Myanmar
- World News
NUG announces defensive war to battle Myanmar coup forces
In Myanmar, the National Unity Government made up of deposed former leaders announced a defensive war in the name of the Burmese people, but other countries are urging peace to allow humanitarian efforts to continue. The NUG formed a shadow government to represent the people of Myanmar in the wake of the February military junta that took over claiming election…
- World News
More than 600 mine explosions have taken place in Myanmar since February
Myanmar officials have arrested over 300 suspects connected to over 600 mine explosions that have taken place in Yangon since February, says a spokesperson for the State Administration Council. 59 other suspects have been arrested for violent acts which resulted in the deaths of 84 civilians in Yangon from February 1 to August 26, the head of the council’s Information Team,…
- Crime News
Fugitive police Chief Joe said to be captured in Myanmar
[UPDATE: Media is now reporting to have received confirmation from police sources of the information below.] A few Thai media websites are reporting the alleged capture of Pol Col Thitisan “Chief Joe” Utthanaphon, the police station superintendent seen in video with a group of officers released this week putting a plastic bag over a suspect’s head, reportedly suffocating a suspect…
- World News
Burmese military junta death toll surpasses 1,000
Myanmar passed a grim milestone as the death toll at the hands of security forces after the February 1 military coup has officially surpassed 1,000 people. Since the military junta seized power, pro-democracy protesters have taken to the streets nearly non-stop to demonstrate and are often met with harsh and violent suppression from the Burmese military. The Assistance Association for…
- Crime News
Thailand’s big, bad meth boom, in the middle of a pandemic | VIDEO
Caitlin Ashworth reports on Thailand’s burgeoning drug trade and the futile attempts to try and control it. 72 tonnes of a chemical called propionyl chloride arrives in a remote region of Laos. All professionally packaged and loaded ready for shipping. The containers full of the obscure chemical had made their way from Jiangsu, a coastal Chinese province north of…
- World News
Former Burmese junta leader Than Shwe infected with Covid-19
As the current Burmese military junta, mired with mass civil unrest stemming from their coup February 1, struggles with the increasingly rampant Covid-19 pandemic, Than Shwe, leader of the previous military junta has been hospitalised with Covid-19. The former strongman leader, now 88 years old, is said to be in stable condition after being diagnosed with the virus. Than Shwe…
- Northern Thailand News
560 kilograms of cannabis packaged for delivery seized by officers in Northeast
Officers in the Mekong Riverine Unit seized 560 kilograms of dried cannabis and arrested four people in the Isaan province Nakhon Phanom, bordering Laos. Some of the marijuana had been packaged and was ready to be sent out by a delivery service while other 404 kilograms of marijuana was found along the Mekong riverbank. A team from the unit searched…
- Thailand News
Police ‘ready’ to investigate Thailand arms dealer in plot to kill Myanmar UN envoy
Following the arrest of two Burmese men in the US who were allegedly working with an arms dealer in Thailand to attack, and potentially kill, Myanmar’s ambassador to the United Nations, the Royal Thai Police are preparing to assist in the investigation. The deputy spokesperson for the Thai police told reporters that the US has not contacted them, but they…
- Covid-19 News
Workers still locked up in Thai construction ‘camps’ | VIDEO
Tim Newton speaks to Shaun Stenning from 5 Star Marine and One Phuket outside a worker camp and constructions site in Kathu, Phuket. The situation is just a small part of a nationwide situation where 80,000 – 100,000 mostly migrant workers are virtually imprisoned in their construction sites. We get to the issues and the work being done by people…
- World News
Rumours of meeting with Aung San Suu Kyi as Burmese military accept ASEAN envoy
The ruling military junta in Myanmar has issued a statement accepting the appointment of Erywan Yusof as ASEAN Special Envoy. Yusof will also oversee the association’s humanitarian programmes in the country, although it’s understood the military regime has refused to allow aid workers to deliver assistance to the worst-affected areas. Thai PBS World reports that Singapore has confirmed a contribution…
- World News
Myanmar envoy updated to Brunei’s 2nd Foreign Affairs Minister
