press intimidation had escalated to dangerous levels.”On social media we have seen messages saying journalists of the Daily Star and Prothom Alo should be hunted down and killed in their homes,” he said. “This is no longer about opinions. These are murder threats.”Members of civil society groups and political parties joined the journalists’ protest.”This is not just a time to express solidarity and unity, we must stop and resist this destructive force,” Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, secretary-general of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, told reporters.Bangladesh, a South Asian nation of 170 million people, has been in turmoil as it gears up for general elections in February, the country’s first since the fall of Hasina’s autocratic government.

The fragile global legal framework for nuclear weapons control faces further setbacks in 2026, eroding guardrails to avoid a nuclear crisis.The first half of the year will see two key events: the US-Russia bilateral treaty, New START, expires on February 5, and in April, New York hosts the Review Conference (RevCon) of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) — the cornerstone of global nuclear security frameworks.The RevCon, held every four to five years, is meant to keep the NPT alive. But during the last two sessions, the 191 signatory states failed to agree on a final document, and experts expect the same outcome in April.”I think this is going to be a difficult RevCon,” said Alexandra Bell, head of US-based global security nonprofit the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, at a UN-hosted online conference in early December. “In terms of the current state and near future prospects of nuclear arms control architecture, things are bleak,” she added.Anton Khlopkov, director of Russian think-tank the Center for Energy and Security Studies (CENESS), took an even starker point of view, saying at the same event that “we are at the point of almost complete dismantlement of arms control architecture”.”We should be realistic in the current circumstances. At best, I think we should try to preserve what we have,” he said.- ‘Crumbling’ safeguards -From US strikes on Iranian nuclear sites to Russia’s test of the new Burevestnik nuclear-powered cruise missile and US President Donald Trump’s remarks about possibly resuming nuclear tests — the international nuclear landscape darkened in 2025. At the same time, “the arms control architecture is crumbling”, Emmanuelle Maitre of France’s Foundation for Strategic Research (FRS) told AFP. A key challenge hinges on a shift in global relations. Nuclear control had been built over decades around a Moscow-Washington axis, but China’s growing power and rapid technological advances have shifted the international playing field, which is simultaneously increasingly strained.”The growing interlinkage between nuclear and conventional forces and the emergence of disruptive technologies (such as the US Golden Dome defence system and new hypersonic weapons) have transformed traditional nuclear deterrence into a multi-domain concept, especially in a multipolar world,” said Peking University’s Hua Han.”This trilateral configuration introduces complexities far beyond the Cold War-era bilateral model. Increasing China-Russia cooperation further complicates deterrence calculations, particularly in the two main theatres of concern: Europe and the Asia-Pacific,” she added, according to the minutes of an April event held by Pakistan’s Center for International Strategic Studies. A likely result of the changing landscape is the lapse of New START, which sets weapon limits and includes inspection systems.”The entire inspection component is no longer functioning, the notifications when a missile is moved, etc, all of that has vanished. What remains is only the voluntary commitment to stay within the limits,” said Maitre.- ‘Collective solutions’ -But allowing New START to lapse is “in American interest”, according to Robert Peters of the influential Heritage Foundation, reflecting the stance of much of the US strategic community to avoid tying Washington’s hands to Moscow alone. Beijing, which currently has fewer weapons, has so far refused to engage in trilateral disarmament talks.”China is the fastest growing nuclear power on the planet. It’s building 100 new warheads a year and now has more ICBM (intercontinental ballistic missile) silos than the US has active Minuteman III silos,” Peters said at a recent online International Institute for Strategic Studies event. “New START does nothing to address” that issue, he added. However, Maitre said, a New START lapse doesn’t mean the world should expect serious consequences as early as February 6. In both Washington and Moscow, “there is a small margin to bring some weapons back into service, but the numbers cannot be very significant. There are bottlenecks” that will slow any buildup, she said.Nor will the lack of a final document from the RevCon cause “immediate or damaging consequences” to the NPT, she said. But, she warned, fewer safeguards risks leaving the world without diplomatic tools to resolve tensions.”The less functional the NPT becomes, the harder it is to forge collective solutions in the event of a crisis.”

