web Desk

Promises of high-paid entertainment jobs lured the three Thai women to Myanmar, but they found themselves trapped into prostitution in Shan state near the Chinese border before they escaped, they said in telling the stories about their ordeal. Sisters A and Aoy, and their friend, Ploy – all in their late 20s – said they had responded to a Facebook ad from a Thai broker named Nan, who promised that they could earn more than 50,000 baht (U.S. $1,485) per month in non-sex jobs in the entertainment industry in Myanmar. “She said you will earn Chinese yuan, not Myanmar’s kyat.

On 30 December, Lao Prime Minster Phankham Viphavanh (72) resigned ostensibly on health grounds, but amidst an economy in sharp decline and saddled in foreign debt. He is succeeded by the scion of one of the country’s two political dynasties, Deputy Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone (56). Politics in Laos are secretive and elite. The ruling Lao People’s Revolutionary Party’s Central Committee has a mere 71 members (with 10 alternates) and its Politburo only 13. There is almost no transparency and all media are party-controlled. Viphavanh became Prime Minister following the party’s 11th Congress in early 2021, having moved steadily up the organizational

A junta military airstrike on a popular gold prospecting area in Myanmar’s Kachin State killed one man and injured more than 30 other people, some critically, forces loyal to the country’s parallel National Unity Government told RFA. Three fighter jets from Myitkyina Air Force Base opened fire near two villages on the banks of the Irrawaddy River on Tuesday afternoon. Thousands of locals mine gold from the river there, using bamboo rafts. An eyewitness who did not want to be identified for safety reasons said 23-year-old Myo Thet Kyaw died on the spot after being hit in the head. “There

Fighting between junta troops and Karen National Liberation Army joint forces continued in Kayin State Thursday, a day after the rebel group attacked three military camps in Kyainseikgyi township, according to Liberation Army members and local residents. A Karen National Liberation Army member who wished to remain anonymous for security reasons told RFA the KNLA and local People’s Defense Forces launched simultaneous attacks Wednesday on Infantry Battalions 32, 283 and 284, based in and around Kyainseikgyi city. “The attack started around 5.30 a.m. yesterday morning. All three battalions were attacked. We withdrew around 9 a.m. after the fighting,” he said.