Top election official in Myanmar assassinated by guerrillas
April 23, 2023 GMTBANGKOK (AP) — A top election official in Myanmar was fatally shot in his car in Yangon, the country’s commercial capital, in the latest attack attributed to militants opposed to military rule.
Myanmar army leader calls for decisive action to crush foes
March 27, 2023 GMTBANGKOK (AP) — As Myanmar’s military put on an annual show of strength Monday, its top leader told its assembled ranks they need to take decisive action against those fighting army rule of the country.
Military places restive areas of Myanmar under martial law
February 3, 2023 GMTBANGKOK (AP) — Martial law was declared in several areas of military-run Myanmar on Thursday, a day after authorities extended a state of emergency throughout the country wracked by violence that some U.N.
Myanmar resistance steadfast against army rule 2 years later
February 1, 2023 GMTBANGKOK (AP) — The prospects for peace in Myanmar, much less a return to democracy, seem dimmer than ever two years after the army seized power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi, experts say.
How Myanmar is faring 2 years after army ousted Suu Kyi
February 1, 2023 GMTBANGKOK (AP) — Two years after Myanmar’s generals ousted Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected government, thousands of people have died in civil conflict and many more have been forced from their homes in a dire humanitarian crisis.
Army in strife-torn Myanmar lifts curfew for New Year’s Eve
December 31, 2022 GMTBANGKOK (AP) — Authorities in military-ruled Myanmar announced a suspension of the normal four-hour curfew to allow New Year's celebrations in three biggest cities, but opponents of army rule urge people to stay away and claimed security forces might stage an attack and blame it on them.
Myanmar military accuses opponents of bombing ferry boat
December 19, 2022 GMTBANGKOK (AP) — Myanmar’s army on Monday accused opponents of the military-imposed government of responsibility for an explosion that injured 17 people on a ferry boat in the country’s largest city, Yangon.
Australian jailed in Myanmar applauded in Parliament
December 1, 2022 GMTCANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Sean Turnell, an Australian economist who spent almost two years imprisoned in Myanmar, received a hero’s welcome Thursday at Australia’s Parliament House where lawmakers rose in a standing ovation and the prime minister praised his courage, optimism and resilience.
Blasts kill at least 8 at Myanmar’s Insein Prison
October 19, 2022 GMTBANGKOK (AP) — A bombing on Wednesday near the front gate of Myanmar’s main prison for political detainees killed at least eight people, including visitors and prison personnel, local media and the government said.
Toyota begins making cars in Myanmar after delay due to coup
October 12, 2022 GMTBANGKOK (AP) — Toyota Motor Corp. has begun assembling autos in Myanmar after a more than yearlong delay following a military takeover in February 2021.
The factory in the Thilawa Special Economic Zone, outside the country’s biggest city, Yangon, is owned by Toyota and its trading arm, Toyota Tsusho.
Myanmar court hands Japanese journalist 3 more years in jail
October 12, 2022 GMTBANGKOK (AP) — A court in military-ruled Myanmar on Wednesday convicted a Japanese journalist of violating immigration law, adding three years to the seven-year prison sentence he was handed last week for filming an anti-government protest, a Japanese diplomat said.
Retired senior army officer shot dead by Myanmar guerrrilla
September 25, 2022 GMTBANGKOK (AP) — A retired high-ranking officer in Myanmar’s military was shot dead at his home in the country’s biggest city, Yangon, in the latest such killing attributed to militants opposed to army rule.
Ex-British envoy to Myanmar arrested on immigration charges
August 25, 2022 GMTBANGKOK (AP) — A former British ambassador to Myanmar who now heads a business ethics advisory group in the Southeast Asian country has been arrested on charges of violating immigration laws by failing to register her change of address, the military government said Thursday.
Friends of Japanese journalist demand his release in Myanmar
August 3, 2022 GMTTOKYO (AP) — Friends of Toru Kubota, a Japanese journalist detained in military-ruled Myanmar while covering a protest, called for his immediate release Wednesday and an online petition has collected more than 41,000 signatures.
Japanese video journalist detained at Myanmar protest march
August 1, 2022 GMTBANGKOK (AP) — A Japanese video journalist has been detained by security forces in Myanmar while covering a protest against military rule in the country’s largest city, pro-democracy activists said Sunday.
Brother of Myanmar’s Suu Kyi seeks share of family property
June 27, 2022 GMTBANGKOK (AP) — Myanmar’s Supreme Court heard final arguments on Monday in a long-running, bitter dispute between the country’s ousted leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, and her estranged elder brother over the property where she was held under house arrest for 15 years.
