The Myanmar junta has hit deposed civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi with corruption charges over claims she accepted illegal payments of gold and more than half a million dollars in cash, state media reported Thursday.

The Myanmar junta has hit deposed civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi with corruption charges over claims she accepted illegal payments of gold and more than half a million dollars in cash, state media reported Thursday. The country has been in turmoil since the generals ousted Suu Kyi on February 1, with nearly 850 civilians killed in a brutal crackdown by security forces on near-daily protests against the coup. The 75-year-old Nobel laureate, who has been in custody since the coup, is facing a raft of wide-ranging criminal charges, including sedition and breaching a colonial-era secrecy law. The latest charges relate to allegations by the former Yangon region chief minister that Suu Kyi illegally accepted $600,000 in cash from him along with around 11 kilograms of gold. The Anti-Corruption Commission found evidence that Suu Kyi had committed "corruption using her rank", according to the Global New Light of Myanmar, a state-run newspaper. "So she was charged under Anti-Corruption Law section 55." She is also accused of abusing her authority when renting two areas of land for her charitable foundation. After weeks of legal wrangling, two of Suu Kyi's trials are due to start in earnest next week, hearing evidence from witnesses. In Naypyidaw, the remote capital purpose-built by the previous military regime, her trial will start on Monday on charges of violating restrictions during last year's election campaign and possessing unlicensed walkie-talkies. A separate case is scheduled to start on June 15, where she is charged with sedition alongside ousted president Win Myint and another senior member of her National League for Democracy (NLD) party. Charges 'absurd' Her lawyer, Khin Maung Zaw, dismissed the corruption charges as "absurd". "There is an undeniable political background to keep her out of the scene of the country and to smear her prestige," he told AFP, saying she could face long prison terms on the secrecy and corruption charges. Also Read | Military plane crashes near Myanmar's Mandalay, killing 12 "That's one of the reasons to charge her -- to keep her out of the scene." Suu Kyi spent more than 15 years under house arrest during the previous military rule before her 2010 release. Her international stature diminished following a wave of military violence targeting Buddhist-majority Myanmar's marginalized Muslim Rohingya community that displaced more than a million people, but the coup has returned Suu Kyi to the role of cloistered democracy icon. The junta has previously said it would hold fresh elections within two years but has also threatened to dissolve the NLD. "That election -- I cannot say if it will materialize or not, and maybe NLD will not be able to compete," Suu Kyi's lawyer Khin Maung Zaw told AFP. "But for Aung San Suu Kyi, if she is convicted under these charges she will not be allowed to compete." Junta leader Min Aung Hlaing has justified his power grab by citing alleged electoral fraud in the November poll, which Suu Kyi's NLD won in a landslide.

Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi hit with fresh corruption charges

China is upgrading air defence of its Western Theatre Command, which looks after the security along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), to &ldquo;confront any threat from India&rdquo;, an official media report quoted a military expert as saying.

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According to Global Times, the photographs show a J-10 and J-11 fighter jets conducting aerial combat training exercises on February 13, two days before Spring Festival and it cited Chinese military expert and TV commentator Song Zhongping as saying it was significant for China to strengthen control of airspace over the mountainous region.

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&quot;Strengthening the 3.5-generation fighter jets or even stationing more advanced fighters in the Western Theatre Command has been urgent for the PLA,&quot; Song said, adding that such upgrades have been usually first conducted in south and east theatre commands.

The Jets are attached to an aviation brigade of the air force under the PLA Western Theatre Command, the website of the People&rsquo;s Liberation Army (PLA) said.

The Western Theatre Command is mainly responsible for mountain warfare at the border area with India.&nbsp;

The LAC stretches to 3,488-km including the high altitude Tibetan plateau.

India and China have been trying to reset their ties after last year&rsquo;s 73-day standoff between the two sides at Dokalam in Sikkim section of the boundary.

Considering that India possesses 3rd-generation fighter jets, China&rsquo;s stationing of its 3.5-generation jets would be able to deal with any current threat from India, Song Zhongping said.

Since he took over power in 2013, President Xi Jinping, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China and chairman of the Central Military Commission, has been pressing the PLA to step up live firing drills to win local wars.&nbsp;

(With inputs from Agencies)

State-run media quoted a military expert as saying on Tuesday that the upgrade was being done to “confront any threat from India”.

China is upgrading air defence of its Western Theatre Command, which looks after the security along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), to “confront any threat from India”, an official media report quoted a military expert as saying. Also read: India easier to do business in than China — Donald Trump Jr According to Global Times, the photographs show a J-10 and J-11 fighter jets conducting aerial combat training exercises on February 13, two days before Spring Festival and it cited Chinese military expert and TV commentator Song Zhongping as saying it was significant for China to strengthen control of airspace over the mountainous region. Also read: India has nothing to worry about China-Bangladesh ties, says Sheikh Hasina "Strengthening the 3.5-generation fighter jets or even stationing more advanced fighters in the Western Theatre Command has been urgent for the PLA," Song said, adding that such upgrades have been usually first conducted in south and east theatre commands. The Jets are attached to an aviation brigade of the air force under the PLA Western Theatre Command, the website of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) said. The Western Theatre Command is mainly responsible for mountain warfare at the border area with India. The LAC stretches to 3,488-km including the high altitude Tibetan plateau. India and China have been trying to reset their ties after last year’s 73-day standoff between the two sides at Dokalam in Sikkim section of the boundary. Considering that India possesses 3rd-generation fighter jets, China’s stationing of its 3.5-generation jets would be able to deal with any current threat from India, Song Zhongping said. Since he took over power in 2013, President Xi Jinping, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China and chairman of the Central Military Commission, has been pressing the PLA to step up live firing drills to win local wars. (With inputs from Agencies)

China upgrading air defence in Tibet to counter 'India threat', says state media

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Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi hit with fresh corruption charges

China upgrading air defence in Tibet to counter 'India threat', says state media