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Myanmar

Latest news, updates and opinion on Myanmar, covering politics, economy, society and the country’s relationships with China and India, and other countries in Southeast Asia.

Capital

Naypyidaw

Head of State

Acting President Min Aung Hlaing

Head of Government

Prime Minister Min Aung Hlaing

People stand beside a crater in front of a damaged police station following clashes between Cambodian and Thai soldiers in Banteay Meanchey province, Cambodia on Saturday. Photo: AFP

The Philippines

‘Not very high’ bar: Philippines inherits Thailand-Cambodia border crisis

Given Asean’s policy of non-interference, the Philippines may be better off leaving peace negotiations to the US and China, experts say.

5 Jan 2026 - 5:20PMvideocam

Thailand

Asian Angle | How uneven borders fuel Myanmar’s vast and resilient scam economy

4 Jan 2026 - 1:00PMvideocam

Aung San Suu Kyi

Myanmar’s junta proxy party takes decisive lead in first phase of voting

4 Jan 2026 - 2:49PM

Bangladesh

Asian Angle | Bangladesh needs ‘structural’ change, but how will it get there?

As Bangladesh heads into elections next year, it must tread the challenge of political transition with more care and thoughtfulness.

3 Jan 2026 - 4:00PM

A man holds a Bangladeshi national flag during celebrations to mark Victory Day at the old airport in Sher-e-Bangal Nagar in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on December 16, 2025. Photo: EPA

War and conflict

Myanmar military-backed party leads in election’s first phase by wide margin

The Union Solidarity and Development Party, led by retired generals, won 38 of 40 seats in the lower house.

3 Jan 2026 - 11:56AM

Malaysia

Malaysian forced to scam Hongkongers recalls nightmare in Myanmar

Chew said he would be ‘beaten, electrocuted or starved for more than a week’ if he ‘failed’ in his task.

31 Dec 2025 - 2:35PMvideocam

War and conflict

As I see it | Why China is Myanmar’s only real hope

A general election won’t end the country’s brutal civil war, but regional coordination by key neighbouring countries without Western interference might.

31 Dec 2025 - 9:30AMvideocam

Vendors sort vegetables at a market in Naypyidaw on December 29, a day after the first phase of Myanmar’s general election. Photo: AFP

Malaysia

Malaysia’s Anwar says Asean to assess Myanmar after ‘premature’ polls

As Asean chair, Malaysia’s PM Anwar Ibrahim says the bloc will assess Myanmar’s election cautiously to avoid legitimising military rule.

30 Dec 2025 - 8:02PM

Human rights

‘They always lie’: pro-military party claims big lead in Myanmar’s disputed vote

The overwhelming lead claimed by the USDP in the first poll phase is met with condemnation from rights groups warning of a rigged process.

29 Dec 2025 - 8:40PMvideocam

War and conflict

Why Myanmar’s junta election cannot hide a collapsing economy

Analysts warn that conflict, power shortages and resource extraction under military rule are pushing Myanmar’s economy further into reverse.

29 Dec 2025 - 5:20PM

A vendor waits beside bottles of oil at a market in Pyin Oo Lwin, Myanmar. Inflation in the country has reached record highs of about 30 per cent over the past two years. Photo: AFP

Asia elections

‘Military has destroyed our lives’: Myanmar votes in election amid civil war

The multiphase election, which the junta insists is ‘free and fair’, comes nearly four years after it took power in a coup.

29 Dec 2025 - 8:53AMvideocam

A voter shows her inked finger after casting a ballot in Yangon, Myanmar, on Sunday. Photo: EPA

Human rights

‘Lost my future’: Myanmar’s ‘charade’ election dims hopes of diaspora

The junta’s phased election starting on Sunday has been slammed as a ploy for its generals to stay in power.

27 Dec 2025 - 12:50PMvideocam

Rohingya Muslims

Stay or go? Rohingya see no way out of predicament as Myanmar heads to poll

Myanmar’s phased election, set to start on Sunday, is likely to be steered by the same leaders responsible for driving the Rohingya out.

26 Dec 2025 - 5:05PMvideocam

War and conflict

UN says Myanmar junta using ‘brutal violence’ to force people to vote

Many have also been imprisoned for disagreeing, including three youths sentenced to over 40 years each for hanging anti-election posters.

24 Dec 2025 - 4:18PMvideocam

General Min Aung Hlaing, head of Myanmar’s military council, is seen on a screen during a parade in March to commemorate Myanmar’s 80th Armed Forces Day. Photo: AP

Extreme weather

Asia’s year in extreme weather and natural disasters, from earthquakes to floods

From the deadly earthquake in Myanmar to tropical cyclones in the Philippines, Asia went through its share of natural disasters in 2025.

