Myanmar
- World News
Myanmar army kills 33 in monastery massacre
The Myanmar army killed 30 civilians, and three Buddhist monks, at a monastery in Nam Hnain village in Pinlaung township in Shan State at 4pm on Saturday. Earlier that day, at around 11am, the army – or junta – carried out air strikes and shelling on the village, where Pa’O refugees were reported to be sheltering, burning down around 50…
- World News
Trafficker abandons 106 illegal migrants stuffed inside truck in Thailand
Police discovered 106 illegal migrants crammed into a truck in Prachuap Khiri Khan province, western Thailand, yesterday. The driver was nowhere to be found. A concerned forklift driver rang officers at Bang Saphan Police Station to say that he believed that a “suspicious” vehicle parked on the side of Petchkasem Road was carrying illegal immigrants. Police arrived to find a…
- World News
Bombs explode near Thailand-Myanmar border, injuring at least 3
A series of bombs exploded near the Thailand-Myanmar border last night, injuring at least three people. At least five explosions, which took place in the city centre of Myanmar’s Tachileik province, were reported to have occurred near the headquarters of Myanmar’s pro-junta Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP). Thai media reported that the injuries were not serious. Thailand and Myanmar’s…
- Thailand News
Body floating near Koh Tao identified as Myanmar woman
UPDATE The deceased woman found floating in the sea near Koh Tao in southern Thailand yesterday has been identified as 39 year old Aye Pa Pa Khaing from Myanmar. A fisherman found Aye Pa Pa Khaing floating among gallon drums about 12 nautical miles northwest of the island yesterday morning. Her body was recovered by the Royal Thai Navy. Aye…
- World News
Malaysia’s PM against the use of violence to resolve southern Thailand conflicts
Malaysia’s Prime Minister is making it clear that he is against the use of violence to resolve conflict in southern Thailand. PM Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is meeting with Thailand’s PM Prayut Chan-o-cha at the Government House. He says it ‘was a session for a most serious and frank exchange’ and ‘not just an ordinary diplomatic session.’ “I came here…
- World News
Two years ago today: the Burmese military coup
Today marks a cruel and tragic anniversary. It was on this day two years ago that military chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing marched his troops on the Burmese capital and overthrew Myanmar’s elected government. They immediately arrested the democratically elected leader, Aung San Suu Kyi. The conflict between the Burmese military and anti-coup activists has escalated with widespread violence…
- Covid-19 News
Tourist numbers up, positive Covid-19 tests down
Positive Covid-19 tests, hospitalisations and deaths dropped substantially in the third week of January. The much-needed return of tourists to the kingdom in substantial numbers has not produced the much-feared spike in Covid cases or deaths. All the metrics were down in the third week of January, with only a handful of foreigners testing positive. The Department of Disease Control…
- World News
Thai gold necklace thief arrested after fleeing to Myanmar
The Thai thief was arrested by Burmese police officers yesterday after stealing a 150,000 baht gold necklace from a shop in the northern province of Chiang Rai and escaping by swimming to Myanmar. The theft happened at a gold shop named Seri Phan in the Mae Sai district of Chiang Rai on November 26 last year. The male thief pretended…
- Economy News
Thailand’s real estate sector did not fully recover in 2022
Thailand’s real estate sector did not fully recover in 2022 due mainly to the economic downturn along with higher inflation and interest rates. The war in Ukraine has not helped. But while the recovery was not all it could have been, the outlook for 2023 is more hopeful. Thailand’s Consumer Confidence Index stands at 47.9, the highest in 20 years,…
- World News
Injured and detained journalists sentenced to three years plus labour in Myanmar jail
The Myanmar junta has reportedly sentenced two journalists to prison plus labour, along with seven anti-coup protesters. Myanmar Press Photo Agency journalists Ko Kaung Sett Lin and Ma Hmue Yadanar Khet Moh Moh Tun were arrested on December 5 after junta forces allegedly rammed a military vehicle into a peaceful flash-mob protest in Yangon’s Kyimyindaing Township. According to the Irrawaddy,…
- World News
