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☆ ICC prosecutor seeks arrest warrant for Myanmar’s military leader Min Aung Hlaing
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-27 | by ( Mitchell Mccluskey | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) is seeking an arrest warrant for Myanmar’s military leader for crimes committed against the persecuted Rohingya minority group. As a result of the violence, the ICC estimated that more than one million Rohingya were forcibly displaced from Myanmar — many fleeing to neighboring Bangladesh. Min Aung Hlaing is the leader of Myanmar’s powerful military, known as the Tatmadaw, which seized power in 2021. But even If the warrant is approved, the ICC could be limited in its jurisdiction as Myanmar is not among the 123 member states of the court. However, member countries could be obligated to transfer Min Aung Hlaing into ICC custody if he enters their territory after the warrant is issued.

Persons: Karim Khan, Min Aung, “, ” Khan, Khan, Ra’ad Al Hussein Organizations: CNN, Criminal Court, ICC, police, Rights Watch, United Nations, Human Rights, International Court of Justice Locations: Myanmar, Bangladesh, Bazar

Longtime friends and neighbors fell out of touch and in some cases died, leaving the couple more isolated and vulnerable. Not long before he met the Davises, Maw pitched a local businessman on investing in his engine business. In the Davises, he had met a couple who had sizable bank accounts and an impressive car collection. The buyer also said he paid more for LaDonna’s property than for two larger buildings on the same street.) The Davises' property on Holt Avenue in West Covina.

Persons: James, LaDonna, ”, Michael McCasland, Min Zaw Maw, Maw, “, Javier Puga, ” Puga, Ladonna’s, Frank Piro, Piro, Amis, didn’t, McCasland, Davis, Min Maw, “ Maw ingratiated, ” McCasland, Rich Schapiro, Diana Homeier, ” Homeier, ” Maw, Maw “, LaDonna Davis, Moe, Gilbert Amis, ” Amis, Brett Hitchman, ” Piro, ” LaDonna, Min, Juan Dotson, Dotson, Michael Ebiner, ” Ebiner, ’ ”, Gus May, Hitchman, ” Hitchman, LaDonna “, Ebiner, breathlessly, Stacey Wood, Wood, ’ Organizations: Powertek Engineering Group, Pacific Western Bank, Citizens Business Bank, NBC News, McCasland, Holt, St, NBC, Nascar, Google, Protective Services, Center, Adult Protective Services, ”, Public Guardian, West, West Covina police, Bank of America, Scripps College Locations: Holt, Myanmar, Arcadia, LaDonna, West Covina, Vincent, St, Upland, Calif, Angeles County, McCasland, Los Angeles

“They are using food as a weapon,” a senior aid official told CNN. “No official travel authorization has been granted to humanitarian partners to implement activities outside of Sittwe township since November 2023,” a senior aid official told CNN. The UN aid officials made clear in their meetings, which have not been previously reported, that the status quo is unacceptable, the sources said. A World Food Programme (WFP) warehouse in Maungdaw was looted and burned in June, depriving that community of urgently needed food aid. A senior UN aid official in Myanmar blamed the funding shortfall in part on international apathy.

Persons: CNN — Khin Mar Cho, Soldiers, Byine Phyu, Khin Mar Cho, ” Khin Mar Cho, “, —, ”, Myint Kyaw, Sen, Min Aung, Mohammed, ” Mohammed, Shayna Bauchner, we’ve, OCHA, Sai Aung, Rakhine —, Ejaz, Jamila, Bangladesh Azim Khan Ronnie, Buthidaung, drenching, ” Jamila, ULA, ” Sajjad Mohammad Sajid Organizations: CNN, United Nations, Arakan Army, AA, UN, Myanmar’s Ministry of Information, AFP, Getty, Partners Relief, Development, Human Rights, ” Aid, SAC, Administration Council, Food, UN Office, Humanitarian Affairs, UN Security Council, European Union, Aid, Human Rights Watch, Solent, Myanmar, Development Coordination, United League of, Programme, Junta Locations: Myanmar, Byine, Rakhine, Sittwe, Rakhine State, Myanmar’s, Yangon, “, Sai, AFP, China, Buthidaung, Bangladesh, Cox’s Bazar, Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh Tanbirul Miraj Ripon, Kutupalong, Tanbirul Miraj Ripon, Arakan, Maungdaw, ULA, Gaza, Ukraine