23 Dec 2025 - 3:00PM

Residents inspect the collapsed Maha Myat Muni Pagoda in the city of Mandalay, Myanmar, following a devastating earthquake. Photo: EPA-EFE

Malaysia

31 Malaysians repatriated from Myanmar job scam syndicate

The job scam victims rescued from a Myawaddy job syndicate return home safely after intensive diplomatic negotiations and a 26-hour land journey.

20 Dec 2025 - 10:55PMvideocam

War and conflict

Are Myanmar hospital air strikes a bid to ‘intimidate’ voters ahead of poll?

The junta has been emboldened to strike as China, Russia and the US are looking the other way to serve their own interests, analysts say.

19 Dec 2025 - 5:31PMvideocam

United Nations

Aid cuts causing millions of refugees ‘unnecessary pain’: UN

‘The sudden, drastic, irresponsible and short-sighted collapse of foreign assistance’ has inflicted ‘so much unnecessary pain in its wake’.

15 Dec 2025 - 11:58PMvideocam

Sudanese refugee children stand at sunset in a transit camp amid the conflict between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese Army, in November. Photo: Reuters

Scams and swindles

Video | China extradites scam suspects from Myanmar

The extraditions follow Myanmar’s raids on multiple scam compounds since October 2025.

10 Dec 2025 - 4:12PM

War and conflict

RSF says Israel killed highest number of journalists again this year

Reporters without Borders says the number of journalists killed reached 67 globally.

10 Dec 2025 - 10:28AM

National Unity Government (Myanmar)

Starving Myanmar fighters join enemies for money as ‘dirty reality’ bites

‘We don’t have any other options,’ a pro-democracy fighter says as many rebels switch sides for survival.

9 Dec 2025 - 12:24PMvideocam

Soldiers of the Myanmar junta-linked Democratic Karen Benevolent Army guard a checkpoint in Payathonzu, Kayin state, on October 4. Photo: Kyodo

Singapore

Myanmar teen to be first foreigner deported under Singapore’s new Kpod law

As of September 1, foreigners with Kpods or testing positive for etomidate may be deported and banned from re-entering Singapore.

8 Dec 2025 - 9:34PM

A teenager was found to be in possession of an e-vaporiser pod containing etomidate during a routine check by police. Photo: Shutterstock

United Nations

UN hits out at global ‘apathy’ as it slashes aid appeal for 2026

UN unveils streamlined plan to raise at least US$23 billion to help 87 million people in the world’s most dangerous places.

8 Dec 2025 - 2:27PM

Thailand

‘Everyone gets a cut’: why Southeast Asia’s scam industry refuses to die

Authorities are seizing assets and raiding compounds, but analysts warn the clumsy crackdown is merely scattering syndicates to new hideouts.

8 Dec 2025 - 9:51AMvideocam

Sri Lanka

627 dead in Sri Lanka landslides as rains batter South, Southeast Asia

At least 1,812 people have been killed in the natural disasters rolling across Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam.

7 Dec 2025 - 7:45PM

An aerial view of flooded Niyamgamdora, Sri Lanka, on Tuesday. Photo: Reuters

War and conflict

Air strike in central Myanmar kills at least 18

Two bombs were dropped on Tabayin township in Sagaing region on Friday evening, with one hitting a busy teashop, local officials said.

12 Dec 2025 - 4:48PMvideocam

People inspect their damaged home after bombardments carried out by Myanmar’s military in Tabayin, in Myanmar’s Sagaing region, on Saturday. Photo: AFP

Asean

Myanmar’s criticism of Takaichi signals ‘loyalty’ to China ahead of election

A junta spokesman slammed the Japanese prime minister’s comments on Taiwan, saying Tokyo had not shown remorse for its ‘crimes’ in Asia.

5 Dec 2025 - 6:44PMvideocam

Aung San Suu Kyi

Myanmar’s opium poppy growing at 10-year high amid civil war, turmoil

Myanmar has overtaken Afghanistan as the world’s main known source of illicit opium.

3 Dec 2025 - 4:59PM

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Myanmar

‘Not very high’ bar: Philippines inherits Thailand-Cambodia border crisis

Given Asean’s policy of non-interference, the Philippines may be better off leaving peace negotiations to the US and China, experts say.

.css-1m2rp1p{color:#34b8b5;}Asian Angle | How uneven borders fuel Myanmar’s vast and resilient scam economy

Myanmar’s junta proxy party takes decisive lead in first phase of voting

Asian Angle | Bangladesh needs ‘structural’ change, but how will it get there?

