Myanmar leader urges civil servants to return to work

Myanmar's junta leader on Thursday urged government employees to return to work after absences that he blamed on harassment by "unscrupulous persons", in his first public remarks on the protests against him and a growing civil disobedience campaign.

In a statement issued by the ruling military's official information service, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, who led last week's coup against Aung San Suu Kyi's elected government, urged people to avoid gatherings, which he said would fuel the spread of the coronavirus.