Podcasts about Rakhine

In Rakhine State, conflict, cyclones and climate change have long forced men to leave their villages. In Doh Athan this week, we hear the stories of Rakhine women heading farming households, as rice production plummets and the threat of famine grows.

Cháy rừng ở Los Angeles có thể gây tốn kém nhất trong lịch sử Mỹ; TikTok cảnh báo về hậu quả của lệnh cấm ở Mỹ; Hộp đen của Jeju Air mất dữ liệu phút cuối trước khi máy bay rơi; LHQ: Cuộc không kích của quân đội Myanmar giết chết hàng chục người ở làng Rakhine; Đặc phái viên của Trump gặp Netanyahu

We look at what is happening on the ground with a Myanmar watcher. Synopsis: Join The Straits Times’ senior columnist Ravi Velloor, as he distils his experience from four decades of covering the Asian continent. In this episode, Ravi speaks with Pichai Chuensuksawadi, former group editor of Bangkok Post and observer of Myanmar affairs. They discuss the deteriorating situation in Myanmar, the role of outside players in the conflict, prospects of the junta holding elections and the fate of democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi. Highlights (click/tap above): 1:50 Myanmar military won’t fall in 2025 5:00 Chinese pressure on Rakhine 9:00 Elections on the junta’s mind 11:00 Thai diplomacy 15:00 Where’s Aung San Suu Kyi? Host: Ravi Velloor (velloor@sph.com.sg) Read Ravi's columns: https://str.sg/3xRP Follow Ravi on X: https://twitter.com/RaviVelloor Register for Asian Insider newsletter: https://str.sg/stnewsletters Produced and edited by: Fa’izah Sani Executive producer: Ernest Luis Follow Asian Insider Podcast on Fridays here: Channel: https://str.sg/JWa7 Apple Podcasts: https://str.sg/JWa8 Spotify: https://str.sg/JWaX Website: http://str.sg/stpodcasts Feedback to: podcast@sph.com.sg --- Follow more ST podcast channels: All-in-one ST Podcasts channel: https://str.sg/wvz7 ST Podcast website: http://str.sg/stpodcasts ST Podcasts YouTube: https://str.sg/4Vwsa --- Get The Straits Times' app, which has a dedicated podcast player section: The App Store: https://str.sg/icyB Google Play: https://str.sg/icyX --- #STAsianInsiderSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We look at what is happening on the ground with a Myanmar watcher. Synopsis: Join The Straits Times’ senior columnist Ravi Velloor, as he distils his experience from four decades of covering the Asian continent. In this episode, Ravi speaks with Pichai Chuensuksawadi, former group editor of Bangkok Post and observer of Myanmar affairs. They discuss the deteriorating situation in Myanmar, the role of outside players in the conflict, prospects of the junta holding elections and the fate of democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi. Highlights (click/tap above): 1:50 Myanmar military won’t fall in 2025 5:00 Chinese pressure on Rakhine 9:00 Elections on the junta’s mind 11:00 Thai diplomacy 15:00 Where’s Aung San Suu Kyi? Host: Ravi Velloor (velloor@sph.com.sg) Read Ravi's columns: https://str.sg/3xRP Follow Ravi on X: https://twitter.com/RaviVelloor Register for Asian Insider newsletter: https://str.sg/stnewsletters Produced and edited by: Fa’izah Sani Executive producer: Ernest Luis Follow Asian Insider Podcast on Fridays here: Channel: https://str.sg/JWa7 Apple Podcasts: https://str.sg/JWa8 Spotify: https://str.sg/JWaX Website: http://str.sg/stpodcasts Feedback to: podcast@sph.com.sg --- Follow more ST podcast channels: All-in-one ST Podcasts channel: https://str.sg/wvz7 ST Podcast website: http://str.sg/stpodcasts ST Podcasts YouTube: https://str.sg/4Vwsa --- Get The Straits Times' app, which has a dedicated podcast player section: The App Store: https://str.sg/icyB Google Play: https://str.sg/icyX --- #STAsianInsiderSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Three weeks after the fall of the Bashar Assad dictatorship, the only fighting in Syria remains between Arab and Kurdish militias—holding grim potential for destabilization of the democratic revolution. Kurds had been persecuted and even denied citizenship under the Assad regime, but the invasion of their autonomous territory of Rojava by the Turkish-backed rebels of the Syrian National Army (SNA) drove them into a paradoxical tactical alliance with the dictatorship. The tragic situation in Burma's Rakhine state mirrors this disturbing reality. The Muslim Rohingya people had been persecuted, denied citizenship and finally targeted in a campaign of genocide by the military, but are now facing attacks by the Buddhist-supremacist rebels of the Arakan Army—driving some Rohingya into a paradoxical tactical alliance with the military junta. In Episode 258 of the CounterVortex podcast, Bill Weinberg offers this comparison in the hope that the peoples of Burma can unite across religious lines to defeat the junta, and that Syrians can find a way toward co-existence in the new revolutionary order and avoid ethnic war. Listen on SoundCloud or via Patreon. https://www.patreon.com/countervortex Production by Chris Rywalt We ask listeners to support us at one of our three tiers: Become a Basic Subscriber for just $1 per weekly podcast ($5 per month) via Patreon, or a Special Supporter for $2 per podcast ($10 per month), or a Major Rant Enabler for $5 per podcast ($25 per month). We now have 71 paid subscribers. If you appreciate our work, please become Number 72!

UNRWA chief says Israel has broken all rules of war in Gaza The UN's Philippe Lazzarini has condemned Israel's invasion of Gaza, stating that "all rules of war have been broken." The 14-month Israel's Gaza war sees escalating civilian casualties, with schools and hospitals targeted, he said. Urging a long-overdue ceasefire, Lazzarini calls for immediate action to safeguard civilians. He warned that the "world must not become numb." Israel targets homes in southern Lebanon, violating ceasefire In a sharp escalation, the Israeli military has demolished homes in southern Lebanon, defying the November 27 ceasefire. With 287 reported violations, the toll stands at 31 dead and 37 injured, official data shows. Strikes hit Kfarkela in Nabatieh and Hanin in Bint Jbeil, fueling regional tensions, Lebanon's National News Agency (NNA) has reported. Putin threatens 'destruction' on Ukraine after Kazan drone attack Russian President Vladimir Putin has vowed "massive destruction" against Ukraine after a drone strike hit a high-rise in Kazan, over 1,000 kilometres from the frontier. The escalating aerial attacks deepen tensions in the nearly three-year conflict. While Ukraine remains silent on the attack, Putin warns retaliation will bring "regret" to those targeting Russia. Putin has previously threatened to target the centre of Kiev with a hypersonic ballistic missile in response to Ukrainian attacks on Russian territory. Myanmar conflict forces more Rohingya to flee to Bangladesh In the last two months, 60,000 Rohingya have fled Myanmar's conflict-hit Rakhine state to Bangladesh, despite tightened border measures, according to an official. Bangladesh, already hosting 1.2 million refugees, urges international collaboration to stem the crisis. Officials highlight corruption at border crossings and stress Myanmar's need to resolve internal issues through dialogue. Regional talks continue, with no immediate resolution in sight. Google faces antitrust action in Japan Japan's competition watchdog is poised to find Google guilty of antitrust violations, according to Nikkei Asia. The Japan Fair Trade Commission is expected to issue a cease and desist order, following investigations into Google's search services. It comes amid growing global scrutiny of Google's dominance, with similar actions taken in Europe and the US. The US Department of Justice recently argued that Google should divest its Chrome browser to break its search monopoly.