☆ Myanmar: Hundreds of fleeing Rohingya reportedly killed in drone strikes as fears mount of ethnic cleansing
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-12 | by ( Avery Schmitz | Helen Regan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

CNN —Renewed fears of ethnic cleansing against the stateless Rohingya Muslim community are mounting after reports that hundreds of people, including women and children, were killed by drone strikes while fleeing violence in Myanmar’s western Rakhine state last week. Witnesses and Rohingya activists told CNN that a series of drone strikes on August 5 hit civilians fleeing fighting and violence in their villages in Maungdaw, northern Rakhine. The displaced families had been waiting to cross the river to Bangladesh at the time of the attack, they said. Forced recruitment of Rohingya men and boys is stoking religious tensions between the Rohingya Muslim and Rakhine Buddhist communities, the report said. “Ethnic Rohingya and Rakhine civilians are bearing the brunt of the atrocities that the Myanmar military and opposition Arakan Army are committing,” said Elaine Pearson, Asia director at Human Rights Watch.

Persons: Rohingya, “, ”, –, …, Orla Murphy, Hasan, Rehman Asad, Mohammad Elias, Elias, ” Elias, Elaine Pearson Organizations: CNN, Arakan Army, AA, Myanmar, United Nations, International Court of Justice, Free Rohingya Coalition, Resource Management, Sans, MSF, “, ” CNN, Bangladesh’s Border Guard Force, Human Rights, Human Rights Watch Locations: Rakhine, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Ma, Maungdaw, Myanmar’s, Muangdaw, Lwin, Rohingya, Cox’s Bazar, Ukhia, Cox's Bazar, “, Buthidaung, Arakan, Asia

☆ Police Kill a Boy, and a Refugee Group’s Young Lead the Call for Answers
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-13 | by ( Hurubie Meko | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A 19-year-old man, Thuong Oo, stood in the middle of the group, shouting into a megaphone. The police had killed Mr. Oo’s 13-year-old brother, Nyah Mway, two days earlier and he was angry. Late on June 28, an officer shot Nyah after the boy had been seen with what turned out to be a pellet gun and was tackled to the ground. “I went to the hospital and they said they had a shootout with my brother,” Mr. Oo told the crowd. “But I watched the video and it said different things, so it doesn’t make any sense.”Many of those encircling Mr. Oo were members of the Karen, a refugee ethnic group from Myanmar, and almost all them were young.

Persons: Oo’s, Nyah Mway, Nyah, “, ” Mr, Oo, Karen, ” Locations: Hall, Utica, N.Y, Myanmar

☆ A growing club led by Xi and Putin to counter the US is adding a staunchly pro-Russia member
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-02 | by ( Nectar Gan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

After adding Belarus, it will boast 10 members, representing more than 40% of the world’s population and roughly a quarter of the global economy. Growing ambitionsAs the SCO grows in international visibility and economic weight, it has also broadened in geopolitical ambitions. Putin speaks to Xi at the SCO summit two years ago in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. But the Belarus membership also creates big question marks that will hang over the organization, Gill said. After the summit in Astana, China is due to take up the rotating presidency of the SCO for a year.

Persons: Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin, Narendra Modi, Moscow’s, ”, “, Eva Seiwert, Seiwert, Putin, Xi, Sergei Bobylev, Bates Gill, Gill, –, ” Gill, Modi, they’re Organizations: Hong Kong CNN —, Shanghai Cooperation Organization, Indian, SCO, Union, Mercator Institute for China Studies, ”, Putin, AP, National Bureau of Asian Research, “, Central, Modi, Astana –, Kremlin, Central Asia, NATO, European Union, Seven Locations: Hong Kong, China, Russia, Russian, Ukraine, Belarus, Astana, Kazakhstan, Beijing, Moscow, United States, Iran, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Mongolia, Myanmar, Turkey, Berlin, “, Eurasia, Samarkand, Central Asia, New Delhi, Soviet, Xi’an

