Making connections in Myanmar's fractured state

Children play video games on their mobile phones at an Internet cafe in Demoso township in Myanmar's eastern Karenni state. In a riverine battleground in western Myanmar an entrepreneur probes the sky with a makeshift bamboo antenna, hunting for reception to boost his payphone kiosk linking embattled locals to their loved-ones. — AFP

PONNAGYUN, Myanmar: In a riverine battleground in western Myanmar, an entrepreneur hunts for reception using a makeshift bamboo antenna, his payphone kiosk providing locals a lifeline to connect with their loved ones.

In commercial capital Yangon, a student flicks through apps that cloak his online identity so he can skirt social media bans that accompanied the 2021 coup.