- Lynx rally, stun Liberty in overtime in WNBA Finals opener
- Pogacar hunting 'perfect' season finale with Coppi's Il Lombardia record
- 'Soul of old Baghdad': city centre sees timid revival
- Kittle at the double as Niners hold off Seahawks
- At least 11 dead in Florida but Hurricane Milton not as bad as feared
- Yankees advance in MLB playoffs as Guardians stay alive
- Asian markets mixed after Wall St drop, Shanghai dips before briefing
- Automaker Stellantis says CEO will retire in 2026
- Musk's promised robotaxi unveil delayed
- Kamada says Japan can close in on World Cup place against Australia
- On US coast, wind power foes embrace 'Save the Whales' argument
- Renewables revolt in Sardinia, Italy's coal-fired island
- Argentina held, Brazil leave it late in 2026 World Cup qualifiers
- Obama blasts 'crazy' Trump in first rally for Harris
- 2024 Nobel Peace Prize, a plea in favour of world order?
- Fry homers as Guardians down Tigers to stay alive in MLB playoffs
- Japan PM presses China's Li on airspace intrusion
- In Trump 'Truths,' conspiracies, attacks -- and doubts about the election
- How Sebastian Stan found a 'relatable' Trump for 'The Apprentice' biopic
- Panama's water wheel trash collector keeps plastic at bay
- It's still 'the economy, stupid,' says US political guru Carville
- Five key dates in the history of the America's Cup
- Zelensky to meet Pope, Scholz as whirlwind Europe tour ends
- At least 10 dead in Florida but Hurricane Milton not as bad as feared
- Far from eye, Hurricane Milton's deadly tornados rampaged Florida
- At least 10 dead in Florida after Hurricane Milton spawns tornadoes
- Argentina held, Bolivia stun Colombia in 2026 qualifiers
- Socceroos have 'nothing to fear' from Japan
- Sean 'Diddy' Combs sex trafficking trial set for May 2025
- Bolivia stun Colombia in World Cup qualifiers
- Internet Archive reels from 'catastrophic' cyberattack, data breach
- Greece earn late win against England in Nations League, Italy-Belgium stalemate
- Trump biopic 'The Apprentice' hits US theaters weeks before election
- Pavlidis dedicates 'special' Greece win over England to tragic Baldock
- Wall Street stocks retreat from records on US inflation data
- 'Like a quake': Beirut shaken after deadliest strikes on centre
- Fallen giants Ghana in AFCON trouble after Sudan draw
- Asian leaders meet in Laos with US, Russia on world turmoil
- England gamble backfires as Pavlidis fires emotional Greece to victory
- Obama stumps for Harris, Trump talks US protectionism
- New-look France ease past Israel in Nations League
- Belgium fight back to draw with 10-man Italy in Nations League
- 'Get a life': Hurricane whips up US election storm
- Japan stay perfect in World Cup qualifying
- Relief as Lebanon evacuees dock in Turkey
- Lebanon says 22 dead in Israeli strikes on central Beirut
- NBA boss Silver sees games back in China 'at some point'
- Israel strikes central Beirut, killing 22
- Table tennis and Netflix push Ukraine teen into French Open contention
- Civilians flee Gaza's Jabalia in tightening Israeli siege
Myanmar rebel troupe takes aim at junta with folk satire
A troupe of Myanmar folk singers and satirists are taking their new show on a jungle tour, hoping to rally anti-coup fighters far from their families with barbs against the junta and jokes about home.
Myanmar has been in chaos since last year's coup sparked renewed fighting with ethnic rebels and sprouted dozens of "People's Defence Forces" that have battled the junta across the country.
In eastern Kayin state, the "Peacock Generation" activist troupe are trying to boost morale with traditional "Thangyat" performances of poetry, comedy and satirical songs against the junta.
Near the Thai border, their makeshift tour bus -- with a three-finger salute popular with pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong and Thailand painted on one side -- bumps along a dusty track en route to a camp.
Upon arrival, the unfazed troupe of around 15 mostly young performers rehearse their lines.
"We are expecting the battle like we hope for rains," they sing, stepping in unison across a makeshift stage, accompanied by drums and cymbals.
"Let's start the bullets raining."
Slam-poetry-like "Thangyat" is traditionally performed around the new year, and has been used for centuries in Myanmar to poke fun at politics and society and vent against injustices small and large.
But the military has waged a brutal crackdown on dissent since the February 2021 coup.
More than 1,700 civilians have been killed and over 13,000 people arrested, including dozens of journalists, according to a local monitoring group.
A handful of media outlets have also been forced to shut down.
At the camp, a handful of young fighters in camouflage uniforms sit cross-legged, some clapping along.
"We also want to live like you -- peacefully with cigarettes and coffee," the troupe sings to a row of smartphones in the audience — a message that will reach those sitting at home when the performance is broadcast online later.
"We are still young and we are missing our mothers who always scold us."
The few dozen at the camp are some of the hundreds, according to analyst estimates, who have trekked into border areas held by Myanmar's established rebel groups to receive weapons training.
- 'Freedom' –
"Thangyat gives us some freedom of expression in our culture," said veteran performer Zay Yar Lwin, 32, who fled to the jungle after the coup and refounded the Peacock Generation group he had performed with in previous years.
Thangyat performances are usually held in streets and parks at the Thingyan festival that welcomes in the new year and is usually marked by boisterous water fights in the streets.
But celebrations this year have been muted as many stay away from junta-sponsored events.
"Most of what we're saying is targeting the military dictatorship," Zay Yar Lwin said.
But they also tease the shadow 'National Unity Government' dominated by lawmakers from Suu Kyi's ousted party that is working to overturn the coup for failing to secure the weapons anti-coup fighters say they need.
"Are we getting weapons from the NUG?" calls the troupe leader. "Yeah we are, but only wind guns," comes the response, a jibe implying the opposition body is all talk and no action.
Rebel recruit Ma Yu, 30, said she feels especially homesick during Thingyan because under normal circumstances she would celebrate with a feast at home with her parents and family.
"But I felt blessed while watching others practising for the performance, and so I joined it to have a new experience," she said.
Thangyat performances were prohibited under the previous junta regime which ruled for almost 50 years, and it was not until 2013 that the ban was lifted.
But even after democracy hero Aung San Suu Kyi's government was sworn into power, there were strict limits on free speech -- especially when it came to the armed forces.
In 2019 Zay Yar Lwin and several other "Peacock Generation" members were jailed for a performance that a judge found was "disrespectful" to the military.
Living in the jungle, he said it was satisfying to perform Thangyat and rebel against the military.
"You can rebel against them with hip hop or electropop or Thangyat. People are ready to support you during this time," Zay Yar Lwin said.
G.Stevens--AMWN