Myanmar

Myanmar nationals misused Indians' GST credentials for drug trafficking: ED

Investigation into a cross-border narcotics trafficking racket has found that Myanmarese nationals "misused" GST credentials of Indians to facilitate purchase of raw material required for manufacturing drugs, the ED said. The federal probe agency had conducted its first-ever searches along the India-Myanmar border on November 27 following registration of a money laundering case into a drugs trafficking case of Mizoram. Locations across Aizawl and Champhai (along India-Myanmar border) in Mizoram, Sribhumi (Karimganj) in Assam and Ahmedabad in Gujarat were raided under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). India shares a 1,643-km-long front with Myanmar on its eastern side. Evidence gathered during the searches indicated that Indians procured Pseudoephedrine tablets and Caffeine Anhydrous on behalf of Myanmar nationals, enabling trans-border drug production and trafficking apart from money laundering, the Enforcement Directorate said in a statement issued o

US sanctions entities in Myanmar, Thailand for fraudulent investment scams

Americans lost at least $10 billion in 2024 to Southeast Asia-based online scam operations, a 66 per cent increase from the prior year, Department of State said

197 Indians repatriated from Thailand by special Indian Air Force flights

According to the Indian Embassy, the Indian nationals deported today were detained in Mae Sot after they had recently crossed into Thailand from Myawaddy, Myanmar

Myanmar records earthquake of magnitude 3.3 in Sagaing Fault region

A 1,400-kilometre transform fault runs through Myanmar and connects the Andaman spreading centre to a collision zone in the north called the Sagaing Fault

India repatriates 270 citizens who fled from Myanmar scam hub to Thailand

India on Thursday repatriated 270 of its nationals from Thailand in two military transport aircraft, days after they fled to Thai border town of Mae Sot from a notorious scam centre in Myanmar following a crackdown on it. Around 500 Indian nationals were among 1,500 people from 28 countries who crossed over to Thailand late last month following the raid on the cybercrime hub of KK Park in Myanmarese city of Myawaddy. The Indian embassy in Bangkok said the Thai government has facilitated repatriation of 270 Indian nationals, including 26 women, from Mae Sot to India by two special flights operated by the Indian Air Force. These Indian nationals recently crossed into Thailand from Myawaddy where they were allegedly working in the cyber scam-centres, it said on social media. The Indians were detained by Thai authorities for violation of the country's immigration laws when they had entered it illegally, the Indian mission said. India is expected to operate more flights on Friday to br

India to bring back 500 nationals from Thailand after Myanmar scam raids

India is planning to sending a special aircraft to Thailand to repatriate the group, most of whom were victims of the scam operations based in Myanmar's KK Park complex

India rejects UN expert's claim linking Pahalgam attack to Myanmar refugees

India has strongly rejected baseless observations made by a UN expert on Myanmar that refugees from the Southeast Asian nation were under severe pressure following the Pahalgam terror attack, with Delhi denouncing this prejudiced and blinkered analysis. I express serious objection to the baseless and biased observations in the report regarding my country. I strongly denounce the biased approach adopted by the Special Rapporteur of the innocent civilian victims of the April 2025 terrorist attack in Pahalgam through a biased communal lens, Member of Parliament Dilip Saikia said on Tuesday. Saikia delivered India's statement on the situation of human rights in Myanmar at the interactive dialogue in the Third Committee of the UN General Assembly. India strongly rejected the observations made by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Myanmar, Thomas Andrews, in his report on the situation of human rights in Myanmar. Referring to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, the

Myanmar detains over 10K foreigners in online scam centre crackdown

Last month, the US sanctioned several companies in Shwe Kokko, a major scam hub it said is controlled by an ethnic armed group allied with the junta

Myanmar town lies in shambles as both sides in civil war vie for control

Ten days after it was recaptured by Myanmar's military government, the town of Kyaukme stands eerily silent. Schools have reopened but the town's once-busy market is mostly empty. Vendors at some stalls closed them at the sight of the visiting journalists, visibly nervous. The once-thriving town in Myanmar's Shan State is in shambles, an Associated Press journalist has confirmed on Friday in a rare visit to the war-torn area allowed by the country's military government. The local army allowed an AP photographer to join a trip supervised by pro-military Myanmar media, the only representative of foreign media who was permitted to do so. The military doesn't allow a free press and bars journalists from entering conflict zones independently. They saw the charred wreckage of official buildings, such as the courthouse, police station and government housing. Much of the area around the town's hospital was destroyed, with its operations temporarily shifted to a nearby Chinese temple. At le

