Myanmar rebuffs ASEAN's call to free Aung San Suu Kyi and questions the need for an envoy

BANGKOK (AP) — Myanmar’s military-backed government has rejected the Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ renewed call for the unconditional release of detained former leader Aung San Suu Kyi and dismissed the need for the organization’s special envoy on Myanmar, according to the foreign affairs ministry.

President Min Aung Hlaing, the former army chief who had originally seized power in 2021 from Suu Kyi’s civilian government, has been trying to win political legitimacy since the takeover and resume relations with ASEAN.

ASEAN came up with a peace plan for the Southeast Asian country in April 2021 to end hostilities and initiate dialogue among contending parties, to be facilitated by the special envoy. Min Aung Hlaing has since been barred from attending top-level meetings for failing to comply with the plan.

In an apparent effort to placate critics, the government allowed a representative of the International Committee of the Red Cross to visit 81-year-old Suu Kyi last week, the first known contact with an outside international independent humanitarian organization since her detention five years ago.

Suu Kyi is serving her sentence under house arrest at an undisclosed location in the capital, Naypyitaw, on charges that her supporters and rights groups have said are politically motivated.

The current ASEAN chair, the Philippines, welcomed the meeting as a step toward dialogue and reconciliation Friday, while urging greater access to political detainees and reiterating its call for Suu Kyi’s “complete and unconditional release.”

Myanmar’s foreign ministry's statement late Saturday criticized the call.

“Although the government has commuted her sentences based on humanitarian considerations, the matter of a full and unconditional release shall only be carried out in accordance with the law,” it said.

The statement also said the government will continue working with ASEAN’s current special envoy, Philippine Foreign Minister Maria Theresa Lazaro, but doesn’t see the need to continue down that path when Singapore takes over on Jan. 1, 2027.

“At present, the government, which emerged from the multiparty democratic elections reflecting the genuine will of the people, has assumed state responsibility,” the statement said.

In a speech more than three months after being sworn in as president following the elections, Min Aung Hlaing dismissed ASEAN’s peace plan, saying some member states have discriminated against Myanmar and it would respond on a case-by-case basis.

Critics dismissed the elections, which were held in December and January, as a sham designed to consolidate the military’s grip on power while ostensibly restoring civilian rule.

Myanmar President Min Aung Hlaing talks to journalists as he leaves after delivering speech at the Union Parliament in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Friday, July 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)

In this photo released by Myanmar President Office on Monday, Aug. 3, 2026, Myanmar's ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi, left, shakes hands with Arnaud de Baecque, resident representative of the International Committee of the Red Cross, during their meeting in Naypyitaw, Myanmar. (Myanmar President Office via AP)

Myanmar President Min Aung Hlaing speaks during Thailand-Myanmar Business Forum in Bangkok, Thailand, Thursday, Aug. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Wason Wanichakorn)

SAN DIEGO (AP) — It took Austin Hays just four pitches to show the San Diego Padres they made the right decision to sign him as a free agent.

Hays hit a pinch, two-run home run in his first at-bat with the Padres to cap San Diego's four-homer game in a 7-2 win against the AL West-leading Houston Astros on Sunday night.

He was signed earlier in the day and resumed a season that's seen him play only 13 games because of various leg injuries. He was designated for assignment by the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday.

Hays drove a 2-1 pitch from lefty Bryan King and pumped his fists as the ball sailed into the left-field corner. His teammates raised their arms in celebration in the dugout.

“I've been feeling good in Triple-A for the past month, so I’ve been waiting to do that up here,” the 31-year-old Hays said. “It was a good feeling. I let out a lot of excitement there on that swing. It was a long road for me to get back this year. It was a battle, but I’m feeling good right now, and I was able to put a good swing on the ball on my first night here, so, it’s a good feeling.”

His big swing allowed All-Star closer Mason Miller to have the night off.

“He told me afterward, ‘You’re my favorite player,' ” Hays said. “I think he was glad to be able to have a night where he wasn't going to go out there let it rip for 15 pitches.”

That was exactly why the Padres, who are one game out of the NL's third wild-card spot, signed Hays.

“We’ve been missing that, that right-handed bat off the bench that we could throw in for a pinch-hit, with (Luis) Rengifo playing as much as he can," manager Craig Stammen said. "And, you know, that’s a good way to get in good with your teammates and your coaching staff, to homer on your first pinch-hit at-bat, which is not easy to do, but, you know, great swing by him and welcome to the Padres, Austin Hayes.”

Stammen said the situation was perfect for Hays.

“I talked to him when I walked in this morning and said, ‘Hey, if they bring a lefty in you’re going to be pinch-hitting for one of our lefty hitters and be ready for that,' “ Stammen said. ”As the week goes, he’ll probably get some starts but that’s kind of the spot, he’s on the roster for that opportunity. When they bring a lefty in and we’ve got some of our lefties up, that we’d rather have a righty hitting, he can be someone with some pop off the bench and take a good at-bat.”

Hays said he was ready for the situation.

“Around the fourth or fifth, you’re looking out there. They've got quite a few lefties in their bullpen. So it was a close game. I saw where the lineup was, and thought, ”I've got a shot here.' I saw him stand up and I was ready to go up there and take some hacks."

Fernando Tatis Jr., who hit a go-ahead, three-run homer in the fourth inning, said Hays' homer was “Huge. Coming in with the right step. I'm happy for him. He's definitely going to help us in the long run.”

Hays has been sidelined much of this season by hamstring and calf injuries and played in only 12 games with the White Sox.

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San Diego Padres third baseman Gage Workman, left, misses a grounder but Padres shortstop Sung-Mun Song, right, of South Korea, fields the grounder hit by Arizona Diamondbacks' Tyler Locklear during the seventh inning of a baseball game, Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)