☆ A Myanmar Rebel Group Is Accused of Persecuting Rohingya
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-03 | by ( Verena Hölzl | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

International courts are still investigating the Myanmar military’s slaughter of the country’s Rohingya Muslim minority in 2017 that the United States has called a genocide. Now a new threat to the group is looming, this time at the hands of a powerful rebel force. That force, the Arakan Army, has won control of large parts of Rakhine State in Myanmar over the past few months, most recently the northern section where many Rohingya still live. The Arakan Army has rejected these allegations. Formed roughly 15 years ago, the Arakan Army claims to be 40,000 people strong and has fought Myanmar’s military for years.

Persons: Rohingya Organizations: Arakan Army Locations: Myanmar, United States, Bangladesh, Arakan, Rakhine State, Rakhine

☆ India deports Myanmar refugees who fled 2021 coup
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-02 | by ( Story Reuters | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Guwahati, India — India on Thursday deported the first group of Myanmar refugees who had sought shelter after a 2021 military coup, a top state minister said, following weeks of efforts that were hampered by fighting between Myanmar’s rebel forces and the ruling junta. Thousands of civilians and hundreds of troops from Myanmar have crossed the border to India after the coup. This has worried New Delhi, which has announced plans to fence its border with Myanmar and end a visa-free movement policy. “Without any discrimination, we have completed the first phase of deportation of illegal immigrants from Myanmar,” Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh said in a social media post. “The state government is continuing the identification of illegal immigrants.”Thousands of people have crossed from Myanmar into India since the 2021 coup, like these civilians seen in India's border state of Mizoram on November 20, 2021.

Persons: Biren Singh, Rupak De Chowdhuri, Singh, Narendra Modi’s, Modi Organizations: “, Reuters, Indian, Refugee Convention, Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party Locations: Guwahati, India, Myanmar, New Delhi, Manipur, India's, Mizoram

☆ The ‘Night Government’ Expands Its Violent Reach in Rohingya Camps
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-30 | by ( Verena Hölzl | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Armed Rohingya groups and criminal gangs involved in the drug trade are so entrenched in the camps, aid groups and refugees said, that they are known as the “night government,” a moniker that signified their power and the time that they typically operated. In recent months, they have become more brazen, terrorizing their fellow Rohingya and battling one another in gunfights in broad daylight as they fight for control of the camps. The escalating violence has become another scourge in the camps, which were already rife with disease and malnutrition, and prone to floods and landslides. Doctors working in the camps say that the number of gunshot wounds they are treating soared in the past year. Accounts in local news media show the number of killings in the camps doubled to more than 90 over the same period.

Locations: Myanmar, Bangladesh, gunfights

That morning, local villager Zaw Zaw says he woke at his parents’ home in Myauk Khin Yan to the sound of gunfire. A Myanmar military jet flies overhead after bombing the quarters of Karenni Nationalities Defence Force (KNDF), in Kayah state, Myanmar on July 6, 2022. Following the executions, Zaw Zaw said the militia “locked down” the village and threatened to kill those who left. Multiple villagers who spoke to CNN consistently said Myauk Khin Yan has been a militia stronghold since the 2021 coup. Phoe Ei Thu, 17, lost her leg to a landmine while fleeing Myauk Khin Yan in early January.