New reports from this week say that one of the most powerful ethnic minority armed groups battling Myanmar’s army has claimed the capture of the last army outpost in the strategic western town of Maungdaw, gaining full control of the 271-kilometre-long border with Bangladesh. Rakhine has become a focal point for Myanmar’s nationwide civil war, in which pro-democracy guerrillas and ethnic minority armed forces seeking autonomy battle the country’s military rulers, who took power in 2021 after the army ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi. This follows just less than a week after a second major Myanmar ethnic rebel group says it is ready for China-mediated talks with the junta to end more than a year of renewed fighting that has ravaged areas along the Chinese border. On this episode of Morning Shot, we’ll be speaking with Dr Felix Tan, an independent political observer who lectures on International Relations and has published works on Myanmar shares his insights on what’s fuelling Myanmar’s civil war and whether there’s a realistic path to reconciliation and stability for the country. Presented by: Emaad AkhtarProduced & Edited by: Yeo Kai Ting (ykaiting@sph.com.sg)Photo credits: Wa Lone / ReutersSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Rozejm między Izraelem a Hezbollahem - już drugiego dnia po jego zawarciu doszło do jego naruszenia przez obie strony, ale w zasadzie przerwanie ognia się utrzymuje. Co zmienia ten rozejm w wojnie na Bliskim Wschodzie? Jak został przyjęty w Libanie i jak na rozwój wypadków może wpłynąć ofensywa rebeliantów w Syrii? Niepowodzenie programu relokacji migrantów z Włoch do Albanii. Po półtora miesiąca jego funkcjonowania wszyscy migranci zostali przeniesieni z ośrodków w Albanii z powrotem do Włoch. Czy gwiazda Giorgii Meloni gaśnie? Tysiące górników w RPA nie chce opuścić nielegalnych kopalni, z których wydobywają złoto. Rząd odmawia im pomocy. Dlaczego nielegalne górnictwo w RPA jest tak wielkim problemem? Ponad dwóm milionom ludzi grozi głód w związku z rebelią w stanie Rakhine w Birmie. W centrum tragedii muzułmanie, którzy od lat padają ofiarą prześladowań ze strony lokalnych buddystów. W Busan w Korei Płd. szczyt w sprawie ograniczenia produkcji plastiku. Czy to kolejny przykład greenwashingu, czy realna próba zmierzenia się z problemem zanieczyszczenia ziemi przez plastik? A także: kiedy podejmowanie prób ma sens i dla kogo ma sens? Rozkład jazdy:  (02:17) Jagoda Grondecka o rozejmie między Izraelem a Hezbollahem (22:04) Piotr Podemski o nieudanej relokacji migrantów z Włoch do Albanii (45:33) Świat z boku - Grzegorz Dobiecki o podejmowaniu prób (52:22) Podziękowania (59:18) Adrian Bąk o nielegalnym górnictwie w RPA (1:19:30) Michał Lubina o rebelii i głodzie w Birmie (1:45:45) Tomasz Rożek o szczycie w Busan (2:13:51) Do usłyszenia --------------------------------------------- Raport o stanie świata to audycja, która istnieje dzięki naszym Patronom, dołącz się do zbiórki ➡️ ⁠https://patronite.pl/DariuszRosiak⁠ Subskrybuj newsletter Raportu o stanie świata ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠➡️ ⁠https://dariuszrosiak.substack.com⁠ Koszulki i kubki Raportu ➡️ ⁠https://patronite-sklep.pl/kolekcja/raport-o-stanie-swiata/⁠ [Autopromocja]

Episode #285: “We can't live under the mercy of Rakhine or the Burmese. Would you give your personal guarantee that the atrocities that have been committed over the decades, and centuries, for that matter, will not happen again?”As a Rohingya, Sujauddin Karimuddin has, from a young age, witnessed the systemic and growing discrimination, violence, and displacement inflicted upon his community.As violence escalated, he fled Myanmar, becoming part of the growing Rohingya diaspora. Then came the terrible anti-Rohingya violence of 2012 and 2017, which culminated in entire villages being burned, families torn apart, many deaths and mass displacement.Sujauddin's journey as a refugee brought him into contact with international human rights organizations, and he quickly emerged as a vocal advocate for the Rohingya cause. He dedicated himself to raising global awareness about the genocide and the conditions faced by the Rohingya in both Myanmar and refugee camps.Through his advocacy, Sujauddin highlighted the importance of documenting the atrocities, ensuring that the voices of the Rohingya were heard on the world stage. He has worked tirelessly to connect with policymakers, activists, and humanitarian organizations, pushing for justice, recognition, and the eventual repatriation of his people with full rights and dignity. Skeptical of NUG's overtures, to Sujauddin believes that the Rohingya's safety can only be guaranteed through a fully independent state.“This is the right moment to side with the Rohingya people, because these people have been left neglected for centuries. It's well overdue time for them to have a place where they can they can live safely and call home. And that is of course Rakhine, where they are relocated from!”

Clashes erupt after football match between Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv. Dozens arrested. UN warns that Myanmar's Rakhine state faces famine. The US state of Nevada is projected as another Trump win in the US, and new DNA evidence rewrites the stories of Pompeii victims.

Ukraine nuclear security situation ‘highly challenging' warns UN atomic watchdog chiefMyanmar's Rakhine state is ‘a famine in the making': UNDPCountries pledge to tackle childhood violence affecting one billion youngsters: WHO 

Military regime forces are building fences and evacuating nearby villages to defend Sittwe, the capital of Rakhine state. But they're not allowing people to leave - even their own staff. One resident said “People are basically hostages.” This week's story is by a Doh Athan freelance journalist.

Myanmar's civil war has escalated to include systematic atrocities, including attacks targeting civilians, torture and sexual violence, according to a new report on Tuesday from the UN human rights office.Since the military seized power on 1 February 2021, at least 5,350 civilians have been killed, and more than 3.3 million displaced. Over half the population is living below the poverty line mainly due to violence perpetrated by the national armed forces.The situation is particularly alarming in Rakhine state, the site of a brutal crackdown on the Muslim Rohingya community by the military in 2017, leading to the exodus of nearly 750,000 community members into neighboring Bangladesh.UN News's Mehboob Khan spoke to UN refugee agency (UNHCR) Global Spokesperson Babar Baloch and asked him to sum up the situation in the country. 

Episode Description Episode Description Sign up to receive this Unreached of the Day podcast sent to you:  https://unreachedoftheday.org/resources/podcast/ People Group Summary: https://joshuaproject.net/people_groups/13207              #PrayforZERO is a podcast Sponsor.         https://prayforzero.com/ Take your place in history! We could be the generation to translate God's Word into every language. YOUR prayers can make this happen.  Take your first step and sign the Prayer Wall to receive the weekly Pray For Zero Journal:  https://prayforzero.com/prayer-wall/#join Pray for the largest Frontier People Groups (FPG): Visit JoshuaProject.net/frontier#podcast provides links to podcast recordings of the prayer guide for the 31 largest FPGs.  Go31.org/FREE provides the printed prayer guide for the largest 31 FPGs along with resources to support those wanting to enlist others in prayer for FPGs

Weekly Ethnic language program (Rakhine) - Yoe Hla Thandar.This item has files of the following types: Archive BitTorrent, Item Tile, Metadata, PNG, Spectrogram, VBR MP3

- Truyền thông khu vực hôm nay (27/8) đưa tin Quân đội Myanmar được cho sắp mất quyền kiểm soát bang Rakhine, phía Tây Myanmar và tiếp giáp với Bangladesh, đánh dấu một trong những tổn thất quân sự lớn nhất kể từ sự kiện chính biến diễn ra vào tháng 2/2021. Chủ đề : Quân đội, Myanmar --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/vov1tintuc/support

If you had to flee conflict suddenly, where would you go? Some families from southern Rakhine have seen little option but to flee to Yangon. But they're finding life as urban IDPs in the big city very difficult. This week's story is by a freelance journalist.

It's been difficult to get accurate information on the conflict in northern Rakhine. But Doh Athan has heard first-hand accounts from Buthidaung residents on what happened when the AA captured the town in May. This week's story is by a Frontier Myanmar journalist

"The Rakhine National Party's ANP registration has been cancelled. Operation towards Mandalay" Myanmar Nway Oo Chronicle 2nd Jul 2024 (Moemaka Article) Nway Oo Lay Pyae.This item has files of the following types: Archive BitTorrent, Item Tile, Metadata, PNG, Spectrogram, VBR MP3

A United Kingdom-based rights group has called for global action over what it called an “intensifying genocide” against Myanmar's mostly Muslim Rohingya minority as fighting between the Southeast Asian country's military and a powerful ethnic armed group escalated in the western Rakhine State.

Exiled from a country plagued by decades of civil war, allegations of genocide and ethnic cleansing, and limits on basic democratic rights, Maung Zarni, an academic, human rights activist, and Nobel Peace prize nominee, explains why the Rohingya cannot rely on protection from within the country. “I'm Burmese myself,” he tells host Ali Latifi. “We have proven incapable of maintaining peace and stability in our own country for the last 75 years”.  What's Unsaid is a bi-weekly podcast by The New Humanitarian, where we explore open secrets and uncomfortable conversations around the world's conflicts and disasters.   

