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■Systematic efforts are needed to curb illegal trade in respective territories and regions, and national interests must be firmly protected with national sovereignty, said the President. ■Solutions must be found and impl
It is learned from local residents that the 175th Thingyot Lantern Festival has commenced in Shwekyin, Bago Region, starting on October 27. The opening ceremony of the lantern festival was held on the morning of October
Myanmar’s military junta is continuing efforts to land troops on Ngapyi Island in Rakhine State’s Pauktaw Township despite suffering heavy casualties, according to local military sources. Ngapyi Island occupies a strateg
The Arakan Army (AA) attacked three junta warships near Sittwe on Oct. 26, sinking two vessels and damaging a third, military sources said. The targeted naval vessels—which included a frigate—were stationed near the mout
The 21stday meeting of the Third Regular Session of the Third Pyithu Hluttaw was held on October 28 at the Pyithu Hluttaw Meeting Hall in Nay Pyi Taw. The meeting focused on key parliamentary questions, including plans t
The Annual Myathalun Pagoda Festival is being held in Magway, with variety of religious events and festive activities. As part of the festival, the Rice Offering Ceremony was held on Wednesday. Chief Minister U Tin Ko Ko
On Wednesday morning, a ceremony was held in Loikaw Township to provide local purebred livestock to residents returning from temporary displacement to resume their livestock breeding businesses. Chief Minister U Ant Maw
A coordination meeting of the Chin State Committee for Combating Online Scams was held at the Chin State Government Office in Hakha on Wednesday. Chief Minister Dr. Vung Suan Thang attended the meeting, and urged committ
It has been learned that the Bago Township Sangha Council has announced that it will prohibit and strictly supervise the conduct and lifestyle of Buddhist monks, novices, and nuns within Bago City, Bago Region, that woul
It has been learned that the Sangha Discipline Enforcement Committee (all sects) of Mawlamyine Township has issued a statement announcing that monks, novices, nuns, and alms collectors who are found to be not adhering to
In the first half of the 2026-2027 fiscal year, the value of foreign direct investment (FDI) entering the country exceeded US$433 million, according to data from the Directorate of Investment and Company Administration.
Public Voice Television (PVTV), the broadcast wing of Myanmar’s National Unity Government (NUG), has announced it will soon launch an English-language news service named “PVTV International” to expand coverage of Myanmar
The Karenni Interim Executive Council (IEC) told DVB that regime forces have deliberately targeted Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps, where farmers are harvesting their crops this season, with aerial and artillery
The land and property rights for the collapsed Sky Villa Condominium site in Mandalay’s Aungmyaythazan Township—where more than 200 bodies were recovered following the catastrophic March 28, 2025 earthquake—are scheduled
A Myanmar delegation led by Union Minister for Electricity and Energy U Ko Ko Lwin arrived in Minsk, Belarus, on October 26 to attend the 30th Energy and Ecology Forum. On October 27, the Union Minister attended the foru
Mae Kong, October 28 Thai authorities yesterday stopped and inspected a 21-year-old Myanmar national who was attempting to enter Thailand from Tachileik, Myanmar, through the Mae Sai No. 1 border checkpoint. During the i
Mekong, October 28 Residents have reported that the coal power plant in Tachik town, Paunglaung Township, southern Shan State, is causing daily disturbances to the public due to loud noises, even during sleeping hours at
Myanmar’s Permanent Representative to the U.N., Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun, made an emotional and solemn appeal to U.N. member states to help end the crisis in Myanmar since the 2021 military coup during an address to the 8
Myanmar’s military regime allowed jailed leader Aung San Suu Kyi a 20-minute phone call with her son, Kim Aris, on Oct. 22—the first time she was granted family access since being detained during the military coup on Feb
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Special Envoy on Myanmar and Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary, Maria Theresa Lazaro, will lead a two-day humanitarian mission to Myanmar starting Wednesday, ASEAN ch
The Myanmar military and the ethnic Rakhine armed group, the Arakan Army (AA), have been forcibly conscripting and recruiting Rohingya and other Muslim youth in Arakan State to deploy them to active frontlines surroundin
Guest contributor James Shwe An assurance of safety is not proof of safety. For governments seeking closer relations with Myanmar’s military, that distinction should be a test of policy, not an inconvenience to be managed. Two recent reports about Malaysia’s refugee repatriation program bring that test into focus. On October 26, AFP reported that Malaysian Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan would seek clarification over reports that hundreds of returnees were being held in military detention. Four days before, on October 22, Malaysian media reported that Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail’s parliamentary assurance that nobody would be returned to Myanmar if there was clear evidence or risk of persecution, torture or threats to life. The parliamentary exchange matters as much as the announcement. According to The Star newspaper in Malaysia, an MP cited international media reports about approximately 300 returnees, and the foreign minister said Malaysia would instruct its chargé d’affaires to investigate and demand that Myanmar honor its assurances. Reporting had entered the legislature and elicited a public commitment to follow up. This is not yet proof of protection or a policy reversal. It is an opening for accountability, and it should be treated as such rather than advertised as a victory. Accuracy is essential. The parliamentary exchange referred to about 300 people, while DVB reported—drawing on relatives’ accounts—that more than 400 ethnic Rakhine returnees remained in military custody. Those figures should not be silently reconciled, nor should reported detention be presented as the completed finding of an independent investigation. Nor should all returnees be described as Rohingya. Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim told Parliament on October 6 that, according to records checked at that point, no Rohingya were among the September 29 group of 1,476. That is an attributed government statement, not an independent audit. The protection principle nevertheless applies to everyone: ethnicity cannot determine whose exposure to danger deserves scrutiny. The wider lesson is not that democratic governments are incapable of abusive policy. It is that governments should never be presumed free to pursue such policies without political, diplomatic or reputational costs. Malaysia’s response illustrates a mechanism through which those costs can begin to arise: reporting makes an allegation visible; a legislator demands an explanation; a minister makes a commitment that can be checked. Whether this becomes meaningful accountability depends on what follows. A promise to investigate is only the beginning. That distinction is central to resisting “normalization creep”: the gradual acceptance of Myanmar’s military rulers through accumulated meetings, ceremonies, agreements and untested assurances. No single encounter needs to announce formal recognition for the cumulative political benefit to matter. Mohamad Hasan defended engagement as necessary to address the refugee crisis and said it did not amount to recognition of Myanmar’s current administration. That distinction deserves consideration, but it cannot settle the question. The proper test is whether engagement produces independently verifiable protection, with consequences when assurances fail. Necessary humanitarian contact should not require political rehabilitation. Governments can negotiate access and practical arrangements while limiting ceremonial honors, publishing conditions and withholding further concessions when agreed safeguards are absent. The same scrutiny should extend to Thailand, Japan and India, without pretending that their political systems or responses to criticism are identical. “National interest” should begin a policy argument, not end one. For Thailand, the question should be whether engagement actually improves border security and civilian safety. For Japan, it should be whether policy is consistent with the standards it asks others to uphold. For India, it should include whether short-term strategic competition risks sacrificing a durable relationship with Myanmar’s people. These are questions about the quality of national-interest calculations, not demands that governments abandon their interests. Even China should not be assumed to face no constraints. Reuters reported in June that President Xi Jinping called for stability in northern Myanmar and secure implementation of major infrastructure projects, while noting threats and attacks against projects in conflict areas. This does not mean Beijing will change course because an editorial criticizes it. It means diplomatic power cannot, by itself, guarantee stability, local acceptance or investment security. For advocacy, the implication is practical. Public scrutiny is more useful when it connects a government’s choices to identifiable risks and contradictions than when it assumes moral condemnation alone will compel a reversal. ASEAN may have even more to lose institutionally. In their July 2026 joint communiqué, its foreign ministers reaffirmed the Five-Point Consensus as their main reference for Myanmar and called for civilian protection, an end to indiscriminate violence, humanitarian assistance and inclusive national dialogue. If political acceptance advances without demonstrable progress against those commitments, the damage would reach beyond one disputed bilateral initiative. ASEAN would be weakening confidence in its own conditions and collective diplomacy. This is why the media is one of the most important fronts against normalization creep, and potentially one of the most effective civilian avenues available. Its strength is not the ability to command a government, but the ability to prevent an official account from becoming the only account. Journalism can ask what happened after the ships arrived, whether families regained contact, and whether returnees are free to leave reception facilities. It can compare a minister’s assurances with independently established conditions. It can keep a decision under scrutiny after the photographs and press conferences have disappeared from public attention. The next questions for Malaysia should therefore be specific. Where are the people reportedly detained, on what grounds are they held, and can independent protection personnel speak with them confidentially? What findings will be reported to Parliament, and by when?
President U Min Aung Hlaing and his wife Daw Kyu Kyu Hla attended and observed the events of the 27th Traditional Myanmar Cultural Performing Arts Competition at Sin Phyu Shin Hall and Pobbathiri Hall in Nay Pyi Taw on T
Vice President U Nyo Saw, accompanied by departmental officials, attended and observed the singing and playing traditional musical instruments competitions on the seventh day of the 27th Traditional Myanmar Cultural Perf
Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services General Ye Win Oo attended and observed the performance of the "Vidura" Jataka, presented to preserve Myanmar's traditional cultural heritage, at Zeyathiri Beikman in Nay Pyi Taw on
Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology is rapidly transforming many areas of modern society, and education has emerged as one of the fields with the greatest potential for positive change. From personalized learning and
Myanmar is a nation characterized by diverse ethnic nationalities, languages, and cultures; these diversities enrich our national cultural heritage and serve as valuable assets. Hence, it is essential to build mutual und
BRIDGE Special Task Force 10 of the Bridges Department under the Ministry of Construction is seeking open tenders for the purchase and rental of construction equipment, valued at more than K200 million, needed for the an
THE Mandalay International Livestock and Agriculture Show (MILAS 2027) is set for 21-23 January 2027, from 9 am to 5 pm, at the Mandalay Convention Centre in Mandalay. Livestock breeders, farmers and those engaged in the
REGULATORS slashed fuel prices to K4,835 for Octane 95, K4,435 per litre of diesel and K5,375 for premium diesel during the week ending 29 October, whereas the Octane 92 price showed an uptick to K4,715 per litre. The pr
AN awareness-raising session to ensure no shortage of drinking water because of the El Niño weather phenomenon was held on 22 October across five villages in township, organized by the Zeyathiri Township Department of Ru
ACCORDING to locals, an explosion and fire occurred during the preparation of gunpowder rings for the Tazaungdine Hot-Air Balloon Festival in Taunggyi, Southern Shan State, leaving a 13-year-old child dead and five other
A ceremony to honour and welcome Tatmadaw members returning from the frontline after performing security duties to maintain State stability and regional peace and tranquillity was held at a local battalion in Bawlakhe, K
MYANMAR deported two Laotians, two Sri Lankans, one Nigerian, one Indonesian and one Indian, totalling seven individuals, involved in telecom fraud and other criminal activities in Kayin State via the Myanmar-Thailand Fr
THE Government is prioritizing efforts to combat online fraud and online gambling as a national responsibility. To prevent the recurrence of online scam and gambling activities within illegal structures in the Shwe Kokko
THE Nattalin District Department of Rural Development (DRD), conducted a field inspection in Kyoe-yaththa Village, Thaegon Township, Bago Region to prevent drinking-water shortages that may arise due to Super El Niño con