Persons: dehumanized, Phoe Tay, Phoe, Volker Türk, ”, Min Aung, Aung, Suu Kyi, ” Yaw, Myauk, “ Yaw, guerre, Soldiers, “ Ninja ”, Myo Satt Hla, ” Ninja, “, ” Yaw Lay, Zaw Zaw, ’, Myauk Khin Yan, ” Zaw Zaw, …, Kaung Zaw Hein, ” Kim Jolliffe, Kim Jolliffe, Yan, Khin Yan, Yaw Lay, Stringer, NurPhoto, Jolliffe, Hla, Mai Thomas, Ei, It’s, Kim Jolliffe “, Ei Thu, Richard Horsey, Matt Lawrence, ” Horsey, Thierry Falise, ” Miemie Winn Byrd, hasn’t, Khung Aung, Lawrence, Min Aung Hlaing, Miemie Winn Byrd, Daniel K, Inouye, “ You’re, ” Byrd, Byrd, There’s, they’ve, Soe Lin Aung, Organizations: CNN, People’s Defence Force, United Nations Human, ” CNN, Army, National League for Democracy, Yaw Defense Force, Karenni Nationalities Defence Force, Burma Affairs, Union Solidarity and Development Party, ISIS, UN, Association for Political, Getty, Information Resilience, Myanmar Witness, Human Rights, Junta, US Army, Pacific Center for Security Studies Locations: Myanmar, Phoe Tay, Thar, Aung San, Chin, Myauk Khin, Gangaw, Magway, Loikaw, Kayah, Myauk, Gangaw Township, Magway Region, Khin, Yangon, United States, United Kingdom, Shan, Thantlang, Chin State, AFP, Inouye Asia, Sagaing

☆ What yachting industry insiders have to say about Jeff Bezos' superyacht
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-27 | by ( Madeline Berg | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Read previewIt's been just about a year since Koru, Jeff Bezos' $500 million megayacht, set sail from the Oceanco shipyard in the Netherlands, capturing the attention of yachting insiders and land dwellers alike. Unlike many other megayachts, Koru, which media billionaire Barry Diller's Eos inspired, is designed as a sailing yacht. AdvertisementLike most other megayachts, Koru is powered by her engines, which are reportedly innovative in their use of a kinetic energy recovery system. AdvertisementTeak or not, the yachting industry isn't generally known for being all that environmentally friendly — or indeed lowkey, so many who BI talked to didn't buy into the idea that Koru is "too much." It's the latest superyacht to capture the yachting world's attention.

Persons: —, Jeff Bezos, Koru, they'd, Federico Rossi, Barry Diller's Eos, he'd, Bezos, Lauren Sanchez, Origin's, Shephard, That's, Anders Kurtén, I'm, Jerry Jones, Bernard Arnault, Mark Zuckerberg Organizations: Service, Palm, Business, Industry, Yachts Locations: Netherlands, St, Myanmar

☆ Myanmar military conscription law sparks panic and fear as youth prepare to flee
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-22 | by ( Helen Regan | Angus Watson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +14 min

It’s a terrifying prospect that could become a reality for Anna and millions of her peers across Myanmar after the military junta activated a mandatory conscription law for all young men and women. “While wounded and increasingly desperate, the Myanmar military junta remains extremely dangerous,” Tom Andrews, United Nations Special Rapporteur for human rights in Myanmar, said in a statement. “People know for sure that no matter what is written in the conscription law, they will have to go to the front lines. “In Myanmar, young people are not safe anymore,” said Maung Nyein, who also requested to use a pseudonym for safety reasons. “Our villagers won’t join the military forces or leave the country, instead we will join our resistance forces.

Persons: Anna, ”, “, ” Tom Andrews, — “, Aung, —, Ting Aung, Zaw Min Tun, Young, Kyaw Naing, Sen, Min Aung Hlaing, Kyaw, doesn’t, ” Anna, he’s, he’ll, Khin Ohmar, Stringer, Maung, Maung Nyein, terrifies, Ko, Maung Aye, he’d Organizations: CNN, Thai Embassy, Getty, Analysts, United Nations, People’s Defense Forces, National Unity Government, United, CNN Defense, Armed Forces, Reuters, Facebook, Foreign Ministry, Myanmar, Mandalay People's Defense Forces, Immigration, International Labour Locations: Myanmar, Myanmar’s, Yangon, AFP, United States, Naypyidaw, Thailand, Rakhine, Mandalay, Shan State, “, Shwebo, Sagaing