*) Israel kills 21 Palestinians in Gaza on 3rd day of Eid al Adha https://www.trtworld.com/middle-east/live-blog-israel-kills-21-palestinians-in-gaza-on-3rd-day-of-eid-al-adha-18174695 As Muslims around the world mark the final day of Eid al Adha, Israeli air strikes on Gaza killed at least 21 Palestinians the day before. According to medical sources, Israeli warplanes struck three homes in the central city of Deir al Balah, killing 13 people and injuring several others. Meanwhile in central Gaza, an Israeli drone strike killed two civilians. And several others were reported killed and wounded in an air strike on a house in the Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood of Gaza City. *) Over 3,500 children face hunger due to Israeli siege — Gaza officials https://www.trtworld.com/middle-east/over-3500-children-face-hunger-due-to-israeli-siege-gaza-officials-18174549 Local authorities in Gaza have raised the alarm about over 3,500 children at risk of hunger due to Israel's tightened siege and the closure of aid crossings. The Gaza Government Media Office warned that the enclave is "rapidly" heading towards famine, accusing Israel and the US of conspiring to block humanitarian aid. The statement emphasised that 3,500 children face death from malnutrition due to the critical lack of nutritional supplements and vaccines now prohibited by Israel. *) Pyongyang decked up as Putin makes first visit to North Korea in 24 years https://www.trtworld.com/content/article/pyongyang-decked-up-as-putin-makes-first-visit-to-north-korea-in-24-years-18174689 Russian President Vladimir Putin has arrived in North Korea, Russian news agencies reported. This visit is Putin's first to the country in 24 years and aims to bolster cooperation amid US-led sanctions and escalating tensions with Washington. Earlier on Wednesday, Putin was welcomed at Pyongyang's airport by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, highlighting the importance of their diplomatic engagement. *) 'Nowhere to flee' for Rohingya in western Myanmar conflict — UN https://www.trtworld.com/asia/nowhere-to-flee-for-rohingya-in-western-myanmar-conflict-un-18174529 Tens of thousands of Rohingya in Myanmar's Rakhine region are facing a dire situation, the UN human rights chief has reported. The Arakan Army issued a warning to evacuate the town of Maungdaw, primarily inhabited by Rohingya, ahead of an impending offensive. Speaking at the UN Human Rights Council, Volker Turk expressed deep concern over the plight of the Rohingya. He emphasised that they have nowhere to flee amidst the intensifying conflict in western Myanmar. And finally… *) Türkiye open Euro 2024 with 3-1 victory over Georgia https://www.trtworld.com/turkiye/turkiye-open-euro-2024-campaign-with-3-1-victory-over-georgia-18174621 In their Euro 2024 debut, Türkiye secured a 3-1 victory over Georgia in a closely contested match highlighted by two spectacular Turkish goals. Mert Muldur gave Türkiye a first-half lead with a thunderous volley from the edge of the box before Georgia equalised in the 32nd minute. But then, 19-year-old Arda Guler, coming into the tournament fresh from a run of goals for Real Madrid, scored after 65 minutes – an unstoppable shot into the top corner. And Kerem Akturkoglu sealed the deal, passing into an empty net in added time to end the game at 3-1.

