Myanmar
- World News
Health officials point to Thailand’s porous borders as biggest “Indian variant” threat
Thailand’s health officials say the Kingdom’s porous borders pose the greatest risk in terms of the so-called Indian variant of Covid-19 being imported. Prasit Watanapa from the Faculty of Medicine at Siriraj Hospital says there is a distinct possibility the highly contagious variant, currently wreaking havoc with India’s healthcare system, could be imported by migrants slipping into the country illegally.…
- World News
Thai government looks into “humanitarian solution” for detained reporters from Myanmar
Following the arrest of 3 journalists from a Myanmar news agency and 2 activists, who all face deportation and charges for entering Thailand illegally, the Thai government says they’re looking for a “humanitarian solution.” Following the February military coup, the junta attempted to silence the media by revoking licenses allowing outlets to report and arresting journalists. The editor and director…
- Crime News
Police step up border patrols and checkpoints, arresting 49 illegal migrants today
Police are stepping up border checkpoints and patrolling as 49 more illegal migrants from Myanmar are arrested today. In the North, Trairong Piewpan, deputy commissioner of Provincial Police Region 6, says checkpoints have been set up along the roads, waterways and natural foot trails in an effort to block all possible channels for illegal border crossings from Myanmar. In Songkhla, a…
- World News
3 journalists from Myanmar arrested in Chiang Mai
Police in Northern Thailand arrested 3 senior journalists who had fled Myanmar due to orders from the military junta to stop reporting, the director and editor of the news agency Democratic Voice of Burma said in an email to the Associated Press. The journalists, along with 2 associates, were arrested yesterday in Chiang Mai for allegedly illegally entering Thailand. Police…
- World News
Security tightened at Burmese border as Tachileik nightlife venues re-open
Security patrols are being stepped up along the Thai-Burmese border amid reports that nightlife venues in Tachileik are set to re-open. The Burmese town is just across the border from Chiang Rai’s Mae Sai district. It hit the headlines late last year when a number of Thai nationals working in the town crossed back into Thailand illegally, bringing Covid-19 with…
- Covid-19 News
Illegal border crossings bringing in new Covid-19 infections
Authorities are worried about illegal border crossings into Thailand bringing in the Coronavirus after 5 recent Covid-19 infections from such crossings. Bypassing all health and security checkpoints along the border, 5 Thai nationals were identified today as being positive for Covid-19 after they snuck into the country, according to the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration. Authorities nabbed 2 after border…
- World News
UN representative talks with Thai officials to help refugees fleeing Myanmar
With ongoing violence in Myanmar between the military junta and ethnic armies, a representative from the United Nations has held discussions with local authorities in Mae Hong Son, which borders Myanmar, to look into ways to help more than 2,000 Karen refugees who fled their homes to escape the violence. Following the military coup in February, ousting the state counsellor…
- World News
Anti-coup Burmese protesters take up military training in jungles of Myanmar
Members of Myanmar’s Civil Disobedience Movement, including doctors and students, are taking up military training in the jungles, where they fled to escape a violent crackdown by the junta. Crawling on the ground towards their target of a small village isn’t just in preparation for a simulated clash-the training is to help protect them while they continue to resist the…
- World News
Burmese protests countrywide call for a “spring revolution”
Calls for a “spring revolution” erupted from thousands of protestors marching across Myanmar today to protest the Burmese military junta. The country has been in turmoil since the Feb 1 coup that overthrew Aung San Suu Kyi’s government and installed military rule. Protests have raged for 4 months despite the Burmese military cracking down on demonstrations, often violently and bloodily,…
- World News
UN Security Council issues watered-down Myanmar statement
The UN Security Council has issued 4 statements regarding the military coup in Myanmar and the resulting humanitarian crisis, including a new one yesterday. The statements call for an immediate end to violence in Myanmar, but the wording was reportedly heavily watered down in order to achieve approval from Russia and China. The UK drew up the original Security Council…
