Myanmar's junta battles guerillas for control of key jade mining hub
YANGON: Myanmar's junta and anti-coup guerillas battled over the country's jade mining hub Friday, a combatant and a local said, displacing desperate civilians as they vied for supplies of the precious stone.
Myanmar has been consumed by a many-sided civil war since a 2021 coup toppled the democratic government, with the myriad of fighting factions plundering the nation's vast natural resources to fill their coffers.
Jade is considered auspicious in Chinese culture and high-quality stones can fetch astronomical sums in the neighbouring country.
Fighting has raged during a Myanmar military offensive around villages and mining sites in Hpakant township of northern Kachin state, according to Naw Bu, spokesman of the Kachin Independence Army battling the junta in the area.
"They came to the jade mining areas of some companies and they burned down trucks and destroyed other things," he added. "They intended to stop our income from jade mining."
AFP was not able to verify the claim and a spokesman for Myanmar's junta could not be reached for comment.
Battles in the area began around three weeks ago but continued in the early hours of Friday, Naw Bu said.
A local resident who asked to remain anonymous said around 15 civilians had been killed since May 28 and "some residents didn't dare to stay in the combat zone and have been displaced."
As Myanmar's civil war enters its fifth year, more than 3.5 million people in the Southeast Asian country of around 50 million are currently displaced, according to United Nations figures.
Kachin state hosts the largest jade deposits in the world according to geologists.
Myanmar also has a huge and loosely-regulated mining sector for gold, rubies and rare earth minerals which has flourished in the war.
China is also a key market for rare earth minerals, where they are used in electric vehicles the country is producing at prodigious rates.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hindu
22 minutes ago
- The Hindu
Israeli forces kill 60 in Gaza, half near aid centres
Gaza's civil defence agency said 31 Palestinian aid seekers were among at least 60 people killed on Friday (June 20, 2025) by Israeli forces, the latest in a string of deadly incidents near aid distribution sites. Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP that five people were killed while waiting for aid in the southern Gaza Strip and 26 others near a central area known as the Netzarim corridor, an Israeli-controlled strip of land that bisects the Palestinian territory. Thousands of Palestinians have gathered there daily in the hope of receiving food rations, as famine looms across Gaza after more than 20 months of war. The Israeli army said its troops in the Netzarim area had first fired "warning shots" at "suspects" approaching them. When the individuals continued advancing, "an aircraft struck and eliminated the suspects in order to remove the threat," the army said. Similar incidents have occurred in that area regularly since late May, when the U.S.- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation opened its distribution centres, as Israel eased a two-month aid blocakde. The privately run foundation's operations in Gaza have been marred by chaotic scenes. UN agencies and major aid groups have refused to cooperate with it over concerns it was designed to cater to Israeli military objectives. Elsewhere in the territory on Friday, Bassal said 14 people were killed in two separate strikes in and around the central city of Deir el-Balah, and 13 others in three Israeli air strikes in the Gaza City area. One of those strikes, which killed three people, hit a phone charging station in the city, Bassal said. In southern Gaza, two people were killed "by Israeli gunfire" in two separate incidents, he added. Israeli restrictions on media in the Gaza Strip and difficulties in accessing some areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by the civil defence agency. The armed wing of Palestinian miliant group, Al-Quds Brigades, said on Friday it had targeted an Israeli military post in the southern city of Khan Yunis, claiming "dead and wounded" Israeli troops as a result. Contacted by AFP, the Israeli military did not comment. Much of Khan Yunis, like vast areas across Gaza, is under Israeli military evacuation orders.
