DVB English News

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has affirmed that Min Aung Hlaing’s recent maneuver to shed his military uniform and assume the civilian title of Myanmar’s president will not provide him legal protection against a pending international arrest warrant for crimes against humanity. Read more on DVB English News. Watch Newsroom on DVB English News YouTube or Spotify. Listen on Apple Podcasts, YouTube Music, Audible, Amazon Music, or ⁠wherever you get podcasts⁠. Stay up-to-date with the latest on #WhatsHappeningInMyanmar by subscribing to the Daily Briefing. ⁠⁠ Find DVB English News on X, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, TikTok, Bluesky and YouTube.

Myanmar’s junta leader Min Aung Hlaing was inaugurated as president on April 10 after shedding his military uniform and handing control of the military to a hand-picked successor following a highly criticized 2025-2026 election. In this video we explain the strategy behind Min Aung Hlaing's transition from military leader to "civilian" president five years after leading the coup that ousted the National League for Democracy (NLD) government led by State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint, who have been held in detention by the junta since Feb. 1, 2021. Stay up-to-date with the latest on #WhatsHappeningInMyanmar by subscribing to the Daily Briefing newsletter.⁠⁠⁠ Find DVB English News on X, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, TikTok, Bluesky and YouTube.

Aung Ko Ko, a peace building scholar-practitioner and the executive director of Mosaic Myanmar, joins us in the DVB Newsroom to discuss minority rights, inclusion, and social cohesion in the context of conflict and political transition. Watch Newsroom on DVB English News YouTube or Spotify. Listen on Apple Podcasts, YouTube Music, Audible, Amazon Music, or wherever you get podcasts. Stay up-to-date with the latest on #WhatsHappeningInMyanmar by subscribing to the Daily Briefing: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://english.dvb.no/newsletter/⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ Find DVB English News on X, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, TikTok, Bluesky and YouTube.

After seven years of construction delays, a pandemic, and a military coup, the $188 million Yangon-Dala Bridge finally opened on Feb. 6. Known officially as the Myanmar-Korea Friendship Bridge, the country's longest cable-stayed bridge connects the commercial capital Yangon to one of the region's poorest townships. Read more and see our photos. Stay up-to-date with the latest on #WhatsHappeningInMyanmar by subscribing to the Daily Briefing: ⁠⁠⁠https://english.dvb.no/newsletter/⁠⁠⁠ Find DVB English News on X, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, TikTok, Bluesky and YouTube. Follow us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Audible, Amazon Music, ⁠⁠⁠or wherever you get podcasts⁠⁠⁠.

Myanmar’s rivers are at risk of damming and mining activities, which has caused contamination and a threat to the livelihoods of riverine communities. Environmental activist Paul Sein Twa is the co-founder of the Karen Environmental Social Action Network (KESAN). He joins us in the DVB Newsroom to explain the work being done to protect Myanmar's rivers. Read our story and check out our photos from International Day of Action for Rivers in Karen State on March 14. Watch Newsroom on DVB English News YouTube or Spotify. Listen on Apple Podcasts, YouTube Music, Audible, Amazon Music, ⁠or wherever you get podcasts⁠. Stay up-to-date with the latest on #WhatsHappeningInMyanmar by subscribing to the Daily Briefing: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://english.dvb.no/newsletter/⁠⁠⁠ ⁠ Find DVB English News on X, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, TikTok, Bluesky and YouTube.

Independent election analyst Htin Kyaw Aye joins us in the DVB Newsroom to explain the results of Myanmar’s military-run elections, held from Dec. 28 to Jan. 25. As expected, the military-proxy Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) won a landslide victory and will lead the next administration in the capital Naypyidaw with no opposition parties in Myanmar's parliament. Watch Newsroom on DVB English News YouTube or Spotify. Listen on Apple Podcasts, YouTube Music, Audible, Amazon Music, or wherever you get podcasts. ⁠Read more⁠.

A new law may enable Senior General Min Aung Hlaing to retain full control over the Myanmar military while becoming president - five years after he led a military coup ousting Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) government. The 2008 Constitution outlines two separate roles for president and commander-in-chief of the armed forces. It was even written by the military to ensure it keeps control over the levers of power in government. But this didn't stop Min Aung Hlaing from overthrowing the NLD administration, which governed during Myanmar's touted "transition to democracy" from 2016-2021, and appointing himself to every leadership role in the military regime. He is now widely expected to be appointed Myanmar's president after military-run elections, called a "sham" by the U.N. and several countries, were completed on Jan. 25 with the military-proxy Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) to become the next administration in Naypyidaw. DVB English News explains. Stay up-to-date with the latest on #WhatsHappeningInMyanmar by subscribing to the Daily Briefing: ⁠⁠https://english.dvb.no/newsletter/⁠⁠ Find DVB English News on X, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, TikTok, Bluesky and YouTube. Follow us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Audible, Amazon Music, ⁠⁠or wherever you get podcasts⁠⁠.

