Explore past headlines, AI summaries and source reporting. Full articles follow the FREE and PRO access rules.
Page 45
The Karenni Interim Executive Council (IEC)—a provisional government established in Karenni State in June 2023—told DVB that the regime’s Eastern Central Regional Military Command (RMC) headquarters has been relocated fr
Malaysia this week deported about 1,500 Myanmar nationals, including children, as part of a refugee repatriation program. The expulsions came despite objections from the United Nations and scores of human rights groups who say the returnees would face serious danger in the war-torn nation. Malaysia says the move is necessary to reduce the “financial burden” on the country created by large numbers of asylum seekers. Amnesty International has expressed concerns the deal could be just the first of many quid pro quo deals between the countries. A sanctuary no more Nearly 200,000 refugees and asylum seekers from Myanmar are registered with the UN’s refugee agency in Malaysia. Approximately two-thirds are members of Myanmar’s long-persecuted Rohingya minority who were targeted by a military campaign in 2017 that is the subject of a genocide case at the International Court of Justice. Others include people who fled the civil war triggered by the Myanmar military’s 2021 coup. While the Muslim Rohingya were initially welcomed into Muslim-majority Malaysia, public opinion has turned in recent years. A wave of online hate speech and misinformation this year has led to harassment and forced the widespread closure of Rohingya schools. 5,000 to be returned Tuesday’s deportation on three Myanmar Navy vessels was the first phase of a broader plan agreed between Malaysia and Myanmar for 5,000 Myanmar nationals to be returned, with more possible in the future. The ethnic makeup of the cohort has not been revealed. Myanmar’s foreign ministry said last month it was working with countries to facilitate the voluntary return of verified displaced persons in a safe and dignified manner, according to a state media report. Malaysia’s home ministry said the Myanmar asylum seekers issue had “dragged on without a strong solution”. “This lapse has led to a huge financial burden on the country, triggered a serious social crisis and introduced a real security threat in Malaysia,” it said. Voluntary repatriation ‘insane’ Malaysia has said the returns are strictly voluntary. However, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said the people returning were taken from immigration detention, which raised concerns about whether they were free to choose to return. Amnesty International Myanmar researcher Joe Freeman told the ABC’s The World ahead of the repatriation his organisation did not believe the returns were voluntary. “Voluntary repatriation to Myanmar right now would be, for most people but especially Rohingya, insane,” Mr Freeman said. He said those being repatriated would likely be forcibly conscripted into either one of the rebel groups or the Myanmar army. The UNHCR said no-one should be returned to a country where they may face persecution, torture or other serious threats to their life or freedom. Political motives Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s Pakatan Harapan coalition, which recently lost in two state polls, is due to face national elections by February 2028. Mr Freeman said with the elections looming, the deportations “could be a very easy populist move to secure support”. “Unfortunately, it’s going to come at the cost of violating the human rights of thousands of people.” Min Aung Hlaing, who led the coup as head of the Myanmar military and was sworn in as president of the nominally civilian administration this year, is reportedly due to visit Malaysia later this month. Mr Anwar last month said he would invite Min Aung Hlaing in return for Myanmar taking back Rohingya. However, Myanmar foreign ministry official Han Win Aung in July told AP repatriation efforts involved “genuine Myanmar citizens” and not Rohingya people, who are denied citizenship in Myanmar. Myanmar’s military-backed government has been seeking to re-engage with the international community since staging elections in December and January that were widely considered a sham and not recognised by ASEAN. “What we’re seeing here could be what I fear [is] the first of many sort of quid pro quos; where the re-engagement comes with something in return,” said Mr Freeman. Myanmar’s system not ‘perfect’ Mr Anwar has rejected suggestions refugees were being deported without concern for their safety. “It is easy for them to say: ‘Don’t send them back.’ Where are we going to put these hundreds of thousands? ” he told reporters, according to the Malay Mail. “So now what we want are conditions so that there is safety. That is why we invited them to negotiate,” he said of the Myanmar government. Defending Min Aung Hlaing’s visit, he said Myanmar’s was not a “perfect system”. “Some people say that ours is not perfect system too. Many countries are not perfect but still being recognised.” ABC/REUTERS The post Why Malaysia is deporting thousands of Myanmar asylum seekers appeared first on DVB.
