Battle for Irrawaddy Delta: UK Issues Travel Warning

              (Based on staff posts from the Myanmar Now Media on 23 January 2025.)       

On January 22, the Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO) of British Foreigne Affairs Ministry issued a travel warning to UK citizens not to travel to the townships of Kyan-gin, Myan-aung, Ingapu, Lay-myack-nhar, Yay-gyi, Thar-baung, and Bassein in the Irrawaddy Division of Myanmar.

FCDO now advises against all but essential travel to the townships of Kyangin, Myanaung, Ingapu, Lemyethna, Yegyi, Thabaung and Pathein in Ayeyarwady region which lie along the border with Rakhine State.

FCDO announced the travel warning after the severe fightings broke out between Myanmar Army and Arakan Army (AA) in the coastal areas of Irrawaddy Division next to the Rakhine state. AA already has basically wiped-out Myanmar Army in the Arakan State and now rapidly advancing together with allied Burmese PDF troops into the Irrawaddy Division.

Dictator’s Wife, Her Expensive Handbags & Dead Soldiers

                (Based on Aung Thuya’s post from the IRRAWADDY on 15 January 2025.)       

Foolish Myanmar Army has a brutal habit of not acknowledging its fallen soldiers as KIAs (Killed-in-Action) but as MIAs (Missing-in-Action) for two nasty reasons. One is to save face by not openly admitting so many Myanmar soldiers are being killed daily in the nation-wide civilwar battles.

Other lucrative reason is a financial as the corrupt paymasters are still drawing the dead soldiers’ pays and pocketing it, and as the brutal excuse for the army’s compulsory life-insurance company Aung-Myint-Mo-Min (conveniently owned by Myanmar Dictator MAH’s son Aung-pyae-sone) not to pay out death benefits to the families left behind.

Every service member must contribute a large monthly life-insurance premium taken out automatically from their monthly salaries and sent to the Aung-Myint-Mo-Min Insurance. When they are Killed-In-Actions they are supposed to get back their contributions plus death benefits but if they are reported as MIA they will not. 

Trump 2.0 is Back with Vengeance!

               (Luke Cooper’s post from the ABC NEWS AUS on21 January 2025.)      

Some January 6 offenders could be freed within hours: Earlier my colleague Andrew Thorpe reported that Donald Trump said during his latest speech that he plans to issue pardons for at least some of those convicted over the January 6, 2021 riots at the US Capitol — who he refers to as "hostages".

"Tonight, I'm going to be signing on the J6 hostages' pardons to get them out," he says, prompting a massive round of applause. As soon as I leave I'm going to the Oval Office and will be signing pardons for a lot of people."

Reuters is now reporting that an official from the US Federal Bureau of Prisons says it is "possible" that some of the January 6 offenders will be released within hours. Despite that, no formal paperwork has been received to authorise the order. Donald Trump has just walked back into the White House, for the first time in his second term as president.

Foolish Myanmar Army in their Death Throes?

             (Dr. Zachary Abuza’s opinion post from the RFA MYANMAR on 18 January 2025.)

Myanmar military regime enters year 5 in terminal decline: The junta still holds a third of Myanmar, and two-thirds of the population, but misrule has left the regime broke. Myanmar’s military approaches the fourth anniversary of the coup d’etat that put them in power in terminal decline.

The economy continues to atrophy, with even more pronounced energy shortages, less foreign exchange, and an even larger share of the budget allocated to the military. The battlefield losses are staggering, as the opposition has withstood Chinese pressure to stop their offensives, and continues to hand the over-stretched military defeat after defeat. Opposition forces now control two of the 14 military regional commands.

According to the National Unity Government (NUG) Ministry of Defense, the opposition is in full control of 95 of 330 townships, while the State Administrative Council (SAC), as the junta calls itself, had full control over 107 townships. By the junta’s own admission, they are only able to conduct a census and safely organize elections in 161 of Myanmar’s 330 townships.

AA Attacking Shwe-Thaung-Yan Town Near Bassein

                  (Khian Lu Hla’s post from the NARINJARA NEWS on 11 January 2025.)      

AA and Allied PDF Forces Capture Ma Gyi Zin Village Near Shwe Thaung Yan, Pathein Township, Ayeyarwady Region: The Arakan Army (AA) and its allied troops launched an attack along the coastline into Pathein Township, seizing the Ma Gyi Zin village on the evening of January 9, according to a local military source.

“Ma Gyi Zin is a sizable village with a cottage hospital. This evening, the AA assumed control. Crossing the bridge at Ma Gyi Zin takes you to Baw Mi. The junta troops are holding out in the villages, yet we are observing them retreating village by village," the military source stated.

Crossing the Ma Gyi Zin Bridge leads to Baw Mi, and from Baw Mi, AA troops can reach famous Shwe Thaung Yan. Intense combat also erupted in Kular Chaung in Shwe Thaung Yan Town, as the junta mobilized the army, navy, and air force for assaults.

California Democrats’ DEI Policies Caused LA Fires

                      (Oscar Godselll’s post from the SKY NEWS AUS on 12 January 2025.)

The incoming head of the US Department of Government Efficiency Elon Musk has blamed California’s “bad governance” for the Pacific Palisades’ wildfires after officials prioritised DEI policies and donated surplus equipment to Ukraine.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass has come under heavy criticism over the perceived lack of preparation to combat the catastrophic California fires. Wildfires have consumed Southern California with more than 150,000 locals ordered to evacuate, at least 10,000 structures destroyed and at least 11 confirmed deaths.

Posting to his 212 million followers on X, Musk has shared a series of remarks attributing the massive wildfire to what he called “bad governance”. He has downplayed the role of climate change, which experts have linked to the disaster, and focused instead on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs.

LA Burnt as Democrat Mayor Karen Bass Was in Ghana

                       (Ariel Zilber’s post from the NEW YORK POST on 10 January 2025.)

LA Times owner rips Mayor Karen Bass for slashing fire department budget: ‘A bad call’: The billionaire owner of the Los Angeles Times, Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, blasted the city’s mayor, Democrat Karen Bass, for her “poor planning” and “poor judgment” in slashing the budget for the fire department, which has been hamstrung while trying to contain the wildfires that have devastated entire neighborhoods.

“The mayor wanted $23 million [cut], she got $17.8 million as I understand. But that’s a sort of, really, I think a bad call, especially water and fire is exactly, you know, I see the end result of that devastation,” Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong told the Fox News Channel during an appearance on Thursday’s Special Report.

Firefighters working to combat the blazes that have killed at least 10 people encountered empty hydrants and insufficient water pressure — limitations that are being attributed to the budget cuts that have hampered the city’s emergency response capabilities. Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, the owner of the Los Angeles Times, criticized the mayor's handling of the devastating wildfires.