UN Security Council adopts long-awaited resolution on Myanmar crisis
The United Nations Security Council has adopted a long-awaited resolution to the crisis in Myanmar. The Council called for Myanmar’s junta to release Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, a famous political prisoner whose democratically-elected party was ousted from power by the military in February 2021. The 15-member council has been divided on the situation in Myanmar for decades and has…
- World News
Indonesia could bring Myanmar junta to justice after taking over ASEAN chair next year
Indonesia could bring Myanmar’s junta leaders to justice after the country takes over as the chair of ASEAN. A group of Indonesian legal experts may have found an impact on the fate of the junta that seized power in Myanmar. The experts made the case to amend a law that was enacted back in 2000 which restricts punishment for human…
- Bangkok News
Corpse found in Bangkok water tank might not be a murder case
UPDATE A 27 year old woman from Myanmar believes the corpse discovered in a water tank in Bangkok yesterday is her deceased sister. She does not believe her sister was murdered. Wen, who rents a room next to the disused building where the corpse was discovered, asked police to see the body and inspect the scene as she believed it…
- World News
ASEAN members to allegedly hold non-official meeting on Myanmar situation
ASEAN members are allegedly being invited to join an open-ended consultative meeting concerning the situation in Myanmar on December 22. Thailand is allegedly hosting the meeting, according to an anonymous source for Teak Door. The source says the meeting is not an official ASEAN meeting, but rather an initiative to update and exchange views informally among colleagues interested in and…
- Thailand News
Thai gold necklace thief escapes arrest by swimming to Myanmar
A thief stole a gold necklace worth about 150,000 baht from a shop near a police station in Chiang Rai and then escaped arrest by embarking on a death-defying swim across a snake-infested river to Myanmar. Khaosod reported that the theft happened on Saturday, November 26, at a gold shop named Seri Phan in the Mae Sai district of Chiang…
- World News
Myanmar junta’s release of political prisoners may not be indicative of a changing mindset
Myanmar’s National Unity Government foreign minister is warning the international community over the recent military’s release of 402 political inmates. Daw Zin Mar Aung’s warning contradicted the ASEAN special envoy for Myanmar’s embracement of the act by saying such a move cannot be regarded as a change in the junta’s mindset. “I would like to warn the international community not…
- World News
Residents in a Chiang Rai district forced to breathe poisonous hydrogen cyanide for months
Thai people on the border of Thailand and Myanmar have been suffering for months after they unknowingly inhaled poisonous hydrogen cyanide (HCN) being belched into the atmosphere by a factory in Myanmar. Residents in the Mae Sai district of Ching Rai province have been protesting for months about a noxious odour and what appears to be low-white clouds hanging above…
- World News
Amnesty International calls on Thailand to help stop Myanmar violence
Amnesty International yesterday called on Thailand to help stop the violence in Myanmar. The organisation marched to the UN building on Ratchadamnoen Nok Road to submit a letter urging the Thai government to help, as Thailand is the host of the 29th APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting. The letter listed four demands: The Thai government should use every possible means to…
- Thailand News
Chiang Rai opens skywalk with panoramic views of Thailand, Myanmar, and Laos
A new skywalk has opened in the northern province of Chiang Rai at the meeting point between Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar – also known as the ‘Golden Triangle.’ The “Three Lands Skywalk” stands about 486 feet above sea level and offers panoramic views of mountains, forests, and the Mekong River. The new attraction is located about 400 metres away from…
- World News
VIDEO: Sex doll consecration ceremony infuriates Buddhism officials in Myanmar
Buddhism officials in Myanmar are filing a lawsuit against a group of people who conducted a religious ceremony for two sex dolls at Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon, which is considered one of Myanmar’s most sacred sites, on Saturday. A group of people arrived at the temple with two sex dolls dressed in traditional Burmese clothing and wearing tiaras. The group…