Youth Line podcast host Pyartho brings us a story from Myanmar about a mother, wife, and assistant lecturer, who joined the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) in response to the military coup on Feb. 1, 2021. Stay tuned to Youth Line podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠. Find DVB English News on X, Facebook, Instagram, Bluesky, Threads & TikTok, Subscribe on YouTube. Follow us on YouTube Music, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Audible, Amazon Music, or ⁠⁠⁠⁠wherever you get podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Legal proceedings have been filed with a judiciary in Timor-Leste against Myanmar’s military under the principle of universal jurisdiction. Chin Human Rights Organization Executive Director Salai Za Uk Ling joins us in the Newsroom to explain the "irrefutable evidence" of war crimes and crimes against humanity that his team has collected after attacks carried out by the Myanmar military in Chin State.Watch Newsroom on DVB English News YouTube or Spotify. Listen on Apple Podcasts, YouTube Music, Audible, Amazon Music, or wherever you get podcasts. Read more.

During the Myanmar military coup on Feb. 1, 2021, a non-violent resistance movement was born. The Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) has been resisting the return to military rule in Myanmar over the last five years. Understand the story of the CDM and its members, who've sacrificed their lives, careers and families to pressure the military to return power to the people of Myanmar. Stay up-to-date with the latest on #WhatsHappeningInMyanmar by subscribing to the Daily Briefing: ⁠https://english.dvb.no/newsletter/⁠ Find DVB English News on X, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, TikTok, Bluesky and YouTube. Follow us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Audible, Amazon Music, ⁠or wherever you get podcasts⁠.

A US federal judge paused the termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for nearly 4,000 people from Myanmar who couldn’t return home after the 2021 military coup. TPS is a humanitarian program that allows foreign nationals from designated countries experiencing armed conflict, natural disasters, or other extraordinary crises to remain and work legally in the US. Simon Billeness is the executive director at Campaign for a New Myanmar. He joined us in the DVB Newsroom on Jan. 27. Watch Newsroom on DVB English News YouTube or Spotify. Listen on Apple Podcasts, YouTube Music, Audible, Amazon Music, or wherever you get podcasts.

The military’s Union Election Commission has released results confirming the Union Solidarity and Development Party won its elections. As expected, the military proxy USDP dominated all three phases of voting, which began on Dec. 28 and ended on Jan. 25. With the military’s allotted 25 per cent of all seats, this keeps the legislature under tight regime control. Read more. Watch the military proxy USDP to form next 'government' in Myanmar special report on DVB English News YouTube or Spotify. ⁠ Stay up-to-date with the latest on #WhatsHappeningInMyanmar by subscribing to the Daily Briefing: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://english.dvb.no/newsletter/⁠⁠⁠⁠ Find DVB English News on X, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, TikTok, Bluesky and YouTube. We're available wherever you get podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Why a doctor joined Myanmar’s Civil Disobedience Movement after the 2021 military coup. Linn Nizho, a doctor who works on the frontline in Karenni State, joined us in the DVB Newsroom to share her story. Watch Newsroom on DVB English News YouTube or Spotify. Listen on Apple Podcasts, YouTube Music, Audible, Amazon Music, ⁠or wherever you get podcasts⁠.

American journalist Collin Mayfield was embedded for one-and-a-half months with the People’s Defense Force (PDF) Zoland in Tedim Township, northern Chin State, when when he stepped on a landmine on Nov. 18. Mayfield shared his story with DVB from a hospital bed in India's Mizoram State capital Aizawl. Read more. Myanmar has become the world’s deadliest country for landmine and unexploded ordnance since the 2021 military coup with the highest number of landmine casualties over the last two years, according to the Landmine Monitor Report 2025. Stay up-to-date with the latest on #WhatsHappeningInMyanmar by subscribing to the Daily Briefing: ⁠https://english.dvb.no/newsletter/⁠ Find DVB English News on X, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, TikTok, Bluesky and YouTube. Follow us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Audible, Amazon Music, ⁠or wherever you get podcasts⁠.