New Indian Express
22 minutes ago
- New Indian Express
Pope warns of AI risks to young brains
Vatican City: Pope Leo XIV warned on Friday of the potential consequences of artificial intelligence (AI) on the intellectual development of young people, saying it could damage their grip on reality. Since his election as head of the Catholic Church on May 8, the pope -- a mathematics graduate -- has repeatedly warned of the risks associated with AI but this is the first time he has spoken out exclusively on the subject. "All of us... are concerned for children and young people, and the possible consequences of the use of AI on their intellectual and neurological development," the American pope warned in a written message to participants at the second Rome Conference on AI. "No generation has ever had such quick access to the amount of information now available through AI. "But again, access to data -- however extensive -- must not be confused with intelligence," Leo told business leaders, policymakers and researchers attending the annual conference. While welcoming the use of AI in "enhancing research in healthcare and scientific discovery", the pope said it "raises troubling questions on its possible repercussions" on humanity's "distinctive ability to grasp and process reality". Pope Leo himself has been the target of deep fake videos and audio messages published on social media in recent weeks. An AFP investigation earlier this month identified dozens of YouTube and TikTok pages broadcasting AI-generated messages masquerading as genuine comments from the pope in English or Spanish. A survey from the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism this week found significant numbers of young people in particular were using chatbots to get headlines and updates. The Catholic Church has attempted to influence ethical thinking surrounding the use of new technologies in recent years under Leo's predecessor Francis. In 2020, the Vatican initiated the Rome Call for AI Ethics -- signed by Microsoft, IBM, the United Nations, Italy and a host of universities -- urging transparency and respect for privacy.
Indian Express
44 minutes ago
- Indian Express
US raises security concerns over China's planned London embassy
The United States has voiced concern over China's plan to build a new embassy in London, saying it could give Beijing access to sensitive communications near one of Britain's key financial centres. The comments, reported by The Guardian, have stirred uncertainty over whether the embassy project will go ahead. The site in question, Royal Mint Court, lies close to the City of London and Canary Wharf areas connected by underground data cables. Security officials fear the location could pose a risk, and the UK government is now reviewing the plan. Campaigners who have opposed the embassy for years say the issue has become more political since Washington got involved. 'They seem to be struggling to make the right decision,' Dave Lake, a local resident and head of the campaign against the embassy, told The Guardian. 'It was a straightforward inquiry but because of this, that and the other, particularly the Americans getting involved, it's made it all up in the air.' The UK government rejected planning permission for the embassy two years ago due to security concerns. But it has since taken over the decision from local authorities and is expected to make a final call by September 9. China bought the 2-hectare site in 2018 for £255 million. Demonstrations against the plan have continued, with fears that a Chinese embassy in the area would increase surveillance and draw further protests. Lake added: 'We know there are cables running underground, and we know the capabilities of the Chinese. In the early conversations, it was just about our security.' Former British diplomat Charles Parton, who advised Parliament's foreign affairs committee, said the matter depends on what kind of data passes through those cables. Speaking to The Guardian, he said: 'There are two ways to look at it. One is to say you can't use the site; the other is to say reroute the cables. How difficult is it to reroute them? I don't know.' Parton said embassy upgrades are normal in diplomacy, but added that 'if the security issue is resolved satisfactorily, then why shouldn't both countries go ahead and build new embassies?' The White House raised its concerns shortly after the US and UK signed a trade deal during the G7 summit in Canada this week. A US official told The Sunday Times, as quoted by The Guardian, 'The United States is deeply concerned about providing China with potential access to the sensitive communications of one of our closest allies.' The Dutch parliament has also flagged worries over the site's location. Uyghur activist Rahima Mahmut, who lives in the UK, told The Guardian, 'It is really unbelievable when not only the US government but also the Dutch government express their concerns.' Simon Cheng, a former Hong Kong consulate worker now in the UK, said the site could increase surveillance risks for people in exile. 'The UK government needs to think twice,' Cheng said. 'It's not only the closest ally that has given a warning but also others. We have concerns about our security here.' The Chinese embassy defended its proposal, saying it had followed UK rules and listened to all stakeholders. A spokesperson told The Guardian the embassy would help China carry out its diplomatic duties and deepen cooperation. The spokesperson added, 'Anti-China forces are using security risks as an excuse to interfere with the British government's decision. This is a despicable move that is unpopular and will not succeed.'
