Myanmar or Burma

US authorities said Wednesday they had charged a member of the Japanese yakuza criminal underworld with handling nuclear material sourced from Myanmar and seeking to sell it to fund an illicit arms deal.

The indictment claims Ebisawa had suggested using the proceeds of the sale of nuclear material to fund weapons purchases on behalf of an unnamed ethnic insurgent group in Myanmar.

Many residents have fled and people fear the city could be flattened, like Pauktaw and Minbya.

Those who can afford it have gone to Yangon, Mandalay or Pyay. Half of the city has already fled and many are waiting to buy air tickets. Flights are apparently booked until late April. The regime has blockaded Sittwe, which is surrounded by the Bay of Bengal and some try to escape by sea.

The Brotherhood Alliance of the AA, Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army and Ta’ang National Liberation Army has halted its Operation 1027 offensive near the Chinese border in northern Shan State following pressure from China. But its political ally, the KIA, is pressing on with its attacks in northern Shan.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ca/post/15721270

He made the remarks as the number of Myanmar citizens applying for a visa to enter Thailand has increased sharply after Myanmar’s ruling military revealed plans to conscript young people for mandatory...

The prime minister was also trying to allay concern that Myanmar immigrants would take jobs away from local people, saying that one of the reasons that Myanmar citizens are currently fleeing into Thailand...

He also said that Thailand's unemployment rate is currently lower than 1% and that Thailand still needs many more labourers from neighbouring countries, though they must follow proper procedures to work...

Junta boss Min Aung Hlaing kowtowed to China at the Chinese New Year celebration in Yangon on Sunday, in a marked turnaround from his indirect accusations a few months ago that the country was supporting the anti-regime offensive known as Operation 1027.

It is widely understood that the regime is not happy with China’s backing of the anti-regime offensive in northern Shan State—and that the fighting only ceased thanks to China.

Two political prisoners, including well-known activist Ma Noble Aye, were reportedly killed in detention by junta troops in Waw Township, Bago Region, after being arrested for allegedly carrying weapons for resistance forces.

Myanmar's junta is enforcing a law requiring all men aged 18-35 and women aged 18-27 to serve at least two years under military command, it said on Saturday, as it struggles to crush opposition to its 2021 coup.

The country has been in turmoil since the military seized power that year, with massive pro-democracy protests morphing into widespread armed resistance.