YouTube removes Myanmar army channels; UN to meet on crisis

YouTube removed five channels run by Myanmar’s military for violating its guidelines, it announced Friday, as demonstrators defied growing violence by security forces and staged more anti-coup protests ahead of a special U.N. Security Council meeting on the country's political crisis.

YouTube said it is watching for any further content that might violate its rules. It earlier pulled dozens of channels as part of an investigation into content uploaded in a coordinated influence campaign.

The decision by YouTube followed Facebook’s earlier announcement that it has removed all Myanmar military-linked pages from its site and from Instagram, which it also owns.

Protesters hold portraits of deposed Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi during an anti-coup demonstration in Mandalay, Myanmar, Friday, March 5, 2021. Footage of a brutal crackdown on protests against a coup in Myanmar has unleashed outrage and calls for a stronger international response. (AP Photo)

The escalation of violence by security forces has put pressure on the world community to act to restrain the junta, which seized power on Feb. 1 by ousting the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi.

Large protests against military rule have occurred daily in many cities and towns. Security forces escalated their crackdown this week with greater use of lethal force and mass arrests. At least 18 protesters were shot dead on Sunday and 38 on Wednesday, according to the U.N. Human Rights Office. More than 1,000 people have been arrested, the independent Assistance Association for Political Prisoners said.

Protests continued in the country's biggest cities, Yangon and Mandalay, and elsewhere on Friday, and were again met by force from police.

Anti-coup protesters wearing protective gear take positions as police gather in Yangon, Myanmar, Friday, March 5, 2021. Myanmar's military, fresh off a coup, has killed scores of unarmed protesters. It's jailed reporters, and anyone else capable of exposing the violence. The outside world has responded so far with tough words _ and little else. (AP Photo)

Many cases of targeted brutality have been captured in photos and videos that have circulated widely on social media. Videos have showed security forces shooting people at point-blank range and chasing down and savagely beating demonstrators.

The United States called the images appalling, the U.N. human rights chief said it was time to “end the military’s stranglehold over democracy in Myanmar,” and the world body’s independent expert on human rights in the country, Tom Andrews, urged Security Council members to watch the videos before their closed-door consultations on Friday.

While many abuses are committed by police, there is even greater concern about military forces being deployed in cities across the country that are notorious for decades of brutal counter-insurgency tactics and human rights abuses.

Armed police stand guard on a major street to preven anti-coup demonstration in Yangon, Myanmar, Friday, March 5, 2021. Footage of a brutal crackdown on protests against a coup in Myanmar has unleashed outrage and calls for a stronger international response. (AP Photo)

In Yangon, members of the army's 77th Light Infantry Division have been deployed during anti-coup protests. The 77th was also deployed in Yangon in 2007 to suppress anti-junta protests, firing upon protesters and ramming them with trucks, witnesses told Human Rights Watch.

The 99th Light Infantry Division has also been deployed, including in Mandalay. It is infamous for its counter-insurgency campaigns against ethnic minorities across the country, including spearheading the response that led to a brutal crackdown that caused more than 700,000 Rohingya Muslims to flee from Rakhine state to Bangladesh. It also has been accused of war crimes in Shan state, another ethnic minority area, in 2016 and early 2017.

Any kind of coordinated action at the U.N. will be difficult since two permanent members of the Security Council, China and Russia, are likely to veto it.

Anti-coup protesters wearing helmets and masks take positions as police gather in Yangon, Myanmar, Friday, March 5, 2021. Myanmar's military, fresh off a coup, has killed scores of unarmed protesters. It's jailed reporters, and anyone else capable of exposing the violence. The outside world has responded so far with tough words _ and little else. (AP Photo)

Even if the council did take action, U.N. special envoy to Myanmar Christine Schraner Burgener cautioned this week it might not make much difference. She said she warned Myanmar’s army that the world’s nations and the Security Council “might take huge strong measures.”

“And the answer was, ‘We are used to sanctions and we survived those sanctions in the past,’” she said. When she also warned that Myanmar would become isolated, Schraner Burgener said, “the answer was, ‘We have to learn to walk with only a few friends.’”

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations has urged a halt to violence and the start of talks on a peaceful solution in Myanmar.

Anti-coup protesters take positions behind a makeshift barricade as armed riot policemen gather in Yangon, Myanmar, Friday, March 5, 2021. Footage of a brutal crackdown on protests against a coup in Myanmar has unleashed outrage and calls for a stronger international response. (AP Photo)

The 10-member regional grouping, which includes Myanmar, is constrained from enacting serious measures by a tradition of acting by consensus and reluctance to interfere in each other’s internal affairs.

