Myanmar
- World News
Jade mine landslide in Myanmar kills at least two, dozens missing and feared dead
A landslide at a Myanmar jade mine killed at least two people. Dozens of miners are still missing, feared dead as rescuers say they don’t expect to uncover any survivors who buried under rubble and debris the mine’s lake in Northern Hpakant, which borders China. About 200 rescuers, including firefighters and local volunteers, joined the hunt for missing miners, some…
- World News
NGO warns jewellers to check suppliers, says Myanmar’s gemstone mining funds the military
Myanmar’s multimillion-dollar gemstone industry has fallen into the hands of the state military which seized power in a coup on February 1. Human rights groups are now concerned that the luxury gemstone trade is funding the military’s bloody crackdown. All gemstone mining in Myanmar is technically illegal as all licenses issued by Myanmar’s toppled civilian government expired in 2020, a…
- World News
Thai PM instructs officials to provide aid to around 4,000 Burmese refugees
The Thai PM has ordered local officials in the western province of Tak to provide aid to thousands of refugees who have fled Myanmar. According to a Thai PBS World report, some 4,000 people have been forced to flee fighting in the neighbouring country and are in need of temporary shelter and humanitarian aid. The UN’s refugee agency has already…
- World News
Japan’s Defense Academy condemned for hosting military training to Myanmar cadets
The Human Rights Watch is calling on the Japanese government to stop hosting cadets from the Myanmar military through the Defence Ministry’s study abroad programme. The calls follow the February 1 coup where Myanmar’s state military took over the civilian government and detained the democratically elected leaders. The National Defense Academy of Japan is reportedly hosting eight military cadets from…
- World News
Myanmar deposed leader faces another postponement of her verdict
Pressures from the West and human rights groups may impede Myanmar generals’ decision to seek longer jail terms for deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi as the court under the military junta has postponed her another verdict for illegally importing and possessing walkie-talkies today. Despite her lawyers being barred from speaking to the media and journalists barred from attending her…
- Northern Thailand News
Soldier dies, another seriously injured, after plunging off cliff in northern Thailand
A soldier has died after falling from a cliff in the northern province of Tak yesterday, while on duty patrolling for drug traffickers. Another soldier has been seriously injured in the incident at the mountain of Doi Montha, in the district of Mae Sot. The Bangkok Post reports that army spokesman Sirichan Ngathong says military personnel from the Naresuan Force…
- Northern Thailand News
Security forces sent to Burmese refugee camp in Tak following riot
A riot broke out at a camp for Burmese refugees Tuesday night and security reinforcements were sent to Mae La refugee camp in Tambon Mae La, where officials have yet to get access to roughly 40,000 Myanmar nationals, to avert another possible furore. Rangers, border patrol officers, local officials, and territorial defence volunteers are stationed at the camp where refugees…
- World News
Fights between Myanmar junta and ethnic armies intensify, 700 refugees flee to Thailand
Possibly around 700 refugees from Myanmar fled to Thailand’s Tak province to escape violence following clashes between the state military and the prominent ethnic armed wing of the Karen National Union in the town Lay Kay Kaw near the Thai border. A government official who spoke to AFP reporters said Thai officials have provided food and shelter to the 700…
- World News
Cambodia to appoint foreign minister as next ASEAN’s special envoy to Myanmar
Following Cambodia’s chairmanship of ASEAN for the year 2022, the country’s foreign minister, Prak Sokhonn, will be appointed as the bloc’s new special envoy to Myanmar, Prime Minister Hun Sen told the press during a speech at the inauguration of a luxury hotel in Phnom Penh today. Sokhonn will succeed Brunei’s Second Foreign Minister, Erywan Yusof, as the current ASEAN…
- Thailand News
57 migrants arrested in Kanchanaburi for allegedly crossing the border illegally
Thai authorities have arrested 57 Burmese nationals for allegedly entering Thailand illegally. The migrants were found in forest the border Kanchanaburi, which borders Myanmar, at around 11pm Saturday. Troops from Ranger Company 1404 and police from Border Patrol Company 136 found the 30 men and 27 women who reportedly sneaked into Sai Yok area through a natural border crossing while…
