https://www.irrawaddy.com/ Covering Burma and Southeast Asia Sat, 28 Dec 2024 03:21:46 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.7.1 https://www.irrawaddy.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/cropped-The-Irrawaddy-Favicon-32x32.png https://www.irrawaddy.com/ 32 32 https://www.irrawaddy.com/opinion/guest-column/chinas-plunder-of-myanmars-rare-earth-wealth-threatens-global-security.html Sat, 28 Dec 2024 02:47:20 +0000 https://www.irrawaddy.com/?p=142634 The world must act now to break China’s monopoly on rare earth mining and processing and the environmental and human devastation it wreaks in Kachin State, says Ankit K.]]> https://www.irrawaddy.com/specials/junta-watch/a-year-in-myanmar-juntas-theatre-of-absurdity-as-military-collapse-loomed.html Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:29:55 +0000 https://www.irrawaddy.com/?p=142615 Min Aung Hlaing’s propaganda mill went into overdrive in 2024, touting tourism, climate solutions, medical excellence, and fatherly values as the nation burned. ]]> https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/war-against-the-junta/captured-myanmar-junta-general-demands-rakhine-surrender.html Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:43:21 +0000 https://www.irrawaddy.com/?p=142608 An Arakan Army video shows the former Western Command chief of staff calling on regime troops in Rakhine State to stop fighting for incompetent leaders.]]> https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/war-against-the-junta/myanmar-junta-commander-abandons-kachin-fighting-kia.html Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:30:10 +0000 https://www.irrawaddy.com/?p=142600 The Kachin Independence Army says it is still fighting to seize Mansi and the regime power hub of Bhamo in Kachin State.]]> https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/junta-boss-dances-while-myanmar-burns.html Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:21:50 +0000 https://www.irrawaddy.com/?p=142597 Just days after his regime’s Western Command fell to rebels closing in from all sides, Min Aung Hlaing was busy partying with old cronies.]]> https://www.irrawaddy.com/specials/courage-and-complicity-those-who-defined-2024.html Fri, 27 Dec 2024 09:37:15 +0000 https://www.irrawaddy.com/?p=142580 The Irrawaddy looks back at the key players that shaped Myanmar in 2024, a year in which the junta suffered serious military setbacks but also saw some diplomatic wins.]]> https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/christians-slam-cardinal-bos-ties-to-myanmar-junta-boss.html Thu, 26 Dec 2024 09:07:19 +0000 https://www.irrawaddy.com/?p=142569 Like every year since the coup, Min Aung Hlaing joined Cardinal Charles Bo for a festive Christmas dinner at Yangon’s St. Mary’s Cathedral on Sunday.]]> https://www.irrawaddy.com/opinion/guest-column/two-wasted-decades-in-thai-politics.html Thu, 26 Dec 2024 07:41:56 +0000 https://www.irrawaddy.com/?p=142561 Years of political strife and authoritarianism have left Thailand mired in a middle-income trap, losing out to regional neighbors.]]> https://www.irrawaddy.com/business/economy/myanmars-garment-industry-unravelling-amid-chronic-labor-shortage.html Wed, 25 Dec 2024 10:00:49 +0000 https://www.irrawaddy.com/?p=142557 Mass exodus of workers due to the Conscription Law has triggered recruitment of children and a deepening labor rights crisis, warn industry figures and activists.]]> https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/civilians-trapped-in-kachins-bhamo-plead-for-help.html Wed, 25 Dec 2024 08:03:50 +0000 https://www.irrawaddy.com/?p=142553 People sheltering in a monastery in the southern Kachin town were injured by artillery in fierce fighting between KIA rebels and the Myanmar junta and are desperate to get out.]]>