Content warning for discussion of genocide, torture, mutilation, rape, and slavery Hey, Hi, Hello, this is the History Wizard and welcome back for Day 14 of Have a Day w/ The History Wizard. Thank you to everyone who tuned in for Day 13 last week, and especially thank you to everyone who rated and/or reviewed the podcast. I hope you all learned something last week and I hope the same for this week. This week marks the 5th part of our mini series of currently ongoing genocides and humanitarian crises. Episode 2 was on Palestine, Episode 11 was on Congo, episode 12 was on Sudan, episode 13 was on Xinjiang, and today's episode will talk about the genocide of the Rohingya people of Myanmar. It's officially the end of week 2! We made it. Congratulations one and all on surviving 2 weeks worth of weeks. As a gift for you all we're going to visit the Alchemist's Table. Today;s libation is called Prohibition Sweet Tooth. It's 1.5 ounces each of Redemption Bourbon and Creme de Cacao, followed by .75 oz of Frangelico. Shake well and pour over ice. Officially the Rohingya genocide began around 2016 and continues to this day, but as we know from every other episode we've had so far, genocide's don't just pop up out of nowhere all of the sudden. There is context, there is a roadmap of hindsight that we can follow back to, if not a starting point at least a starting line. So, first, let's talk about Myanmar. There have been homonid species living on Myanmar for about 750,000 years, first in the form of Homo erectus and then Homo sapiens starting around 25,000 years ago. Then a whole lot of history happened that, while fascinating and important, isn't strictly relevant to what we're going to discuss today. Starting on January 1, 1886 Myanmar (then called Burma) was officially annexed by the British Empire under the control of the British East India Company. Burma would remain under British rule until 1948. Burma was officially declared an independent state by an act of Parliament, specifically the Burma Independence Act 1947. Burma then remained under a civilian government until 1962, at which point it was overthrown in a coup detat and Burma (which became Myanmar officially in 1989) has been under military rule since then. Between 1962 and 1974, Myanmar was ruled by a revolutionary council headed by the general. Almost all aspects of society (business, media, production) were nationalised or brought under government control under the Burmese Way to Socialism, which combined Soviet-style nationalisation and central planning. A long series of anti-government protests resulted in a popular uprising in 1988, sometimes called the 8888 Uprising. This would lead directly to the renaming of the country from Burma to Myanmar and the country's first free, multiparty elections in 30 years. So, as you can see Myanmar has had an interesting and contentious history born of a desire for a strong sense of national unity, stability, and growth. It was the instability of the civilian government, the lack of growth, the skyrocketing crime rates, and the fear of the disintegration of Burma into several smaller nations that would lead to the 1962 coup after all. When your country has such a strong, almost rabid desire for unity and strength and national identity it always goes hand in hand with a desire for a homogenous society. The Germans in World War 2 felt it. The Ottomans in World War 1 felt it. It's what nations who fear their own collapse DO. They look for the divisive elements, the ones who don't fit the majority mold and they say “Hey, these people won't fall in line. They're dividing out country, threatening it with their different religion, culture, values, etc. We can solve all of our problems, save our country if we just… get rid of them”. Myanmar is a Buddhist majority country, by an overwhelming margin. According to the 2014 Myanmar census 90% of the country's population (of about 56 million) is Buddhist. 6.3% is Christian and just over 2% is Muslim. The Rohingya people, the subjects of our episode for today and Mulsim, so let's dive back and take a look at the history of Muslim persecution in Myanmar. The first Muslim documented in Burmese history (recorded in the Glass Palace Chronicle) was Byat Wi during the reign of Mon, a Thaton king, circa 1050 AD. The two sons of Byat Wi's brother Byat Ta, known as Shwe Byin brothers, were executed as children either because of their Islamic faith, or because they refused forced labor. Throughout the premodern era various restrictions were placed on Muslim communities in Burma. The Burmese king Bayinnaung banned Islamic ritual slaughter, thereby prohibiting Muslims from consuming halal meals of goats and chicken. He also banned Eid al-Adha and Qurbani, regarding killing animals in the name of religion as a cruel custom. Burma having largely adopted Buddhism by the 12th century CE. Although, in a strange, cruel, and somewhat ironic twist King Bodawpaya from 1782–1819 arrested four prominent Burmese Muslim Imams from Myedu and killed them in Ava, the capital, after they refused to eat pork. According to the Myedu Muslim and Burma Muslim version, Bodawpaya later apologized for the killings and recognised the Imams as saints. During the "Burma for Burmese" campaign in the late 1930s, a violent demonstration took place in Surti Bazaar, a Muslim area. When the police, who were ethnically Indian (there was a lot of anti-Indian sentiment in Burma in the 1930s, and because most Indian people living in Burma were Muslim, this also affected Muslim Burmese people), tried to break up the demonstration, three monks were injured. Images of monks being injured by ethnically Indian policemen were circulated by Burmese newspapers, provoking riots. Muslim properties, including shops and houses were looted. According to official sources, 204 Muslims were killed and over 1,000 were injured. 113 mosques were damaged. Panglong, a Chinese Muslim town in British Burma, was entirely destroyed by the Japanese invaders in the Japanese invasion of Burma in World War 2. And, after the 1962 coup all Muslim troops were expelled from the Army.  And, of course, we need to talk about the 1997 Mandalay Riots. Mandalay is the second largest city in Myanmar. a mob of 1,000–1,500 Buddhist monks and others shouted anti-Muslim slogans as they targeted mosques, shop-houses, and vehicles that were in the vicinity of mosques for destruction. Looting, the burning of religious books, acts of sacrilege, and vandalizing Muslim-owned establishments were also common. At least three people were killed and around 100 monks arrested. The unrest in Mandalay allegedly began after reports of an attempted rape of a girl by Muslim men, though there's no way to know if that story is true or not. In 2001, anti-Muslim pamphlets, most notably The Fear of Losing One's Race, were widely distributed by monks. Many Muslims feel that this exacerbated the anti-Muslim feelings that had been provoked by the destruction of the Buddhas of Bamiyan in Afghanistan. (The Buddhas are two giant statues in the Bamiyan Valley of Afghanistan that daye from about the 6th century CE, they have long been considered a holy site by Buddhists and they were destroyed by the Talbian in 2001). And that's why on 15 May 2001, anti-Muslim riots broke out in Taungoo, Pegu division, resulting in the deaths of about 200 Muslims, in the destruction of 11 mosques and the setting ablaze of over 400 houses. On 15 May, the first day of the anti-Muslim uprisings, about 20 Muslims who were praying in the Han Tha mosque were killed and some were beaten to death by the pro-junta forces. Now, something that we need to discuss before I forget to is that since 1982 the Rohingya have been denied voting rights and citizenship within Myanmar thanks to the 1982 Citizenship Law. The law created three categories of citizenship: the first category applied to ethnic Burmans and members of the Kachin, Kayah, Karen, Mon, Arakan Buddhists, Shan, and any other ethnic group present in Myanmar prior to 1823 (though they did not include Rohingya Muslims, rendering them stateless), granted them full citizenship. The second category granted partial “associate” citizenship to the children of mixed marriages where one parents fell into the first category, as well as to individuals who had lived in Myanmar for five consecutive years, or to individuals who lived in Myanmar for eight out of the ten years prior to independence. Associate citizens could earn an income, but could not serve in political office. The third category applied to the offspring of immigrants who arrived in Myanmar during the period of British colonial rule. When we look at the state of Myanmar during the 20th century we can very clearly see Levels 3 and 4 of the Pyramid of Hate. The Pyramid of Hate was created in the mid aughts and was based on the Alport Scale of Prejudice created by psychologist Gordon Alport in the 1950s. Simply put the five levels, going from bottom to top are thoughts, words, discriminatory policy, violence towards individuals because of their membership to the group and violence against the cultural markers of the group, and finally genocide. Myanmar, very obviously has and had discriminatory policy and violence towards individuals and their cultural markers. Massacres, riots, burning Qurans and mosques all fit under level 4. But, of course, things can and did get worse. There was the 2012 Rakhine State riots. Sectarian violence erupted between the Rakhine ethnic group and the Rohingya and ended with most of the Rohingya population of Sittwe, the capital of the Rakhine State being expelled. Over the course of the riots that lasted most of June and erupted again in October a little over 160 people were killed and over 100,000 Rohingya were displaced. We are now in our time of rapid escalation of violence as the next major anti Rohingya event would occur in March of 2013. But before we talk about the 2013 riots we need to talk about the 969 Movement. The 969 is a violently Islamophobic Buddhist Nationalist organization founded and run by Ashin Wirathu. Time for a slight diversion for a fun fact: The three digits of 969 "symbolize the virtues of the Buddha, Buddhist practices and the Buddhist community". The first 9 stands for the nine special attributes of the Buddha and the 6 for the six special attributes of his Dharma, or Buddhist Teachings, and the last 9 represents the nine special attributes of Buddhist Sangha (monastic community). Those special attributes are the Three Jewels of the Buddha. Wirathu claims that he does not advocate for violence against Muslims and that all he wants is peace, and yet in a Time magazine article he had this to say: "You can be full of kindness and love, but you cannot sleep next to a mad dog", Wirathu said, referring to Muslims. "If we are weak", he said, "our land will become Muslim". The 2013 riots were particularly brutal. One incident involved several Muslim teenagers dragging a Buddhist man off of his bike and setting him on fire. As well as the deadliest incident of the riot which occurred when a Buddhist mob attacked and torched the Mingalar Zayone Islamic Boarding School. While outnumbered security forces stood by, rioters armed with machetes, metal pipes, chains, and stones killed 32 teenage students and four teachers. Now, while 2016 would be the “official” start of the genocide we would be remiss if we skipped over the 2015 refugee crisis. In 2015, hundreds of thousands of Rohingyas in Myanmar and Bangladesh fled from religious persecution and continued denial of basic rights in their home countries by means of boat travel, often through previously existing smuggling routes among the Southeast Asian waters. Many Rohingyas fled to Indonesia and Malaysia, which both adopted a stance open to acceptance of the Rohingya refugees still at sea in mid-May. And now we're at the genocide itself, though before we do that, let's take a look at that the US State Department had to say about Myanmar and Rakhine shortly before the shit hit the fan. The situation in Rakhine State is grim, in part due to a mix of long-term historical tensions between the Rakhine and Rohingya communities, socio-political conflict, socio-economic underdevelopment, and a long-standing marginalisation of both Rakhine and Rohingya by the Government of Burma. The World Bank estimates Rakhine State has the highest poverty rate in Burma (78 per cent) and is the poorest state in the country. The lack of investment by the central government has resulted in poor infrastructure and inferior social services, while lack of rule of law has led to inadequate security conditions. Members of the Rohingya community in particular reportedly face abuses by the Government of Burma, including those involving torture, unlawful arrest and detention, restricted movement, restrictions on religious practice, and discrimination in employment and access to social services. In 2012, the intercommunal conflict led to the death of nearly 200 Rohingya and the displacement of 140,000 people. Throughout 2013–2015 isolated incidents of violence against Rohingya individuals continued to take place. In 2016 a Rohingya resistance group known as Harakah al-Yaqin formed and attacked several border police posts leaving 9 officers dead and looting as many munitions as they could. In response to this the government of Myanmar immediately began cracking down on all Rohingya people as quickly and viscously as they could. In the initial operation, dozens of people were killed, and many were arrested. Casualties increased as the crackdown continued. Arbitrary arrest, extrajudicial killings, gang rapes, brutalities against civilians, and looting were carried out. Media reports stated hundreds of Rohingya people had been killed by December 2016, and many had fled Myanmar as refugees to take shelter in the nearby areas of Bangladesh. Those who fled Myanmar to escape persecution reported that women had been gang raped, men were killed, houses were torched, and young children were thrown into burning houses. Boats carrying Rohingya refugees on the Naf River were often gunned down by the Burmese military. In a report published in March 2024, the IIMM stated the military had in a "systematic and coordinated" manner "spread material designed to instil fear and hatred of the Rohingya minority". The report found military was used dozens of seemingly unrelated Facebook pages to spread hate speech against the Rohingya prior before the 2017 Rohingya genocide. This is similar in intent to the use of radio stations to spread constant anti Tutsi propaganda during the Rwandan genocide, though obviously as information technology advances methods get more sophisticated. Though I hesitate to call Facebook sophisticated.. In August 2018, a study estimated that more than 24,000 Rohingya people were killed by the Burmese military and local Buddhists since the "clearance operations" which had started on 25 August 2017. The study also estimated that over 18,000 Rohingya Muslim women and girls were raped, 116,000 Rohingyans were beaten, and 36,000 Rohingyans were thrown into fires. It was also reported that at least 6,700 to 7,000 Rohingya people including 730 children were killed in the first month alone since the crackdown started. In September 2018, the U.N. Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar released a report stating that at least 392 Rohingya villages in Rakhine State had been razed to the ground since 25 August 2017. Earlier, Human Rights Watch in December 2017 said it had found that 354 Rohingya villages in Rakhine state were burnt down and destroyed by the Myanmar military. In November 2017, both the UN officials and the Human Rights Watch reported that the Armed Forces of Myanmar had committed widespread gang rapes and other forms of sexual violence against the Rohingya Muslim women and girls for the prior three months. HRW stated that the gang rapes and sexual violence were committed as part of the military's ethnic cleansing campaign while Pramila Patten, the United Nations Special Representative of the Secretary General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, said that the Rohingya women and girls were made the "systematic" target of rapes and sexual violence because of their ethnic identity and religion. In February 2018, it was reported that the Burmese military bulldozed and flattened the burnt Rohingya villages and mass graves in order to destroy the evidence of atrocities committed. These villages were inhabited by the Rohingya people before they were burnt down by the Burmese military during the 2017 crackdown. Since the 25 August incident, Myanmar blocked media access and the visits of international bodies to Rakhine State. Rakhine State has been called an information black hole. According to the Mission report of OHCHR (released on 11 October 2017 by the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights), the Burmenese military began a "systematic" process of driving hundreds of thousands of Rohingya from Myanmar in early August 2017. The report noted that "prior to the incidents and crackdown of 25 August, a strategy was pursued to": Arrest and arbitrarily detain male Rohingyas between the ages of 15–40 years; Arrest and arbitrarily detain Rohingya opinion-makers, leaders and cultural and religious personalities; Initiate acts to deprive Rohingya villagers of access to food, livelihoods and other means of conducting daily activities and life; Commit repeated acts of humiliation and violence prior to, during and after 25 August, to drive out Rohingya villagers en masse through incitement to hatred, violence, and killings, including by declaring the Rohingyas as Bengalis and illegal settlers in Myanmar; Instill deep and widespread fear and trauma – physical, emotional and psychological, in the Rohingya victims via acts of brutality, namely killings, disappearances, torture, and rape and other forms of sexual violence. In addition to the massive and horrific amounts of violence that are occuring, even now, inside Myanmar there is also the refugee crisis we mentioned earlier. There are over 700,000 Rohingya people who have been displaced from their homes and are living in refugee camps in surrounding countries. Most fled to Bangladesh while others escaped to India, Thailand, Malaysia, and other parts of South and Southeast Asia. On 12 September 2018, the OHCHR Independent Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar published its report to the United Nations Human Rights Council. Following 875 interviews with victims and eyewitnesses since 2011, it concluded that "the [Burmese] military has consistently failed to respect international human rights law and the international humanitarian law principles of distinction, proportionality and precaution." Even before the most recent incident of mass Rohingya displacement began in 2011, the report found that the restrictions on travel, birth registration, and education resulting from Rohingya statelessness violated the Rohingya people's human rights. During the mass displacement of almost 725,000 Rohingya by August 2018 to neighbouring Bangladesh, as a result of persecution by the Tatmadaw, the report recorded "gross human rights violations and abuses" such as mass rape, murder, torture, and imprisonment. It also accused the Tatmadaw of crimes against humanity, genocide, and ethnic cleansing. The mission report recommended that six Burmese generals in the Tatmadaw stand trial in an international tribune for atrocities committed against the Rohingya. Despite all this the UN refuses to do anything substantive. Instead they are still trying to cooperate with the Tatmadaw and convince them to stop committing genocide. The UN has always been a useless tool of appeasement, Western imperialism, and white supremacy that refuses to hold anyone accountable. Of course, if the UN held genocidal regimes accountable they'd have to arrest the entire permanent Security Council so, the lack of accountability isn't surprising. It's why cops don't arrest other cops. You may have noticed that the dates in this episode stop after 2018, you also might remember that Myanmar has been called an information black hole. The genocide is still ongoing, nothing has gotten better and it's probably gotten worse, but getting verifiable information out of Myanmar is all but impossible at this point. Keep Myanmar in your sight. That's it for this week folks. No new reviews, so let's get right into the outro. Have a Day! w/ The History Wizard is brought to you by me, The History Wizard. If you want to see/hear more of me you can find me on Tiktok @thehistorywizard or on Instagram @the_history_wizard. Please remember to rate, review, and subscribe to Have a Day! On your pod catcher of choice. The more you do, the more people will be able to listen and learn along with you. Thank you  for sticking around until the end and, as always, Have a Day, and Free Rakhine.    

