News
Labour agencies mull boycott of Malaysia
A tenfold increase in visa fees has prompted employment agencies to consider boycotting Malaysia, long a favoured destination of Myanmar migrant workers. The threat, which could be backed up by demonstrations, followed an announcement by the Malaysian embassy to raise visa application costs from US$6 ...
Canal repair reduces Yangon water supply
Householders in 19 Yangon city townships are being urged to store water as repair work proceeds on the canal that supplies much of the city’s water. The city’s Irrigation Department will be working on the canal between the Ngamoeyeik dam and the city’s Nyaunghnapin pumping station ...
Conflicting calls mark peace conference
Key ethnic armed groups are boycotting the talks and more than 100 civil society organisations called for their postponement, but nonetheless President U Thein Sein’s government on 12 January launched the first round of a political dialogue aimed at bringing a permanent end to over six ...
Daw Suu highlights ‘deeply rooted’ educational flaws
Myanmar’s deeply rooted rote learning system is outdated and leads to poor educational standards, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi said on 11 January. Improving the country’s education system will be a key challenge for the new administration when it takes over in March. Keep reading ...
Mandalay tent dwellers hope to get public housing
Tent-dwellers on the banks of the Ayeyarwady River in Mandalay may soon be exchanging their canvas walls for bricks and mortar, as the regional government seeks tenants for newly completed low-cost housing. The Mandalay Region government has decided not to charge would-be tenants a deposit amounting ...
Hepatitis survey points to nearly 5 million infected
Nearly 5 million people in Myanmar suffer from a form of hepatitis, health officials say. A nationwide survey conducted last year estimated that about 3.3 million people suffer from hepatitis B and a further 1.3 million live with hepatitis C. Keep reading ...
Immigration grants new visa types
Entry into Myanmar by foreign visitors, including businesspeople, tourists and students, will get easier starting on 11 January. The Ministry of Immigration is now offering six new types of entry visa and three types of re-entry visa to international visitors effective 11 January. Keep reading ...
No agreement on Certificate of Identity for workers in Thailand
A bilateral Thai-Myanmar meeting to resolve issues relating to migrant workers in Thailand has ended inconclusively, as the Thai negotiators have referred all matters under discussion to Bangkok for a decision. The 8 and 9 January meeting in Yangon discussed the status of the 3 million ...
Migrant activists abroad call for support from ‘oppression’
A migrant workers’ activist has called for greater support from the Myanmar government for workers overseas who, he said, faced “oppression” from foreign governments. The call came as Malaysian police arrested Myanmar demonstrators outside the Thai embassy in Kuala Lumpur on 7 January. The demonstrators were ...
Solutions elusive as traffic jams Yangon
U Than Htwe and Daw Kay Thi Tun are among the millions of commuters who find themselves spending hours on Yangon’s old and overburdened public transport system every day, a routine that takes its toll on the health, well-being and income of the city’s residents. Without ...
