Page 4 - Myanmar

Powerful earthquake rocks Myanmar and Thailand, over 150 people killed

A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighbouring Thailand on Friday, destroying buildings, a bridge and a dam. At least 144 people were killed in Myanmar, where photos and video from two hard-hit cities showed extensive damage. At least 10 died in the Thai capital, where a high-rise under construction collapsed. The full extent of death, injury and destruction was not immediately clear particularly in Myanmar, one of the world's poorest countries. It is embroiled in a civil war, and information is tightly controlled. The death toll and injuries are expected to rise, the head of Myanmar's military government, Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing said as he announced on television that at least 144 people were killed and 730 others were injured in his country. In Thailand, Bangkok city authorities said 10 people were killed, 16 injured and 101 missing from three construction sites, including the high-rise. The 7.7 magnitude quake struck at midday, with an epicentre near Mandalay, Myanma

India dispatches first tranche of humanitarian aid for people of Myanmar

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar stated that India will continue to monitor the developments and more aid will follow

Earthquake rocks Thailand, Myanmar; 3 killed in Bangkok building collapse

A strong 7.7 magnitude earthquake rocked the Thai capital of Bangkok on Friday, causing buildings to sway. The US Geological Survey and Germany's GFZ centre for geosciences said the midday temblor was a shallow 10 kilometres (6.2 miles), with an epicentres in neighbouring Myanmar, according to preliminary reports reports. The greater Bangkok area is home to more than 17 million people, many of whom live in high-rise apartments. Alarms went off in buildings as the earthquake hit around 1:30 pm and startled residents were evacuated down staircases of high-rise condominiums and hotels in densely populated central Bangkok. They remained in the streets, seeking shade from the midday sun in the minutes after the quake. There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties. The quake was forceful enough to send water sloshing out of pools, some high up in high-rises, as the tremor shook. The epicentre of the earthquake was in central Myanmar, about 50 kilometres (30 miles) east of th

Airstrike in Myanmar kills nearly 30 people, says opposition group

An airstrike by Myanmar's military on a central village under the control of a pro-democracy resistance group has killed at least 27 civilians and injured 30 others, an opposition group and Myanmar's online media said Saturday. The attack occurred Friday at 3 pm in Let Pan Hla village in Singu township, about 65 kilometres north of Mandalay, the country's second-largest city, a spokesperson for the Mandalay People's Defence Force said. The military did not comment on Saturday. Myanmar has been in turmoil since the army seized power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi on February 1, 2021, triggering widespread popular opposition. After peaceful demonstrations were put down with lethal force, many opponents of military rule took up arms, and large parts of the country are now embroiled in conflict. The military government has stepped up airstrikes against the armed pro-democracy People's Defence Force and ethnic minority guerrilla groups that have been fighting for greate

Over 2,800 Chinese involved in telecom fraud cases in Myanmar repatriated

Over 2,800 Chinese telecom fraud suspects who were part of gangs luring locals and foreigners to work in telecom scam centres along the Myanmar-Thailand border have been repatriated to China for trials. A total of 2,876 Chinese telecom fraud suspects have been repatriated from Myawaddy in Myanmar to China following a joint crackdown launched by China, Myanmar and Thailand, the Chinese Ministry of Public Security said on Friday. The mass repatriation marks a significant achievement in the joint operation between China, Myanmar and Thailand launched on February 20, and is a powerful deterrent to foreign criminal gangs, the ministry said. Last month, a Chinese court sentenced four key figures involved in cross-border telecom fraud cases to life imprisonment as part of its stepped-up crackdown against the gangs luring locals and foreigners to work in scam centres along the Myanmar-Thailand border. Earlier in February, hundreds of people from 20 nationalities, including Indians, who wer

UN's food agency WFP to cut aid for about one million people in Myanmar

The agency said the cuts would affect communities across Myanmar, including around 100,000 internally displaced people comprising the minority Muslim Rohingya communities and others

Elections will happen in Myanmar within 10 months, says junta leader

Four years after seizing power from the elected administration, the head of the military government declared Myanmar will hold a general election within 10 months, state-run media reported Saturday. Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing said Friday the election will take place either in December or January 2026 at the latest, according to the Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper. He announced the dates in a press conference while on an official visit to Belarus, one of the few allies of Myanmar's military government, saying that 53 political parties have already submitted their lists to participate in the election. However, Min Aung did not mention exact election dates. The announcement comes as Myanmar is roiled by a civil war in which the army has been forced onto the defensive against pro-democracy militants as well as ethnic militias seeking autonomy in much of the country. The army takeover from Aung San Suu Kyi's elected government in February 2021 has been met with widespread popula

Why are Indians trapped in Myanmar's Myawaddy region in cybercrime scams?

Hundreds of Indians trapped in Myanmar's Myawaddy region were lured by fake job offers and forced into cybercrime; a crackdown by Thailand, Myanmar, and China aims to dismantle these scam hubs

India, Myanmar discuss possibility of resuming border trade through roads

India and Myanmar have discussed the importance of resuming border trade through roads and agreed to take steps on this issue, an official statement said on Sunday. The issue was discussed during a meeting between Myanmar's Deputy Commerce Minister U Minn Minn and Minister of State of Commerce and Industry Jitin Prasada here on February 14. They discussed possibilities to increase cooperation in areas such as pharmaceuticals, pulses, petroleum products and greater use of the recently launched Rupee-Kyat trade settlement mechanism. "During the meeting, both the leaders deliberated on the potential areas of collaboration to promote bilateral trade and also acknowledged the importance of resuming border trade through roads and agreed to take steps on this issue," the commerce ministry said. India is the fifth-largest trading partner of Myanmar. The bilateral trade stood at USD 1.74 billion in 2023-24 against USD 1.76 billion in 2022-23.