☆ Japanese Crime Boss Trafficked Nuclear Material From Myanmar, U.S. Says
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-21 | by ( Ed Shanahan | More About Ed Shanahan | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A man identified by federal prosecutors as a leader of Japan’s Yakuza organized crime syndicate was charged on Wednesday with trafficking uranium and plutonium from Myanmar with the expectation that Iran would use the material to make nuclear weapons. The man, Takeshi Ebisawa, is accused of conspiring with a network of associates to sell the weapons-grade material and illegal narcotics and to buy surface-to-air missiles on behalf of an ethnic insurgent group in Myanmar, the country formerly known as Burma. “It is impossible to overstate the seriousness of the conduct alleged in today’s indictment,” Damian Williams, the U.S. attorney in Manhattan, said in announcing the charges. Mr. Ebisawa, 60, is being held in a federal jail in Brooklyn after being charged, along with three co-defendants, with international drug and weapons trafficking crimes in 2022. A lawyer representing him in connection with that indictment did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday.

Persons: Japan’s, Takeshi Ebisawa, ” Damian Williams, Ebisawa Locations: Myanmar, Iran, Burma, U.S, Manhattan, Brooklyn

☆ Takeshi Ebisawa: Alleged yakuza leader charged with attempting to sell nuclear materials from Myanmar
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-21 | by ( Holmes Lybrand | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —An alleged leader of a Japanese organized crime syndicate has been charged with attempting to sell weapons-grade nuclear materials from the leader of an ethnic insurgent group in Myanmar, according to a new indictment from the US Justice Department. Takeshi Ebisawa, an alleged leader in the yakuza who was arrested in 2022 on charges over drug and weapons trafficking conspiracies, faces several new charges for allegedly attempting to sell nuclear materials to someone he believed was an Iranian general, in exchange for a significant weapons cache. The agent asked Ebisawa if the material was usable for nuclear weapons, saying that Iran needed “it for nuclear weapons.”“I think so and I hope so,” Ebisawa said, according to the indictment. In a recorded video call, brokers for the leader of the insurgent group claimed the leader had thousands of kilograms of nuclear material and “could produce as much as five tons of nuclear materials in” the territory the leader controlled. During the call, the DEA undercover agent asked about exchanging uranium for weapons from Iran, which the brokers and the leader agreed with.

Persons: CNN —, Takeshi Ebisawa, Ebisawa, ”, ” Ebisawa Organizations: CNN, US Justice Department, Drug Enforcement Administration, Court, Southern, of New Locations: Myanmar, Iranian, Iran, Burma, Ebisawa

☆ Myanmar Border Guards Flee to Bangladesh Amid Clashes With Rebels
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-05 | by ( Feb. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

By Ruma Paul and Sudipto GangulyDHAKA (Reuters) - At least 95 Myanmar border guards, some of them wounded, have fled to Bangladesh over the last few days as fighting intensifies between rebel forces in Myanmar and the junta regime, officials in Bangladesh said on Monday. Members of the Myanmar Border Guard Police (BGP) entered Bangladesh with their weapons and 15 of them had bullet wounds when they crossed the border, Shariful Islam, a spokesman for Border Guard Bangladesh, said on Monday, adding that the wounded received treatment at different hospitals. Bullets and mortar shells from across the Myanmar border landed on Bangladesh territory on Monday, killing at least two people, a government official in Cox's Bazar said. Panic has gripped the refugee camps in Myanmar with many waiting to cross over to Bangladesh as supply chains have been cut off due to the ongoing conflict, according to Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh. Some of the Rohingya Muslims want to flee here as they are living in constant fear without basic needs," Rohingya refugee Oli Hossain said.

Persons: Ruma Paul, Sudipto Ganguly, Mohammed Mizanur Rahman, Rahman, Mohammad Shamsud Douza, Oli Hossain, Nick Macfie Organizations: Sudipto Ganguly DHAKA, Myanmar Border Guard Police, Border Guard Bangladesh, Bangladesh Locations: Myanmar, Bangladesh, Bangladesh's, Cox's Bazar, Islam, Bandarban, Bazar

Political Cartoons View All 253 ImagesThe Arakan Army is a member of the armed ethnic group alliance that recently gained strategic territory in the country’s northeast. The Arakan Army is the well-trained and well-armed military wing of the Rakhine ethnic minority movement, which seeks autonomy from Myanmar’s central government. The Arakan Army first said late Sunday night that it gained complete control of Paletwa township. Paletwa, whose location on the border gives it strategic importance, is where the Arakan Army first established a foothold in 2015 to fight the against the army. However, the Chin have been a major force in the resistance against the military since the army seized power in 2021, so they now share a common enemy with the Arakan Army.

