Latest Myanmar News

UN envoy for Myanmar Noeleen Heyzer to leave post in June

May. 31, 2023 14:45 PM EDT

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Noeleen Heyzer, the U.N. special envoy for conflict-torn Myanmar, will be leaving the job in June, the United Nations announced Wednesday. She took on the job in October 2021 following the military coup in February of that year that ousted the democratically...

Ex-UN head Ban calls for more diplomatic pressure on Myanmar's military leaders

May. 31, 2023 10:27 AM EDT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Former U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Wednesday that he was communicating with authorities in military-run Myanmar as well as members of the armed resistance following a surprise visit to the country last month, and called for more diplomatic pressure on the...

Myanmar court convicts journalist injured by army on 2nd charge, extending jail term to 13 years

May. 31, 2023 09:46 AM EDT

BANGKOK (AP) — A court in military-ruled Myanmar has convicted a 34-year-old journalist of violating the country’s counter-terrorism law, adding 10 years to the three-year prison sentence she was given last December for filming an anti-military protest in which she was injured by a speeding...

UN agencies face funding challenges in feeding Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, official says

May. 29, 2023 22:01 PM EDT

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — Bangladesh should not bear the burden of more than 1 million Rohingya refugees alone while U.N. agencies are facing challenges to feed them, a United Nations official said Monday. Olivier De Schutter, a U.N. special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human...

India's northeast remains on edge after ethnic clashes as home minister plans visit

May. 29, 2023 10:57 AM EDT

GUWAHATI, India (AP) — Shootings and arson continued Monday in India’s northeastern state of Manipur, where clashes between security forces and tribal insurgents the previous day killed five people, media reports said. The state, which borders Myanmar, has been roiled by violence...

Authorities in Thailand seize more than a ton of crystal methamphetamine thought bound for Australia

May. 29, 2023 05:38 AM EDT

BANGKOK (AP) — Law enforcement officials in Thailand said Monday they seized more than a ton of crystal methamphetamine in a southern province last week that they believed was bound for Australia. Officials from police and the Narcotics Control Board announced that the 1.2 metric...

Concern rising in Myanmar that supplies needed for recovery from Cyclone Mocha are coming too slowly

May. 22, 2023 13:15 PM EDT

BANGKOK (AP) — As residents of Myanmar’s Rakhine and Chin states worked Monday to repair the devastation from last week’s Cyclone Mocha, concern is rising about whether the urgent needs for shelter, food, drinking water and medical assistance can be met before the onset of seasonal monsoon...

Myanmar says official death toll from Cyclone Mocha at least 145, says aid is being provided

May. 19, 2023 05:23 AM EDT

BANGKOK (AP) — The official death toll from the powerful cyclone that struck Myanmar has burgeoned to at least 145, including 117 members of the Muslim Rohingya minority, state television reported Friday. It said the figure applied to the western state of Rakhine, where Cyclone...

Myanmar raises death toll from Cyclone Mocha to 54, but full extent of damage still unknown

May. 18, 2023 23:24 PM EDT

BANGKOK (AP) — At least 54 people were killed and more than 185,000 buildings damaged in Myanmar by a powerful cyclone last weekend, state television MRTV reported Thursday. Communication difficulties in the affected areas, where infrastructure was already poor, and the military...

UN expert: Myanmar military imported $1 billion in weapons since 2021 coup

May. 17, 2023 19:28 PM EDT

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Myanmar’s military has imported at least $1 billion worth of weapons and related material from Russia, China and other countries since its February 2021 coup, some of which it has used to carry out atrocities against civilians, according to a U.N. report released...