The Irrawaddy News

With voting just days away, a resident of Myanmars largest city reports an eerie lack of campaign activity and overwhelming voter apathy.

Under the guise of improving connectivity for one of Thailands poorest provinces, China really wants to build a logistics corridor for its Belt and Road Initiative, warns Nang Hkur Mao.

Residents say only the military proxy party and one rival are visibly campaigning ahead of Sundays vote, as turnout drive dominates Myanmars discredited poll.

In this weeks talk, our editors argue that reviving the deeply unpopular, profoundly destructive Myitsone Dam project is the price the junta must pay for Chinas support.

While the regime is threatening people to force them to vote, resistance groups are intimidating them in order to prevent them from casting their ballot, warns UN human rights chief.

The four, who lacked valid documentation, confessed they had been ordered to smuggle the bulky cargo drones home to Myanmar in pieces and deliver them to their boss.

Regime says its troops have cut off escape route for Mandalay resistance forces after retaking Singu town on the Sagaing border.

Region by region, state by state, The Irrawaddy breaks down the parts of the country where the regime will be able to hold its electionand the picture does not inspire confidence.

Warning came on the same day as regime floated restart of the long-suspended Myitsone Dam in war-torn Kachin State.

Persona non grata in much of the world, widely derided as incompetent, the diminutive junta boss hopes to legitimize his power through polls that start this week.

China fully supports the polland hopes to influence formation of a civilian government afterward, observers say.

Min Aung Hlaing declares refusing to vote in military-held December 28 election amounts to rejecting democratic progress.

KIO and KIA say public opposition to hydropower project stronger than ever, amid earthquake risk, environmental destruction and mass displacement.

There may be trouble ahead, but in a culture of everyday uncertainty like Myanmar, there is also always hope of a spiritual fix.

As the junta readies to hold its sham vote, The Irrawaddy revisits a collection of stories that examine the militarys long history of rigging polls to entrench its rule.

The hearings will examine witness testimonies, expert evidence, and oral arguments on whether Myanmar committed genocide against the Rohingya in 2017.

Also this week, the regime closed ranks with China on a destructive dam and scam crackdowns, while its boss hailed his air force after another massacre and readied for rigged poll and presidency.

Airstrikes in Sagaing reportedly kill over two dozen civilians in three days as regime troops push to retake territory before election.

Rights group Justice for Myanmar deals the regime a heavy blow by persuading social media companies to remove key misinformation channels.

The SRA gathers a broad spectrum of smaller armed resistance groups under one umbrella independent of the shadow National Unity Government. The Irrawaddy talked to its spokesman Khun Bedu.

In his graduation speech at the military academy, the commander-in-chief celebrated 70 years of graft, brutality and abject failure, argue our editors in this weeks discussion.