In the Mobile Legend competition of the 2026 Asian Games held in Japan, Team Zanaka, representing Myanmar, defeated the Indonesian team in the final to win the gold medal. Team Zanaka won the gold medal by securing 4 gam
U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House on Wednesday that he had discussed the cases of Americans detained in China with Chinese President Xi Jinping during their meeting in Washington, DC, Sept. 23
The second-day meeting of the National Solidarity and Peacemaking Negotiation Committee (NSPNC) and the Negotiation Team of the NCA-Signatory Ethnic Armed Organizations (EAOs) was held in Yangon on Wednesday. During the
Union Minister for Ethnic Affairs U Than Maung attended a ceremony to provide funds to ethnic literature and culture organizations in southern Shan State, held in Taunggyi on Wednesday. In his opening remarks, the Union
A meeting on reviewing the applying AI in legal awareness activities was held at the Ministry of Legal Affairs on Wednesday. The meeting was jointly organized by the Ministry of Legal Affairs and the National AI Developm
Urea Fertilizer Purchase, Distribution and Sales Steering Committee held its work coordination meeting on Wednesday at the Ministry of Cooperatives and Rural Development in Nay Pyi Taw. Chairman of the Committee, Union M
The 61st edition of Myanmar Gems Emporium is schedule to take place from October 8th to 17th at the Mani Yadana Jade Hall and arrangements are being made to sell 700 pearl lots, 160 gem lots and 3,073 jade lots through t
Deputy Minister for Education Dr Zaw Myint stressed the need to emphasize the study of subjects related to industrial, agricultural, and livestock fields to ensure food sufficiency in the region. The Deputy Minister made
Quality, high-tech Chinese investments coming into Myanmar requires the Myanmar-China business organizations to play a key role, said U Thant Zin Lwin, Deputy Minister for National Planning, Investment and Foreign Econom
Mekong, October 1 The military council has promoted Major General Wai Lin Aung (DSA 42), commander of the Loikaw Regional Military Command, to commander of the Eastern-Central Military Region (Rakhaka), it has been learn
Deputy Minister of Education, Dr. Zaw Myint, stated that individuals should learn and train to master industrial, agricultural, and livestock skills for regional food security. He made this statement on September 30 when
A woman in urgent need of money to send her son to Japan attempted to rob a fortune teller by threatening her with a knife in Mudon Township, Mon State, according to reports. Around 2 p.m. on September 28, Daw Hla Yin Ky
In the domestic car market, prices continue to remain high due to an imbalance between demand and supply, according to sources in the car market. Most car buyers are choosing new brand-new cars over used Japanese cars. A
Guest contributor Shalini Perumal On September 24, six Ukrainians – Petro Hurba, Taras Slyviak, Ivan Sukmanovskyi, Marian Stefankiv, Maksim Honcharuk, and Viktor Kaminskyi – along with American Matthew Aaron VanDyke – were granted bail and released from prison, allowing them to travel to Ukraine and the United States for one month. The seven were arrested at airports in India on March 13 initially under anti-terror laws, allegedly conspiring to carry out activities linked to armed groups in Myanmar. This unique case has emerged and shaken the framework of India-Myanmar relations as questions arise on war crimes, resistance, human rights and accountability. To unearth and unmask the politics of diplomacy, it would be important to examine this case further. According to the National Investigation Agency (NIA), the seven men entered India on tourist visas and travelled through northeast India’s Guwahati and Mizoram into Myanmar without the necessary permits. The agency alleges that they subsequently trained “Myanmar-based ethnic armed groups” in drone warfare, including drone assembly and jamming, and helped procure drones and components from Europe through India. The legal trajectory of the case, however, is more complicated than the initial terrorism allegations suggest. The Ukrainians and American were arrested under Section 18 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), concerning conspiracy, advocacy, abetment or incitement to commit a terrorist act. Yet when the NIA filed its chargesheet on September 8, it did not invoke the UAPA against any of the seven. Instead, it charged them under Sections 21 and 23 of the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025, concerning alleged illegal entry, stay and movement. The NIA told the court that its investigation into possible UAPA offences was continuing. VanDyke’s family