Myanmar Times
Officials look to formulate national policy on ageing
The Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement hosted an event this week in Yangon aimed at drafting a national policy for a growing contingent of those over 60 years old. One in every 11 Myanmar citizens is elderly, the ministry’s deputy director general Daw ...
Myanma railways to offer compensation for circular line upgrade affected
Compensation is on the agenda for Myanma Railways, as planned up- grades to the Yangon circular railway gather steam. Myanma Railways general manager U Htun Aung Thin told The Myanmar Times there would be negotiation and compensation for those affected by the project. “We held ...
Hydropower review taskforce stalls, waiting for instructions
A Commission member on the taskforce reviewing hydropower projects said the team has yet to hear back from the president about the first submitted report, which is believed to have advised cancelling the controversial, Chinese-backed Myitsone dam. The first report on hydropower projects along the ...
Japanese aid package funding three JICA projects
Three projects funded by part of a recently announced US$7.7 billion Japanese aid package are under way, according to the Japanese International Cooperation Institute. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced earlier this month that his country would provide 800 billion yen in aid, loans and ...
Protest seeks K5600 minimum wage
More than 2000 factory workers staged a protest this weekend in Yangon’s Hlaing Tharyar township, demanding that the government increase the daily minimum wage in light of rising costs of living and inflation. “Unless something is done to stop increases to living expenses, soon workers ...
China continues to court on Myitsone project ahead of commission presser
As the commission tasked with reviewing hydropower projects along the upper reaches of the Ayeyarwady River submitted its first report to the president this past week, Chinese state media has assured its nation of the ongoing “friendly and cooperative” Sino-Myanmar relationship. The China News article, ...
Yangon govt to offer low-cost housing to ‘real’ squatters
The Yangon Region government is in the process of arranging low-cost housing for “real squatters” in the commercial capital, Yangon’s security and border affairs minister told the regional legislature on November 16. He was responding to a question from lawmaker U Kyaw Zeya (NLD; Dagon ...
Trade GSP can’t make profit for Myanmar in short term
Some 5000 goods from Myanmar have been granted classification under the United States Generalised System of Preferences export scheme, however this will not see a rapid turnaround in profits, say industry figures. The United States trade representative body announced on its official website that preferential tariffs ...
UNESCO, government to train Bagan masons
The masons tasked with rebuilding hundreds of crumbling pagodas in Bagan will receive training from the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and the Bagan Department of Archaeology, National Museum and Library later this month, department director U Aung Aung Kyaw told The Myanmar Times.`A 6.8-magnitude earthquake near ...
Attempts to curb electric fishing failing
Poachers are defying the law and risking imprisonment by continuing to use electric-shock methods to stun and catch fish, conservationists say. They say the practise is inflicting serious damage on the ecosystems of the Ayeyarwady River. The use of batteries to stun fish, as well ...