Da quando è iniziato il conflitto tra Hamas e Israele, il confine a Nord è sempre stato oggetto di attenzione per il rischio escalation. Ora la conferma è arrivata dalle alte sfere militari: il capo di stato maggiore israeliano Herzi Halevi ha dichiarato che Tel Aviv è pronta a un’offensiva militare di terra lungo il confine settentrionale con il Libano. Ne parliamo con Rolla Scolari, giornalista di Sky Tg24, Anna Momigliano, corrispondente di Haaretz dall’Italia, e con Matthieu Karam, giornalista di L'Orient le jour.È di poche ore fa la notizia della morte di dozzine di civili torturati in un villaggio nel Rakhine, in Myanmar. Con Massimo Morello, autore di "Burma Blue" (Rosenberg & Sellier), facciamo il punto sul conflitto civile che da tre anni infuria nel paese.

"The Latest Military Situation in Rakhine, Kachin State" Myanmar Nway Oo Chronicle 6th May 2024 (Moemaka Article).This item has files of the following types: Archive BitTorrent, Metadata, VBR MP3

"New United Nations Special Representative for Myanmar Appointed. Fighting in Myawady, Northern Rakhine and China Border" Myanmar Nway Oo Chronicle 5th Apr 2024 (Moemaka Article) Aeri.This item has files of the following types: Archive BitTorrent, Item Tile, Metadata, PNG, Spectrogram, VBR MP3

James talks to Aung Kyaw Moe about the recent fighting in Rakhine state, the Junta forcibly conscripting Rohingya people, and how to build a democratic Myanmar that's inclusive for all faiths and ethnicities.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

*) Gaza hospital hit in intense Israeli raid for second day Explosions and shootings have once again rocked Gaza's largest hospital, Al Shifa, and its surrounding neighbourhoods as Israeli forces storm through the facility for a second day. This latest raid deals a devastating blow to the already-strained Al Shifa medical complex, which had only partially resumed operations after a destructive Israeli raid in November. Reports indicate that thousands of Palestinian patients, medical personnel, and displaced individuals are currently trapped within the sprawling hospital compound, with heavy fighting raging in the nearby districts. *) Canada to halt future arms exports to Israel — report A Canadian government source revealed that Canada is ceasing its arms shipments to Israel. The decision marks a significant shift as Ottawa has only exported "non-lethal" shipments such as communications equipment to Israel since its war on blockaded Gaza. According to the source, no arms exports have occurred since January. Israel has historically been a major recipient of Canadian arms, receiving over $15 million worth of military materials in 2022 and $19 million in 2021, as reported by Radio Canada. *) US, Israel defence chiefs to meet in Washington Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant is scheduled to meet with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin next week in Washington. This confirmation comes from a US defence official speaking anonymously to disclose details not yet public. The meeting's agenda is reported to include discussion of securing the release of hostages, humanitarian aid to Gaza and protecting those in Rafah. *) UN chief alarmed by killings of civilians in Myanmar United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has expressed deep concern over reports of continued military air strikes on villages in Myanmar's Rakhine state. Locals reported that more than 20 people were killed in these strikes on Monday alone. The clashes in Rakhine state have intensified since November, following an attack by the Arakan Army on security forces, effectively ending a ceasefire established after the military coup in 2021. And finally… *) Japan hikes rates for first time in 17 years Japan's central bank has scrapped its negative interest rate as it finally began unwinding one of the world's most aggressive monetary easing programmes. Implemented in 2013, the unconventional policy aimed to stimulate economic growth and inflation following Japan's prolonged period of economic stagnation, often referred to as the "lost decades." In a historic move, the Bank of Japan raised its short-term policy rate for the first time in 17 years from -0.1 percent to a range between zero and 0.1 percent.

"More than 90 Rohingya who were dragged into the war in Rakhine state died. Only over 100,000 people took the basic education exam" Myanmar Nway Oo Chronicle 13th Mar 2024 (Moemaka Article).This item has files of the following types: Archive BitTorrent, Item Tile, Metadata, PNG, Spectrogram, VBR MP3

Thousands of seasonal fishermen and their families are going hungry in Rakhine state. Travel restrictions imposed after the renewed conflict there have left them unable to earn a living - but they also can't go home. This week's story is by Doh Athan freelance journalist

"What do you want to do after school or college?" It's a question many young people are asked. But Rohingya students have so many restrictions and so little choice, that they often can't answer. This week's story is by a Frontier Myanmar journalist

"Heavy fighting in Kok Krait. The person who negotiated the Rakhine issue arrived in Nay Pyi Taw. The chairman of the party founded by U Thein Nyunt was shot and killed" Myanmar Spring Chronicle 1st Dec 2023 (Moemaka Article) Nway Oo Naing.This item belongs to: audio/opensource_audio.This item has files of the following types: Archive BitTorrent, Item Tile, Metadata, PNG, Spectrogram, VBR MP3

