Myanmar Crisis

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, right, meets Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar of the Taliban in Tianjin, China, in July. (Reuters)
Comment

From Myanmar to Afghanistan: Can China forge a new Asian order?

Beijing has been boosting its influence in the region after US retreat

10 September 2021
The United Nations headquarters in New York and protesters in Yangon: Myanmar's military junta is battling the opposition for international recognition. (Source photos by Getty Images)
Myanmar Crisis

Myanmar shadow government reaps diplomatic harvest

Group gaining allies ahead of UN meeting, says group's foreign minister

9 September 2021
Industry insiders say the head of Myanmar's junta, Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, may reject Telenor's exit plan. (Nikkei montage/Reuters/Getty Images)
Myanmar Crisis

Telenor's Myanmar sell-off mired in uncertainty

Alibaba's pullout from stake purchase of payments service clouds picture

7 September 2021
Duwa Lashi La, acting president of Myanmar's National Unity Government, addresses the nation in an online speech on Sept. 7.
Myanmar Crisis

Myanmar parallel government calls for revolt against regime

Acting president starts 'defensive war' and demands officials abandon posts

7 September 2021
Anti-coup protesters march in Mandalay on Aug. 8, the anniversary of a 1988 uprising. Myanmar's parallel government is preparing to subsidize 250,000 people who have joined the civil disobedience movement.
Myanmar Crisis

Myanmar parallel government to challenge regime with $700m budget

Shadow finance minister takes aim at military generals on economic battlefield

2 September 2021
A Buddhist monk protests the arrest of Wirathu, an ultranationalist monk who has been accused of conspiring to persecute Muslims, in Yangon in January. Even well before the coup, the military and some racist monks were tapping into a latent xenophobic strain among the country’s mainly Buddhist ethnic Burman majority to target Muslims and other minorities. 
Life

As anti-coup protests continue, where are Myanmar's monks?

Ignoring history, some prominent Buddhist clergy have sided with the military

28 August 2021
ASEAN leaders' meeting in Jakarta on Apr. 24: the organaization is more likely to be a useful partner on the humanitarian rather than the political front.
Opinion

Weak and inadequate, ASEAN yet remains indispensable

Myanmar crisis highlights the limits of the 10-member bloc's ambitions

24 August 2021
The Central Bank of Myanmar, which is under the military's control, is wrestling with a steady depreciation of the country's currency, the kyat. (Source photos by Reuters)
Myanmar Crisis

Myanmar tightens grip on forex rates to combat kyat slippage

Central bank reinstates old regulation but concerns arise in growing black market

19 August 2021
People in remote areas of Myanmar under the control of ethnic armies are being inoculated against COVID-19 with support from China. (Source photos by Getty Images and Kachinwaves/AFP/Jiji)
Myanmar Crisis

Myanmar ethnic armies march to China's tune amid COVID spike

Beijing fortifies 'Southern Great Wall' as imported cases rise in border areas

18 August 2021
Ko Min, left, and his wife Ma Moe. Together with their two young children, they live in this poor district on the outskirts of Yangon. Ko Min was a bricklayer but lost his job when construction sites closed due to recent civil unrest. (©WFP Myanmar/2021)
Life

Photo essay: Close-up on Myanmar's growing hunger

'It's for my family': Parents struggle to keep children fed amid country's multiple crises

11 August 2021
As citizens protested the coup, Myanmar Brewery, in which Kirin owns 51%, became the target of a boycott as many restaurants stopped serving the brand.
Myanmar Crisis

Japan's Kirin writes off $193m for Myanmar beer unit

Military-linked foreign businesses hit by double whammy of February takeover and COVID

10 August 2021
The biggest crisis facing Myanmar after Senior Gen. Ming Aung Hlaing's Feb. 1 coup may not be his demolition of democracy and the economy. An unchecked third wave of COVID-19 threatens tens of thousands of Burmese -- and possibly others in neighboring countries. (Source photos by Reuters) 
Myanmar Crisis

