News
Rubber row flares amid rally threat
Rubber farmers in the South are threatening to stage a major rally and a hunger strike if their demands for government action to shore up falling prices are not met. Saksarit Sriprasart, a leader of rubber farmers in Trang, said a network of small planters in the southern ...
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 ...
China starts rice imports from Laos
The first shipment of rice imports from Laos have passed through inspection and quarantine procedures at south China’s Shenzhen port, according to local authorities. The shipment weighed 87.8 tonnes and was valued at 746 million U.S. dollars, said the Shenzhen Entry-Exit Inspection And Quarantine Bureau. Keep reading ...
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 ...
Thailand urged to resume process to legalise migrant workers
Labour ministry officials from Thailand are due to resume talks on 8 January in Yangon with their Myanmar counterparts on the status of up to 3 million Myanmar migrant workers in the kingdom. If successful, the negotiations could lead to an agreement that would legalise the workers’ ...
UN pressures Thai Government on 82 disappeared
The government has been active in dealing with enforced disappearances, Foreign Ministry spokesman Sek Wannamethee said on 7 January. Mr Sek’s comments came after the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on 6 January urged the government to step up efforts to investigate the whereabouts of 82 ...
Budget freeze hurts grantees
Thai Health Promotion Foundation’s (ThaiHealth) budget freeze is causing impacts on its grantees, complained civic groups. As a result of the investigation of the Auditing Committee on Fiscal Expenditure, projects funded by ThaiHealth with grants of more than five million baht a year must seek approval ...
ASEAN chair provides opportunities, challenges for Laos
Assuming the chairmanship of ASEAN this year offers Laos a great opportunity but the country will face numerous challenges in leading the bloc, a senior official has acknowledged. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr Thongloun Sisoulith made the comment recently when speaking to Foreign ...