Persons: Khaing, Khaing Thukha, Aung, Suu Kyi, hasn't, Paletwa, Chin Organizations: Arakan Army, Associated Press, Military, Army, Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, National Liberation Army —, Paletwa Locations: BANGKOK, Rakhine, India, Bangladesh, Arakan, Paletwa, Chin, Shan, China, Suu

But the $290 billion outlay comes without a parallel plan to prepare Yonaguni for a possible humanitarian crisis that residents like Sakihara say could quickly overwhelm their shores. Tokyo, they said, has no plan to deal with them, and locals' pleas for help have gone unanswered. A spokesperson for Japan's Cabinet Secretariat said that "if large numbers of refugees came to Japan, relevant government departments would work together to respond". Even if he had a refugee plan, Kishida would still face an obstacle: his contentious relationship with the Okinawa government that administers Yonaguni. NOT ENOUGH TO SHAREBack in Yonaguni, resident Satoshi Nagahama, 33, was surprised to learn the government had no humanitarian plan for refugees.

Persons: Sonkichi Sakihara, chancing, Kenichi Itokazu, Itokazu, Hirokazu Matsuno, Xi Jinping, Joe Biden, Lai Ching, Matsuno, Fumio Kishida, Kevin Maher, Maher, Yoshihide Yoshida, Japan's, shouldn't, Kishida, Denny Tamaki, it's, Hironobu, Satoshi Nagahama, Sakihara, Koji Sugama, Tim Kelly, Kaori Kaneko, Yukiko Toyoda, Ben Blanchard, Kentaro Sugiyama, David Crawshaw Organizations: Reuters Graphics Reuters, Reuters, U.S, Japan Coast Guard, Migration Policy Institute, Nations, NMV Consulting, State Department, Defense Forces, it's, University's Research, of Disaster Management, Thomson Locations: YONAGUNI, Japan, Vietnam, Taiwan, China, Beijing, Tokyo, Yonaguni, Taipei, Myanmar, Europe, East, Germany, Poland, Ukraine, Washington, East Asia, Okinawa

☆ Malaysia Brings Home 121 Suspected Victims of Job Scams Trapped in Myanmar Conflict
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-30 | by ( Nov. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - A total of 121 people, mostly Malaysians suspected of being victims of job scams, were evacuated from Myanmar on Friday after being stranded by fighting between the military and rebel groups in the country's north, Malaysia's foreign ministry said. The mission came amid continuous fighting in northern Myanmar after an alliance of armed ethnic groups launched an offensive in late October. The groups have seized control of several towns and military outposts near the country's border with China, disrupting trade. Malaysia's deputy foreign minister Mohamad Alamin said the rescued group were among 128 people stranded in Laukkaing, a town in Myanmar's northern Shan state, state news agency Bernama reported on Friday. Hundreds of Malaysians have been rescued from cybercrime and job scam networks across Southeast Asia in recent years.

Persons: Mohamad Alamin, Bernama, Malaysia's, Mohamad, Rozanna Latiff, Gerry Doyle Organizations: Reuters Locations: KUALA LUMPUR, Myanmar, Indonesian, Kuala Lumpur, Kunming, China, Laukkaing, Shan, Southeast Asia

Rohingya traditionally take to sea in October, at the end of the rainy season, on journeys fraught with danger. Of 3,572 Rohingya who have left on 34 boats this year, 31% of them were children, data showed. In 2022, one of the deadliest years for the Rohingya at sea, a fifth of the about 3,705 people who fled were children. "Children making the boat journeys was not a trend before," said Mohammed Mizanur Rahman, Bangladesh's refugee relief and repatriation commissioner based in Cox's Bazar. With little hope of settling in Bangladesh or being accepted elsewhere, they feel they have no choice but to take to sea, Rahman said.