- World News
Meta bans Myanmar military-owned telco from Facebook
Myanmar’s military junta chief has woken up to find his partly-owned telecom company Mytel being barred from Facebook as Meta, Facebook and Instagram’s new company umbrella, is pulling the plug on business related to the Tatmadaw, the Burmese military. Facebook has nearly 29 million users in Myanmar, in a country with a population of 54 million. Mytel is on of…
- World News
Meta removes Myanmar military businesses from its Facebook following lawsuit
Myanmar military junta chief Min Aung Hlaing yesterday woke up to see his partly-owned telecom company Mytel being removed from Facebook as Meta started to ban businesses related to Tatmadaw, also known as the military, from functioning on its platform. The move came just hours after lawyers from the US and the UK launched a $150 billion lawsuit on behalf…
- World News
Myanmar ousted leader’s prison sentence reduced to two years
Myanmar’s ousted State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi was sentenced to four years in prison yesterday, but it was then reduced to two years following a partial pardon by the military junta’s commander, according to state television. Her indictments were unrest and violating Covid-19 epidemic guidelines, according to the junta’s ruling court, which ordered the first judicial decision in a…
- Thailand News
Thailand deploys “King Cobra” unit at Myanmar border to monitor illegal crossings
The lifting of restrictions on Covid-19 in Thailand, which culminated with its reopening on November 1, sparked a surge in demand for foreign labor, making it very difficult to control the illegal border crossings. To deal with it, Thailand’s “King Cobra” special unit team under the Surasee Taskforce is now actively searching for unauthorised migrants along its western border with…
- World News
Rohingya accuse Facebook of promoting hate speech in US$150 billion lawsuit
Facebook is being sued in a California court by Rohingya refugees, who accuse the social media platform of failing to combat hate speech. In a US$150 billion lawsuit, court documents allege Facebook is powered by algorithms that allow the seeds of disinformation and extremism to grow and cross over into real-life violence. “Facebook is like a robot programmed with a…
- World News
Cambodian PM plans a visit to Myanmar to smooth divisions in ASEAN
The PM of Cambodia has announced plans to visit Myanmar to help smooth divisions in ASEAN. PM Hun Sen says he will talk with military rulers, recently commenting that Myanmar was a “family member of ASEAN” and that it was time to strengthen the grouping. Myanmar is part of the 10-country ASEAN alliance, but has created waves after the military…
- World News
Myanmar junta likely to be temporarily barred from the UN, along with Taliban
The Myanmar military junta and the Taliban in Afghanistan are likely to be temporarily barred from representing their nations at the 193-member United Nations credentials committee, which includes Russia, China, and the United States. The committee will meet at UN headquarters to assess the credentials of all 193 members of the UN General Assembly for the current session, and Reuters…
- Thailand video news
Thailand Top Stories | PCR testing to stay, more restrictions? Lifeguards off duty | Dec 1
Thailand WILL continue using the PCR method to screen arrivals for Covid-19 as a preventative measure to keep Omicron out. PM Prayut Chan-o-cha will make a decision about whether Thailand will be forced back into any further restrictions. The annual funding game is on in Phuket for the island’s lifeguards… again. A new visa scheme approved, in principle, by the…
- World News
Verdicts in Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi trial postponed until Monday
According to a source acquainted with the proceedings in Myanmar, the first verdicts in the trial of former State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi were adjourned to Monday by a court under the military junta. The court was set to rule on allegations of incitement and violations of Covid-19 guidelines under a natural disaster law today, one of nearly a…
- Thailand News
Crackdown on human trafficking as Thailand tries to upgrade its ranking
Thailand is to get tough on people smugglers, according to deputy PM Prawit Wongsuwon in a Bangkok Post report today. The government aims to upgrade the country’s 2022 ranking in the US Trafficking in Persons Report, after being downgraded to the Tier 2 Watchlist in this year’s report. Being given a Tier 2 Watchlist ranking means a government is deemed…
- World News
Myanmar military will not attend Asia-Europe Meeting, sources say