communicated to the U.S. government their deep shock for his arrest and concern for his treatment in New Delhi’s Tihar Jail, appealing for his immediate release. They expressed that VanDyke, a filmmaker documenting human rights violations in conflict zones, should be allowed to safely return home. VanDyke spent 180 days in custody, the statutory period for completing the UAPA investigation, when on September 18, a Delhi court granted him default bail, holding that the NIA could not circumvent the statutory time limit covering the immigration offences while continuing to investigate the terrorism allegations. The court also indicated that the six Ukrainian co-accused could seek default bail on the same grounds. The ruling did not amount to an acquittal, nor did it establish that the allegations against VanDyke or the other six were unfounded. After the release of them all on September 24, the NIA investigation remains open, and a supplementary chargesheet could follow. What the ruling establishes is narrower but important: the state cannot indefinitely extend pre-trial detention simply by leaving a more serious investigation unfinished. The NIA has also alleged links between the Myanmar-based groups they claim the seven foreign nationals were involved with and proscribed Indian insurgent organisations. These are serious allegations. But precisely because they are serious, the distinction between allegation, evidence and judicial finding matters. That distinction is particularly important because the case has also become linked to an incident involving a civilian aircraft in Myanmar. On February 20, a Myanmar National Airlines passenger aircraft at Myitkyina airport in Kachin State heading to Mandalay was struck by an First Person View (FPV) drone. The aircraft was damaged, but there were no reported injuries. Myanmar’s illegal military junta accused the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and the People’s Defence Force (PDF) of deliberately attacking civilian infrastructure. However, reporting by Burma News International, citing local accounts, said the drone was reportedly aimed at the nearby Northern Command headquarters and was shot down by airport security before crashing into the passenger aircraft. That distinction matters, particularly when the illegal junta is known to target its own civilians and spread false information for legitimacy. A drone hitting a passenger aircraft is unquestionably dangerous. But a drone deliberately targeting civilians and a drone targeting an illegal military installation that subsequently strikes a civilian aircraft are different factual and legal propositions. The available accounts therefore raise a question that should be answered with evidence, not assumption: what was the drone actually targeting, and how does that incident connect, if at all, to the seven people arrested (and now released on bail) in India? If the NIA has evidence that these men knowingly helped plan or facilitate an operation intended to attack civilians, that evidence should be investigated and prosecuted through the appropriate legal process. If they supplied technology for an operation that knowingly placed civilian passengers at risk, the same should apply. But the reverse is also important: the occurrence of a drone attack does not, by itself, establish the involvement of particular individuals. This is where the case becomes part of a larger question about how civilian protection is understood in Myanmar. India has cited national-security concerns along its border with Myanmar. The two countries share a long and porous border, and the conflict has consequences for India’s northeast, including displacement, cross-border armed activity, trafficking and narcotics. New Delhi has also cited concerns about insurgency, arms smuggling and other transnational crime in justifying closer security cooperation with Myanmar. But security concerns do not explain away the political and humanitarian costs of that engagement. India is not simply dealing with an abstract “Myanmar” security problem: it is deepening cooperation with an illegal military establishment that has repeatedly murdered Myanmar’s people. Since the 2021 coup, Myanmar’s military has been responsible for extensive violence against civilians. The U.N. Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar has documented serious international crimes, including attacks affecting civilians, arbitrary detention, torture and sexual violence. U.N. reporting has also documented serious abuses by anti-military armed groups. This contradiction establishes a basic principle: abuses against civilians should be investigated regardless of who commits them. Yet India continues to engage Myanmar’s illegal military leadership. In June 2026, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Min Aung Hlaing in New Delhi. India said the discussions covered areas including defence, border security, trade, energy and other cooperation. India’s relationship with the Myanmar military is also not purely diplomatic.&nb