Accusations fly after Myanmar bombing kills 1, injures 9
June 1, 2022 GMTBANGKOK (AP) — Myanmar’s military government and its opponents traded accusations over a bomb that exploded Tuesday in the middle of the country’s largest city, Yangon, killing one and wounding nine others.
Myanmar military government denies rumors of fuel shortages
April 20, 2022 GMTBANGKOK (AP) — Myanmar’s military government has denied the country is suffering from a shortage of fuel after rumors about low supplies of gasoline and diesel led to panic buying and long queues at service stations in several cities.
Strife in Myanmar curbs traditional new year celebrations
April 13, 2022 GMTBANGKOK (AP) — Celebrations of Thingyan, Myanmar’s holiday marking the traditional new year, were uncharacteristically quiet Wednesday, as the violent struggle for power between the military government and its opponents cast a shadow over the usual merrymaking involving the playful splashing of water.
Gunmen shoot deputy governor of Myanmar Central Bank
April 8, 2022 GMTBANGKOK (AP) — A deputy governor of Myanmar’s Central Bank was shot at her home on Thursday, less than a week after tough new regulations were issued ordering that foreign money held in bank accounts in the military-ruled nation must be exchanged for the local currency.
Myanmar braces for rain, wind as storm hits southwest coast
March 22, 2022 GMTBANGKOK (AP) — Parts of Myanmar experienced heavy rain and winds Tuesday as a seasonal storm characterized as a deep depression made landfall along the country’s southwestern coast.
The state meteorology department announced that the center of the storm on Tuesday afternoon reached the city of Pathein, 150 kilometers (93 miles) west of the country's biggest city of Yangon, after earlier passing over Hainggyikyun island at the mouth of the Pathein River.
Myanmar pardons celebrities jailed for anti-military views
March 2, 2022 GMTBANGKOK (AP) — Several top Myanmar celebrities who were detained for criticizing the army's seizure of power were released from prison Wednesday under pardons issued by the military government, state-run television reported.
Myanmar’s Suu Kyi pleads not guilty as graft trial continues
March 1, 2022 GMTBANGKOK (AP) — Ousted Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi pleaded not guilty Monday to a corruption charge that alleged she had accepted $600,000 and seven gold bars from a former political ally, a legal official said.
Myanmar opposition protests mark general strike anniversary
February 22, 2022 GMTBANGKOK (AP) — Opponents of military rule gathered Tuesday for protests in Myanmar’s cities, defying threats by the authorities to arrest anyone joining demonstrations against the army’s takeover a year ago.
Prominent Myanmar filmmaker arrested after a year on the run
February 10, 2022 GMTBANGKOK (AP) — An award-winning film director in Myanmar has been arrested almost a year after he was put on a wanted list for encouraging government employees to join in protests against military rule, a colleague and local media reported Thursday.
Violence, protests mark anniversary of Myanmar army rule
February 2, 2022 GMTBANGKOK (AP) — A nationwide strike marked the one-year anniversary Tuesday of the army's seizure of power in Myanmar, as protests and sporadic violence across the country renewed concern over the ongoing struggle for power.
Death, danger, despair: A year in Myanmar under the military
January 30, 2022 GMTJAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — An elderly woman forced to flee bombings. A former peace negotiator leaving his job to fight Myanmar security forces. A woman’s husband shot during a peaceful protest, leaving her alone to care for their two children.
Myanmar journalist reported to have died in army custody
December 14, 2021 GMTBANGKOK (AP) — A local freelance photojournalist in Myanmar has died in military custody after being arrested last week while covering protests, colleagues and a friend of his family said Tuesday.
Soe Naing is the first journalist known to have died in custody since the army seized power in February, ousting the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi.
Nationwide ‘silent strike’ in Myanmar protests military rule
December 10, 2021 GMTBANGKOK (AP) — Opponents of military rule in Myanmar on Friday held one of their biggest nationally coordinated protests in months, successfully calling on people across the country to shut their businesses and stay at home on International Human Rights Day.
3 feared dead as Myanmar army truck runs down protesters
December 6, 2021 GMTBANGKOK (AP) — An army vehicle plowed into a peaceful march by anti-government protesters in military-ruled Myanmar’s biggest city, reportedly killing at least three people, witnesses and a protest organizer said.
Rights group says Myanmar forces purposely killed protesters
December 2, 2021 GMTBANGKOK (AP) — The killing of at least 65 protesters in Myanmar’s biggest city on March 14 this year was planned and premeditated, and the perpetrators must be brought to justice, a rights watchdog said in a report released Thursday.
