News
Low-cost housing project in Yangon struggles to secure water supply
Supplying water to the estimated 100,000 residents of a new housing development in Yangon could put supplies to the rest of the city at risk, the Myanmar government has warned. Next year, the first 6000 of the 19,600 apartments now being built in the Ayeyarwun and Yadanar ...
Mandalay jade traders say worst year ‘ever’ for sales
Jade traders in Mandalay say this could be the worst year ever for business. The main cause they cite is the absence of Chinese buyers, possibly nervous about the outcome of next month’s election. In interviews on 25 October at the Maha Aung Myay Gem Trading ...
Letpadan students set to expand hunger strikes
Legal proceedings at Tharyarwady District Court against students arrested last March have been at a standstill for the past several weeks, but that did not stop a crowd from appearing there on 27 October. Most had come to show their support for Ko Aung Hmine San, ...
School curriculum overhaul under way in Myanmar
For the first time in 20 years, education specialists are overhauling the curriculum used in Myanmar’s state schools. The process, which began in 2014, will be completed in stages over the coming years. U Myo Thein Gyi, director general of the Department of Myanmar Education Research Bureau, said ...
Myanmar car accidents leave high human and financial toll: police
Deadly carnage on the country’s roads is costing billions, police say. More than 3000 people have died in accidents so far this year, with nearly 20,000 injured in more than 11,000 accidents. The toll of deaths and injuries consumes one-quarter of the national health budget. Keep reading ...
Police investigate alleged attack on NLD candidates
Police are investigating allegations that the son of a prominent ruling-party politician rammed an opposition campaign convoy with his motorbike. The alleged attack took place on 18 October, in Zee Phyu Kone village in Naypyitaw’s Dekkhinathiri township. Keep reading ...
More cash sought for Myanmar pension plan
Myanmar’s Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement is seeking more money for a planned social pension program, according to a senior official. The ministry originally requested K500 million (US$390,000) in 2015-16 to distribute to an estimated 35,000 people aged 90 years and above. However, a final ...
Chin State faces looming food shortage after flood crisis
Three months after the nationwide flood disaster, civil society groups say that government has vastly underestimated the damage toll in Chin State, where locals are facing a looming food shortage. While emergency relief has found its way into many affected Chin State communities, local aid workers ...
China pledges support for next Myanmar government regardless of winner
China will support the new government that emerges from next month’s elections in Myanmar no matter which party wins, senior officials told The Myanmar Times in Beijing. During an interview at a media forum in the Chinese capital last week, Sun Haiyan, director general of the ...
Ex-ruling party chair says USDP unlikely to win November poll
Speaking to reporters on the campaign trail in Pegu Division’s Phyu on 25 October, former ruling party chairman Shwe Mann has admitted the party will likely struggle in the upcoming general election. With 25 percent of seats in Myanmar’s legislature reserved for military appointees, the USDP needs ...