Illegal migration reshaping Delhi's demography, impacting polls: JNU report

The JNU report on Delhi's demography notes a marked rise in the Muslim population due to migration from Bangladesh

Budget 2025: Maldives gets more aid from India, but what about Bangladesh?

Union Budget 2025: India's foreign aid drops to Rs 5,483 crore in Budget 2025; Maldives sees a hike to Rs 600 crore, Afghanistan's aid doubles, while Myanmar faces a cut amid ongoing internal turmoil

Peace prospects look bleak in Myanmar as civil war rages; tensions remain

Peace prospects look bleak in Myanmar as a civil war rages despite international pressure on the military four years after it seized power from an elected civilian government. The political situation remains tense with no negotiation space in sight between the military government and the major opposition groups fighting against it. The four years after the army's takeover on Feb. 1, 2021, have created a profound situation of multiple, overlapping crises with nearly half the population in poverty and the economy in disarray, the UN Development Programme said. The UN Human Rights Office said the military ramped up violence against civilians last year to unprecedented levels, inflicting the heaviest civilian death toll since the army takeover as its grip on power eroded. The army launched wave after wave of retaliatory airstrikes and artillery shelling on civilians and civilian populated areas, forced thousands of young people into military service, conducted arbitrary arrests and ...

MoS Margherita meets Ambassadors of Thailand, Myanmar, Dominican Republic

Margherita held talks on further deepening the relations of India with these countries

Southeast Asian nations seek breakthrough in South China Sea disputes

Southeast Asian foreign ministers gathered Sunday for their first meeting this year under the regional bloc's new chair, Malaysia, seeking a breakthrough over Myanmar's drawn-out civil war and territorial disputes in the South China Sea. The retreat on the idyllic northern resort island of Langkawi was the first major meeting of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations hosted by Malaysia. Officials said it aims to chart the bloc's direction for the year as it tries to resolve Myanmar's deadly four-year crisis and tensions over China's increasing assertiveness in the South China Sea. Malaysian Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan said ASEAN must bolster unity and make economic integration a top priority amid global uncertainties and the US-China rivalry in the region. He said the second term of incoming US President Donald Trump has also raised questions on how it will shape dynamics in the region. There is much to prepare for. Above all, what we need to anticipate are the ...

Mizo group urges govt to reinstate FMR, revoke pass on Indo-Myanmar border

An Aizawl-based Chin-Kuki-Mizo-Zomi group has urged the Centre to reinstate the Free Movement Regime (FMR), which facilitates a visa-free movement across the India-Myanmar border. The Zo Re-unification Organisation (ZORO), which represents ethnic Zo or Mizo tribes of India, Myanmar and Bangladesh, also demanded the revocation of the order mandating a border pass for people living within 10 km on either side to cross the international border. Speaking to reporters, the organisation president R Sangkawia on Tuesday said that the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has recently replaced the FMR with a new system to regulate movement across the India-Myanmar border. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in February 2024 had decided to scrap the Free Movement Regime (FMR) between India and Myanmar to ensure the internal security of the country and to maintain the demographic structure of India's North Eastern states bordering Myanmar. However, officials said that no official notification ...

More than 200 Rohingya arrive by boat in Indonesia over weekend: Official

Mainly Muslim Rohingya, who are originally from Myanmar and constitute the world's largest stateless population, often escape poor conditions in refugee camps on rickety boats to Thailand or Indonesia

Mizoram-Myanmar border movement regulated after govt's directives: Official

Security has been beefed up along the 510-km long Mizoram-Myanmar border and movement of people living within 10 kilometres on either side of the unfenced international border has been regulated following the directive of the Centre, an official said. The official said that residents of both countries living within 10 km on either side of the border now require border pass to visit each other. The border pass valid for a stay of up to seven days is being issued to both Myanmarese and Indian citizens visiting each other countries on production of documents verifying that they live within the territorial limit of 10 km on either side of the international border, he said on Saturday. The initiative was taken by state police, Assam Rifles and health officials at some entry and exit points from December 31 based on the order and new guidelines issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), he said. Six Mizoram districts - Champhai, Siaha, Lawngtlai, Hnahthial, Saitual and Serchhip - shar

Increased GPS interference near India-Pak border: How it affects flights?

According to a report by OPS Group, the Delhi Flight Information Region has seen daily spoofing since May 2024, which poses a risk to flight safety

In post-coup Myanmar, doctors, nurses turn to prostitution to survive

In February 2021, Myanmar's military seized power in a coup, and the country's economy, already hammered by the pandemic, started to buckle

Myanmar's economy likely to shrink as floods compound crisis: World Bank

In June, the bank had projected Myanmar's economy would grow 1 per cent during the current fiscal year, which ends in March 2025, but warned of increasing poverty and escalating violence