Author: Phyo Mg Wai

Two loudspeakers, as big as the men carrying them, are brought to the rocky hilltop. Some 800m below, in the town of Hpasang, lies a sprawling Myanmar army base. It’s a blisteringly hot day – above 40C – and behind, on bamboo poles, more young resistance fighters carry a large, heavy battery pack and amplifier. Leading the ascent is Nay Myo Zin, a former army captain who, after 12 years in the military, defected to the resistance. With his dark green camouflage jacket draped over one shoulder, he has the air of a performer about to take the stage. He…

Punishing hot weather affects not only a person’s health or work productivity but also affects couples’ fertility and birth outcomes, a project by the National University of Singapore (NUS) found. Rising temperatures could further reduce Singapore’s resident total fertility rate, which dipped below 1 – a record low – in 2023. The rate refers to the average number of babies each woman would have during her reproductive years. Researchers from the NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine studied sperm samples from 818 men that were already stored at the National University Hospital’s (NUH) andrology section. The scientists then traced the men’s…

A year ago Germany deported to Tajikistan an activist from that country’s exiled opposition movement who had been living in Dortmund since 2009. What happened next is a shocking example of what can occur when Germany fails to uphold safeguards in its increased efforts to deport unsuccessful asylum seekers. The Bundestag this month gave police greater powers to carry out deportations. The activist, Abdullohi Shamsiddin, 33, was deported to Tajikistan on January 18 2023. He was detained on arrival by the security services. Two months later he was convicted of trying to overthrow the constitution and jailed for seven years. No credible…

Three Chinese navy ships have arrived in Myanmar on a goodwill visit as part of renewed Chinese defence engagement amid Chinese concern about a surge of fighting between Myanmar junta forces and insurgents near the Chinese border. The guided-missile destroyer Zibo and the guided-missile frigate Jingzhou were escorted by a Myanmar frigate to docks in Myanmar’s main city of Yangon on Monday (Nov 27), China’s People’s Liberation Navy (PLAN) said in a statement. The 700-strong force, on a four-day visit, is being led by Senior Captain Sun Bo and includes a Chinese resupply ship, the Qiandaohu, the Global New Light of Myanmar…

About two weeks into a major offensive against Myanmar’s military-run government by an alliance of three well-armed militias of ethnic minorities, an army captain, fighting in a jungle area near the northeastern border with China, lamented that he’d never seen such intense action. His commander in Myanmar’s 99th Light Infantry Division had been killed in fighting in Shan state the week before and the 35-year-old career soldier said army outposts were in disarray and being hit from all sides. “I have never faced these kinds of battles before,” the combat veteran told The Associated Press by phone. “This fighting in…

A decorated Thai para-athlete murdered his bride and four other people at their wedding reception before turning his gun on himself, police said Monday. Chaturong Suksuk, 29, an ASEAN Para Games silver medalist, shot bride Kanchana Pachunthuek at the wedding in northeastern Thailand on Saturday, authorities said.  The other victims were identified as the bride’s mother Kingthong Klajoho, 62, her younger sister Kornnipa Manato, 38, and a guest, Thong Nonkhunthod, 50, the Bangkok Post reported. “They had an argument on private matters and Chaturong walked to his car and picked up a gun before shooting,” said Matichon Wongbaokul, a police officer…

The relentless ebb and flow of geopolitics, economic and environmental conditions, and fluctuating labor and consumer markets all contribute to today’s fluid and unpredictable global landscape. In this evolving economy, where your organization conducts business is just as important as how it operates. The confluence of Vietnam’s geographic location and process technology has made it a digital hub that helps organizations flourish by replacing legacy infrastructure and siloed operations. The country offers a rare combination of integrated solutions that makes it a rapidly growing destination for ambitious enterprises. Overcoming Market Challenges Success in the global marketplace requires organizations to optimize…

Myanmar’s rebel forces have captured a town that was controlled by the ruling military junta. Sources with Myanmar’s shadow National Unity Government, as well as witnesses and local news outlets, say the rebel forces attacked the northern town of Kawlin last Friday and battled with local security forces until taking control of the town’s police station and administrative offices by early Monday morning. Kawlin is the administrative capital of the Sagaing region. The takeover of Kawlin is the first administrative capital taken by rebel forces since the military’s overthrow of the civilian government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February…

JAKARTA – A coalition of human rights organizations and former attorney general and respected human rights defender Marzuki Darusman, have officially requested that the National Commission on Human Rights (KomnasHAM) investigate alleged arm sales by state-owned arms manufacturers to the Myanmar junta, which they say potentially took place after the 2021 coup. The arms deals allegedly took place between Myanmar’s military junta government and state-owned companies PT Pindad, shipbuilder PT PAL and aircraft maker PT Dirgantara Indonesia (PTDI). The firms have categorically denied the allegations leveled against them. The companies are accused of having promoted and sold “handguns, assault rifles, ammunition,…

HANOI (Reuters) -Vietnam’s gross domestic product growth accelerated in the third quarter from the previous three months, data showed on Friday, but fell short of this year’s growth target as dull demand for exports overshadowed support from monetary easing. GDP in the July-September quarter is expected to have grown 5.33% from a year earlier, faster than the 4.05% expansion in the second quarter, the General Statistics Office said in a report on Friday. Capital Economics said the worst for Vietnam’s economy was over but growth remained subdued by past standards. With inflation becoming a growing concern, however, it did not…