Myanmar ruler calls for end to protests, sanctions loom

FILE PHOTO: Minister for the Office of the State Counsellor of Myanmar Kyaw Tint Swe listens as Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (not pictured) speaks at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, China August 27, 2019. How Hwee Young/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

(Reuters) - Myanmar's new junta leader on Thursday called on civil servants to return to work and urged people to stop mass gatherings to avoid spreading coronavirus, as a sixth day of protests against him and his coup spanned the Southeast Asian country.

As Washington moved a step closer to imposing sanctions on Min Aung Hlaing and his fellow generals, Britain said it was also considering measures it could apply to punish the Feb. 1 takeover that halted an unsteady transition to democracy.