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Myanmar

Latest news, updates and opinion on Myanmar, covering politics, economy, society and the country’s relationships with China and India, and other countries in Southeast Asia.

Capital

Naypyidaw

Head of State

Acting President Min Aung Hlaing

Head of Government

Prime Minister Min Aung Hlaing

Internally displaced Palestinians walk among the ruins of the Al Tuffah neighbourhood in eastern Gaza City on February 11. The UN human rights office has maintained a presence in Gaza despite the challenges. Photo: EPA

United Nations

Opinion | More than funding, the UN needs restructuring

The UN’s financial strain is a chance to rethink its structure, cut inefficiencies and empower local work that delivers more impact.

15 Feb 2026 - 5:30AM

Asean

Asian Angle | How Asean can resolve its Myanmar dilemma post-election

14 Feb 2026 - 12:30PMvideocam

Malaysia

Malaysia smashes high-end sex syndicate charging US$900 a session

14 Feb 2026 - 11:37AMvideocam

Scams and swindles

More Southeast Asian human trafficking gangs use crypto to move illegal funds

The transactions are linked to activities such as forced labour recruited by scammers and international escort services, a report says.

12 Feb 2026 - 9:00PMvideocam

Soldiers raid the KK Park online scam centre in Myawaddy township, Karen state, Myanmar, last year. Photo: AP

Scams and swindles

Video | Scam centre members apologise in broadcast confession

Core members of the Myanmar-based telecoms fraud syndicate Ming Zhenzhen and Bai Yingcang apologised for causing harm to Chinese citizens.

9 Feb 2026 - 2:49PM

China-Asean relations

Exclusive | Inside China’s rare meeting to lobby Southeast Asia against Japan

Beijing summons Southeast Asian envoys and invokes Japan’s WWII history, but campaign to isolate Tokyo gains little traction.

6 Feb 2026 - 10:19AM

Malaysia

Malaysian waters see return of oil transfer by ‘dark fleet’ of tankers

A crackdown against two vessels off Penang was the first disruption of such a ship-to-ship oil transfer in the state for over 10 years.

4 Feb 2026 - 7:48PMvideocam

A transfer of oil between MT Nora ship (left) and Rcelebra ship (right) off Penang last month. Photo: Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency

Mainland China

Video | 4 more telecoms fraud gang members executed in China

Members of the Bai family syndicate were convicted of telecoms fraud, murder and drug trafficking.

3 Feb 2026 - 2:41PM

Crime in China

China moves to boost cybercrime penalties by adding exit ban after sentences

Amid cross-border crackdown, draft Cybercrime Prevention and Control Law bill lists exit bans among tools to punish cybercriminals.

2 Feb 2026 - 10:24PMvideocam

Aung San Suu Kyi

Myanmar junta pledges to remove former civil servants from blacklists

After the military snatched power in a 2021 coup, tens of thousands of public workers left their posts in a surge of civil disobedience.

1 Feb 2026 - 4:54PM

Demonstrators hold placards during a protest against the military coup in Yangon, Myanmar, on February 18, 2021. Photo: EPA-EFE

Crime

Video | China executes 11 members of telecoms syndicate

Members of the Ming family crime syndicate found guilty of murder, illegal detention, running casinos and other offences.

30 Jan 2026 - 12:30PM

China-Asean relations

China executes 11 core members of Myanmar-based telecoms fraud ring

They include members of the Ming family crime syndicate found guilty of murder, illegal detention, running casinos and other offences.

29 Jan 2026 - 8:00PMvideocam

Asean

How far can Asean engage Myanmar without legitimising military rule?

The bloc’s foreign ministers meet in Cebu amid concerns that diplomacy could slide into tacit acceptance of military rule.

29 Jan 2026 - 5:58PMvideocam

Malaysia

Malaysian man arrested after secret trip to see second wife in Indonesia

The 46-year-old told officers that he could not travel by air as his passport was held by the first wife.

28 Jan 2026 - 10:34AM

Several people were detained aboard an unregistered boat during an operation conducted by Malaysia’s Maritime Enforcement Agency on Monday. Photo: Facebook/maritimmalaysia

Aung San Suu Kyi

‘What was the point?’: Myanmar’s loaded election brings win for junta allies

Disenfranchised citizens and migrants dismiss the election as a meaningless exercise designed solely to validate the military’s iron grip.

26 Jan 2026 - 8:37PM

Myanmar electoral officials count ballots at a polling station in Yangon on Sunday. Photo: EPA

Myanmar's democratic transition

Video | Can Myanmar’s elections bring an end to its civil war?