Myanmar's 2025-26 elections, staged by the military, completed the first two rounds of voting in 202 townships on Dec. 28 and Jan. 11. The third and final phase of voting, in what the U.N. calls a "sham" election, will take place on Jan. 25 in 63 more townships (in 265 of Myanmar's 330 total). Without any parties opposing the miltary on the ballot, independent election analysts predict its proxy Union Solidarity and Development Party to return to power and form the next government. Stay up-to-date with the latest on #WhatsHappeningInMyanmar by subscribing to the Daily Briefing: ⁠⁠⁠https://english.dvb.no/newsletter/⁠⁠⁠ Find DVB English News on X, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, TikTok, Bluesky and YouTube. Follow us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Audible, Amazon Music, ⁠⁠⁠or wherever you get podcasts⁠⁠⁠.

Myanmar's military regime leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing promised a "free and fair" election during the start of voting in the 2025-26 elections on Dec. 28, but citizens are speaking out about fear, intimidation, and forced voter turnout. As the final two rounds of voting continues on Jan. 11 and Jan. 25, criticism and concerns over how ballot boxes containing advanced votes and ballots cast in the first round of voting were handled by the regime's Union Election Commission (UEC) have been shared with DVB. Preliminary results released by the UEC shows the military-proxy Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) winning a majority of the seats nationwide. The National League for Democracy (NLD) party, which defeated the USDP in back-to-back landslide election victories in 2015 and 2020 but ousted in the 2021 military coup, refused to re-register with the UEC in 2023 and was officially disbanded. Stay up-to-date with the latest on #WhatsHappeningInMyanmar by subscribing to the Daily Briefing newsletter as a free or paid member: ⁠⁠https://english.dvb.no/membership/⁠⁠ Find DVB English News on X, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, TikTok, Bluesky and YouTube. Follow us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Audible, Amazon Music, ⁠⁠or wherever you get podcasts⁠⁠.

Myanmar's 2025-26 elections, staged by the military, completed the first round of voting in 102 townships on Dec. 28. The second and final phases of voting, in what the U.N. calls a "sham" election, will take place on Jan. 11 and Jan. 25 in 163 other townships (in 265 of Myanmar's 330 total). Independent election observers refused to lend legitimacy to the military's polls, as they expect the military-proxy party to win. Preliminary results show the USDP winning most seats in parliament across the country. Stay up-to-date with the latest on #WhatsHappeningInMyanmar by subscribing to the Daily Briefing newsletter as a free or paid member: ⁠https://english.dvb.no/membership/⁠ Find DVB English News on X, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, TikTok, Bluesky and YouTube. Follow us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Audible, Amazon Music, ⁠or wherever you get podcasts⁠.

An anonymous voter in Yangon shared this story with DVB about her experience voting in the first phase of Myanmar's 2025-26 "sham" elections. The second and final phases of voting will take place on Jan. 11 and Jan. 25, according to the military regime's Union Election Commission (UEC), which has downplayed complaints from political parties, and independent candidates, stating that its polls were "transparent." The military-proxy Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), which lost to Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) party in the two previous elections in 2020 and 2015, won 88 out of 96 seats in the Pyithu Hluttaw and 10 out of 18 seats in the Amyotha Hluttaw on Dec. 28, according to preliminary results released by the UEC. Aung San Suu Kyi has been held in detention by the military since it staged a coup on Feb. 1, 2021. Her NLD party was disbanded by the UEC in 2023 for not re-registering even as the military has jailed its senior members and forced others underground or into exile to avoid arrest and prosecution. Stay up-to-date with the latest on #WhatsHappeningInMyanmar by subscribing to the Daily Briefing newsletter as a free or paid member: https://english.dvb.no/membership/ Find DVB English News on X, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, TikTok, Bluesky and YouTube. Follow us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Audible, Amazon Music, or wherever you get podcasts.

In 2025, Malaysia dramatically escalated immigration enforcement with Myanmar refugees say ing that uncertainty and fear now dominate their lives. James Bawi Thang Bik, the chairperson of the Alliance for Chin Refugees (ACR), joined us in the DVB Newsroom to discuss the situation faced by refugees and migrants from Myanmar living in Malaysia. Watch Newsroom on DVB English News YouTube or Spotify. Listen on Apple Podcasts, YouTube Music, Audible, Amazon Music, or wherever you get podcasts.

The Union Election Commission (UEC) has scheduled elections in 274 out of Myanmar’s 330 townships with voting to take place in three phases: on Dec. 28, Jan. 11, and Jan. 25, 2026. The National League for Democracy (NLD) party, which won landslide victories in the 2015 and 2020 elections deemed free and fair by international election observers, was dissolved by the UEC for not re-registering. Watch the Myanmar regime's 2025-26 elections special report on DVB English News YouTube or Spotify. Listen wherever you get podcasts.