Myanmar has overtaken Afghanistan as the world’s top opium producer: driven by economic collapse after 2021 coup, production surges unchecked with no clear solutions in sight; the UN warns that rising cultivation fuels conflict, instability, health crises

Military leaders enacted a cybersecurity law on 1 January 2025 that among other measures tightens internet control, bans VPNs, requires platforms to store user data for 3 years and enforces compliance with the motivation of curbing disinformation

The collapse of public health infrastructure has left communities to address widespread trauma independently; Kawthoolei Care Hospital in Kayin is training community health workers to provide mental health support amid ongoing conflict and displacement

Over 100 Rohingya refugees were rescued off Indonesia’s Aceh province, located in the northernmost part of the country; stranded at sea for weeks, their plight spotlights the urgent need for regional cooperation on this crisis