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AFP Yangon's fish markets are bustling as workers sort through piles of fresh catches like fish and prawns along the Hlaing River at dawn. Workers, clad in protective rubber gloves and boots, are laboriously unloading fi
The story dominating Myanmar social media last week was the price of a single egg, which has climbed to nearly 700 kyat (about $0.33), a sevenfold rise since the 2021 military coup that has turned a household staple into
Vendors wait for customers at the Shwe Padauk fish market in Yangon on July 8, 2026.The Shwe Padauk and older San Pya fish markets are integral links in the Yangon food chain, transit points for protein that feeds millio
“Comrade,” answers Renata, a member of the People’s Defense Force and a former political prisoner, simply when asked how she would like to be remembered. In this powerful interview, Renata frames her experience in the revolution through the lens of that identity, explaining that what binds her to the struggle is not abstract nationalism or personal ambition, but loyalty to people who have suffered, fought, been imprisoned, and died. She says she continues because of obligation to them, one formed through her own experiences: protests, arrest, prison, jungle survival, airstrikes, and the arrests of nearly every member of her family. Before the coup, Renata was as a law student, and she describes her life as pretty ordinary: hitting the books and doing some office work. She volunteered with NGOs, partly to gain experience beyond school, and partly to understand how such organizations functioned. She was also shaped by a family ethic that emphasized service over self-interest. Her parents, she explains, taught her, “Be the one for the people, but not for yourself! ” When the coup occurred in 2021, she says she did not initially believe it would reshape her life so completely. At first, she was cautious. In her village, where military retaliation was widely feared, she avoided joining early street protests and instead participated online. She refers herself as a “keyboard fighter” during that period, acknowledging both fear and uncertainty about what public protest might ultimately cost. Over time, however, as shootings and crackdowns intensified, she felt compelled to participate directly in physical protest. As the junta’s repression intensified, her attempt to join an ethnic armed organization (EAO) was rejected because she was not a member of that ethnic community. She then began learning to make Molotov cocktails and small bombs using online tutorials, producing them at home for her brother and his friends. She describes this shift not as ideological escalation but as practical response to constraint: when one door closed, she searched for another. In June 2021, she was arrested by the junta and imprisoned along with her mother and her four-year-old sister; her sister was the youngest political prisoner in the country at that time, and soon released to live with a neighbor. Renata was sentenced to three years with hard labor. Prison, she says, was not simply confinement, but a form of psychological injury, and she has experienced persistent trauma since. She contracted COVID-19 during her incarceration and was placed alone in a cold room without proper treatment for roughly twenty days. She survived through immersing herself in breath meditation. “I just know, ‘Breathe in and breathe out,’” she says, describing it less as spiritual practice than survival. The authorities also pressured her to reveal the location of her father, who had been politically active before the coup; she refused. She says it was not heroism on her part, but family devotion: if continued imprisonment was the price she had to pay for safeguarding family members, she accepted it. Finally, after serving four months of her sentence, she agreed to sign a pledge not to participate in further revolutionary activity in order to get an early release. CATCH THE PODCAST https://player.captivate.fm/episode/6b8309bf-05a8-4b80-80f7-936647e62dd0
Alan Clements Part One The Buddha saw no first beginning of suffering. Few observations in the history of human inquiry demand a more radical reorientation of consciousness than these seven words. They overturn one of the deepest assumptions of the modern mind: that if we search carefully enough, excavate deeply enough, recover enough forgotten memories, identify enough formative experiences, or trace enough ancestral patterns, we will eventually arrive at the original source of our suffering. For the people of Myanmar, these words possess an immediacy that is difficult to exaggerate. They illuminate one of the great human tragedies of our time. After more than seven decades of military dictatorship, civil war, political imprisonment, ethnic persecution, forced displacement, censorship, and, most recently, the devastation unleashed by the military coup of February 1, 2021, one question reverberates across the nation’s history with heartbreaking persistence: Where did this suffering begin? Was it the coup itself?
The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attacked the bloc of Southeast Asian nations on Monday for seeking a denuclearised Korean peninsula, blasting the position as “stupid and foolish.” At its annual reg
When asked how she wants to be remembered, Marry Natar, a member of the People's Defence Force (PDF) and a former political prisoner, simply replied, "Comrade." In an interview with Insight Myanmar, Marry Natar said that
At a briefing on Burma affairs in Washington, DC, on Friday, National Unity Government (NUG) Foreign Minister Zin Mar Aung requested that U.S. lawmakers apply pressure on the regime in Naypyidaw to provide independent ve
THE government is undertaking measures to fully meet the country’s annually increasing electricity demand by upgrading and renovating power plants, constructing new power plants, building new high-voltage transmission li
MYANMAR’S first-ever Traditional Food Compe- tition and Exhibition 2026, held under the theme “Taste of the Golden Land 2026”, concluded in Yangon after highlighting the coun- try’s culinary heritage and its potential to
TO preserve the art of Myanmar traditional mario-nette making as a national cultural heritage, ensure that it is passed down to future generations, and promote the craft, the opening ceremony of the “Myanmar Traditional
A live webinar under the theme “Decision-making on Obstetric Emergencies for Nurses and Midwives in Clinical Settings” has been planned to organ- ize at 1 pm on 30 July via Z-waka app and Zoom platform, said the Myanmar
ACCORDING to the Yangon Region Public Transport Committee (YR- TC)’s statistics, there were 19 deaths and over 30 injuries from YBS acci- dents over six months this year. As from 1 January to 10 July 2026, there were 34
IN a statement issued on 24 July, Myanmar Embassy in Tokyo said notary doc- uments which are being counterfeited are found among applications for the notary attestation. Notary documents are required for study, work and
OFFICIALS from the De- partment of Rural Devel- opment inspected the pro- gress of tube-well sinking process and related water supply work in Innpetlet Village, Sinbaungwe Town- ship, on 25 July. The project is being imp
OFFICIALS of the Dakkhina District De- partment of Rural Devel- opment conducted a pre-construction field survey yesterday for paving village concrete roads in Pyinhtaung and Pauktaw villages, Dak- kkhinathiri Township.
