News
Study links deforestation, malaria
New research conducted in Malaysia has drawn a link between deforestation and a rise in a specific strain of malaria often carried by macaques, a link the study’s lead author says could hold true for Cambodia as well. The results of the study, published in Emerging ...
Expert calls for diabetes campaign
Diabetes is harming more people than landmines, a leading expert says. U Tint Swe Latt of the Myanmar Diabetes Association told The Myanmar Times that most amputations of hands and legs resulted from the disease, and not from the landmines that still litter parts of the ...
Flood aid brings relief, but also anger and distrust
Donor aid to villages afflicted by the July-August flooding is just a lucky dip, say angry residents. They blame “sloppy” out-of-town NGOs and ill-equipped local authorities for directing money – sometimes more than once – to some villages while completely neglecting others. Donors themselves say villagers ...
Thapaung farmers face silted waterways
Inadequate irrigation could lead to the loss of more than 1000 acres of farmland in Ayeyarwady Region as creeks and rivers are drying up, farmers say. The rice growers, in Thapaung township, are still recovering from floods in August and September that forced them to ...
EU pledges 70 million euros in project funding
The European Union on 21 December announced an additional 70 million euros (US$76 million) in funding for projects focused on police training, food and nutrition security, and support to the peace process. Roland Kobia, EU ambassador, said in a statement, “Since the start of reforms in 2011, ...
Thai authorities detain Lao women who illegally entered the country as sex workers
Thai authorities have detained 43 Lao women, some of whom appear underage, for illegally entering the country to work in the sex trade just two days after the Lao parliament passed an anti-human trafficking law to ensure protection for victims and punishments for perpetrators. Passed on ...
Fighting continues to expand in Shan State
Fighting is spreading over larger areas of northern Shan State as the Tatmadaw and a newly allied ethnic armed group move in reinforcements, according to the Ta’ang National Liberation Army. Villagers forced to flee the conflict are reported to have scattered across five townships. The current round ...
New group aims to help cut Myanmar road deaths by half
Road deaths need to be cut by 2000 a year or they will exceed regional targets, a new traffic-safety NGO says. ASEAN has called on member countries to reduce road deaths by half over the next five years, and the Myanmar Organisation for Road Safety, which ...
Trusted recruiters, friends leading domestic migrants to abuse: ILO report
The Myanmar government’s labour recruitment offices are failing, leaving workers to scrounge for jobs through informal networks rife with opportunistic brokers, according to a new report. In the absence of a functioning, official employment system, the vast majority of over 7000 workers interviewed – 72 percent ...
Military MP calls for new terms on ‘cheap’ land leases
US$54 a year for prime space in a high-end shopping centre; $3850 a year for a 553-acre golf course; $4625 a year for a hotel on 1.6 acres of land: These are just some of the cut-price rates for state-owned land that have been revealed ...