From fleets of private trailers to personal chefs and sprawling entourages, Bollywood stars’ “obnoxious” demands are driving up production costs and putting a strain on the Indian film industry’s finances, insiders say.Bollywood has long been unpredictable at the box office and the pandemic compounded problems, but producers argue that today’s losses stem less from creative failure and more from top artists’ runaway expenses.”It is not so much about production cost — it is more about star fees,” says producer Ramesh Taurani, best known for the successful Race action franchise.Actors, filmmakers say, increasingly arrive on set with a dozen-strong entourage — including makeup artists, hairdressers, stylists, gym trainers and assistants — all billed to production.Stars are paid hefty fees of up to $22.18 million per film but additional requests for first-class travel, five-star hotels, multiple private trailers and work-shy hours have become routine.”Expansive support teams, premium travel and luxury accommodations often inflate budgets without proportionate creative impact,” said veteran producer Mukesh Bhatt. “The kind of demands stars make is obnoxious.”Distributor and trade analyst Raj Bansal added: “One actor usually comes with 10 to 15 staff members.”Earlier, actors wouldn’t mind sharing one vanity van. Then they decided to give one vanity van each to a big star — and demand went on increasing.”A single trailer hired for the duration of a film shoot can cost as much $18,000. For some actors, insiders say, demanding more has become a status symbol.- ‘Self-respect’ -Bollywood has always been considered high-risk, producing more flops than hits, but producers say the balance has tipped sharply as star-driven costs spiral beyond what box office returns can sustain.The fragile model was shaken after the pandemic, when streaming platforms bought films at inflated prices. When those deals dried up, producers faced a painful course correction as income plunged but actors’ demands stayed elevated. And that problem continues today.Competition has also intensified. “Audience behaviour has matured, streaming platforms have broadened horizons and regional cinema has elevated creative standards,” says Bhatt.”Yet, alongside this progress, rising production costs — particularly talent-driven budgets — have introduced a significant strain. It is not the films that falter, but the economics that lose balance.”Actor-filmmaker Aamir Khan slammed stars for burdening producers with these costs.”You earn in crores (tens of millions of rupees),” Khan said, in a September interview with the YouTube show Game Changers. “Where’s your self-respect?”- ‘Power of storytelling’ -Industry insiders say actors’ demands also have a cascading effect, as stars seek to exceed each other’s perks.”A measured approach will allow us to redirect resources toward what truly defines cinema — the power of storytelling,” said Bhatt.Producers have pushed for partnership-style compensation models.”When a film thrives, every contributor should benefit,” Bhatt said. “When it struggles, the weight should not rest solely on the producer, who shoulders risk from the very beginning.”The 2024 science fiction action film Bade Miyan Chote Miyan (“Big Mister, Little Mister”), starring Akshay Kumar and Tiger Shroff, reportedly cost about $42 million. After poor ticket sales, producers were reported to have mortgaged property to cover debts.There have been exceptions.Actor Kartik Aaryan waived his fee for the 2023 action-comedy Shehzada, which tanked at the box office.”If your star value and the entire project’s value gives profit to the entire team, I think then the math adds up,” Aaryan said. “If it doesn’t, then you should take a cut.”Some producers argue that the industry must confront its own excesses.”If the star fee and entourage is affecting your budget, then don’t take stars,” says actor-writer-producer Viveck Vaswani.”I have made 40 films with 40 newcomers and have prospered. I took SRK (Shah Rukh Khan) when nobody wanted him. I cast Raveena Tandon when nobody knew her.”Vaswani, a longtime friend of Khan, notes that “SRK has no entourage cost, he pays his own”, as does Akshay Kumar.”Lots of them do that, they don’t burden the producers,” he said. “If you think your star is stronger than your script, you are wrong.”