US aid cuts unleash suffering across Myanmar, hitting children hardest

Across Myanmar and in the refugee camps along its borders, the suffering unleashed by the United States' gutting of its foreign aid program has been severe and deadly, particularly for children, The Associated Press found. In interviews with 21 Myanmar refugees, five people trapped in internment camps inside Myanmar and 40 aid workers, medics and researchers, the AP uncovered widespread devastation due to President Donald Trump's dismantling of the US Agency for International Development. Children are screaming for food, safehouses that sheltered dissidents have shuttered and people must forage for hours in the jungle each day to survive. Here are the key takeaways from AP's investigation, as told through the people who have been impacted: The funding cuts have been fatal Mohammed Taher clutched the lifeless body of his 2-year-old son and wept. Ever since his family's food rations stopped arriving at their internment camp in Myanmar in April, the father had watched helplessly as h

Earthquake of magnitude 3.6 strikes Myanmar, no causalities reported so far

According to the NCS, the tremor occurred at a shallow depth of 15 km, which increases the likelihood of aftershocks and surface-level shaking

India taps Myanmar rebels for rare earth supply amid China's tight control

The Ministry of Mines has asked both state-run and private companies to collect and transport rare earth samples from Kachin Independence Army (KIA)-controlled mines in northeastern Myanmar

Hindu Kush countries use just 6% of total energy from clean sources: Report

Despite holding immense renewables potential', clean energy accounts for only 6 per cent of total primary energy supply in the countries of the Hindu Kush Himalayas, with hydropower being hugely underexploited', a report said. A new assessment report was released on Friday by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), an eight-nation regional body, during the Asia-Pacific Clean Energy Week in Bangkok. The report said that out of 882 Gigawatts total hydropower potential identified in Afghanistan, Bhutan, Bangladesh, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, the vast majority of that potential (635 Gigawatts) is from the waters of the transboundary rivers of the Hindu Kush Himalaya region. Just 49 per cent of this potential is currently tapped, the report added. Non-hydro clean energy potential (solar and wind) in the Hindu Kush Himalaya region, meanwhile, stands at 3 Terawatts, it said. While the total combined renewable energy targets of the countries of

India hopes for fair elections in Myanmar: PM Modi to Myanmar's junta chief

India hopes that the forthcoming elections in Myanmar will be held in a fair and inclusive manner involving all stakeholders, Prime Minister Narendra Modi told the head of Myanmar's military junta, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, on Sunday. Modi met Hlaing on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Tianjin. The prime minister also conveyed to the Senior General that India supports a "Myanmar-led and Myanmar-owned peace process". "The prime minister expressed the hope that the forthcoming elections in Myanmar will be held in a fair and inclusive manner involving all stakeholders," the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said. "He underlined that India supports a Myanmar-led and Myanmar-owned peace process, for which peaceful dialogue and consultation is the only way forward," it said in a statement. Modi also noted that India attaches importance to its ties with Myanmar as part of its 'Neighbourhood First', 'Act East' and 'Indo-Pacific' policies. "The

Xi hosts Russia, North Korea, Iran and Myanmar at Beijing military parade

Myanmar junta chief Min Aung Hlaing, who rarely travels abroad, will also attend, the Chinese foreign ministry said on Thursday

Influx of outsiders from Myanmar 'real, ongoing': Ex-Manipur CM Biren Singh

Former Manipur chief minister N Biren Singh hailed the Assam Rifles for collecting biometrics of those who have been entering India illegally from Myanmar and said the influx of outsiders is "real and ongoing". His comment comes after Assam Rifles Director General Lt Gen Vikas Lakhera, while addressing a programme at Manipur University on Wednesday, said that from December 31, 2024, the paramilitary force had "mapped 42,000 people coming here". "It is equally reassuring that these individuals are being kept under close watch, accommodated only at secure locations, and monitored under strict authority," Singh said on X on Wednesday evening. He shared a video clip of the Assam Rifles DG addressing the programme. Quoting Lakhera that "around 42,000 outsiders entered Manipur since December 2024", the former CM said, "I thank Lt Gen Vikas Lakhera, AVSM, SM, DG Assam Rifles, for confirming that biometrics are being collected from illegal entrants crossing the Indo-Myanmar border." He al

Politics straddling borders: Bipartisan engagement key for Northeast

With so much happening in the Northeast, more political engagement that is seen to be bipartisan is essential. What remains of 2025 and 2026 promises to be an eventful period for the region

Earthquake of magnitude 4.2 strikes Myanmar, no damage reported so far

Myanmar is vulnerable to hazards from moderate and large magnitude earthquakes, including tsunami hazards along its long coastline

FATF urges increased due diligence for Myanmar amid high-risk status

FATF has recommended enhanced due diligence measures for risks arising from Myanmar, maintaining its status as a high-risk jurisdiction. The RBI has issued the advisory based on FATF's guidelines

Earthquake of magnitude 4.1 strikes Myanmar, no casualties reported

As per the NCS, the earthquake happened at a shallow depth of 10km, making it susceptible to aftershocks