- World News
Covid-19 and the coup may push half of Myanmar into poverty
With the devastating double whammy of a global pandemic and the military coup descending into civil war, the UN fears that nearly half the people of Myanmar could be living in poverty by next year. The United Nations Development Program predicted that up to 25 million Burmese people could suffer below the poverty line by the beginning of 2022. The…
- Thailand News
Patrol at Thai-Myanmar border arrest more than 200 migrants over the past 4 days
More than 200 migrants have been caught illegally crossing the Myanmar border into Kanchanaburi over the past 4 days. Many of the Burmese people detained by border patrol officers say they were coming to Thailand for work and had paid off brokers to set them up with jobs. Due to the influx of migrants crossing the border, provincial authorities called…
- World News
Thai border town evacuated after Karen army attack on Burmese military outpost
Around 450 villagers in Thailand’s Mae Hong Son province near the Myanmar border evacuated the area after a Karen army attacked and took over a Burmese military camp. The attack was so close to the Thai village that residents could hear the gunshots and explosions. One evacuee was shot in her knee by a stray bullet, the governor says. Since…
- World News
Pro-democracy Burmese: no negotiations until prisoners released
Until the Burmese military junta releases all political prisoners, the pro-democracy unity shadow government in Myanmar are refusing mediation talks. This throws a wrench in the works of the ASEAN summit’s plans to keep a dialogue open and bring about peace in the turbulent country. In their meeting this week, Burmese General Min Aung Hlaing had said he was open…
- Thailand News
Thailand News Today | Scrap THAI and rebuild, Phuket promises expats will be vaccinated | April 28
Plans to create a new national airline to replace the struggling Thai Airways are meeting opposition from the national airlines’ employee union, Phuket’s resident foreigners are being called out again over their alleged failures to comply with Covid-19 safety measures. Phuket Governor re-promises that expats and foreigners will be vaccinated. 2,012 new Covid-19 infections and 15 coronavirus-related deaths have been reported…
- World News
Dozens of Burmese migrants arrested at Thai-Myanmar border for entering illegally
As many flee Myanmar to escape violence following the February military coup, Thai border patrol arrested 60 Burmese migrants yesterday for crossing the Thai-Myanmar border illegally into Kanchanaburi. Another 52 migrants in the province were arrested on Monday. Officers suspect many entered Thailand in search of jobs. The migrants were charged with illegal entry as well as violating emergency orders…
- Thailand News
Karen army takes over Burmese military base along Thai-Myanmar border
A military base in Myanmar near the Thai border was reportedly taken over by an ethnic army. Since the February 1 military coup in Myanmar, ousting the country’s democratically elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi, an estimated 750 protesters and civilians have been killed by security forces, leading to clashes with ethnic armies. Many ethnic armies support the anti-coup movement,…
- World News
ASEAN nations agree to appoint envoy to broker cross-party talks in Myanmar
Member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations have agreed to appoint an envoy to act as mediator in cross-party talks in Myanmar. The country has been rocked by months of violence following a February 1 military coup in which the democratically-elected government of civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi was ousted. The leader of the coup, Min Aung…
- World News
ASEAN leaders speak about Saturday’s Myanmar summit
In Jakarta on Saturday, leaders of the ASEAN countries met to convince Burmese junta leader Min Aung Hlaing to work with them towards progress. Full cover from The Thaiger of what was discussed at the meeting can be found here. During and after the meetings, nation leaders and representatives voiced their concerns and goals regarding the crisis in Myanmar. Tim…
- World News
Summit: Burmese military open to ASEAN delegation visits
Today’s ASEAN summit in Jakarta has yielded progress regarding the situation in Myanmar with Burmese junta leader Min Aung Hlaing stating he’s not opposed to a special envoy being created and dispatched to Myanmar. The military leader also said he would consider several other steps proposed by the leaders of the Asian nations. With leaders or representation from most countries…
