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A US federal judge paused the termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for nearly 4,000 people from Myanmar who couldn’t return home after the 2021 military coup. TPS is a humanitarian program that allows foreign nationals from designated countries experiencing armed conflict, natural disasters, or other extraordinary crises to remain and work legally in the US. Simon Billeness is the executive director at Campaign for a New Myanmar. He joined us in the DVB Newsroom on Jan. 27. Watch Newsroom on DVB English News YouTube or Spotify. Listen on Apple Podcasts, YouTube Music, Audible, Amazon Music, or wherever you get podcasts.

The military’s Union Election Commission has released results confirming the Union Solidarity and Development Party won its elections. As expected, the military proxy USDP dominated all three phases of voting, which began on Dec. 28 and ended on Jan. 25. With the military’s allotted 25 per cent of all seats, this keeps the legislature under tight regime control. Read more. Watch the military proxy USDP to form next 'government' in Myanmar special report on DVB English News YouTube or Spotify. ⁠ Stay up-to-date with the latest on #WhatsHappeningInMyanmar by subscribing to the Daily Briefing: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://english.dvb.no/newsletter/⁠⁠⁠⁠ Find DVB English News on X, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, TikTok, Bluesky and YouTube. We're available wherever you get podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Why a doctor joined Myanmar’s Civil Disobedience Movement after the 2021 military coup. Linn Nizho, a doctor who works on the frontline in Karenni State, joined us in the DVB Newsroom to share her story. Watch Newsroom on DVB English News YouTube or Spotify. Listen on Apple Podcasts, YouTube Music, Audible, Amazon Music, ⁠or wherever you get podcasts⁠.

American journalist Collin Mayfield was embedded for one-and-a-half months with the People’s Defense Force (PDF) Zoland in Tedim Township, northern Chin State, up until he stepped on a landmine on Nov. 18. Mayfield shared his story with DVB from a hospital bed in India's Mizoram State capital Aizawl. Read more. Myanmar has become the world’s deadliest country for landmine and unexploded ordnance since the 2021 military coup with the highest number of landmine casualties over the last two years, according to the Landmine Monitor Report 2025. Stay up-to-date with the latest on #WhatsHappeningInMyanmar by subscribing to the Daily Briefing: ⁠https://english.dvb.no/newsletter/⁠ Find DVB English News on X, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, TikTok, Bluesky and YouTube. Follow us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Audible, Amazon Music, ⁠or wherever you get podcasts⁠.

Myanmar's 2025-26 elections, staged by the military, completed the first two rounds of voting in 202 townships on Dec. 28 and Jan. 11. The third and final phase of voting, in what the U.N. calls a "sham" election, will take place on Jan. 25 in 63 more townships (in 265 of Myanmar's 330 total). Without any parties opposing the miltary on the ballot, independent election analysts predict its proxy Union Solidarity and Development Party to return to power and form the next government. Stay up-to-date with the latest on #WhatsHappeningInMyanmar by subscribing to the Daily Briefing: ⁠⁠⁠https://english.dvb.no/newsletter/⁠⁠⁠ Find DVB English News on X, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, TikTok, Bluesky and YouTube. Follow us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Audible, Amazon Music, ⁠⁠⁠or wherever you get podcasts⁠⁠⁠.

Myanmar's military regime leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing promised a "free and fair" election during the start of voting in the 2025-26 elections on Dec. 28, but citizens are speaking out about fear, intimidation, and forced voter turnout. As the final two rounds of voting continues on Jan. 11 and Jan. 25, criticism and concerns over how ballot boxes containing advanced votes and ballots cast in the first round of voting were handled by the regime's Union Election Commission (UEC) have been shared with DVB. Preliminary results released by the UEC shows the military-proxy Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) winning a majority of the seats nationwide. The National League for Democracy (NLD) party, which defeated the USDP in back-to-back landslide election victories in 2015 and 2020 but ousted in the 2021 military coup, refused to re-register with the UEC in 2023 and was officially disbanded. Stay up-to-date with the latest on #WhatsHappeningInMyanmar by subscribing to the Daily Briefing newsletter as a free or paid member: ⁠⁠https://english.dvb.no/membership/⁠⁠ Find DVB English News on X, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, TikTok, Bluesky and YouTube. Follow us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Audible, Amazon Music, ⁠⁠or wherever you get podcasts⁠⁠.