Myanmar court hears final arguments in case of US journalist
November 10, 2021 GMTBANGKOK (AP) — A court in Myanmar on Wednesday heard closing arguments in the case of Danny Fenster, a U.S. journalist jailed in Myanmar for more than five months on charges of breaking security laws, his lawyer said.
Official Myanmar records mistaken about detained US reporter
November 5, 2021 GMTBANGKOK (AP) — Testimony by prosecution witnesses on Friday in the case of Danny Fenster, a U.S. journalist who has been detained in Myanmar for more than five months, established that official records did not accurately reflect where he was employed, his lawyer said.
Bail ruling postponed for US journalist jailed in Myanmar
October 27, 2021 GMTBANGKOK (AP) — A decision on the bail application of an American journalist jailed for the past five months in Myanmar has been delayed because the judge broke his arm, the journalist's lawyer said Wednesday.
Third bank robbed in Myanmar’s largest city in three months
October 22, 2021 GMTBANGKOK (AP) — Five men robbed a bank in Yangon on Friday, in at least the third major bank heist in Myanmar's largest city in just over three months, the military-installed government said,
The government blamed the previous robberies on opposition groups opposed to military rule, though none is known to have claimed responsibility.
Former job is key in case against US journalist in Myanmar
October 16, 2021 GMTBANGKOK (AP) — An American journalist detained almost five months in military-ruled Myanmar is being prosecuted for an offense allegedly carried out by a news service for which he had stopped working more than half-a-year previously, his lawyer said Friday.
Jailed US journalist in Myanmar slapped with new charge
October 4, 2021 GMTBANGKOK (AP) — A U.S. journalist who has spent more than four months in pretrial detention in military-ruled Myanmar has been charged with a second criminal offense, his lawyer said Monday, while authorities refused to disclose the reason behind his arrest.
UN official says Myanmar’s people are in ‘a severe crisis’
September 30, 2021 GMTUNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N.’s top humanitarian official in Myanmar said Thursday the Asian nation's people are living in “a severe crisis,” with a level of poverty not seen for at least 20 years.
Myanmar official defends 4-month detention of US reporter
September 30, 2021 GMTBANGKOK (AP) — Myanmar’s military-installed government on Thursday defended its detention of an American journalist it has now held for four months, without offering any details of the crimes it alleges.
Lawyer says US journalist in Myanmar jail seems disheartened
September 21, 2021 GMTBANGKOK (AP) — U.S. journalist Danny Fenster, imprisoned in Myanmar for almost four months while awaiting trial, appeared disheartened during a court hearing Monday, his lawyer said.
Fenster has been charged with incitement — spreading inflammatory information — an offense for which he could be sentenced to up to three years in prison.
Myanmar court sets Oct. 1 for Suu Kyi corruption trial
September 17, 2021 GMTBANGKOK (AP) — A trial of Myanmar’s ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi on corruption charges is set to begin on Oct. 1, a member of her legal team said Friday.
Lawyer Khin Maung Zaw said a judge declared the trial would be held at the Special Court in the capital Naypyitaw on every other Friday.
Myanmar court moves venue for secrets trial of Australian
September 14, 2021 GMTBANGKOK (AP) — A court in Myanmar has agreed to change the venue for the trial of an Australian economist and adviser to ousted Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi on charges of violating the nation’s official secrets law, lawyers said Tuesday.
Myanmar court extends pre-trial detention of US journalist
September 6, 2021 GMTBANGKOK (AP) — A court in Myanmar on Monday extended the pre-trial detention of Danny Fenster, an American journalist in the military-led Southeast Asian nation who was arrested in May.
Fenster was detained at Yangon International Airport on May 24, as he was about to board a flight to go to the Detroit area in the United States to see his family.
Family vows to win freedom of US journalist held in Myanmar
August 31, 2021 GMTDETROIT (AP) — The parents and brother of an American journalist who has been detained in Myanmar for 100 days vowed Tuesday to never stop working to secure his release.
Danny Fenster, 37, is managing editor of Frontier Myanmar, an independent online news outlet based in Yangon, the Southeast Asian nation’s largest city.
5 people jump from Myanmar building to escape police; 2 die
August 11, 2021 GMTBANGKOK (AP) — Five people jumped from an apartment building in Yangon, Myanmar's largest city, to escape government security forces who were raiding the building, and at least two died, according to government and media reports Wednesday.
Myanmar prisoners protest military with chants, songs
July 23, 2021 GMTBANGKOK (AP) — Prisoners inside Myanmar’s most notorious jail held a protest Friday, singing popular songs opposing the military government and chanting political slogans, according to nearby residents and to video uploaded to social media.