In a reversal of previous discussion and decisions that would have seen former Thai Deputy Foreign Minister Virasakdi Futrakul appointed as the ASEAN envoy to Myanmar, multiple sources are now reporting that it will be Brunei’s Second Minister for Foreign Affairs Erywan Yusof that will be taking up the envoy role. The agreement to send an envoy to Myanmar to…
- World News
Thai candidate selected as ASEAN envoy to Myanmar
Following the ASEAN Summit in Jakarta April 24 where nation leaders and representatives met to push for a resolution to the worsening crisis following the February 1 Burmese military coup, several steps had been laid out by the hopeful association on nations, but the Burmese junta has since seemed in no rush to implement any measures to work toward the…
- World News
8 women arrested in Tak for Myanmar river crossing
8 women were arrested for allegedly crossing the Moei River in Myanmar into northern Thailand’s Tak province, early this morning. The women carried “personal baggage” and were apprehended in a corn plantation by a 4th Infantry Regiment patrol. Local villagers had alerted officials to the crossing which led to the arrests. The women’s ages ranged from 22 to 32. They…
- World News
Covid-19 crisis unfolding across several Asian nations
Just as the US and Europe are gradually emerging from the devastation brought by Covid-19, the pandemic is wreaking havoc across Asia. Earlier this week, Indonesia overtook India as the epicentre of the virus, reporting over 54,000 new infections and 991 deaths in a single day. Just a month ago, daily new infections were averaging 8,000. Indonesian officials are concerned…
- World News
UN expert says military coup and Covid-19 spike fuels “perfect storm” in Myanmar
The “deep mistrust” of the military-run government following the February 1 coup, along with the uptick of Covid-19 cases overwhelming the healthcare system, fuel a “perfect storm” of factors that could lead to further deaths in Myanmar, according to UN Special Rapporteur Tom Andrews. The independent expert called for emergency international engagement to address the worsening situation in the Southeast…
- Thailand News
Thailand monitoring Myanmar situation, will work to end conflict
Since the February 1 military coup in Myanmar, the Thai government has been relatively quiet on the situation in the neighbouring country, with a few statements urging for peace and an end to the violence after more than 700 people were killed by Burmese security forces. Some clashes between the military and ethnic troops have been along the Thai border,…
- Thailand video news
Thailand News Today | Bangkok curfew, dark red zone restrictions, golden triangle boom | July 9
The CCSA is imposing further Covid-19 restrictions, including a night-time curfew, travel restrictions in Bangkok and other Dark Red Zones, for 14 days, expected to take effect as soon as tomorrow. In related news, 9,276 new Covid-19 community infections and 72 coronavirus-related deaths were reported today by the CCSA. Following this week’s explosion and subsequent fire in central Samut Prakan…
- Thailand video news
Thailand News Today | Phuket Sandbox, No money, no honey, no GDP | June 29
As the southern island of Phuket gets ready to re-open to vaccinated foreign tourists on Thursday, hotel operators say they’re well prepared. A manhunt has wrapped up in northeastern Thailand after a man was arrested, suspected of killing his 72 year old father, allegedly over welfare money. Meanwhile in Chiang Mai. Police were looking for a man who allegedly killed…
- World News
Trial of deposed Burmese leader Suu Kyi to overrun as prosecution need more time
The trial of former Burmese leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, is set to overrun as the prosecution says it needs more time. There are still around 23 witnesses waiting to be called by the prosecution and Suu Kyi’s lawyer, Khin Maung Zaw, has confirmed the trial will go on longer than anticipated. Suu Kyi is currently under house arrest and…
- Thailand News
Army raids a house, arrests 53 as part of alleged gambling operation
This morning, the Thai army raided a house in the northern province of Mae Hong Son. As part of the raid, they arrested 40 Chinese nationals, 12 Burmese, and 1 Filipino that were allegedly running an online gambling operation. The house was in a resort located in the Mok Cham Pae of the Muang district that borders Myanmar. Thai media…
- World News
Myanmar: American journalist’s detention extended 2 more weeks
