New administration in Naypyidaw forms committees
At the Pyithu Hluttaw, or lower house of parliament, in Naypyidaw on Monday a chair and secretary of the Bill and Public Accounts Committees were chosen. The Bill Committee, which is responsible for scrutinizing proposed legislation to ensure it complies with the Constitution, will be chaired by Nanda Kyaw Swa with Thein Tun U as secretary. The Public Accounts Committee will be chaired by Tayza Kyaw with Tin Aung Chit as secretary.
All were elected as members of the military-proxy Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) in the 2025-26 elections. Nanda Kyaw Swa, the USDP deputy speaker under President Thein Sein’s administration from 2011-16, was elected in Yangon Region’s Dagon Township. Thein Tun U was elected in Mandalay Region’s Amarapura Township. Tayza Kyaw in Mandalay’s Aungmyaythazan Township. Tin Aung Chit was elected in Magway Region’s Aunglan Township.
Two more standing committees are expected to be formed during the lower house’s third session on Tuesday. Each standing committee will have 13 members. The Pyitthu Hluttaw convened for the first time since the 2021 military coup on March 16, Khin Yi, the USDP chairperson, and Maung Maung Ohn, the regime minister of information, were appointed speaker and deputy speaker. The military’s elections took place from Dec. 28 to Jan. 25.
Fuel rationing measures to include work-from-home
The regime’s National Defence and Security Council (NDSC) announced on Sunday that regime employees are required to work from home every Wednesday starting on March 25 until further notice. It added that more fuel rationing measures will begin this week by restricting vehicle owners from purchasing fuel from once every 24 hours to once or twice a week depending on the vehicle’s engine power.
The NDSC claimed on March 22 that Burma now has a 50-day fuel reserve rather than the 40-day reserve it mentioned on March 4. It stated that the new measures are intended to “prepare for future energy challenges” with ongoing disruptions to the global supply chain due to escalating hostilities in the Middle East with the Iran War, which began with American and Israeli attacks on Tehran on Feb. 28.
The NDSC also ordered the private sector to implement work from home arrangements for employees. The new fuel-saving measures follow the regime Ministry of Energy’s fuel rationing system in Yangon, Mandalay, Naypyidaw and the Shan State capital Taunggyi which took effect on March 12. At least three airlines halted selling tickets for domestic flights March 20-23, citing an aviation fuel shortage.
Tarique Rahman, chairperson of Bangladesh Nationalist Party, shows victory sign during a press conference following the BNP landslide in the 13th general election in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on Feb. 14. (Credit: Reuters)
Rights groups call on Dhaka to improve Rohingya livelihoods
Nine human rights organizations, including Amnesty International, Fortify Rights, and Human Rights Watch, issued a joint letter to Bangladesh’s newly-elected Prime Minister Tarique Rahman to ask him to improve the deteriorating humanitarian situation for Rohingya refugees living in camps located in its southeastern Cox’s Bazar District and Bhasan Char, an island off the coast of Bangladesh.
“We remain concerned about the fate of the Rohingya refugees who are crowded into settlements, without proper access to livelihood or education even as humanitarian assistance is dwindling,” the joint letter on March 23 stated. It added that the new Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) government–elected on Feb. 12–should uphold the rights of Rohingya refugees and ensure accountability for abuses in Burma.
On Feb. 11, Fortify Rights reported that Rohingya refugees face severe restrictions on freedom of movement, limited access to healthcare, and risk arbitrary detention. Nearly one million Rohingya live in refugee camps in Bangladesh, according to the U.N. Over 700,000 arrived following a military “security clearance” operation in 2017, which was labelled a genocide by the U.S. government in 2022.
Read our latest DVB English News op-ed by Shafiur Rahman: How Rohingya refugees view Bangladesh’s new government
News by Region
AYEYARWADY—Sources close to the regime’s disaster management department told DVB that at least 20 houses were damaged or destroyed by strong winds and heavy rain in Maubin, Kyonpyaw, Labutta, Myaungmya, Pathein and Hinthada townships last month. No casualties were reported.
“My house was destroyed. I am currently staying in a temporary shelter,” a Hinthada resident told DVB, adding that makeshift tents were set up near the six towns. Some residents, whose homes were either damaged or destroyed, told DVB they are staying with relatives or friends.
ARAKAN—Police in Mrauk-U Township stated on Sunday that a teacher was detained for alleged sexual abuse of four female kindergarten students at a monastic school on March 11. Mrauk-U, located 60 miles (96 km) north and northeast of the state capital Sittwe, was seized by the Arakan Army (AA) in 2024.
A Mrauk-U resident told DVB that four children under the age of 10 accused their teacher of “inappropriately touching them.” The police, which operate under the AA’s political wing the United League of Arakan (ULA), added that the accused 56-year-old could face life imprisonment if convicted.
SHAN—The Shan Human Rights Foundation (SHRF) reported a new coal-fired power plant owned by the United Wa State Army (UWSA) in southern Mong Hsat Township, located along the Burma-Thailand border 262 miles (423 km) east of the state capital Taunggyi, “is set to worsen heavy metal contamination of the Kok River.”
The UWSA power plant located six miles (10 km) south of Mong Hsat town, across the Kok River from Wan Hoong village tract began operation in 2025. The plant currently powers the UWSA military base, training school, and factories producing weapons and rubber in Wan Hoong, according to SHRF.
(Exchange rate: $1 USD = 4,200 MMK)
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