Burma rose 12 places in the 2017 World Press Freedom Index, amid larger global trends over the past year indicating “that media freedom is under threat now more than ever,” according to Reporters Without Borders (RSF), which has compiled the index annually since 2002.

Myo Yan Naung Thein had called for Commander-in-Chief Min Aung Hlaing to resign following the attack on border guard posts in Maungdaw by militants.

The dispute centres on a report that village administrators were exaggerating the acreage owned by local farmers so that they could secure higher loans.

The chief editor of Myanmar Now, who is facing a lawsuit for insulting monk Wirathu, says he was threatened by three men near his home in Rangoon last night.

Supporters have rallied behind embattled journalist Swe Win after a defamation complaint was filed against him on behalf of extremist monk Wirathu.

Human Rights Watch on Tuesday called on Burma’s Parliament to amend or repeal laws that continue to be used to jail activists and average citizens for peacefully exercising their right to free speech.