Myanmar grants amnesty to over 4,000 prisoners

On April 17, Myanmar’s former junta leader and newly appointed president, Min Aung Hlaing, announced an amnesty to mark the country’s traditional New Year, in one of his first major decisions since formally assuming the presidency earlier this month.

Myanmar junta parliament convened its first meeting amid alarming UN report

Myanmar convened its first post-coup parliament plenary session in the capital Naypyitaw on March 16. With the pro-junta Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) holding a majority in the parliament, the key agenda was the election of retired general Khin Yi as Speaker and Maung Maung Ohn as the Deputy Speaker of the Lower House (Pyithu Hluttaw).

Southeast Asia divided in reaction to the Middle East crisis

The US-Israel strikes on Iran, which killed the latter’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and his influential aides on February 28, prompted different reactions across Southeast Asia. While geographically distant, Southeast Asian governments stated concerns, expressed with cautious language, economic anxiety, and, in some countries, blunt condemnation.