Yesterday, a Myanmar court extended the detention of American journalist Danny Fenster. The extension is for 2 more weeks. The U.S. State Department has strongly requested they have consular access to Danny. Frontier Myanmar says their managing editor (Danny) faces charges that could land him a 3 year prison term. The charge is reportedly often used against dissidents and journalists.…
- World News
Trial begins in Myanmar for former leader Aung San Suu Kyi
Trials are now underway for Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel laureate, a beacon for democracy in Myanmar, and the ousted Burmese leader that has been held prisoner by the military junta for 4 months after their coup on February 1. The former leader of Myanmar is on trial for sedition and a number of lesser and archaic law violations.…
- World News
Burmese military media outlets say ethnic army killed 25 workers
Amid clashes with rebel fighters and ethnic troops backing the anti-coup movement in Myanmar, media outlets run by the Burmese junta says an ethnic army killed 25 construction workers after abducting 47 people last month. Photos of what appeared to be 25 dead bodies in a forest where published and broadcasted by the Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper, which is…
- Northern Thailand News
Covid-19 prevention leads to 14 arrests of longterm overstays
While attempting to curb the spread of Covid-19 through migrant workers and illegal immigrants, Immigration Police have arrested 14 foreigners with “egregious overstays”. Today’s announcement of the bust of 14 foreign nationals took place mostly in northeastern provinces. The Immigration Chief explained that officials at immigration have been proactive in seeking out people who entered Thailand illegally to prevent an…
- Thailand video news
Good Morning Thailand | Bars closed for Sandbox reopening, the Myanmar effect
The latest news and chat about issues about Thailand. Today, more woes for the Phuket Sandbox, the official reopening of general travel to Thailand. Except that nothing has been confirmed with only 20 days to go!. We also answer your questions and address your comment. ? MOBILE APP for iOS / Apple users: https://apple.co/3sFqPLU ? MOBILE APP for Android users:…
- World News
UN report: Myanmar could face mass starvation and death
A new United Nations report predicts the imminent threat of mass starvation and death in Myanmar due to the civil unrest after the military coup that has upended the country since February. The UN’s special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar issued the grave warning as the countries infrastructure collapses in the ongoing chaos of protestors and insurgents clashing with…
- World News
Large-scale methamphetamine production emerges in Cambodia during pandemic
During the pandemic, Cambodia has become a major base for the large-scale production of methamphetamine as drug traffickers workaround Covid-19 restrictions, according to the United Nations. Last year, during the pandemic, 170 tonnes of methamphetamine were seized by authorities in Asia, a 19% increase from the year prior, according to a report by the UN Office of Drugs and Crime.…
- World News
Burmese junta tells Doctors Without Borders to stop aid in Dawei
Thousands of lives have been placed in peril after the Burmese military junta currently controlling Myanmar commanded Doctors Without Borders to cease operation. The well-known medical charity famous for providing emergency healthcare worldwide regardless of geopolitical borders warns of the urgent danger of stopping care on thousands of HIV and tuberculosis patients. Yesterday the junta order that all medical charity…
- World News
Myanmar’s ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi to go on trial next week
The trial of Myanmar’s detained and ousted leader is set to go on next week. The military arrested Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of the National League for Democracy and a Nobel laureate, in the February 1 coup, saying the reason behind the takeover was due to a fraudulent election. She had won the election for state counsellor in a landslide. 75…
- World News
Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs expresses concern over violence in Myanmar
With more than 850 people killed by security forces since the February military coup in Myanmar, and the junta’s ongoing clashes with ethnic troops and rebel fighters, Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has released a statement expressing concern over the violence in the neighbouring country. Along with reiterating the call to end violence and the release of detainees, the ministry’s spokesperson…