Special Release: Vladmir Lenin once said, “There are decades where nothing happens, and there are weeks when decades happen.” At this moment, in the wake of Operation 1027, Myanmar is going through one of these weeks. We now find ourselves in a complex, fluid, fast-moving and high-stakes situation, one which may well very well decide the fate of the country, so we are rushing the production of related interviews to provide listeners with informed, up-to-date analyses.Our inaugural episode in this series kicks off with Kyaw Hsan Hlaing, who provides an overview of the political context in Rakhine state, detailing the history of the Arakan League for Democracy (ALD), the Rakhine Nationalities Development Party (RNDP), the Arakan National Party (ANP), and the Arakan Front Party (AFP). He describes the often-fraught relations that the Rakhine people have had over the years with the Burmese military, the Bamar-majority National League for Democracy (NLD), and the Rohingya minority. He also explains the origins of the powerful Arakan Army (AA) and its political affiliate, the United League of Arakan (ULA), delving into their relations with the National Unity Government (NUG), why they initially agreed to a post-coup truce with the State Administration Council (SAC), but then why they have so dramatically broken that truce to join Operation 1027.In closing, Kyaw Hsan Hlaing posits that contrary to the opinions of some analysts, the AA/ULA is deeply invested not only in crushing the Burmese military, but also in establishing a strong federal democracy. He describes how the high-stakes gamble that the AA took in joining the operation is very much in line with this aim. He closes by noting that if they make it through the present challenges and the military is defeated, the country has a real chance to become a stable democracy, which will benefit not only the Rakhine people, but all the citizens of Myanmar.

"The fighting is still going on in Paktaw, Rakhine state, civilians are trapped, communication is gradually interrupted in Rakhine" Myanmar Spring Chronicle 22nd Nov 2023 (Moemaka Article) Yan Naing.This item belongs to: audio/opensource_audio.This item has files of the following types: Archive BitTorrent, Item Tile, Metadata, PNG, Spectrogram, VBR MP3

"Residents trapped in Paktaw, Rakhine state, target of ethnic armed groups" Myanmar Spring Chronicle 18th Nov 2023 (Moemaka Article) Nway Oo Mai.This item belongs to: audio/opensource_audio.This item has files of the following types: Archive BitTorrent, Item Tile, Metadata, PNG, Spectrogram, VBR MP3