However, one member, Singapore, was outspoken on Friday in criticizing Myanmar’s coup.

“It is the height of national shame for the armed forces of any country to turn its arms against its own people,” its foreign minister, Vivian Balakrishnan, said in Parliament.

Anti-coup protesters take cover with makeshift shields take positions as armed riot policemen gather in Mandalay, Myanmar, Friday, March 5, 2021. Protests continue in Myanmar against the Feb. 1 military coup that ousted the civilian government of Aung San Suu Kyi. Despite daily operations by police to disperse the crowds, defiant protesters continue to return to the streets in parts of the country.(AP Photo)

But he also warned that the approach favored by some Western nations, of pressuring Myanmar’s generals with sanctions, would not be effective. The U.S., Britain and several other countries have already started to use that approach.

“Despite all our fervor and earnest hopes of reconciliation ... the keys ultimately lie within Myanmar. And there’s a limit to how far external pressure will be brought to bear,” he said.

Protesters hold the portrait of deposed Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi, during an anti-coup demonstration in Mandalay, Myanmar, Friday, March 5, 2021. Footage of a brutal crackdown on protests against a coup in Myanmar has unleashed outrage and calls for a stronger international response. (AP Photo)

Allergy season can bring misery to tens of millions of Americans each year.

Tree, grass, and other pollens can cause runny noses, itchy eyes, coughing and sneezing.

Where you live and what you're allergic to can make a big difference in how bad your allergies are, but there are many things you can do to feel better.

Here are some tips from experts to keep allergies at bay — maybe even enough to allow you to enjoy the outdoors.

There are three main types of pollen. Earlier in the spring, tree pollen is the main culprit. After that grasses pollinate, followed by weeds in the late summer and early fall.

Some of the most common tree pollens that cause allergies include birch, cedar, cottonwood, maple, elm, oak and walnut, according to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America. Grasses that cause symptoms include Bermuda, Johnson, rye and Kentucky bluegrass.

The best and first step to controlling allergies is avoiding exposure. That’s easier said than done when it's nice out.

Start with keeping your windows closed at home and in the car, avoiding going out when pollen counts are highest and changing clothes when you get home. The same masks that got us through the pandemic can protect you from allergies — though they won't help with eye symptoms.

Pollen trackers can help with planning. The American Academy of Allergy Asthma and Immunology tracks levels through a network of counting stations across the U.S. Counts are available at its website and via email.

You can't fight an enemy you don't know.

Since many Americans are allergic to several things at once, the first thing to figure out is what specifically you’re allergic to, said Dr. Nana Mireku, an allergist in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

Over-the-counter nasal sprays can help relieve symptoms, but they take a while to kick in, so it’s best to start them in early in the season, said Dr. Rachna Shah, an allergist and director of the Loyola Medicine Allergy Count.

Antihistamines are another option. Shah said she’s seen some patients benefit from switching to a similar brand if one stops working, but said that there isn’t much broader data to back the recommendation.

For young children and people who have to take many different allergy medications, immunotherapies in the form of shots and oral drops can help desensitize the immune system to allergens, treating symptoms at their root.

The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America issues an annual ranking of the most challenging cities to live in if you have allergies, based on over-the-counter medicine use, pollen counts and the number of available allergy specialists. This year, the top five were Wichita, Kansas; Virginia Beach, Virginia; Greenville, South Carolina; Dallas; and Oklahoma City.

If you've been thinking it started earlier and seems longer this year, you're on to something.

Shah usually starts looking at pollen counts in the Chicago area in April. But this year, she peeked at her data in mid-February, and tree pollen was already at a “moderate” level.

“This season has been so nuts,” she said. “Granted, it was a pretty mild winter, but I didn’t expect it to be so early.”

Shah said she believes this season will be longer than other years, assuming the weather remains warm.

Experts say climate change has led to longer and more intense allergy seasons.

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

FILE - Tree pollen pods lay in a pile at a park in the Dallas suburb of Richardson, Texas, Thursday, March 21, 2024. The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America issues an annual ranking of the most challenging cities to live in if you have allergies, based on over-the-counter medicine use, pollen counts and the number of available allergy specialists. In 2024, the top five were Wichita, Kansas; Virginia Beach, Virginia; Greenville, South Carolina; Dallas; and Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/LM Otero, File)

FILE - An oak tree with new leaf growth also shows pollen and a drop of water hanging among the branches at a park in Richardson, Texas, Thursday, March 21, 2024. There are three main types of pollen. Earlier in the spring, tree pollen is the main culprit. After that grasses pollinate, followed by weeds in the late summer and early fall. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez, File)