What lies ahead after Myanmar’s forthcoming elections?The answer is hidden in the alignment of the stars, the occult flame of black magic candles and sacred geometry visible only to the third eye — if you believe the country’s spiritual soothsayers.”The question most people ask is clear. When will Myanmar prosper?” said astrologer Linn Nhyo Taryar.Five years ago, Myanmar’s future seemed more certain. The country had enjoyed a decade-long democratic experiment after a history of hermetic military rule.But a 2021 military coup toppled the government, triggering civil war and precarity — from regular internet outages to life-or-death combat zone crises.December 28 presents fresh uncertainty, as voting is set to start in a phased election being rejected by rebels and criticised abroad as a ploy to rebrand military rule.Myanmar has a rich culture of fortune-telling, and many believe the future can be discerned by mystics.The poll’s outcome, some reckon, could even be swayed with “Yadaya” — magic rituals thought to steer fate.”People struggling with trouble turn to fortune-telling and Yadaya, seeking the power and belief derived from it,” said Linn Nhyo Taryar.”What people really want is a safe and secure life and future,” the 30-year-old told AFP.- Dissident divination – Linn Nhyo Taryar’s past has been anything but safe and secure, thanks to his prophesying profession.As protests erupted after the coup — which he claims to have seen coming — he put a “Nine Swords, Nine Needles” hexon military chief Min Aung Hlaing, calling on social media for other mystics to do the same.The ritual of candles arranged atop knives set out in a star pattern earned him two years in Yangon’s Insein Prison — notorious for alleged brutal rights abuses — for “causing fear or alarm” and inducing others to attack the state.Post-release he lives in self-exile in Bangkok, communing online with clients back in Myanmar.Myanmar’s culture is profoundly influenced by Buddhism-inflected supernaturalism.Astrologers consult a national zodiac, palm readers ring pagodas, would-be alchemists attempt to transmute mercury into gold and SIM card companies advertise dial-a-diviners.”They treat a whole host of maladies,” said Thomas Patton, a professor at New York state’s Union College who has studied Myanmar’s mystics.”In Myanmar, I think it’s tied with its lack of development,” he added. “There’s not much else to fall back upon.””You have an entire landscape of uncertainty and vulnerability and you have this 1,000-year-old tapestry of spells and medicines and occult knowledge that just has seeped into the Burmese consciousness.”- ‘Nightmares of the past’ – But mysticism also holds sway behind the closed door of politics.Previous military ruler Ne Win changed the rules of the road, requiring vehicles to swap driving lanes — supposedly the result of misconstrued astrological advice to shift his left-wing regime to the political right.An avid numerologist, in 1987, he issued new currency in denominations of nine — a digit considered auspicious, but bewildering shoppers with mental arithmetic.Demonstrations forced Ne Win’s resignation, but Myanmar’s military chain of command continued to Min Aung Hlaing, also rumoured to be motivated by superstition.With ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi jailed incommunicado and her party dissolved, analysts suggest the month-long poll will prolong Min Aung Hlaing’s rule under a civilian banner.But the country’s most popular horoscope forecasting the Buddhist new year starting in early 2026, touted by street vendors nationwide in recent days, contains clashing portents.Myanmar Calendar Advisory Board members predict those born on Tuesday under a lionzodiac — like both Min Aung Hlaingand Suu Kyi — “will find that the more opposition they face, the more successful they become”.”They are likely to be well and gain special privileges wherever they are,” it says, advising Yadaya practitioners to leave buttered rice at a home Buddha shrine.- Mystic vigilance -In Yangon, Min Thein Kyaw has read the cards.”Myanmar holds good potential for the coming year,” proclaims the 73-year-old. “However, for any prediction to fully succeed, three factors must align: time, place and the individual.”But in tumultuous Myanmar, even clairvoyants urge caution.”There are also many things that need to be watched out for. Vigilance is key,” says Min Thein Kyaw.”Just as every individual needs to possess mindfulness, morality and wisdom — people in power must also possess these.”burs-jts/sco/fox