News
Influential leader in Myanmar is removed as head of governing party
The head of Myanmar’s governing party has been removed from his post in what one aide described as a “coup,” the most visible sign yet of splintering within Myanmar’s military elite and the resurgence of conservative forces that dominated under decades of military rule. The removal ...
Turmoil in Myanmar's military-backed ruling party as leaders are deposed
Myanmar security forces have surrounded the headquarters of the ruling Union Solidarity and Development party in the country’s capital, Naypyidaw, and senior regime figures have been removed from their posts, as tensions mount ahead of elections in November. Sources within the headquarters of the USDP – which ...
As Myanmar elections draw near, fate of Myitsone dam remains uncertain
Thein Sein announced in September 2011 that the construction of the Myitsone Dam would be suspended “for the duration of our government,” a move that will be remembered as one of the key moments of his presidency. However, with the general-turned-politician’s term of office to conclude ...
USDP newspaper suspended amid political shake-up
Amid a flurry of speculation and rumor about Myanmar’s ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) after two of its top leaders were unceremoniously ousted on 12 August, the party’s private media house has been indefinitely shut down. Keep reading ...
On an island in the delta, flood-affected locals speak of daily struggles
On Ye Lar Island in the Irrawaddy delta, people shelter in their flood-damaged homes, hoping for the waters that surround them to recede so they can begin to rebuild their lives. Many have lost farmland and almost every one of the 500 homes on the island ...
Myanmar President Thein Sein ousts ruling party chairman ahead of elections
Myanmar President Thein Sein has moved to consolidate his power in the country’s ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) by forcing out his chief rival Shwe Mann as party chairman, months ahead of a November general election. Shwe Mann was removed from his position as ...
Myanmar arrests one suspect, seeks second in record amphetamines bust
Police in Myanmar’s commercial capital Yangon have arrested one suspect and are searching for another they say were involved in what may be the country’s largest seizure of amphetamines to date, an official said on 12 August. Authorities discovered more than 26 million tablets of the illegal ...
Myanmar flood death toll tops 100
The death toll from severe flooding across Myanmar has topped 100, state media have reported, with nearly 1 million people affected as fears intensify for the country’s crucial rice bowl region. Floods from a heavy monsoon season have cut through South and Southeast Asia in recent ...
Rakhine, delta brace for more bad weather
Western Myanmar is bracing itself for more foul weather as the Department of Meteorology and Hydrology yesterday forecast additional rain along the southern Rakhine coast and Ayeyarwady Region. The department forecast heavy rain in northwest Myanmar and southern Ayeyarwady Region until 14 August. Keep reading ...
The labeling problem in Southeast Asia's refugee crisis
In the ‘crisis’ involving the displaced Rohingya people in Southeast Asia, the preferred institutional label is “irregular migrants.” It is a term which implies that migration is well-regulated, which is not the case in South East Asia. The ‘labeling’ or construction of identities of social groups ...