Myanmar’s military has reportedly notified Cambodia that it will not attend the 13th ASEM Summit, where leaders from Asia and Europe meet (virtually) for two days, saying it would only send a technical team to watch the talks. The meeting, which starts today and ends tomorrow, will focus on the interaction of four main ideas: multilateralism, growth, sustainable development, and…
- Thailand News
60 more Burmese nationals arrested for illegal crossing of Thai border
A total of 60 Burmese nationals in three groups were detained yesterday after they reportedly crossed the Thailand border illegally through Muang and Sangkhla Buri districts, according to the police. In the morning, nine men and four women from Myanmar’s Dawei, Magway, Yangon, and Bago provinces, were arrested near Moo 15 village in tambon Ban Kao, who claimed to pay …
- World News
Myanmar’s shadow government raises US$6.3 million for “revolution”
In a campaign for a “revolution” against Myanmar’s military following the February 1 coup and bloody crackdown, the country’s shadow government began issuing special “treasury bonds” and say they raised more than US$6.3 million on the first day. The National Unity Government, or NUG, is a coalition of pro-democracy organisations, ethnic minority militaries, and remnants of the country’s deposed civilian…
- World News
15 Burmese pilgrims drown while crossing flooded causeway to reach Buddhist temple
At least 15 pilgrims have drowned and at least 3 more are missing after trying to cross a flooded causeway in Myanmar. According to an AFP report, the incident occurred near the town of Thanbyuzayat in the state of Mon. The victims were among thousands of religious pilgrims who were attempting to reach the Kyeik Hne pagoda. The Buddhist temple…
- World News
China’s lobbying for Myanmar junta to join Xi Summit met with opposition
China’s Special Envoy of Asian Affairs Sun Guoxiang has pressed Southeast Asian governments to allow Myanmar’s military ruler to attend a regional meeting hosted by China’s President next week, but has faced heavy opposition, diplomatic sources told Reuters reporters. He visited Singapore and Brunei last week, but was told that Myanmar military junta chief Ming Aung Hlaing would be unable…
- Crime News
11 inmates climb through hole in ceiling, escape from prison cell in Nakhon Sawan
Nearly a dozen inmates climbed through a hole in a holding cell and escape from the Khlong Pho Temporary Prison in the central province Nakhon Sawan where they were held as a isolation period before being sent to Nakhon Sawan Central Prison. Officers say the inmates have been found. Police Major-General Raphiphong Sukphaiboon from Nakhon Sawan police station said the…
- World News
Thai Foreign Minister reportedly admits to meeting with Myanmar’s military junta
Following reports in Burmese media that Thailand’s Foreign Affairs Minister visited Myanmar’s capital Naypyidaw last weekend to meet with the military junta and coup leader, the minister has reportedly revealed details about his trip, saying he discussed humanitarian aid for the country’s citizens. Foreign Affairs Minister, Don Pramudwinai, who also serves as Deputy PM, reportedly admitted to meeting with coup…
- World News
Military eyes reopening Myanmar to tourists, shadow government says “stay away”
The State Administrative Council under the Myanmar military junta on Tuesday said it will reopen the country by next month, starting with border crossings with China and Thailand, ahead of a scheduled resumption of welcoming international tourists in the second quarter of 2022. It comes amid continued internal clashes between civilian and military troops in the aftermath of the military…
- World News
US journalist Danny Fenster released from Myanmar prison
Danny Fenster, American journalist who had been detained in Myanmar’s notorious Insein Prison for more than five months, was released and deported on Monday afternoon, according to his employer at Frontier Myanmar. The report was also confirmed by the US ex-diplomat Richardson, who recently visited Myanmar and talked with junta leader Gen. Min Aung Hlaing. He told Associated Press that Fenster “would…
- World News
Thailand’s Foreign Affairs Minister visits Myanmar capital to meet military junta
Thailand’s Foreign Affairs Minister Don Pramudwinai, who also serves as deputy prime minister, met with the military junta’s Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin and later with the coup leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing yesterday afternoon, according to a report by local media outlet Myanmar Now. It is unknown what topics the two parties discussed during this confidential day-trip made…
