Homepage US

Global demand for rare earth elements fuels environmental destruction in Kachin State

In the remote mountains of Kachin State, rare earth elements used in everything from wind turbine generators to television screens are being mined illegally with seemingly toxic chemicals.

BY Ronja Pilgaard, Jauman Naw & Emily Fishbein

News Feed, News, Business, Features

Global demand for rare earth elements fuels environmental destruction in Kachin State

In the remote mountains of Kachin State, rare earth elements used in everything from wind turbine generators to television screens are being mined illegally with seemingly toxic chemicals.

BY Ronja Pilgaard, Jauman Naw & Emily Fishbein

News Feed, News, Business, Features

‘Weapons, power and money’: How rare earth mining in Kachin enriches a Tatmadaw ally

The leader of a Tatmadaw-controlled Border Guard Force in a remote region of Kachin State has emerged as a key player in the global rare earth trade, and has turned the territory under his de facto control into a mining hub at a high environmental cost.

BY Emily Fishbein, Ronja Pilgaard & Jauman Naw

News Feed, News, Features

‘We can’t help patients who are in need’: Deaths continue as regime tightens grip on oxygen

New restrictions on the sale and distribution of oxygen to the public have made it harder to treat COVID-19 patients at home and social welfare groups have warned the rules could result in more preventable deaths.

BY Frontier

Highlights

News Feed, News

Vitriol in cyberspace for celebrities who stayed silent

Members Only

Ko Kaung Htet, right, on a reporting trip with the Restoration Council of Shan State in 2016. (Sai Zaw Theik)

Missing in action: Stories of conflict

News Feed, News

Fresh child abuse case exposes Myanmar’s broken system

A teenager kept as a slave and abused for five years has once again shone the spotlight on Myanmar's child trafficking problem.

BY AFP

Editorial, Opinion

A curious about-face on sanctions

With the end of remaining US economic sanctions, Myanmar urgently needs an overhaul of its investment laws.

BY Frontier & Frontier

Affairs, Features

Two former ministers, one secretive agency, and some million dollar questions

MPs and veterinarians are seeking information about a little-known government agency that controls land assets valued in the hundreds of millions of dollars.

BY Thomas Kean

Affairs

Work or motherhood: A Myanmar woman's cruel dilemma

Women in the private sector face an anguished decision when they have children: abandon their jobs, or risk social disapproval and continue working.

BY Kyaw Phone Kyaw

Affairs, Features

Work or motherhood: A Myanmar woman’s cruel dilemma

Women in the private sector face an anguished decision when they have children: abandon their jobs, or risk social disapproval and continue working.

BY Kyaw Phone Kyaw

Affairs, Features

The dreaded dengue on the rise

The number of reported cases is rising and more countries are being affected, but dengue fever remains one of the most neglected tropical diseases.

BY Oliver Slow

Affairs, Features

Breaking Yangon’s gridlock

For all their problems, Yangon’s buses are the most widely used form of transport – and will have to be part of the solution to the city’s growing traffic crisis.

BY Hein Ko Soe

Bizfeed, Business

Anthem Asia forms partnership with Rangoon Tea House

Support more independent journalism like this.

BY Frontier & Frontier

Affairs, Features

Hitting back against hate speech

The Interfaith Dialogue Group has drafted a law aimed at penalising religious hate speech, but critics of the move say communities should be responsible for ending sectarian tension.

BY Hein Ko Soe

Opinion

News Feed, Education, Opinion

The emerging alternatives to ‘military slave education’

News Feed, News, Features, Opinion

Tiananmen and the Tatmadaw: Killing their own people

Opinion

The NUG must commit to human rights for all Myanmar’s people

Business, Opinion

A crisis of confidence looms over Myanmar’s banks

Doh Athan

Podcast: COVID crisis in Kalay

Doh Athan

Video: Below the poverty line

Doh Athan

Podcast: Locals battle military for land compensation in Mon State

Doh Athan

Podcast: Water shortages hit Magway villages

Doh Athan

Podcast: COVID crisis in Kalay

Doh Athan

Video: Below the poverty line

Doh Athan

Podcast: Locals battle military for land compensation in Mon State

Doh Athan

Podcast: Water shortages hit Magway villages

Latest Issue

Volume 6, Issue 18

January 27, 2021

Stories in this issue

Editorial, Opinion

Myanmar enters 2021 with more friends than foes

The early delivery of vaccines is one of the many boons of the country’s geopolitics, but to really take advantage, Myanmar must bury the legacy of its isolationist past.

News Feed, News

Will the Kayin BGF go quietly?

The Kayin State Border Guard Force has come under intense pressure from the Tatmadaw over its extensive, controversial business interests and there’s concern the ultimatum could trigger fresh hostilities in one of the country’s most war-torn areas.

VIEW ALL ISSUES

Highlights

Members Only

Consider being a Frontier Member.

Opinion

Doh Athan

Doh Athan

Latest Issue

Myanmar enters 2021 with more friends than foes

Will the Kayin BGF go quietly?

BE A FRONTIER MEMBER

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR PRINT + DIGITAL MAGAZINE

Join the community