- World News
Myanmar summit Saturday tests ASEAN’s effectiveness
Leaders from the 10 countries of ASEAN will meet Saturday at a summit to discuss the crisis in Myanmar in what many see as a credibility test for the organisation. As the military junta in Myanmar have ramped up violence and lethal force against pro-democracy protestors, the country is descending into what the UN high commissioner for human rights referred…
- Thailand News
Thailand News Today | Vaccine passports announced, hospital-dodgers to be prosecuted | April 21
The president of the Thai Hotels Association says many properties are now considering shutting down for the entire low season as a result of the Covid-19 resurgence. They claim that smaller hotels simply don’t necessarily have the resources of the larger chains and are struggling with cash flow and crippled by low tourist demand. They say many are considering shutting…
- World News
PM Prayut will send Foreign Minister to Myanmar summit
PM Prayut Chan-o-cha announced that he won’t attend the ASEAN summit regarding Myanmar, but will send Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai in his place. The summit, to be held in Jakarta this Saturday will address the increasingly dangerous situation in Myanmar where fear is growing that the ongoing protests against the February 1 coup could descend into civil war. The meeting…
- World News
Burmese prisoners granted amnesty on first day of Myanmar’s New Year
Over 23,000 Burmese prisoners and student political activists are enjoying freedom after being released yesterday in an amnesty on the first day of the country’s Lunar New Year celebrations. The state-owned MRTV reported that 23,407 prisoners were released under sections of a penal code. In the Yangon region alone, over 800 prisoners were released, while Mandalay saw around 2,800 released from…
- World News
Is spraying disinfectant on the Thai-Burmese border effective?
Some controversy exists over the Royal Thai Army attempting to sterilize areas of the Thailand-Myanmar border by spraying disinfectant along the border region. The army sprayed areas set up as a temporary holding facility for many Burmese refugees. The move drew condemnation from critics who claimed the disinfectant was not effective and not worth the expense of implementation. A spokesperson…
- World News
Red paint in Burmese streets mark 700+ deaths
Marking over 700 deaths in the Burmese military crackdown, anti-coup protesters in Myanmar are splashing red paint across the streets of Yangon to represent the blood of those killed in the growing crisis. Myanmar has ground to a halt as the military junta attempt to silence opposition to their February 1 takeover with deadly force. 714 deaths have been verified…
- World News
Myanmar could descend into a civil war comparable to Syria- UN
A top UN official is warning that Myanmar could follow that of Syria in terms of descending into a bloody civil war, unless the violence subsides. Michele Bachelet, the UN high commissioner for human rights is calling on all countries with influence to apply concerted pressure on the ruling military junta to end its campaign of repression and the slaughtering…
- Thailand News
Burmese students to hold Bangkok cultural event to support Civil Disobedience Movement
Burmese students in Thailand are holding an art and culture concert to raise awareness and funds for the Civil Disobedience Movement. The concert, called “Myanmar Spring,” will be held on April 24 at the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre. The event will help fund the movement, which has staged protests over the February 1 coup in Myanmar by the military.…
- World News
UN special envoy in Thailand to meet Foreign Minister about Myanmar crisis
The UN’s special envoy on Myanmar is meeting with Thai Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai in ongoing diplomatic efforts to find a peaceful solution for the humanitarian crisis in Myanmar. But Thai officials have put her quarantine ahead of the needs of the Burmese people with Christine Schraner Burgener, who arrived in Bangkok yesterday, having to spend 7 days in ASQ…
- World News
Burmese refugees are being aided, PM Prayut assures
Burmese refugees along the Thai-Myanmar border are being provided with humanitarian assistance according to a statement by PM Prayut Chan-o-cha yesterday. PM Prayut spoke about the growing crisis at Government House Wednesday after a cabinet meeting. He said that the two countries, since they are neighbouring, need to be in agreement and work together and Thailand can’t take sharp independent…