Persons: Riska, Chris Lewa, Mohammed Mizanur Rahman, Rahman, taka, Mohammed Taher, Ruma Paul, Sudipto Ganguly, Krishna N, Das, Robert Birsel Organizations: REUTERS, Rights DHAKA, Malaysia, Thomson Locations: Sabang, Aceh province, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Bangladeshi, Cox's Bazar, Arakan, Southeast Asia, Indonesia's Aceh, South Asia, Dhaka, Mumbai

☆ Indonesia Says 'Positive' Signs From Myanmar's Warring Camps on Dialogue Effort
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-24 | by ( Nov. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesia said on Friday it had hosted a meeting of some of the key stakeholders in the conflict in military-ruled Myanmar at which each gave a "positive indication" about holding inclusive dialogue soon. As outgoing chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Indonesia is pushing for dialogue between rival camps in a bloody crisis triggered by the military's coup against Myanmar's elected government in 2021. The objective of the meeting, Indonesia said, was to enable inclusive talks, reduce violence, and support humanitarian efforts, in line with a "five-point consensus" agreed to by Myanmar's military soon after the coup. "Upon receiving the respective messages, stakeholders indicated positive indication on the possibility of convening dialogues in an inclusive and genuine manner soon." Indonesia has been quietly engaging various parties but has said progress has been impaired by some insisting on preconditions for talks.

Persons: Myanmar's, Stanley Widianto, Martin Petty, William Maclean Organizations: National Unity Government, Association of Southeast Asian Nations, ASEAN, United Nations Locations: JAKARTA, Indonesia, Myanmar, Jakarta, ASEAN

☆ Myanmar hands over to China thousands of telecom fraud suspects
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BEIJING, Nov 21 (Reuters) - Myanmar authorities have handed over 31,000 telecom fraud suspects to China since law enforcement officers from both countries launched a crackdown on online scams in September, Chinese authorities said on Tuesday. More than 100,000 people engage in telecom fraud each day in at least 1,000 scam centres in Myanmar, which shares a border with southwest China, Chinese state media has reported. The Myanmar ringleader of a gang committed suicide last week while on the run from Myanmar authorities, Chinese police said. With telecom scams in Myanmar targeting Chinese citizens surging, Assistant Foreign Minister Nong Rong visited Myanmar this month, saying China was ready to work with Myanmar on tackling cross-border crime including online gambling. Nong also said China supported Myanmar in maintaining stability on their common border as Myanmar's junta battled insurgents in the area.

Persons: Nong Rong, Nong, Albee Zhang, Ryan Woo Organizations: Ministry of Public Security, Thomson Locations: BEIJING, Myanmar, China

☆ Hundreds of Thais to be evacuated from Myanmar via China amid heavy fighting
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BANGKOK, Nov 19 (Reuters) - More than two hundred Thai nationals trapped by the surge in fighting in northern Myanmar between junta soldiers and armed ethnic-minority groups are being evacuated to Thailand via China, the Thai foreign ministry said on Sunday. The Thai foreign ministry said a group of 266 Thais and an unspecified number of Filipinos and Singaporeans are being evacuated from Laukkaing in northern Shan State to the Myanmar-China border with help from the Myanmar authorities. The ministry did not specify the timing of the repatriation flights but said the group is travelling to the Chinese border on Sunday. Thai authorities earlier said some trapped in Myanmar were victims of human trafficking and some might be involved with telecom fraud gangs. The evacuation to China comes a day after 41 Thai nationals were repatriated by land back to Thailand after a coordination between the Thai authorities and Myanmar army.