Myanmar's 2025-26 elections, staged by the military, completed the first round of voting in 102 townships on Dec. 28. The second and final phases of voting, in what the U.N. calls a "sham" election, will take place on Jan. 11 and Jan. 25 in 163 other townships (in 265 of Myanmar's 330 total). Independent election observers refused to lend legitimacy to the military's polls, as they expect the military-proxy party to win. Preliminary results show the USDP winning most seats in parliament across the country. Stay up-to-date with the latest on #WhatsHappeningInMyanmar by subscribing to the Daily Briefing newsletter as a free or paid member: ⁠https://english.dvb.no/membership/⁠ Find DVB English News on X, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, TikTok, Bluesky and YouTube. Follow us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Audible, Amazon Music, ⁠or wherever you get podcasts⁠.

An anonymous voter in Yangon shared this story with DVB about her experience voting in the first phase of Myanmar's 2025-26 "sham" elections. The second and final phases of voting will take place on Jan. 11 and Jan. 25, according to the military regime's Union Election Commission (UEC), which has downplayed complaints from political parties, and independent candidates, stating that its polls were "transparent." The military-proxy Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), which lost to Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) party in the two previous elections in 2020 and 2015, won 88 out of 96 seats in the Pyithu Hluttaw and 10 out of 18 seats in the Amyotha Hluttaw on Dec. 28, according to preliminary results released by the UEC. Aung San Suu Kyi has been held in detention by the military since it staged a coup on Feb. 1, 2021. Her NLD party was disbanded by the UEC in 2023 for not re-registering even as the military has jailed its senior members and forced others underground or into exile to avoid arrest and prosecution. Stay up-to-date with the latest on #WhatsHappeningInMyanmar by subscribing to the Daily Briefing newsletter as a free or paid member: https://english.dvb.no/membership/ Find DVB English News on X, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, TikTok, Bluesky and YouTube. Follow us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Audible, Amazon Music, or wherever you get podcasts.

In 2025, Malaysia dramatically escalated immigration enforcement, Myanmar refugees say uncertainty and fear now dominate their lives. James Bawi Thang Bik, the chairperson of the Alliance for Chin Refugees (ACR), joined us in the DVB Newsroom to discuss the situation faced by refugees and migrants from Myanmar living in Malaysia. Watch Newsroom on DVB English News YouTube or Spotify. Listen on Apple Podcasts, YouTube Music, Audible, Amazon Music, or wherever you get podcasts.

With the 60-day campaign period ending today (Dec. 26) in the regime elections. The Union Election Commission (UEC) announced that polls will take place in 274 out of Myanmar’s 330 townships with voting to take place in three phases: on Dec. 28, Jan. 11, and Jan. 25, 2026. The National League for Democracy (NLD) party, which won landslide victories in the 2015 and 2020 elections deemed free and fair by international election observers, was dissolved by the UEC for not re-registering.  Watch the Myanmar regime's 2025-26 elections special report on DVB English News YouTube or Spotify. Listen wherever you get podcasts.

With Myanmar's pro-democracy movement not fully behind the National League for Democracy (NLD) government, which was ousted in the military coup on Feb. 1, 2021, nor the group representing lawmakers elected in 2020 but ousted in the coup: The National Unity Government (NUG), the military is holding elections to legitimize its rule once again. Stay tuned to DVB English News for more ⁠Explainers⁠. Find us wherever you get podcasts. Follow or subscribe.