Myanmar's unchecked epidemic threatens COVID-19 'tsunami'

Virulent strain could kill 80,000 Burmese in weeks and spread regionally

8 August 2021
Brunei's Second Minister of Foreign Affairs Erywan Yusof, pictured speaking at the United Nations, will serve as ASEAN's special envoy to Myanmar.
Myanmar Crisis

ASEAN picks Brunei's Yusof as its special envoy to Myanmar

Communique promises 'full access to all parties' but many harbor doubts

4 August 2021
The ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta: The bloc is set for a busy week of diplomatic meetings.
International relations

ASEAN struggles to end Myanmar impasse as week of meetings begins

Series of key diplomatic talks also includes US, China and North Korea

2 August 2021
Myanmar's military government says it is looking to hold an election within two years, but many citizens, who faced violent crackdowns on protests against the takeover, may boycott a vote. (File photos by Reuters) 
Myanmar Crisis

Myanmar's anger simmers, six months after military takeover

Fate of promised shift to civil government remains uncertain

1 August 2021
David Eubank, founder of the Free Burma Rangers aid organization, rescues a 5-year-old Demoa after her mother was killed by Islamists in the battle for Mosul. (Courtesy of Free Burma Rangers)
Life

Fighting Myanmar's regime with compassion and military skills

Free Burma Rangers help thousands fleeing brutal attacks by security forces

1 August 2021
Supporters of National Unity Government march on a street in Yangon on Apr. 17: the NUG could form a stronger alliance by building trust with potential partners.
Opinion

Myanmar's National Unity forces must overcome divide and rule tactics

The only way forward is to offer an inclusive political path for minority groups

31 July 2021
A group of women hold torches as they protest against the military coup in Yangon on July 14.
Myanmar Crisis

World Bank forecasts 18% annual decline for Myanmar's economy

New report details factors hitting economy and public health

26 July 2021
The price of candles in Myanmar is going up: Power supplies are on the verge of collapse because most Burmese have refused to pay their electricity bills since the military's seizure of power in February.
Myanmar Crisis

Myanmar's lights go out as bill boycott fuels cash crunch

State hospitals forced to use costly generators as COVID-19 crisis deepens

25 July 2021
Kubata has maintained a relationship with Myanmar since the 1950s.  In addition to selling tractors, it has also built water supply and sewage systems there.
Companies

Japan's Kubota has no plans to leave Myanmar despite crisis

President says farm machinery maker has 'no political motivation' amid sharp rise in demand

18 July 2021
Smoke rises from smoldering houses in Kinma village, central Myanmar's Pauk township, on June 16: the Tatmadaw is burning the last shreds of legitimacy.
Opinion

Myanmar's military regime has nothing left to offer

How much damage will it be allowed to inflict on the country and region?

16 July 2021
Family members preparing an infant's body for burial inside their shelter. (Image courtesy Ai Weiwei Studio)
Arts

Ai Weiwei and the Rohingya: humanity first

Dissident Chinese artist's new film exposes personal horrors of refugee life

9 July 2021
Telenor’s disastrous experience in Myanmar is likely to cloud foreign investor perceptions for decades. 
Myanmar Crisis

Telenor quits Myanmar as regime pressures telco operators

Fire sale highlights dilemmas for companies seeking to operate ethically

8 July 2021
Pro-military keyboard warriors are leaving a trail of posts trying to justify the military's brutal crushing of the pro-democracy protests. (Nikkei montage/Reuters)
Myanmar Crisis

Myanmar pro-military camp ramps up belligerence on social media

Public displays of loyalty may seek to shore up base amid nationwide protests

8 July 2021
A man holds a National League for Democracy flag during a protest against the military coup, in Yangon on March 27. The democratically elected NLD was ousted in the Feb. 1 putsch. 
Life

Five Myanmar voices on a year in turmoil

Insights into life under the military regime

5 July 2021