Min Aung Hlaing to visit Laos in July

Laotian state media, which is heavily controlled by the government in Vientiane, reported that Burma’s regime leader Min Aung Hlaing will visit the capital from July 3–5 at the invitation of President Thongloun Sisoulith. This will mark Min Aung Hlaing’s third foreign trip since his inauguration as Burma’s president by a pro-military parliament on April 10, following visits to India from May 30 to June 3 and China from June 15–19.

Laotian media reported that Minister of Foreign Affairs Thongsavanh Phomvihane invited Min Aung Hlaing to Vientiane during his trip to Naypyidaw June 12-13. Min Aung Hlaing’s scheduled visit marks the 70th anniversary of diplomatic ties between Burma and Laos which began in 1955. Thongsavanh reportedly congratulated Min Aung Hlaing on becoming president, following regime elections that ended on Jan. 25.

During Laos’ chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 2024, Burma was allowed to send regime Foreign Affairs Ministry Permanent Secretary Marlar Than Htike to the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Luang Prabang — marking the regime’s return to the annual meeting since the military coup on Feb. 1, 2021. Laos and Burma share a 148 mile (238 km) border that runs entirely along the Mekong River. 

President of Belarus to return to Myanmar ‘soon’ for second time

Regime media reported on Monday that Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko will visit Naypyidaw on an undisclosed date “soon,” marking his second trip to Burma after his first-ever visit to the capital on Nov. 27 ahead of regime elections held Dec. 28 to Jan. 25. Min Aung Hlaing visited the Belarusian capital Minsk twice in 2025 — in March, where he announced the elections, and again in June.

During Lukashenko’s previous visit to Naypyidaw, Belarus and Burma signed 16 commercial agreements worth approximately 9 million USD. Lukashenko approved a 90-day visa-free travel agreement between Belarus and Burma on May 25, but it has yet to come into effect. A Belarusian lawmaker stated on April 17 that 300 Belarusian citizens visited Burma in 2025 and 147 Burma citizens visited Belarus the same year.

Justice For Myanmar has accused Minsk of supplying air defence systems to Naypyidaw and providing training to regime defence industry personnel in a report published in June 2025. Burma opened a consulate in Minsk in 2023, further strengthening the bilateral ties established between the two countries in 1999. Naypyidaw plans to upgrade it into an embassy with an ambassador, but no date has been set. 

Residents in Hpakant Township, Kachin State, protested against the regime’s attempt to resume the suspended Myitsone hydropower dam project on Dec. 24. (Credit: CJ)

Kachin State’s Myitsone dam project ‘to be completed in 8 years’

The Kachin Human Rights Watch (KHRW) responded to the regime’s Kachin State Chief Minister Khat Htein Nan, who claimed during a speech in Mogaung Township on June 23 that the China-backed Myitsone Dam hydropower project is resistant to floods and earthquakes, calling his statements “disinformation.” Khat Htein Nan also stated that the dam project will be completed in eight years, residents told DVB. 

KHRW told DVB that Kachin State experiences floods annually during the rainy season, so Khat Htein Nan’s statements to residents are illogical. One resident was reportedly killed by a flood-triggered landslide in Kachin’s Hpakant Township on June 21, while over 31,000 residents living in low-lying areas of Myitkyina Township were evacuated from their homes due to flooding in 2025.

The Myitsone dam, located at the confluence of Maykha and Malikha rivers on the upper Irrawaddy River in Kachin State, was revived by Naypyidaw during regime leader Min Aung Hlaing’s visit to China June 15-19. Mogaung and Hpakant are located 41-94 miles (65-151 km) west of the Kachin State capital Myitkyina, and 105-158 miles (168-254 km) northwest of the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) headquarters of Laiza. 

News by Region

KACHIN—The bodies of five miners were recovered and two are missing at a jade mine in Hpakant Township’s Nanmaw village after a landslide on Sunday. Hpakant is located 94 miles (151 km) northwest of the state capital Myitkyina and 58 miles (93 km) southwest of the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) headquarters at Laiza. 

A Hpakant resident said the landslide occurred after heavy rainfall on June 27, adding that search and rescue efforts have been carried out since June 28. A jade miner was killed by a landslide in Hpakant’s Kaungsan village on June 24, residents told Myitkyina News. Flooding in Hpakant town receded on June 30. 

KARENNI—The Karenni Nationalities Defence Force (KNDF) requested all residents of Karenni State to install a real-time air defence mobile application on their smartphones, called “Air Alert,” in order to stay up-to-date on aerial attacks carried out by the Burma Air Force. It is only available on Android devices.

“This app can track an aircraft’s real-time location and its paths. So, people will have up to five minutes to prepare ahead for their safety,” the KNDF app developer told DVB on the condition of anonymity, adding that over 2,700 users have already installed the application. But it is not yet available on Apple’s iOS. Read more

CHIN—Three children, ages 7-10, were killed and an unknown number of civilians were injured by airstrikes carried out by the Burma Air Force in Mindat Township on Monday, residents told DVB. Mindat, located 127 miles (275 km) south of the state capital Hakha, was seized by the Chin Brotherhood in 2024. 

A Mindat resident told DVB that nearly 40 bombs were dropped on the township on June 29. Fighting between Chin resistance and regime forces have intensified since June 16. The Chin Human Rights Organization (CHRO) has documented nearly 500 airstrikes carried out on Mindat since May. 

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