The complaint was made by her lawyers and her Foundation, who – on her 80th birthday – released information received from ‘concordant sources’ about the damage suffered in March by the prison in Naypyidaw where the Burmese democratic leader is being held. ‘We fear she may die: we demand her immediate and unconditional release’. The Guardian newspaper has published some images and details about her days in prison provided by some defectors.

On 19 June, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate and Burmese democratic leader will turn 80 in prison, where she has been held since the military coup in February 2021. Despite her enforced silence, her son Kim Aris tells AsiaNews how his mother continues to be a source of hope for her people. In recent months, he has organised solidarity initiatives to raise funds and keep attention focused on the crisis.

While the eyes of the world are on the negotiations between China and the United States, Chinese-backed ethnic militias control new unregulated rare earth deposits. Beijing's priority is clear: to secure control over strategic resources, including through growing interventionism that is fuelling the country’s civil war and causing serious environmental damage.

The Trump administration’s immigration restrictions have had a devastating impact on people from Myanmar’s, disproportionately affecting refugees and students. Many of them, who have waited years in refugee camps, are now seeing their dreams of a better life in the United States dashed, while the new policies threaten to set a dangerous precedent for other countries.

This comes at the urging of ASEAN countries. While the exiled opposition reports at least 300 civilians killed by the military since last March’s earthquake, the junta is massing troops in the Mandalay region to retake Chinese-backed gas pipelines from the rebels. Potential floods in refugee camps due to the monsoon season raise concerns.

Myanmar’s military recently attacked the Bangkok IDP Camp, on the border between Shan and Kayah States. Schools and several shelters in the camp have been hit over the past year, part of a deliberate strategy of violence to weaken resistance to the regime.