Imprisoned Myanmar politician dies from COVID-19
July 20, 2021 GMTBANGKOK (AP) — The spokesperson for ousted Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi's political party died Tuesday after being infected with the coronavirus in prison, his lawyer said.
Nyan Win had been a member of the National League for Democracy's Central Executive Committee as well as a confidante of Suu Kyi.
Lawyer: US editor jailed in Myanmar fears he has COVID-19
July 16, 2021 GMTBANGKOK (AP) — An American journalist detained in Myanmar told his lawyer he believes he has COVID-19, but prison authorities deny he is infected.
Danny Fenster was detained at Yangon International Airport on May 24 as he was trying to board a flight to go to the Detroit area in the United States to see his family.
Myanmar caught off guard as cases surge, oxygen dwindles
July 11, 2021 GMTBANGKOK (AP) — Soe Win stood in line at a plant to buy oxygen for his grandmother, who is struggling with COVID-19 symptoms.
“I have been waiting since 5 in the morning until 12 noon but I’m still in line.
Myanmar protesters commemorate 1962 student resistance
July 7, 2021 GMTBANGKOK (AP) — Pro-democracy demonstrators took to the streets Wednesday in cities and towns around Myanmar to commemorate students who lost their lives in 1962 when a military dictator violently suppressed protests against harsh university discipline implemented under his regime.
Myanmar court extends pretrial detention of US journalist
July 1, 2021 GMTBANGKOK (AP) — A court in Myanmar on Thursday extended the pretrial detention of Danny Fenster, a U.S. journalist employed by an online news magazine in the military-led Southeast Asian nation who was arrested in May on an incitement charge that carries a penalty of up to three years’ imprisonment.
Activists, journalists included in Myanmar prisoner release
July 1, 2021 GMTBANGKOK (AP) — Myanmar's government began releasing about 2,300 prisoners on Wednesday, including activists who were detained for protesting against the military's seizure of power in February and journalists who reported on the protests, officials said.
Blasts in Myanmar’s biggest city kill 2, destroy army truck
June 18, 2021 GMTBANGKOK (AP) — At least two explosions on Friday rocked a neighborhood in Myanmar’s biggest city, killing two people, destroying a military truck and damaging a taxi in what appeared to be a serious escalation of violence between the country’s military rulers and their pro-democracy opponents.
Myanmar court frees one of two detained US journalists
June 14, 2021 GMTBANGKOK (AP) — A court in Myanmar has released U.S. journalist Nathan Maung, who was arrested three months ago while working for a local online news agency, his lawyer said Monday.
Maung was released after charges against him were dropped and his case dismissed, and he will be deported on Tuesday, lawyer Tin Zar Oo said.
Family hopes for return of US journalist detained in Myanmar
May 29, 2021 GMTBANGKOK (AP) — The mother of a journalist detained in Myanmar says she and the family “just want him here” in Michigan.
“It was a total visceral reaction, gut, visceral, numbing, nauseating, tearful, helpless feeling," Rose Fenster said, describing how she felt when learning about the detention of her son, Danny Fenster.
American journalist working for Myanmar magazine detained
May 24, 2021 GMTBANGKOK (AP) — An American journalist working for a news magazine in Myanmar was detained Monday by the authorities there, his employers said.
Frontier Myanmar, which publishes in both English and Burmese and also online, said on Twitter that Danny Fenster, its managing editor, was detained at Yangon International Airport as he was preparing to board a flight to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Japan reporter freed from Myanmar says inmates were abused
May 21, 2021 GMTTOKYO (AP) — A Japanese journalist who was freed from a Myanmar prison said Friday that military and police interrogators repeatedly asked him about his friends, clients and made-up allegations.
Yuki Kitazumi, a freelance journalist and a former reporter for Japan’s Nikkei business news, also said other inmates told him about abuses they suffered at the hands of authorities, including repeated beatings during nonstop, dayslong interrogations.
Myanmar frees Japanese journalist as gesture to Tokyo
May 15, 2021 GMTTOKYO (AP) — An arrested Japanese reporter returned home Friday after being released by Myanmar's ruling junta in what it called a gesture of friendship to Japan.
Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said Yuki Kitazumi was released after efforts by Japanese diplomats and others.
Flash mobs in Myanmar’s biggest city avoid deadly response
May 6, 2021 GMTBANGKOK (AP) — A flash mob of mostly young people in Myanmar’s biggest city staged a brief protest march Thursday against military rule, the latest in a series of actions aimed at reducing the chances of a deadly response by the authorities...