As Bangladesh heads into elections next year, it must tread the challenge of political transition with more care and thoughtfulness.

Myanmar military-backed party leads in election’s first phase by wide margin

The Union Solidarity and Development Party, led by retired generals, won 38 of 40 seats in the lower house.

Malaysian forced to scam Hongkongers recalls nightmare in Myanmar

Chew said he would be ‘beaten, electrocuted or starved for more than a week’ if he ‘failed’ in his task.

As I see it | Why China is Myanmar’s only real hope

A general election won’t end the country’s brutal civil war, but regional coordination by key neighbouring countries without Western interference might.

Malaysia’s Anwar says Asean to assess Myanmar after ‘premature’ polls

As Asean chair, Malaysia’s PM Anwar Ibrahim says the bloc will assess Myanmar’s election cautiously to avoid legitimising military rule.

‘They always lie’: pro-military party claims big lead in Myanmar’s disputed vote

The overwhelming lead claimed by the USDP in the first poll phase is met with condemnation from rights groups warning of a rigged process.

Why Myanmar’s junta election cannot hide a collapsing economy

Analysts warn that conflict, power shortages and resource extraction under military rule are pushing Myanmar’s economy further into reverse.

‘Military has destroyed our lives’: Myanmar votes in election amid civil war

The multiphase election, which the junta insists is ‘free and fair’, comes nearly four years after it took power in a coup.

‘Lost my future’: Myanmar’s ‘charade’ election dims hopes of diaspora

The junta’s phased election starting on Sunday has been slammed as a ploy for its generals to stay in power.

Stay or go? Rohingya see no way out of predicament as Myanmar heads to poll

Myanmar’s phased election, set to start on Sunday, is likely to be steered by the same leaders responsible for driving the Rohingya out.

UN says Myanmar junta using ‘brutal violence’ to force people to vote

Many have also been imprisoned for disagreeing, including three youths sentenced to over 40 years each for hanging anti-election posters.

Asia’s year in extreme weather and natural disasters, from earthquakes to floods

From the deadly earthquake in Myanmar to tropical cyclones in the Philippines, Asia went through its share of natural disasters in 2025.

31 Malaysians repatriated from Myanmar job scam syndicate

The job scam victims rescued from a Myawaddy job syndicate return home safely after intensive diplomatic negotiations and a 26-hour land journey.

Are Myanmar hospital air strikes a bid to ‘intimidate’ voters ahead of poll?

The junta has been emboldened to strike as China, Russia and the US are looking the other way to serve their own interests, analysts say.

Aid cuts causing millions of refugees ‘unnecessary pain’: UN

‘The sudden, drastic, irresponsible and short-sighted collapse of foreign assistance’ has inflicted ‘so much unnecessary pain in its wake’.

.css-rcruog{color:#C79A00;}Video | China extradites scam suspects from Myanmar

The extraditions follow Myanmar’s raids on multiple scam compounds since October 2025.

RSF says Israel killed highest number of journalists again this year

Reporters without Borders says the number of journalists killed reached 67 globally.

Starving Myanmar fighters join enemies for money as ‘dirty reality’ bites

‘We don’t have any other options,’ a pro-democracy fighter says as many rebels switch sides for survival.

Myanmar teen to be first foreigner deported under Singapore’s new Kpod law

As of September 1, foreigners with Kpods or testing positive for etomidate may be deported and banned from re-entering Singapore.

UN hits out at global ‘apathy’ as it slashes aid appeal for 2026

UN unveils streamlined plan to raise at least US$23 billion to help 87 million people in the world’s most dangerous places.

‘Everyone gets a cut’: why Southeast Asia’s scam industry refuses to die

Authorities are seizing assets and raiding compounds, but analysts warn the clumsy crackdown is merely scattering syndicates to new hideouts.

627 dead in Sri Lanka landslides as rains batter South, Southeast Asia

At least 1,812 people have been killed in the natural disasters rolling across Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam.

Air strike in central Myanmar kills at least 18

Two bombs were dropped on Tabayin township in Sagaing region on Friday evening, with one hitting a busy teashop, local officials said.

Myanmar’s criticism of Takaichi signals ‘loyalty’ to China ahead of election

A junta spokesman slammed the Japanese prime minister’s comments on Taiwan, saying Tokyo had not shown remorse for its ‘crimes’ in Asia.

Myanmar’s opium poppy growing at 10-year high amid civil war, turmoil

Myanmar has overtaken Afghanistan as the world’s main known source of illicit opium.

Asian Angle | How uneven borders fuel Myanmar’s vast and resilient scam economy

Video | China extradites scam suspects from Myanmar