Myanmar

The military junta is still targeting Christian churches and institutions in predominantly Christian regions, ignoring repeated appeals by religious leaders to protect places of worship

The junta's plans to execute political opponents, events that took place in early June and would be the country's first judicial executions since 1990, could constitute war crimes or crimes against humanity, a UN official said

The country exported over 94.691 tonnes of rice and 58.815 of broken rice this May according to the Myanmar Rice Federation

Other 45 illegal immigrants from Myanmar were arrested on Friday; detected in the trees of a rubber plantation in Thailand en route to Malaysia, they testify the continuous attempt to escape the regime

Relatives of Aung San Suu Kyi have filed a complaint with a UN monitoring body against her detention following last year's military coup, according to their lawyers

The junta will allow tourists to apply for visas after a break of more than 2 years; activists warn that the military's acquired interests in various sectors, including tourism, would only enrich them, and urged people not to visit the country

Aided by an armed underground network of Facebook and Telegram accounts, such as the 'People's Embrace' Facebook page, a number of soldiers is deserting the military

The 57th Myanmar Gems Emporium kicked off in the capital Nay Pyi Taw on Friday; 200 gem dealers from abroad are expected

Human Rights Watch has attacked a meeting between Australia's ambassador to Myanmar and the head of the military junta, saying it was "lending credibility" to a regime accused of war crimes

ASEAN Special Envoy Prak Sokhonn is on a three-day visit to the country for meetings aimed at ending hostilities also through the implementation of the ASEAN peace plan

The military junta has exported more than $37 million worth of timber to countries where, in theory, they could not have done so because of international sanctions, according to the US environmental association Forest trends

A combined force of army soldiers and junta-allied Pyu Saw Htee militias raided two villages in central Myanmar and torched around 200 homes last week, locals said, causing the displacement of over 1.700 people - 500 children, fleeing from the attack