Panic Grips Rohingya Refugee Camps in Bangladesh over Coronavirus Concerns
Panic hit Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh on Thursday after an international charity’s report highlighted that the government had no resources to test for the deadly coronavirus, rights groups and officials said.
A Save the Children report, which was published …
Five Myanmar Villagers Get Five-Year Sentences in China Cement Factory Protest
Five Myanmar villagers each were sentenced to five years in prison on Friday on charges of destroying a factory building and vehicles during a protest against a Chinese-backed coal-powered cement factory in Mandalay region, a lawyer for the defendants said.…
Police Accept Criminal Complaint in Acid Attack Case in Myanmar’s Ayeyarwady Region
Myanmar police have accepted a criminal complaint by a businesswoman who was the victim of an acid attack in Ayeyarwady region, five months after she reported the assault that severely burned her face and caused her to lose sight in …
Local Economies Suffer in Cambodia as Thailand Closes Border to Stop Spread of Virus
Citizens of Cambodia living along the country’s border with Thailand are struggling to make ends meet as authorities close checkpoints between the two nations to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), prompting calls for a government bailout.
Authorities …
Lack of COVID-19 Info Under Myanmar’s Internet Ban Could Doom Rakhine Refugees: NGO
Myanmar’s government must lift its ban on internet service in war-ravaged Rakhine state to permit tens of thousands of displaced civilians to access information about the coronavirus, a civil society group demanded this week, warning of mass deaths if crowded …
Doctors: Coronavirus Outbreak Among Refugees Would Be Catastrophic
LONDON – Doctors are warning that any outbreak of the coronavirus in refugee communities would have a devastating impact. The United Nations estimates there are more than 30 million refugees worldwide, many living in conditions that are ideal for transmission …
ASEAN Summit in Vietnam Postponed Until end-June Over Coronavirus
HANOI – A summit of Southeast Asian and other international leaders scheduled in Vietnam early next month has been postponed until end-June due to worries about coronavirus, Vietnam’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Thursday.
Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan …
Myanmar Army Drops Defamation Cases Against The Irrawaddy, Reuters
Myanmar’s military on Wednesday dropped criminal defamation lawsuits against two news organizations following the intervention of the Myanmar Press Council (MPC), which mediated the cases and requested that they be withdrawn, officials from the body said.
The military had filed …
In Myanmar’s Yangon, Volunteers Step in Where Government Response is Minimal
A volunteer group has been building makeshift hand-washing stations in Yangon, Myanmar’s largest city, to prevent the spread of the coronavirus in the absence of a systematic response by the government, which maintains the country has no confirmed cases of …