Many of them left rural areas to earn their living in the sex trade and send money home to help their families. COVID-19 restrictions have changed all that.
After a coup Monday, the military once again controls Myanmar. It had shared political power as the country eased toward democracy. Civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi remains in detention.
NPR's Mary Louise Kelly talks with Washington Post columnist and CNN host of GPS Fareed Zakaria about how the coup in Myanmar presents a test for President Biden.
In a deal with the Taliban last year, the Trump administration agreed to withdraw U.S. troops by May, but the Biden administration says the Taliban isn't keeping its end of the bargain.
In the video, Khing Hnin Wai performs aerobics to upbeat music, seemingly oblivious to the convoy of military vehicles streaming down the road behind her as Myanmar's army carries out a coup.
By July, India aims to vaccinate 300 million of its 1.4 billion people. But with COVID-19 infections already declining, some Indians don't see the need — and clinics have more doses than recipients.
Japan is extending the state of emergency for one more month. The move comes despite a mounting toll on the economy and the threat of bumping up against the country's Summer Olympics preparations.
The armed forces will likely find it harder to rule a changed Myanmar on its own — and the world should convince it not to, argues Charles Dunst of the East-West Center in Washington.