This is the web version of Foreign Exchanges, but did you know you can get it delivered right to your inbox? Sign up today:Friends, for family reasons and also because of my own mental exhaustion I will be taking a longer than usual break from the newsletter for this year's Thanksgiving holiday. The newsletter will be going quiet following Thursday's roundup and will return to our regular schedule on Tuesday, November 28. As I've written before here I can always tell when it's time for me to take a bit of a break from the newsletter and the truth is we probably passed that point around three or four weeks ago so I'm running on fumes. Thanks for reading and for supporting this venture!TODAY IN HISTORYNovember 14, 1965: The Battle of Ia Drang, the first major engagement between the United States and the North Vietnamese Army, begins. It ended on November 18 with both sides claiming victory, though the NVA's ability to fight the much better armed US Army to a draw was a boost to their morale and probably the battle's most important effect.November 14, 2001: Fighters with the Northern Alliance rebel coalition enter and occupy the city of Kabul, marking the end of the US war in Afghanista—just kidding. I had you going there for a second, didn't I?INTERNATIONALWith deaths due to “extreme heat” projected to increase five-fold by 2050, according to The Lancet Countdown, you'll no doubt be pleasantly surprised to learn that an AP investigative report shows that the “green transition plans” being formulated by most major fossil fuel companies are not green, not transitional, and not even really plans. Without any serious government pressure to force them to invest in genuinely renewable technologies, these firms are able to do things like, say, classify natural gas development as a “green” investment. That's absurd, of course, but who's counting?The main problem with these plans has long been, and continues to be, the fact that fossil fuel companies exempt the products they sell when assessing their progress toward “net zero” carbon emissions. Firms only account for “Scope 1” emissions, which are their direct carbon outputs, and “Scope 2” emissions, the indirect output that results from their production process. The emissions that ensue when people burn the products they sell are considered “Scope 3” and energy firms disavow any responsibility for them. Like tobacco companies, they argue that what the customer does with their products is the customer's business, not theirs. Maybe people just want to buy a barrel of oil and place it in their foyer as a conversation piece or put it to some other use that doesn't emit carbon. Who's to say?MIDDLE EASTISRAEL-PALESTINEEarly Wednesday morning Israeli forces began what they called “a precise and targeted operation against Hamas in a specified area in the Shifa hospital” involving “medical teams and Arabic speakers, who have undergone specified training to prepare for this complex and sensitive environment, with the intent that no harm is caused to the civilians.” There are hundreds of patients and thousands of other people who have been trapped in the hospital by the IDF and the chances that “no harm” will come to any of them in the next several hours are probably slim. Israeli officials have been insisting that Hamas's lair is located underneath the hospital but at this point it's too soon to know if that's the target or if this is a more limited operation. This is a developing story so there's not much more I can say about it at this time.What I can say is that the Biden administration gave a green light to this operation earlier in the day, when White House spokesperson John Kirby told reporters that the administration has “independent intelligence” (which is code for “we didn't get this from the IDF”) that “Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad use some hospitals in the Gaza Strip — including Al-Shifa — and tunnels underneath them to conceal and to support their military operations and to hold hostages.” According to Kirby this intelligence shows that the militant groups have a “command and control” center in Shifa and “have stored weapons there.” Kirby insisted that that the administration was not endorsing an Israeli attack on the hospital, but anybody with ears to hear or eyes to read what he said should have no doubt as to what the intent was.I wrote everything below prior to news of the Israeli assault breaking so some of it might no longer be relevant but I think most of it still is:Gazan health authorities said on Tuesday that some 40 patients at Shifa—three of them babies—have died since that facility ran out of generator fuel on Saturday. Without electricity the hospital cannot maintain its incubator units and so there are now 36 newborns who are at critical risk. With the IDF surrounding the hospital it's also become impossible to transfer the dead to a cemetery, so personnel are planning to bury some 120 bodies in a mass grave on site. Gazan officials have proposed evacuating the facility under the auspices of the Red Cross/Red Crescent and sending its remaining patients to Egypt but there had been no movement on that front at time of writing. The Israeli government has apparently offered to send the hospitals more incubators, a fascinating attempt at a humanitarian gesture that would be completely pointless because the problem isn't the incubators, it's the electricity.In other news:* David Ignatius at The Washington Post reported (I use that term loosely) on Monday that “Israel and Hamas are close to a hostage deal.” With the caveat that if David Ignatius told me the sky was blue I'd glance out the window to double check, the terms he reported are that Hamas would release (or facilitate the release) of the women and children that it and other Gazan militant groups took hostage during their October 7 rampage through southern Israel. This would be done in stages and be matched by the release of Palestinian women and children being held by Israeli authorities. It would also involve a ceasefire of unspecified duration but “perhaps five days” according to Ignatius. The ceasefire could allow some time to address humanitarian issues in Gaza though I don't know what that would entail and whatever it was would almost certainly be inadequate.* Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen met with International Committee of the Red Cross President Mirjana Spoljaric Egger on Tuesday and later told reporters that the ICRC has had no access to the aforementioned hostages. It's highly unlikely that the Israelis would agree to anything involving hostages without at least proof of life, so this could be a big sticking point with respect to the potential prisoner deal outlined above. Families of the hostages, meanwhile, are marching from Tel Aviv to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's residence in Jerusalem to pressure him to take some action to secure the hostages' release.* Israeli occupation forces killed at least eight Palestinians in the West Bank on Tuesday, seven of them in Tulkarm. The IDF carried out a drone strike in that city, an occurrence that's still relatively rare in the West Bank though it's certainly become more common over the past year and in particular the past month.* Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich issued a statement on Tuesday endorsing what he laughably termed the “voluntary emigration of Gaza Arabs to countries around the world.” I guess “leave or die” is a choice, right? A couple of Israeli politicians floated this idea on Monday in a Wall Street Journal editorial that was less a serious proposal than a written middle finger to Western critics of the Israeli military campaign. That piece didn't go into extensive detail about what a mass relocation would look like—again, it wasn't meant as a serious proposal—but Smotrich's intent is much easier to guess, and that's the permanent ethnic cleansing of Gaza and the relocation of its population as far away from Israel as possible. Smotrich, whose ministerial brief also includes running the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories office, isn't part of Netanyahu's “war cabinet” but that doesn't mean he's completely lacking in influence.* The US and UK governments on Tuesday announced new sanctions targeting Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad members along with a Lebanese entity that allegedly facilitates money transfers from Iran to Gazan militant groups. This is the third round of sanctions the Biden administration has imposed since October 7. Also on Tuesday, over 400 employees of the Biden administration sent a joint letter to their boss, Joe Biden, expressing opposition to the administration's approach to the Gaza conflict.YEMENHouthi rebels say they fired another barrage of missiles toward Israel on Tuesday. There's no confirmation of this, though the IDF did say that its air defenses downed a single missile near Eilat that we can probably assume was of Houthi provenance. The leader of Yemen's Houthi movement, Abdulmalik al-Houthi, delivered a speech on Tuesday pledging that his rebel fighters would continue attacking Israel. In particular, Houthi suggested that they could target Israeli commercial vessels in the Red Sea, which would certainly be an easier target for them than Israel itself.IRAQA Turkish drone strike killed two people, both allegedly members of the Sinjar Resistance Units militia, in northern Iraq's Nineveh province on Monday evening. The Sinjar militia was formed in 2014 with assistance from the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and is still allied with that group, which makes its personnel potential targets for the Turkish military.Elsewhere, the Iraqi Federal Supreme Court removed two members of the Iraqi parliament on Tuesday, one of whom just happened to be speaker Mohammed al-Halbusi. It's not clear why, though another MP named Laith al-Dulaimi had reportedly sued Halbusi alleging that the speaker forged Dulaimi's name on a resignation letter. Dulaimi was, as it happens, the other MP who had his term ended by the court (I assume that's not a coincidence). The ruling created a potential political crisis for Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shiaʿ al-Sudani. As speaker, Halbusi was Iraq's leading Sunni Arab politician, and his support was important to Sudani's government. Three members of his Progress Party quit their cabinet posts after the court ruling and it remains to be seen how that will impact Sudani's position.ASIAAFGHANISTANAfghan Commerce Minister Haji Nooruddin Azizi apparently visited Pakistan this week, where—according to the Afghan government—he pressed Pakistani Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani on the issue of all those Afghan migrants the Pakistani government is presently deporting. Specifically it sounds like Azizi raised the issue of allowing deportees to at least take some of their money and/or possessions to Afghanistan with them. Deportees are currently arriving with nothing and are being housed in what are effectively refugee camps—leaving aside the incongruity of being a “refugee” in one's home country—on the Afghan side of the border.MYANMARReports on Monday only hinted at some new fighting in western Myanmar's Chin state, but as more details are emerging the situation there sounds pretty serious. According to the Chin National Front, rebel fighters had by the end of the day seized two Myanmar military outposts and were working to seize control of the Myanmar-Indian border. According to Indian media the fighting has sent some 2000 people streaming across that border to escape. In neighboring Rakhine state, the rebel Arakan Army has also been seizing military outposts and authorities have imposed a curfew in the state capital, Sittwe, as a result. Rebel factions across Myanmar have launched new offensives in recent weeks, starting with the “1027” (for October 27) operations by the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army and the Ta'ang National Liberation Army in Shan state. Myanmar's ruling junta is clearly struggling to mount a response.CHINAJoe Biden told reporters on Tuesday that his main goal in meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in San Francisco this week is to restore “normal” communications between their governments. In particular this would involve a return to regular military-to-military contacts, something Beijing ended in the wake of former US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan last year. Any prospect of resuming those contacts was complicated by the fact that former Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu was under US sanction. But as he's no longer defense minister that complication is no longer an issue.AFRICALIBERIALiberian voters turned out on Tuesday for the second round of that country's presidential election, pitting incumbent George Weah against Joseph Boakai. Both candidates finished with just under 44 percent of the vote in last month's first round. Such a close finish might augur poorly for the incumbent in a head to head matchup, though that's just one of many factors that could sway this vote in either direction. Polls have closed in that contest but I have yet to see anything by way of preliminary or partial results.MALIMali's ruling junta says its security forces have seized control over the northern town of Kidal after battling with rebels in that region for several days. The Malian military and mercenary auxiliaries marched on Kidal after United Nations peacekeepers vacated the region as part of their ongoing withdrawal from Mali. Kidal has been a rebel stronghold since the initial northern Mali uprising in 2012 and government control there has been nebulous at best since then. There's been no comment as far as I know from the rebels and it's unclear what their disposition is at this point.ETHIOPIAAccording to Addis Standard, Fano militia fighters attacked a predominantly Oromo community in Ethiopia's Amhara region last week, killing at least 25 people and displacing some 3000 into the Oromia region. The Fano militia is still battling the Ethiopian government but Amhara paramilitary groups have also made a pastime of preying on ethnic Oromo communities (likewise, Oromo militias have preyed on ethnic Amhara). In this case they apparently demanded grain from the community and attacked after residents refused to comply.On a more upbeat note, the US Agency for International Development is reportedly planning to resume food distribution across Ethiopia next month under a “one-year trial period.” The agency suspended its Ethiopian food program earlier this year amid allegations that the aid was being diverted. It resumed providing food aid to Ethiopian refugees last month and is now planning to spend the next year testing whether procedural changes adopted by aid groups and the Ethiopian government are enough to stop that alleged diversion. Solid data is hard to come by but it's possible that hundreds or thousands of Ethiopians have died because of the decision (which the UN World Food Program joined) to suspend food aid.DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGOThe death toll from Sunday's Allied Democratic Forces attack on a village in the eastern DRC's North Kivu province has risen to 33, according to provincial officials. ADF fighters are also believed to have been responsible for attacking a village in neighboring Ituri province on Tuesday, killing at least 11 people.EUROPERUSSIAVladimir Putin signed a new law on Tuesday that permits elections to be held even in parts of Russia that are under martial law. This apparently clears the way for the portions of Ukraine that Moscow claims to have annexed to participate in next year's presidential election. The effect will be to try to stitch those regions a little more tightly to Russia and complicate any possible return to Ukrainian authority.UKRAINEThe European Union promised back in March to supply the Ukrainian military with 1 million 155 mm artillery shells within 12 months. You'll never guess how that went. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius told a meeting of EU defense ministers on Tuesday that the bloc isn't going to fulfill its commitment and even went so far as to criticize the fact that it was made in the first place. The will was apparently there, but EU member states still don't have the collective capacity to churn out that many shells that quickly. The effort has apparently sparked a boost in production capacity but not enough to meet the 12 month deadline.SWEDENSweden's NATO accession may be moving slightly forward, as the Turkish parliament's foreign affairs committee will take up the issue on Thursday. It's been about three weeks since Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan submitted Sweden's accession to parliament and it should be clear by now that the folks in Ankara are in no particular hurry to work their way through that process. There may be some impetus on the part of other NATO members to have the issue resolved in time for the alliance foreign ministers summit on November 28, but Erdoğan has proven himself to be fairly impervious to that sort of pressure in the past.AMERICASUNITED STATESFinally, TomDispatch's William Hartung wonders whether the “Arsenal of Democracy” really cares all that much about the “democracy” part:The list of major human rights abusers that receive U.S.-supplied weaponry is long and includes (but isn't faintly limited to) Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Egypt, Turkey, Nigeria, and the Philippines. Such sales can have devastating human consequences. They also support regimes that all too often destabilize their regions and risk embroiling the United States directly in conflicts.U.S.-supplied arms also far too regularly fall into the hands of Washington's adversaries. As an example consider the way the UAE transferred small arms and armored vehicles produced by American weapons makers to extremist militias in Yemen, with no apparent consequences, even though such acts clearly violated American arms export laws. Sometimes, recipients of such weaponry even end up fighting each other, as when Turkey used U.S.-supplied F-16s in 2019 to bomb U.S.-backed Syrian forces involved in the fight against Islamic State terrorists.Such examples underscore the need to scrutinize U.S. arms exports far more carefully. Instead, the arms industry has promoted an increasingly “streamlined” process of approval of such weapons sales, campaigning for numerous measures that would make it even easier to arm foreign regimes regardless of their human-rights records or support for the interests Washington theoretically promotes. These have included an “Export Control Reform Initiative” heavily promoted by the industry during the Obama and Trump administrations that ended up ensuring a further relaxation of scrutiny over firearms exports. It has, in fact, eased the way for sales that, in the future, could put U.S.-produced weaponry in the hands of tyrants, terrorists, and criminal organizations.Now, the industry is promoting efforts to get weapons out the door ever more quickly through “reforms” to the Foreign Military Sales program in which the Pentagon essentially serves as an arms broker between those weapons corporations and foreign governments.Thanks for reading! Foreign Exchanges is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.foreignexchanges.news/subscribe