International observers and bodies have slammed the elections as a sham that is neither free nor fair.

25 Jan 2026 - 9:00AM

Malaysia

Rohingya refugees at risk of removal as Malaysia begins biometric documentation

Rohingya are often undocumented as Myanmar’s authorities refuse to recognise them as a legitimate community.

22 Jan 2026 - 4:52PMvideocam

Indonesia

440 Indonesians freed from Cambodia cyberscam hubs in criminal crackdown

Workers seek repatriation after scam operators, fearing police raids and new government measures, abruptly release hundreds of staff.

22 Jan 2026 - 5:35PMvideocam

Two Indonesian men, once trafficked and forced to work as scammers in Cambodia, pose at a window in Jakarta, in October 2025. Photo: AFP

Asean

Visa suspension tests US priorities in Southeast Asia

The move reflects an ‘America first’ policy approach and treats certain allies in the region as ‘strategically insignificant’, analysts say.

17 Jan 2026 - 2:00PMvideocam

India

Why India is losing ground over Bangladesh and Myanmar to regional rivals

Pakistan and China have been drawing closer to Bangladesh and Myanmar in areas such as defence and trade at India’s expense, analysts say.

16 Jan 2026 - 6:35PMvideocam

War and conflict

Video | Police find village-sized meth labs in Myanmar jungle

Junta authorities said they made the discovery after regaining control of land previously run by rebel groups.

15 Jan 2026 - 9:46PM

A Myanmar police officer stands in the smoldering ruins of a captured methamphetamine lab near Namlan in Shan State on January 14, 2026. (Photo by Joe STENSON / AFP)

02:00

Asean

Asean urged to rethink stance as Myanmar election risks normalising junta rule

The bloc should encourage Indonesia’s approach of engaging key stakeholders in efforts to resolve the Myanmar crisis, observers say.

25 Jan 2026 - 3:01PMvideocam

An official of the Union Election Commission displays a ballot for counting during the second phase of the general election at a polling station in Yangon, Myanmar, on Sunday. Photo: Xinhua

Cambodia

‘Not the end’: Cambodia keeps up scam crackdown after Chen Zhi sent to China

Phnom Penh signals zero tolerance for scam centres following the deportation of the Prince Group tycoon.

14 Jan 2026 - 7:38PMvideocam

Diplomacy

Philippine minister’s ‘premature’ Myanmar visit casts doubts over Asean’s role

Critics say the visit may be viewed as the bloc’s new chair endorsing a controversial junta-led election in Myanmar.

25 Jan 2026 - 3:00PMvideocam

Iran

Iranians use Musk’s Starlink to pierce internet blackout during protests

Smuggled satellite terminals offer a high-risk lifeline as Iran’s protest death toll climbs.

13 Jan 2026 - 8:16PM

Cars burn in a street during a protest in Tehran on January 8. Photo: West Asia News Agency via Reuters

Singapore

Singapore jails helper who slapped, hit and kicked elderly dementia patient

Nwe Nwe San also grabbed the 90-year-old woman by her shirt, swung her around several times and repeatedly pushed her onto the sofa.

13 Jan 2026 - 11:43AM

Singapore’s skyline. A domestic helper was jailed for abusing a 90-year-old dementia patient in the city state. Photo: AFP

Aung San Suu Kyi

Myanmar’s pro-junta party wins Aung San Suu Kyi’s seat: ‘surprise no one’

The military-backed party claims to have won 90 per cent of the available seats so far in a poll activists have derided as ‘engineered’.

25 Jan 2026 - 3:02PMvideocam

Scams and swindles

Editorial | Regional cooperation led to arrest of alleged scam kingpin Chen Zhi

The cross-border nature of his alleged criminal network required governments and law enforcement agencies to work together.

10 Jan 2026 - 6:45AM

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Myanmar

.css-1m2rp1p{color:#34b8b5;}Opinion | More than funding, the UN needs restructuring

The UN’s financial strain is a chance to rethink its structure, cut inefficiencies and empower local work that delivers more impact.

Asian Angle | How Asean can resolve its Myanmar dilemma post-election

Malaysia smashes high-end sex syndicate charging US$900 a session

More Southeast Asian human trafficking gangs use crypto to move illegal funds

The transactions are linked to activities such as forced labour recruited by scammers and international escort services, a report says.

