Myanmar

April 4, 2025 11:35 AM

BIMSTEC Summit: PM Modi, Myanmar’s Aung Hlaing discuss quake relief, bilateral ties

Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, the head of Myanmar’s military-led government, on the sidelines of the BIMSTEC Summit in Bangkok, discussing efforts to strengthen bilateral ties and extend support following the devastating earthquake that struck Myanmar. This marks the first bilateral meeting between the two leaders during PM Modi’s third term in office. Taking to X, PM Modi shared details of the meeting, saying, “Met Senior General Min Aung Hlaing of Mya...

March 30, 2025 1:21 PM

Aid rushes into Myanmar after earthquake kills over 1,600, ravages cities

Myanmar's neighbours sent warships and aircraft laden with relief materials and rescue personnel on Sunday, as international aid gained steam after a massive earthquake ravaged much of the poor Southeast Asian nation. At least 1,600 people have been killed and 3,400 injured by Friday's 7.7-magnitude quake, one of Myanmar's strongest in a century, its military government said. "All military and civilian hospitals, as well as healthcare workers, must work together in a coordinated and efficient ...

March 30, 2025 8:11 AM

‘Operation Brahma’: India sends two C-17 aircraft, more relief aid to quake-hit Myanmar, says MEA

Two C-17 aircraft, carrying a 118-member Indian Army Field Hospital Unit along with 60 tonnes of relief material, have landed in Myanmar as part of India's Operation Brahma following the devastating 7.7-magnitude earthquake that struck the country on Friday. Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal provided details of the operation, stating that the unit also includes Women and Child Care services. India's swift response highlights its commitment to being a first respond...

March 14, 2025 3:58 PM

UN’s food agency WFP to cut aid for about a million people in Myanmar

More than a million people in Myanmar will be cut off from lifesaving food assistance provided by the World Food Programme (WFP) from next month because of critical shortfalls in funding, the United Nations' food agency said on Friday. "These cuts come just as increased conflict, displacement and access restrictions are already sharply driving up food aid needs," the WFP said in a statement. Myanmar has been in turmoil since early 2021 when its powerful military ousted an elected civilian gove...

January 31, 2025 5:10 PM

Myanmar military extends state of emergency amid ongoing civil war and election plans

Myanmar's ruling military has extended a state of emergency for another six months, state media reported on Friday, a day ahead of the four-year anniversary of a coup that plunged the country into chaos after a decade of tentative democracy. Myanmar has been locked in a civil war triggered by the military's overthrow of the elected civilian government of Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi. The junta plans this year to hold an election, which critics have derided as a sham to keep the ge...

January 20, 2025 3:49 PM

Myanmar military, minority armed group agree ceasefire, China says

The Myanmar military and the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) signed a formal agreement for a ceasefire that began on Saturday, China's foreign ministry said, halting fighting near the border of both countries. The two sides held talks in China's southwestern city of Kunming where they thanked Beijing for its efforts to promote peace, ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said during a regular news briefing on Monday. "Cooling down the situation in the north of Myanmar is in the comm...

June 12, 2024 4:47 PM

Myanmar poverty deepens, economic growth stagnant, World Bank says

Poverty in Myanmar is more widespread than at any time in the last six years and growth in the conflict-torn nation is likely to remain at a measly 1% in the current fiscal year with little respite in sight, the World Bank said on Wednesday. Escalating violence, labour shortages and a depreciating currency have made it harder to do business, the bank said in a report on the Southeast Asian nation that has been in political and economic turmoil since a 2021 military coup ended a decade of tentat...

June 7, 2024 10:43 AM

UN chief ‘deeply concerned’ about increasing violence in Myanmar

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed deep concern Thursday for the increasing conflict in Myanmar. "The Secretary-General is deeply concerned by the increasing violence across Myanmar and strongly condemns the recent attacks by the Myanmar military that have reportedly killed scores of civilians, including in Rakhine State and Sagaing Region," spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement. The Tatmadaw, as the Myanmar military is known, is struggling to contain the nationwide bigg...

May 24, 2024 5:22 PM

UN warns of upsurge in violence in Myanmar’s Rakhine

The United Nations human rights office on Friday (May 24) warned there was a risk of a serious rise in violence in Myanmar's Rakhine state, where it received "frightening and disturbing reports" of the killing of Rohingya people and burning of their property. A powerful armed ethnic group in Myanmar known as the Arakan Army said last week it had won control over a town in the western state of Rakhine after weeks of fighting. It has denied accusations it had targeted members of the Muslim-minor...

May 24, 2024 9:24 AM

Rohingyas Crisis: UN expert appeals to Bangladesh to reverse its closed border policy

UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Myanmar Tom Andrews on Thursday appealed to the Bangladesh Government to "reverse its closed border policy' and demonstrate their humanitarian support for the Rohingya once again. Thousands of innocent lives will be lost if the international community fails to respond to ominous signs of another Rohingya bloodbath in Rakhine State of Myanmar, a UN expert said in a press release on Thursday. The Special Rapporteur said once again, Banglades...