Natascha Schwanke, the DW Akademie Deputy Head and Director of Media Development, joined us in the DVB Newsroom to discuss DW Akademie's work globally and how it supports Myanmar independent media operating in exile. Disclaimer: DW Akademie also supports DVB. Watch Newsroom on DVB English News YouTube or Spotify. Listen on Apple Podcasts, YouTube Music, Audible, Amazon Music, or wherever you get podcasts.

Kan Kyi, the lead emcee of hip hop collective Triple Edge and organizer of the annual MOB Party in Chiang Mai, joins us in the DVB Newsroom to discuss music, activism, and the crisis in Myanmar since the 2021 military coup. Watch Newsroom on DVB English News YouTube or Spotify. Listen on Apple Podcasts, YouTube Music, Audible, Amazon Music, ⁠or wherever you get podcasts⁠.

The regime enacted an Election Protection Law in July to prosecute anyone criticizing its 2025-26 polls, which begin on Dec. 28 and continue into January 2026. The law carries a minimum sentence of three years in prison to a maximum sentence of death, if convicted. At least 194 people have been charged under this new law so far. Thirty-two have been arrested and five have been convicted, according to DVB data. Two Yangon residents were sentenced from 42 to 49 years in prison on Nov. 19 for "disrupting the elections." Stay tuned to DVB English News for more Newscasts. Find us wherever you get podcasts. Follow or subscribe.

Jue Jue Min Thu is the founder of Jue Jue's Safe Space, which offers mental health services for Myanmar communities. She joined us in the DVB Newsroom to discuss her work. Watch Newsroom on DVB English News YouTube or Spotify. Listen on Apple Podcasts, YouTube Music, Audible, Amazon Music, or wherever you get podcasts.

Part two of an interview with Myanmar documentary photographer Khin Sandar Nyunt in the DVB Newsroom on her book: “Purple Flowers Will Bloom” which includes photographs taken during her work on the frontline in Myanmar’s Karenni State. Watch Newsroom on DVB English News YouTube or Spotify. Listen on Apple Podcasts, YouTube Music, Audible, Amazon Music, or wherever you get podcasts. Check out our photos from the book launch in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Myanmar documentary photographer Khin Sandar Nyunt joins the DVB Newsroom to discuss her book: “Purple Flowers Will Bloom” which includes photographs taken during her work on the frontline in Myanmar’s Karenni State. Check out our photos from the book launch in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Watch Newsroom on DVB English News YouTube or Spotify. Listen on Apple Podcasts, YouTube Music, Audible, Amazon Music, or wherever you get podcasts.

Youth Line podcast host Pyartho brings us a story about three LGBTQ+ teachers who refused to work after the 2021 military coup and joined the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM). Stay tuned to Youth Line podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and ⁠YouTube⁠. Find DVB English News on X, Facebook, Instagram, Bluesky, Threads & TikTok, Subscribe on YouTube. Follow us on YouTube Music, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Audible, Amazon Music, or ⁠⁠⁠wherever you get podcasts⁠⁠⁠.

The mysterious disappearance of Myanmar refugee leader Thuzar Maung and her family from their home in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on July 4, 2023, and their reported re-appearance in detention in Myanmar on Oct. 18, 2025, raises more questions than it answers. DVB is requesting proof of life from the military regime in Naypyidaw, and for Malaysia to share its police investigation into the family's disappearance it launched over two years ago with the public. How did five U.N. registered refugees disappear without a trace? And reappear in Myanmar via an undated photo and very little information from the regime in Naypyidaw? DVB is investigating. Stay tuned.

Vicky Bowman, a British former ambassador and the director of the Myanmar Centre for Responsible Business, speaks to the DVB Newsroom about the business climate in Myanmar since the 2021 military coup and her imprisonment in Yangon in 2022. Watch Newsroom on DVB English News YouTube or Spotify. Listen on Apple Podcasts, YouTube Music, Audible, Amazon Music, or wherever you get podcasts.