.css-rcruog{color:#C79A00;}Video | Scam centre members apologise in broadcast confession

Core members of the Myanmar-based telecoms fraud syndicate Ming Zhenzhen and Bai Yingcang apologised for causing harm to Chinese citizens.

.css-sioo19{color:#c79a00;}Exclusive | Inside China’s rare meeting to lobby Southeast Asia against Japan

Beijing summons Southeast Asian envoys and invokes Japan’s WWII history, but campaign to isolate Tokyo gains little traction.

Malaysian waters see return of oil transfer by ‘dark fleet’ of tankers

A crackdown against two vessels off Penang was the first disruption of such a ship-to-ship oil transfer in the state for over 10 years.

Video | 4 more telecoms fraud gang members executed in China

Members of the Bai family syndicate were convicted of telecoms fraud, murder and drug trafficking.

China moves to boost cybercrime penalties by adding exit ban after sentences

Amid cross-border crackdown, draft Cybercrime Prevention and Control Law bill lists exit bans among tools to punish cybercriminals.

Myanmar junta pledges to remove former civil servants from blacklists

After the military snatched power in a 2021 coup, tens of thousands of public workers left their posts in a surge of civil disobedience.

Video | China executes 11 members of telecoms syndicate

Members of the Ming family crime syndicate found guilty of murder, illegal detention, running casinos and other offences.

China executes 11 core members of Myanmar-based telecoms fraud ring

They include members of the Ming family crime syndicate found guilty of murder, illegal detention, running casinos and other offences.

How far can Asean engage Myanmar without legitimising military rule?

The bloc’s foreign ministers meet in Cebu amid concerns that diplomacy could slide into tacit acceptance of military rule.

Malaysian man arrested after secret trip to see second wife in Indonesia

The 46-year-old told officers that he could not travel by air as his passport was held by the first wife.

‘What was the point?’: Myanmar’s loaded election brings win for junta allies

Disenfranchised citizens and migrants dismiss the election as a meaningless exercise designed solely to validate the military’s iron grip.

Video | Can Myanmar’s elections bring an end to its civil war?

International observers and bodies have slammed the elections as a sham that is neither free nor fair.

Rohingya refugees at risk of removal as Malaysia begins biometric documentation

Rohingya are often undocumented as Myanmar’s authorities refuse to recognise them as a legitimate community.

440 Indonesians freed from Cambodia cyberscam hubs in criminal crackdown

Workers seek repatriation after scam operators, fearing police raids and new government measures, abruptly release hundreds of staff.

Visa suspension tests US priorities in Southeast Asia

The move reflects an ‘America first’ policy approach and treats certain allies in the region as ‘strategically insignificant’, analysts say.

Why India is losing ground over Bangladesh and Myanmar to regional rivals

Pakistan and China have been drawing closer to Bangladesh and Myanmar in areas such as defence and trade at India’s expense, analysts say.

Video | Police find village-sized meth labs in Myanmar jungle

Junta authorities said they made the discovery after regaining control of land previously run by rebel groups.

Asean urged to rethink stance as Myanmar election risks normalising junta rule

The bloc should encourage Indonesia’s approach of engaging key stakeholders in efforts to resolve the Myanmar crisis, observers say.

‘Not the end’: Cambodia keeps up scam crackdown after Chen Zhi sent to China

Phnom Penh signals zero tolerance for scam centres following the deportation of the Prince Group tycoon.

Philippine minister’s ‘premature’ Myanmar visit casts doubts over Asean’s role

Critics say the visit may be viewed as the bloc’s new chair endorsing a controversial junta-led election in Myanmar.

Iranians use Musk’s Starlink to pierce internet blackout during protests

Smuggled satellite terminals offer a high-risk lifeline as Iran’s protest death toll climbs.

Singapore jails helper who slapped, hit and kicked elderly dementia patient

Nwe Nwe San also grabbed the 90-year-old woman by her shirt, swung her around several times and repeatedly pushed her onto the sofa.

Myanmar’s pro-junta party wins Aung San Suu Kyi’s seat: ‘surprise no one’

The military-backed party claims to have won 90 per cent of the available seats so far in a poll activists have derided as ‘engineered’.

Editorial | Regional cooperation led to arrest of alleged scam kingpin Chen Zhi

The cross-border nature of his alleged criminal network required governments and law enforcement agencies to work together.

Opinion | More than funding, the UN needs restructuring

Video | Scam centre members apologise in broadcast confession

Exclusive | Inside China’s rare meeting to lobby Southeast Asia against Japan