- World News
SE Asia foreign ministers to hold emergency talks over Myanmar
Foreign ministers of Southeast Asian countries are set to hold emergency talks over the current state of Myanmar. The talks will be held in Jakarta, Indonesia next week ahead of next month’s ASEAN leaders’ summit in Cambodia. Myanmar has descended into chaos since the military took over in February 2021. Now, reports say there are more than 2,300 killed during…
- World News
Bomb blasts kill eight at Myanmar’s notorious Insein Prison
Parcel bomb blasts killed eight people at Insein Prison on the outskirts of Yangon in Myanmar at 9.40am on Wednesday. Three prison staff and five visitors were killed, according to the Burmese military junta. Five visitors were killed in the explosions, including four women and a 10 year old girl, who were all relatives of political prisoners. Thirteen visitors, including…
- World News
Myanmar junta wants political opponents prosecuted faster
Myanmar’s junta is pushing the courts to prosecute political opponents‘ trials faster despite it impacting defendants’ lawyers’ preparation. The regime has instructed courts to finish all trials of opponents, including the leader of the democratically elected party Aung San Suu Kyi. A Yangon-based lawyer, who spoke anonymously, says this is not always a fair tactic. “It is not always good…
- World News
Double bombing near Thailand-Myanmar border
A double bombing hit the Thailand-Myanmar border area on Saturday night. It has not yet been confirmed who was responsible for the two bombs, however, Thai officials said they were likely planted by a group opposing the Burmese military regime. Luckily, no casualties have been reported. The bombs detonated near the Thai-Myanmar Friendship bridge, over the border from Thailand’s Mae…
- World News
Resistance Groups Report Heavy Myanmar Regime Losses
Around 20 Myanmar junta soldiers and pro-regime militia members have been reportedly killed in resistance ambushes. According to Irwaddy.com, the soldiers were killed in Taze Township as the Taze People’s Defence Force (TPDF) and other resistance groups ambushed about 80 soldiers and Pyu Saw Htee militia members near Shwetakyaw village in the Sagaing Region’s Taze township. The ambush came after…
- World News
Flights from Myanmar arrive in Phuket
A Burmese airline launched a new flight from Yangon to Phuket International Airport. The flight will run on Thursdays and Sundays. Myanmar Airways International introduced the flight at a press briefing, the Bangkok Post reported yesterday. The new flight aims to help migrant workers and long-stay tourists. Migrant workers in Phuket who wish to return home can purchase a one-way ticket…
- World News
Burmese junta sentences Japanese journalist for sedition and other charges
The Burmese junta sentenced a Japanese journalist for sedition violating a law on electronic communications. The media reported that Toru Kubota, a 26 year old photographer and documentary filmmaker, was arrested at a protest in the South Dagon Township in the southeastern area of Yangon on July 30. The report said he was arrested while gathering information for his documentary. The…
- World News
US sanctions Myanmar junta-linked businessman over buying Russian-made arms
A Myanmar businessman suspected of being linked to the ruling military junta has been sanctioned over his alleged buying of Russian-made arms. The US targeted Aung Moe Myint, his company and two of its directors for allegedly procuring Russian-made weapons from Belarus for the junta. According to South China Morning Post, Aung is the son of a military officer with…
- World News
Myanmar youth artists hold art challenge to raise awareness of country’s plight
Myanmar’s youth artists are hosting an art challenge to raise awareness of their country’s continued struggle for democracy. According to Irrawaddy, the challenge is named #Revtober, an off-shoot of the worldwide art challenge of Inktober. The challenge will see daily drawings and paintings that follow a prompt list for the 31 days of October. The artwork will be shared on…
- World News
ASEAN summit in November excludes Burmese junta again
Another ASEAN summit is nearing and the Burmese military junta leader has once again found himself off the guest list. For the second year in a row since the bloody military coup in February of last year, Min Aung Hlaing was not invited to the summit of Southeast Asian nations. Citing a lack of any visible progress in the multi-step…
