Malaysia on Monday defended a plan to deport 1,200 Myanmar nationals on navy ships sent from their homeland just weeks after a coup, following criticism from the United Nations (UN).News emerged last week the migrants would be sent home, after the Myanmar military seized power and detained civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi at the start of February.Malaysian immigration chief Khairul Dzaimee Daud said the detainees, who will be deported on 23 February, are accused of offences including not havi

Myanmar cut internet service and deployed troops around the country on Monday in signs of a feared crackdown on anti-coup protests, hours after security forces fired to disperse a demonstration in the country's north. The junta has escalated efforts to quell a burgeoning civil disobedience campaign which is demanding a return of the country's ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Monday's internet shutdown and a request from the United Nations (UN) for an observer t

Opposition to Myanmar's new military regime intensified on Saturday as spontaneous neighbourhood watch groups mobilised to thwart arrests of anti-coup activists and the United Nations (UN) demanded the release of ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi.The army takeover that brought a decade-old democracy to an end last week has unleashed a storm of anger and defiance, with huge daily protests bringing urban centres around the country to a standstill.Since taking Suu Kyi and her top allies into c

The United Nations’ (UN) top rights body demanded Friday that Myanmar's military restore civilian rule and immediately release Aung San Suu Kyi.In a resolution adopted without a vote, the 47-member Human Rights Council called for "the immediate and unconditional release of all persons arbitrarily detained," and "the restoration of the elected government." Traditional allies of the Myanmar military, China and Russia, meanwhile disassociated themselves from the

The United States (US) on Thursday slapped sanctions on the leaders of Myanmar's junta, warning that more punishment could come even as the generals in Yangon ordered demonstrators to get back to work or face "effective actions".As Myanmar was preparing for a seventh consecutive day of anti-coup rallies, the US Treasury Department announced it was blocking any US assets and transactions with 10 current or former military officials held responsible for the 1 February coup.Demons

Thai pro-democracy protesters returned to the streets of Bangkok Wednesday after nearly two months, clanging pots and pans - a tactic borrowed from mass rallies against a coup in neighbouring Myanmar.The protest came a day after a court denied bail to four prominent democracy leaders who were charged under the kingdom's draconian royal defamation laws.Since the pro-democracy movement kicked off in July, more than 50 protesters have been charged under the laws and face up to 15 years in j

Myanmar, once known as Burma during colonial times, is perhaps the most controversial member state in ASEAN today. What happened on 1 February, 2021, where the Tatmadaw or Myanmar’s military seized power in a coup against the elected government of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, who was detained alongside some senior leaders of her National League for Democracy (NLD) party, is without a doubt a backlash and a major setback of the budding and nascent democratisation

Myanmar's military raided the Yangon headquarters of ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi's party late Tuesday, officials said, as the United States (US) joined the United Nations (UN) in "strongly" condemning violence against protesters demanding a return to democracy.The latest assault on Myanmar's civilian leadership came as anger at last week's coup and the detention of Suu Kyi by the generals has driven hundreds of thousands of people into the streets, defying a j

Myanmar's army chief on Monday insisted military rule would be different this time, as martial law was declared across swathes of the country after massive protests against the new junta.Orders covering parts of Yangon, Mandalay and other areas banned people from protesting or gathering in groups of more than five, and imposing an 8:00 pm to 4:00 am curfew.New junta chief General Min Aung Hlaing, wearing a green military uniform, made his first televised speech since seizing power, insis

Directly or indirectly, the military has always called the shots in Myanmar.