The Irrawaddy’s Lawi Weng and DVB’s Aye Nai and Pyae Phone Aung, along with three civilians, were charged today under the Unlawful Association Act.

Three journalists arrested in Shan State are likely to be handed over to police “soon,” a senior government official says, as questions mount as to why the men were detained and pressure grows on the military to reveal their whereabouts nearly 48 hours after they were taken into custody.

Three Burmese reporters detained at an undisclosed location by the army will be charged under a colonial-era statute against “unlawful association” and risk up to three years in prison, government and army officials said on Tuesday.

Eighty Burmese and Thai civil society organisations issued a joint statement this week calling for the withdrawal of lawsuits filed against The Nation and one of the newspaper’s journalists, whose reporting on a Thai company’s mining venture in Dawei described the damage that the operation was causing to local livelihoods and the environment.

The government warns the public that false news and rumours are being spread by unidentified people wishing to cause “political instability” during the tenure of leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson urged Southeast Asian foreign ministers on Thursday to do more to help cut funding streams for North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs and to minimise diplomatic relations with Pyongyang.