Myanmar

• Myanmar campaigners on May 5 condemned US lobbyist Roger Stone, a close confidante of President Donald Trump, for accepting US$50,000 to lobby on behalf of interests in the country. • Stone's involvement highlights renewed US political engagement with Myanmar despite the country's ongoing political turmoil and international isolation following the 2021 military coup. • The controversy underscores tensions between Myanmar's activist movements and foreign political actors, particularly those with direct access to the Trump administration.

Motorists are forced to queue up to six hours for fuel or pay more on the black market, while farmers lack fuel to operate machinery and harvest crops.

• Myanmar's military junta has blocked UN humanitarian corridors to conflict-affected regions, preventing food and medical aid from reaching approximately 2 million people at imminent risk of famine. • UN humanitarian agencies report that supplies have been halted for two weeks; the blockade coincides with intensified fighting between military forces and opposition groups in central Myanmar. • The US has condemned the blockade as a war crime and called for emergency UN Security Council action, though Russia and China have signaled opposition to any intervention.

• The US Treasury Department announced targeted sanctions against 15 military leaders and three jade trading companies linked to Myanmar's junta, citing credible evidence of systematic ethnic persecution against Rohingya and other minorities. • The sanctions block access to the US financial system and freeze assets estimated at $40 million, with the State Department formally classifying the military's actions as crimes against humanity. • International human rights bodies praised the measures but noted they represent a limited response, calling for broader multilateral action and ICC referral to hold perpetrators accountable.

Activists say clamp down on period products to target insurgents is gender-based violence and violates rightsMyanmar’s military regime is expanding its ban on the distribution of period products, claiming they are being used to treat wounded resistance fighters, according to local activists.The south-east Asian country has been locked in civil war since 2021, when the military usurped the democratic government and launched a violent crackdown on dissidents. Artillery fire, the burning of townships and arbitrary arrests have become common in the years since then. Continue reading...

• Myanmar's military junta arrested 156 pro-democracy activists over the past week during coordinated raids across Yangon, Mandalay, and other major cities, escalating a campaign that has imprisoned over 3,000 political prisoners since the 2021 coup. • The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) issued a statement expressing "serious concern" about the arrests and called for dialogue; however, the statement stopped short of threatening sanctions or diplomatic consequences. • Activist networks report torture allegations in detention facilities and restricted access to legal representation, prompting calls from international human rights organizations for an independent UN investigation.

• Myanmar's military government arrested 47 pro-democracy activists and journalists on April 12 in what human rights organizations describe as the largest crackdown since the 2021 coup, with detainees held without access to legal representation. • The arrests targeted members of underground resistance networks and independent media outlets, with the junta accusing them of terrorism and sedition charges that carry potential death penalties. • The United Nations Human Rights Council condemned the escalation, calling for international sanctions on military leaders, while ASEAN member states expressed concern over regional stability impacts.