A collective garbage col- lection activity was held yesterday at Kya-in Hill tourist site in Hpa-an, Kayin State, as part of a public awareness cam- paign to promote prop- er waste disposal and reduce the use of plastic
ALL 77 illegal buildings used for online scam and gambling activities in the Shwe Kokko and KK Park areas of Myawady Township, Kayin State, have been completely demolished, according to reports. A combined departmental t
OFFICIALS of the De- partment of Rural Devel- opment (DRD) in Moythit Township, Magway Region, staged an awareness talk on reducing smoke and air pollution in Tatkon Village on 26 July to help create a sater and healthie
THE YGN AI & Digital Marketing 2026 technol- ogy and business confer- ence, organized to mark the sixth anniversary of DMBH Agency, was held at the UMFCCI Hall in Yangon yesterday after- nnon. Experts from vari- ous fiel
FREE real estate knowl-edge training and An-ti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financ-ing of Terrorism (AML/ CFT) awareness courses were launched on 25 July at KBA Hotel in Bahan Township, Yangon. Organized by the My
A workshop on the de- velopment of the edible oil sector was held yes- terday morning at the City Hall in Pathein, with Ayeyawady Region Chief Minister U Aye Kyaw delivering the opening speech. Afterwards, experts and re
OFFICIALS of the De- partment of Rural Devel- opment conducted an in- troductory briefing on the Model Village Project to be implemented and formed a project committee in Thazi Village, Yamethin Township, yesterday. At t
A ceremony to conduct an introductory briefing on the Village Development Project (VDP) and form a project committee took place in Hwekhahawng Village, Kengtung Township, yesterday. Kengtung Township Department of Rural
MAGWAY Region Chief Minister U Tin Ko Ko vis- ited Taungdwingyi Town- ship on 25 July to inspect a free medical outreach programme, attend a vil- lage land grant distribu- tion ceremony, and review the completion of the
DEPUTY Minister for Bor-der Affairs Maj-Gen Kyaw Swa Oo held discussions with members of the Chin State Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Commit-teee at the meeting hall of the Regional Control Com-mand Headquarters in K
THE ICEEt 2026 conference, featuring discussions among local and international officials from the engi- neering, information technology, telecommunications, and business sectors on Myanmar’s digital future, was held yest
UNION Minister for La- bour U Khin Maung Soe inspected the opening of a workplace-based basic motor sewing course at the Skills Training Centre (North Dagon) in Dagon Myothit (North) Township, Yangon Region, yes- terday
OFFICIALS of the De- partment of Rural Road Development oversaw the progress of paving the laterite road connecting Minhla to Uyin Village in Minhla Township on 25 July. The project is being implemented with the 2026-202
RESIDENTS in 16 townships across Yangon may experience temporary water outages or low water pressure on the afternoon of 27 July due to scheduled maintenance at the Hlawga Reservoir pumping station, the Yangon City Devel
AN agricultural technical knowledge sharing meeting on boosting long-staple cotton production was held at the Department of Agriculture in ChaungU Township on 25 July 2026. The township management and administration comm
The Ministry of Hotels, Tourism and Culture has officially designated the historic Hsipaw Haw Palace in Hsipaw Township as a protected ancient building that is more than 100 years old through a notification dated 23 July
THE 1,390-megawatt liquefied natural gas (LNG)- fired power plant project at Mee Lin Gyaing in Ay- eyawady Region is 24.4 per cent complete, according to the Ayeyawady Region government. Unique Environment Myanmar has su
Article by – Dr. Moe Thit Nay (Ayeyarwaddy Times, July 26) In Myanmar, many lives are lost every year due to dengue fever during the monsoon season. Therefore, it is necessary for families to know in advance what conditi
Top leaders from the Steering Council for Federal Democracy (SCEF) and the Rakhine National Organization/Arakan Army (ULA/AA) met online on July 23 to discuss flood relief efforts in the Rakhine region and the current po
Reinforcements sent by the military junta to Nat Yekan Strategic Hill in Padan Military Station, Magway Region, have come under attack by the Arakan Army (AA), forcing them to call for air support, sources told The Irraw