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Yangon Rations Power Until the 2027 Rains
Yangon is getting electricity in alternating four-hour blocks, and officials say the rationing could last until the 2027 rainy season. The Ministry of Electricity and Energy blames El Nino heat for demand that could overwhelm power plants and crash the national grid. Min Aung Hlaing promised to fix the shortages in his first speech as president, but industrial zones powered by LNG and key government departments are still getting electricity around the clock. An elderly cancer patient in Thaketa Township said outages in her neighborhood usually last longer than the official schedule.
Read more: The Irrawaddy
Junta Jets Kill Six at Rakhine Displacement Camp
Junta jets have killed at least six people at a displacement camp on the Ponnagyun-Kyauktaw Road, just a few short days after the UN and EU condemned the bombing of a market in Kyauktaw. Seven more people were critically wounded. Separate attacks on the Pan Ni Lar shelter, a nearby village and Rathedaung Township reportedly killed at least three more. The camps are said to be well outside the combat zone. An Irrawaddy tally attributes 383 civilian deaths in 21 massacres in Rakhine and neighboring Paletwa to the junta since November 2023. The Arakan Army now holds 14 of Rakhine's 17 townships and is pushing toward Sittwe and Kyaukphyu.
Read more: The Irrawaddy (Pan Ni Lar strike), The Irrawaddy (383 massacre tally), DVB (Rathedaung airstrikes)
Junta Bombs Flood-Stricken Dawei, Toll to 40
Floods and landslides have killed at least 40 people in Dawei District, where junta warplanes have bombed a village. Four 250-pound bombs hit Pi Taing in Thayetchaung despite the fact that there was no reported fighting nearby; no casualties were reported. Rescue teams are asking the military and resistance forces to stop fighting as blocked roads keep them from reaching six villages around Launglon. More than 22,000 area people are in need food and drinking water.
Read more: The Irrawaddy (infrastructure damage), The Irrawaddy (initial toll), DVB (ceasefire appeal)
Bound Remains of 12 Found Near Bagan
A mushroom picker has found the bound skeletal remains of 12 men and boys in Wetpoke village, about 45 kilometers north of Bagan. Junta troops reportedly arrested them near Gwaykone in June 2023 as they ran away from the fighting, then killed them a couple of days later. A report that was found and taken from a Pyu Saw Htee militia camp records 12 people as "cleared" that day. The Anyar Myay Civil Society Organization blamed militia leader Win Ngwe and army captain Bo Phyu for the killings. Win Ngwe reportedly died in March 2024.
Read more: The Irrawaddy
Malaysia Clears 3,524 Returns Before Min Aung Hlaing Visit
Malaysia has approved 3,524 more Myanmar nationals for return after sending an first group of 1,476 to Yangon. The junta chose the names, and Malaysia is saying the returns are voluntary. UNHCR, barred from Malaysian detention centers since 2019, questioned whether detainees had chosen freely and understood the risks of getting sent back. Malaysian officials said the operation chiefly targeted Rohingya, but community leaders said few were in the first group. Min Aung Hlaing is expected to discuss refugees and migrants with Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim during his upcoming visit.
Read more: DVB (detention population), The Diplomat (UNHCR concerns), Myanmar Now (community fear)
USDP Reelects Khin Yi as Chairman
The military-backed USDP has reelected Khin Yi as chairman, brushing aside reports that President Min Aung Hlaing wanted his own loyalists in senior party posts. Power at the top is now formally split three ways. Min Aung Hlaing is president, Khin Yi leads the party and the Lower House, and General Ye Win Oo commands the armed forces. In practice, an Irrawaddy analysis argues, officers promoted during Min Aung Hlaing's 15 years as commander in chief still dominate the senior ranks.
Read more: The Irrawaddy
Hong Kong-Backed Yangon Condo Six Years Late
Marga Landmark Development promised to finish its Yangon condominium, The Central, in 2020. Six years later, buyers are coming together at its sales office and demanding answers. Some have paid nearly 2 billion kyats in pre-paid installments, but requests for contractually required compensation seem to have fallen on deaf ears. Buyers (should we say “attempted buyers”?) say Tower 8 still has no foundation.
Read more: The Irrawaddy
Junta Eyes Russian Help for Stalled Dawei Zone
The junta is trying again to restart the long-stalled Dawei Special Economic Zone on the Andaman coast, and Russia is reportedly being considered for port and energy projects. Thailand’s Italian-Thai Development lost all nine contracts for the initial phase after repeated delays and unmet financial obligations. The full project was once expected to cost more than $50 billion; a scaled-back first phase was priced at about $1.7 billion. The 138-kilometer road from Dawei to Htee Khee on the Thai border still needs major upgrades if it is ever going to be serviceable and fit-for-purpose.
Read more: The Diplomat
Belgian Awards Body Gets Legal Action Over Junta Beer
Belgian awards body Monde Selection faces legal action for possible breaches of EU sanctions connected to its former ties with military-owned alcohol companies. It has since cut those ties and withdrawn the companies' awards, but that doesn’t mean that the company is off the hook just yet. A cautionary tale.
Read more: Myanmar Now
That's all for this week, thanks for reading. Your voice matters to us. Feel we're missing something? Have additional sources to suggest? Don't hold back- hit reply and tell us what you think.
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