News
Myanmar maid death draws attention to flouting of domestic worker ban
A Myanmar domestic worker in Singapore fell 18 storeys from a condominium and died on 19 October, according to police reports. The incident has once again cast a spotlight on Singapore’s maid industry, which continues to thrive despite bans and restrictions. Keep reading ...
Myanmar Government earmarks cash to rebuild 3000 homes
States and regions affected by natural disaster will receive government funding for rehabilitation next year. U Maung Win, director of the Department of Rural Development of the Ministry of Livestock, Fisheries and Rural Development, said the funds would be enough to restore 3000 rural homes. Keep ...
Fighting raises vote doubt in Shan State
Election officials in central Shan State have called for the postponement of voting in two townships because of continued fighting between government forces and an ethnic armed group that has displaced at least 3000 civilians. Keep reading ...
Food and Drug Administration to test drinking water, cooking oil
The Myanmar Food and Drug Administration is taking action against peddlers of dirty “purified” water and fake peanut oil. Officials said for the safety of the public the FDA will be testing products consumed daily, going ward by ward to take samples. “First, we will take ...
Advanced voting prompts confusion
Election day is 8 November for most of Myanmar’s 32 million eligible voters, but advance voting – an extremely contentious issue in the 2010 polls – has already begun in some parts of the country. All states and regions have received their ballot papers, each carrying ...
Malnutrition feared in Myanmar's hard-hit flood zones
Widespread malnutrition and food shortages are feared in the aftermath of devastating monsoon floods that wiped out large tracts of the agriculture and livestock industries, according to a new survey report. An assessment team from the United Nations, the World Food Programme and other international aid ...
YCDC searches for more water as households run dry
Only 60 percent of Yangon’s water needs are being met, officials say. The Yangon City Development Committee is hunting for fresh sources, even as work proceeds to fix leaky pipes that lose half the water they are supposed to carry. The search for water security is part ...
Around 4 million voters shut out of Myanmar's election
When Myanmar votes next month in what has been billed as its first free and fair election in 25 years, Tun Lin, and around 4 million of his fellow citizens, won’t be taking part. Most, like the 33-year-old fisherman, are working overseas and have been unable to ...
Myanmar fishermen protest Thai hires
The hiring of Thai helmsmen on Myanmar fishing boats has been criticised by the local fishing industry. Two Myanmar companies last year hired Thai captains on the grounds that they were familiar with the use of sonar to find fish. Faced with opposition by local fishermen, the ...
Myanmar Central Bank will not return to old ways: senior official
Amid widespread anxiety over the impact of the Myanmar Central Bank’s decision to revoke thousands of US dollar accepter and holder licences, a senior official has promised authorities have no plans to return to old ways. For many years – until 2011, when six commercial banks opened ...
