By Mon Lay / MPA Nay Pyi Taw — Myanmar’s military regime has unveiled plans to integrate the country’s financial systems with national identity and biometric databases, a move experts and activists warn marks a dangerous shift toward "digital authoritarianism" aimed at crushing dissent and squeezing the economy. During a meeting of the National Payments System Oversight Committee in Nay Pyi Taw on Saturday...

By Kan Htun / MPA Maungdaw, Myanmar — Conflicting reports have emerged from the volatile Myanmar-Bangladesh border, where local sources describe a deadly pre-dawn clash between the Arakan Army (AA) and Rohingya insurgents, a claim the armed group has vehemently denied. Residents in northern Maungdaw Township reported intense fighting breaking out around 03:30 local time on Sunday (January 11) on Kyi Island, located in...

By Than Lyan | MPA Yangon — Myanmar’s military-proxy Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) has claimed a near-total victory in the second phase of the junta's staged election, sweeping 15 out of 16 contested townships in the commercial capital, Yangon. The results, released late Sunday (January 11), dealt a significant blow to independent candidates, including high-profile former lawmaker Daw Sandar Min. A Predictable...

By Than Lynn | MPA Yangon — Queues formed outside polling stations in Myanmar’s commercial capital on Sunday (January 11) as the military junta held the second phase of its election, but observers say the turnout was driven by intimidation rather than civic duty. In a stark reflection of the country's political divide, the voting lines were conspicuously devoid of young people—the demographic that...

By Ko Myo / MPA Yangon, Myanmar — Residents of Yangon are facing a resurgence of arbitrary street arrests, monitors say, as the relative lull during the military junta's recent election campaign abruptly ends. According to the Rangoon Scout Network (RSN), a local group monitoring military movements, the frequency of detentions on public streets has returned to "normal" high levels following the conclusion of...