News
Civil societies call for more space at table
Civil society organisations have called for more representation around the negotiating table when the government and ethnic armed groups launch the next stage of the peace process in early January. CSOs from across the country meeting in Yangon on 17 December complained that they had been completely ...
Armed group embroiled in illegal housing scam
People duped into buying government-owned land beside the Yangon-Mandalay Highway on 17 December urged police to take action against those responsible, shortly after the authorities moved in and evicted thousands from the Hlegu site. More than 1600 acres had been subdivided and sold in 2400-square-foot plots since ...
Myanmar still behind ASEAN peers in UN report
Despite continuing its positive trend and rise through the ranks, Myanmar remains identified as a country with low human development in the annual United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Human Development Report, released on 16 December. The report – titled Work for Human Development – ranks Myanmar ...
Ministry set to introduce social pension in January
Nonagenarians and centenarians are to receive their social pensions starting next month, the government says. The Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement will provide the annual K18,000 payment to 7754 elderly men and 15,619 elderly women aged from 90 upward, a total of 23,373 ...
Transition teams kick off months-long dialogue
Transition committees set up to ensure a smooth handover of power are to meet four times a week until March, a senior National League for Democracy member said on 16 December. The government and NLD both formed eight-member teams on December 10 to coordinate the transition ...
Another jade mine disaster hits Hpakant
Another deadly landslide struck the jade mines in Kachin State on 14 December. At least one death has been confirmed, while up to 20 others are feared dead in the slag-heap collapse. The latest spill occurred near Lamaungkone village in Hpakant township, according to locals. Freelance, itinerate ...
In Pa-O zone, no end to opium cultivation
A genuine ceasefire agreement between the government and armed groups is needed to tackle poppy cultivation in the Pa-O Self-Administered Zone, local groups say. Research conducted by the Pa-O Youth Organisation (PYO) has found that opium eradication projects continue to fail because of the taxation of ...
Garment workers protest unpaid wages
More than 200 workers at Htate Tan Myanmar garment factory in Hlaing Tharyar township’s industrial zone 4 have been protesting in support of a demand for unpaid wages since 14 December. Ma Moe Sandar, a clerk from the factory, told The Myanmar Times the factory had not ...
Bagan hotels in limbo as government blocks licences
More than 40 hotels in one of the country’s prime tourist attractions cannot accept a single guest – because the authorities refuse to grant them licences. The “limbo hotels”, some of which are still under construction, are located in the protection zone declared by the Ministry of ...
Land tensions rise after talks snub
Already tired of lengthy delays on the promised return of confiscated land, farmers in Pyin Oo Lwin district are now furious officials stood them up at a negotiation meeting. The farmers said they were summoned by the Township Farmland Management and Statistics Department to discuss a ...