At least one civilian was killed and eight others were injured during airstrikes carried out by the Myanmar Air Force on Arakan State’s Pauktaw, Ponnagyun and Rathedaung townships on Wednesday. The three towns, located 2
It has been learned from the Special Military Command that the bombing of the communication facility of the Special Military Command on the morning of September 24 was due to information leaks from defected soldiers. It
Ayeyarwaddy Times September 30 The provisional government is propagandizing by selectively allowing IDPs to return to three urban wards in Kanmonchone village, Zayargyi town, Htantabin Township, Ayeyarwaddy Region, while
A ceremony to conduct an introductory briefing on the Village Development Project (VDP) and form a project committee took place in Namkaing Village, Tachilek Township, Shan State (East), yesterday. Tachilek Township Depa
THE Department of Rural Development, under the Ministry of Cooperatives and Rural Development, held a closing ceremony for a vocational carpentry training course in Sinchitaing Village, Aunglan Township, Magway Region, y
OFFICIALS inspected the progress of concrete pavement work on a rural farm-to-market road being implemented with Taninthayi Region funds in Kywegu Village, Sandawut Village-Tract, Myeik Township, Myeik District, Tanintha
THE National University of Arts and Culture (Mandalay) is now accepting applications for its one-year postgraduate diploma programmes for the 2026-2027 academic year, with the application deadline set for 9 October. The
THE Myanmar Rice Federation (MRF) and six member companies participated in the 23rd China-ASEAN Expo (CAEXPO) held in Nanning from 17 to 21 September, showcasing approximately 30 rice varieties, including Pawsan rice, Ae
OFFICIALS conducted a field inspection yesterday to monitor the progress of concrete paving along the access road to Kywete Village, carried out with the Regional (Capital) Fund for the 2026-2027 financial year by the Mi
AUTHORITIES detained one Indonesian, involved in telecom fraud and other criminal activities in Kayin State, yesterday. The relevant officials conducted personal data collection processes to deport that undocumented fore
THE cleanup activities are continuing in Laymyethna Township, Ayeyawady Region, after heavy rainfall and river erosion caused a section of the Ngawun River embankment to collapse on the night of 30 July. The breach led t
OFFICIALS from the Mohnyin Township Department of Rural Development, under the Ministry of Cooperatives and Rural Development, conducted a field inspection on the morning of 28 September to monitor the progress of garmen
FIVE hundred and sixty-seven (567) vehicles have been fitted with the automatic TollPass RFID system on the Yangon-Mandalay Expressway between 17 and 25 September. The prepaid system allows for quick and easy passage thr
WITH the objectives of improving operational efficiency, strengthening inter-departmental and branch collaboration, and enhancing employee capabilities, Construction, Housing and Infrastructure Development (CHID) Bank he
THE 61st Myanmar Gems and Jewellery Exhibition will be held for ten days from 8 to 17 October, according to the second central committee meeting of the Myanma Gems Emporium held at the Maniradana Jade Hall in Nay Pyi Taw
THE eighth-day meeting of the Third Pyithu Hluttaw’s third regular session was held yesterday at the Pyithu Hluttaw plenary hall in Nay Pyi Taw, attended by Speaker U Khin Yi, Deputy Speaker U Maung Maung Ohn, and MPs. D
MYANMAR and Vietnam held discussions on increasing bilateral investment and jointly addressing economic challenges, according to the Republic of the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (UMFCC
YANGON Port will handle 56 container vessels in October 2026, the Myanmar Port Authority announced. Eleven container vessels each run by M/S Cosco Shipping Line, eight by M/S SITC Shipping Line, six each by M/S One Line
A total of 1,309.339 metric tonnes of rice donated by the Republic of Korea and the People’s Republic of China under the APTERR Tier 3 Programme 2025 was handed over to the Ayeyawady Region government through the Departm
The Department of Archaeology and National Museum (Bagan Branch) under the Ministry of Culture, Hotels and Tourism is in discussions with a team of Korean experts to resume repair and conservation work at the Phayathonzu