"Army Arrests Those Who Organized and Attended the 56th Rakhine Rice Crisis Day Memorial Ceremony" (The Voice of Agricultural Farmers) Loot Lat Nway Oo.This item belongs to: audio/opensource_audio.This item has files of the following types: Archive BitTorrent, Item Tile, Metadata, PNG, Spectrogram, VBR MP3

"The military council has banned the export of fertilizers, so farmers in Rakhine state are having trouble growing rainfed rice" (The Voice of Agricultural Farmers) Aeri.This item belongs to: audio/opensource_audio.This item has files of the following types: Archive BitTorrent, Metadata, VBR MP3

Local news-Nway Oo Mai "Traditional" (Poem) by Anola, Nway Oo Moe "The military council has banned the export of fertilizers, so farmers in Rakhine state are having trouble growing rainfed rice" (The Voice of Agricultural Farmers) Aeri Weekly Weather Forecast-Nway Oo Naing "Join us" Lar Hay (Revolut....This item belongs to: audio/opensource_audio.This item has files of the following types: Archive BitTorrent, Metadata, VBR MP3

Local news-Nway Oo Mon "Upper country girl Mi Aye" (Poem) by Shin Myo Ngel, Nway Oo Moe "The Voice of Agricultural Farmers", There is an urgent need for farmers to use fertilizers for the recovery of the agricultural sector in the storm-ravaged Rakhine region, Loot Lat Nway Oo "Innocent Survival or ....This item belongs to: audio/opensource_audio.This item has files of the following types: Archive BitTorrent, Metadata, VBR MP3

"The Voice of Agricultural Farmers", There is an urgent need for farmers to use fertilizers for the recovery of the agricultural sector in the storm-ravaged Rakhine region, Loot Lat Nway Oo.This item belongs to: audio/opensource_audio.This item has files of the following types: Archive BitTorrent, Item Tile, Metadata, PNG, Spectrogram, VBR MP3

MoD military news summary-Maung Kyu Local news-Nway Oo Mai Ko Nyo (Poem) by Aung Way, Loot Lat Nway Oo The United States sanctions 2 state-owned banks controlled by the military council. Emergency aid is still limited in Rakhine and Chin state after Cyclone Mokha,Myanmar Spring Chronicle 21st Jun(Mo....This item belongs to: audio/opensource_audio.This item has files of the following types: Archive BitTorrent, Metadata, VBR MP3

The United States sanctions 2 state-owned banks controlled by the military council. Emergency aid is still limited in Rakhine and Chin state after Cyclone Mokha,Myanmar Spring Chronicle 21st Jun(Moemaka Article),Hein Ko Ko.This item belongs to: audio/opensource_audio.This item has files of the following types: Archive BitTorrent, Metadata, VBR MP3

It's Monday, June 19th, A.D. 2023. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard at www.TheWorldview.com. I'm Adam McManus.  (Adam@TheWorldview.com) By Adam McManus 30,000 people dead in Myanmar's civil war The two-year civil war in Myanmar, previously known as Burma, has killed an estimated 30,000 people and displaced some two million more, reports International Christian Concern. Not surprisingly, there is wide dissatisfaction with the military junta that threw out the elected government and took over the country in early 2021. The junta invaded and worked destruction in Christian areas such as the Karen, Kachin, and Chin states, but recently even the majority Burmese in central Myanmar have become disgusted with the junta's actions. Many now back the National Union Government group in opposing the junta. The ethnic groups have killed an estimated 15,000 junta troops, though not a sizable number in an army of 170,000. Conversely, the army has destroyed scores of villages and churches among the predominantly Christian ethnic groups. They even prevented aid from reaching the people in the Rakhine state after Cyclone Mocha hit there in May. Pray for peace in Myanmar. Matthew 5:9 says, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” Juneteenth celebration turns tragic Today is Juneteenth, a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the emancipation of enslaved African-Americans. Deriving its name from combining June and nineteenth, it is celebrated on the anniversary of the order by Union Major General Gordon Granger proclaiming freedom for slaves in Texas on June 19, 1865. Tragically, over the weekend, ABC News reports that at least 23 people were injured, one fatally, when gunfire erupted early Sunday morning at a Juneteenth celebration in suburban Chicago where 300-400 people were celebrating. Witness #1: “Out of nowhere, there was, like, a major gunfight for, like, 30 seconds. I'd say 60-plus, you know, rounds.” Witness #2: “We went down the street to see what was going on. And we just saw a bunch of people running.” The shooting unfolded about 12:30 a.m.  in the parking lot of a strip mall in Willowbrook, about 23 miles west of Chicago.   Witness #3: “There was just like hundreds of cop cars. They had everything closed. No one could get through. There was just tons of ambulances. It was crazy. It was very hectic.” No arrests have been announced. An unknown number of suspects fired multiple rounds from multiple weapons into the crowd.  And a motive for the shooting is under investigation. Chinese bought influence with $10 million to Biden Family As I guest host for Kevin Swanson today on Generations Radio, I interview Kevin Jackson, a former Fox News contributor, about how bank records reveal that the Biden Family has received $10 million from China and foreign interests. JACKSON: “We have a criminal in the office, in the Oval Office, who is openly in business with the Chinese government and Chinese spies. “We're talking about chump change for these guys to feather their nests and to sell us out to the Chinese, the Russians, and the Ukrainians.” In essence, China has bribed the president and his family to do their bidding.  Learn about how that $10 million of money from the Chinese to the Bidens has impacted American foreign policy. To hear the entire 27-minute interview, go to Generations.org/radio. “Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence” honored at Dodgers' stadium And finally, last Friday, the Dodgers baseball team honored a male drag queen group, dressed as demonic-looking caricatures of Catholic nuns, at their Homosexual Transgender Pride Night celebration.  Known as the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, these men, who wear gaudy make-up, traditional nuns' habits, and mock the cross like Madonna, embrace the slogan “Go forth and sin some more,” a blatant mockery of Jesus Christ's words to a woman caught in adultery found in John 8:11. Listen to a portion of the Dodgers' announcement from Friday night. ANNOUNCER: “[The Dodgers honor] the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence for their outstanding service to the LGBTQ+ community.” Founded in 1979, this sexually depraved group stages a “Hunky Jesus” contest every Easter Sunday among other unmentionable antics.  They describe themselves as “an order of queer and trans nuns.” Unbelievably, one homosexual man claimed the drag queens were Christ-like. Listen. MAN #1: “They exemplify Christian values more than any so-called people that are against the queer community. So, I think they're amazing!” Disturbingly, the L.A. Dodgers awarded these drag queens with their “Community Hero” award.  Initially, after the Major League Baseball team had announced they planned to honor the sexually perverted group, they got such big pushback from Catholics and Protestants alike, that they rescinded the invitation. But then, the Los Angeles-area sexually perverted groups were so loud in their objection to the cancellation, that the Dodgers chose to apologize and re-invite the so-called “Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence,” reported The Daily Wire.  One homosexual man in Los Angeles was thrilled. MAN: “I'm glad the Dodgers re-invited them. for sure. I think a lesson to be learned through all this is: ‘Don't back down to bullies.' I think of all the time to be prideful, this is it!” Proverbs 16:18 says, “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.” Thankfully, the Dodgers team gave the fake male nuns the award one hour before the game at which time few Dodgers fans were sitting in their chairs. However, outside the stadium, 5,000 Catholics and Protestants participated in a prayer rally, as they registered their anger with the baseball team management, reports LifeSiteNews.com. A speaker lifted up the name of Jesus. PRAYER RALLY SPEAKER: “Jesus Christ is not only our Lord, He's the Lord of America.” And a Catholic man took direct issue with the mockery of Catholic nuns. CATHOLIC MAN: “Yeah, my concern is that they're not sisters and they're ridiculing the good sisters in the Catholic Church.” Those who have objected include Washington Nationals pitcher Trevor Williams, Florida Republican Senator Marco Rubio, and even Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw who took issue with his own employer, reports The Los Angeles Times. Providentially, the Dodgers lost the game to the San Francisco Giants 7-5 in the 11th inning. Close And that's The Worldview in 5 Minutes on this Monday, June 19th in the year of our Lord 2023. Subscribe by iTunes or email to our unique Christian newscast at www.TheWorldview.com. Or get the Generations app through Google Play or The App Store. I'm Adam McManus (Adam@TheWorldview.com). Seize the day for Jesus Christ.