Persons: Panu, Tom Hogue Organizations: United Nations, Thomson Locations: BANGKOK, Myanmar, Thailand, China, Thai, Laukkaing, Shan State, Kunming, Bangkok, Southeast Asia

☆ Hundreds more Rohingya refugees arrive in Indonesia's Aceh
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/5] Rohingya Muslim women and children rest, following their arrival in Kulee village, Pidie regency, Aceh province, Indonesia, November 19, 2023. REUTERS/Riska Munawarah Acquire Licensing RightsACEH, Nov 19 (Reuters) - More than 500 Rohingya refugees originally from Myanmar landed on the shores of Indonesia's Aceh province on Sunday, the fourth wave of arrivals this week, a local UNHCR official said. The refugees, who arrived at various parts of the province including Bireuen, Pidie and East Aceh, have overwhelmed local facilities, Munawaratul Makhya, a UNHCR official, told Reuters. Almost 1 million Rohingya are living in camps in Bangladesh in what U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi described as "the biggest humanitarian refugee camp in the world". Indonesia's Foreign Ministry said the Southeast Asian country "has no obligation nor capacity to accommodate refugees, let alone to provide a permanent solution".

Persons: Riska, Rohingya, Rohingyas, Filippo Grandi, Hidayatullah Tahjuddin, Dewi Kurniawati, David Holmes Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, UNHCR, Reuters, Ministry, UN, Thomson Locations: Kulee, Aceh province, Indonesia, Rights ACEH, Myanmar, Indonesia's Aceh, Bireuen, Pidie, East Aceh, Muslim, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Thailand, Jakarta

☆ Indonesia hosts regional defence chiefs amid multiple global crises
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Nov 15 (Reuters) - Defence ministers in ASEAN called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and a durable solution to the crisis in Myanmar during the opening of a regional meeting in Jakarta on Wednesday. Defence ministers from the Asian bloc are attending the 2-day meeting alongside key players in the Indo-Pacific as major powers jostle for regional influence, and as conflicts deepen from Myanmar to the Middle East. All ASEAN defence ministers, with the exception of Myanmar's, attended Wednesday's forum, with U.S. Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin to meet counterparts later in the day. The talks will expand on Thursday to include Russia, China, Japan, South Korea, India, New Zealand and Australia. The country removed its defence minister in October, raising questions about the stability of the leadership around President Xi Jinping.

Persons: Prabowo Subianto, Joko Widodo, Joe Biden, Haji Mohamad bin Haji Hasan, Prabowo, Myanmar's, Lloyd Austin, Jing Jianfeng, Xi Jinping, Austin, Aaron Connelly, Thomas Shoal, Connelly, Stanley Widianto, Ananda Teresia, Kanupriya Kapoor, Martin Petty, Kate Lamb, Gerry Doyle Organizations: Defence, ASEAN, Wednesday, Indonesian Defence, Hamas, Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Japan, U.S . Defence, Air, Joint Staff Department, China's, Military Commission, International Institute for Strategic Studies, Thomson Locations: Gaza, Myanmar, Jakarta, Washington, Malaysian, Malaysia, East, Ukraine, South China, China, Philippines, Russia, Japan, South Korea, India, New Zealand, Australia, Beijing, Indonesia, North Korea, Pyongyang, Singapore, U.S, Israel

Globally, as many as 128,000 fishers face threats of violence, debt bondage, excessive overtime and other conditions indicative of forced labor, according to the U.N.'s International Labor Organization. U.S. and European companies are under increasing pressure to clean up supply chains in labor-intensive industries where worker abuse is widespread. But ZheJiang Hairong in a statement last year to the state-owned Fujian Daily claimed ownership of only five of the 10 vessels that would later appear on the Financial Transparency Coalition's list. Pingtan last year was sanctioned by the Biden administration over allegations of illegal fishing and labor abuse. The Financial Transparency Coalition scoured government reports, media accounts and complaints by advocacy groups to come up with a list of 475 individual vessels suspected of forced labor since 2010.

Persons: Joe Biden's, Beth Lowell, Pingtan, Biden, Fu Ting, Wanqing Chen Organizations: MIAMI, Financial, Coalition, D.C, Walton Family Foundation, AP, Associated Press, International Labor Organization . U.S, Force, Group, Seven, Atmospheric Administration, Ocean Fisheries Co, Pingtan Marine Enterprises, China National Fisheries Corp, Fujian Daily, New York Stock Exchange, Washington , D.C Locations: Washington, China, Russia, Spain, Thailand, Taiwan, South Korea, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, United States, U.S, Oceana, Panama, Belize, ZheJiang, Fujian, Washington ,, Beijing, Investigative@ap.org

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