Myanmar Times
Foreigners flouting draft law could face immigration trouble
Foreign workers in breach of a law awaiting passage could face penalties, immigration officials say. The labour ministry is finalising a draft law for submission to the Office of the President that seeks to more tightly regulate foreign workers in the country. The draft incorporates ...
Kayin farmers criminalised for fighting land grabs: HRW report
Kayin State villagers are losing their land and are routinely persecuted through threats, arson and arbitrary arrest if they attempt to fight the unlawful seizures, according to a report released by an international rights group on November 3. Around 70 percent of the people in ...
Singapore firm plans Thilawa galvanising plant
Amid booming demand for high-quality construction materials, Meranti Singapore is planning to build a steel galvanising plant and paintline in Thilawa special economic zone. The firm intends to spend US$85 million on the facility, and is in discussion with the SEZ operator and potential local ...
Brunei delegation eyes rice and paddy exports
A Delegation from Brunei Darussalam will visit Myanmar to discuss buying rice and paddy, according to agriculture ministry officials, as the government continues an urgent search for new export markets. The Brunei delegation will visit Myanmar later this month to discuss importing high-quality rice, paddy and ...
Three Mandalay projects delayed pending review
Three Mandalay Region development projects approved under the previous government are being reconsidered under the National League for Democracy administration. The projects are temporarily stalled while experts study potential negative impacts on the local environment and the public, officials have noted. Organising committees have been formed ...
Further delays to workplace health and safety law expected
Despite being in the works since 2012, there is no end in sight for enactment of the Occupational Safety and Health Law, which has not yet reached the floor of the hluttaw for a vote. Since it was drafted, the law has been discussed among ...
Thai forced labour case pushed to November 28
A forced labour case involving 14 Myanmar workers and a giant poultry exporter in Thailand’s Lopburi province went unresolved in court on October 31. Unsatisfied with the 1.7 million Thai baht in compensation awarded by the Lopburi Labour Protection and Welfare Office against the poultry farm ...
Doctors say survey underestimates number of women dying from botched abortions
Women denied the right to an abortion are injuring and killing themselves in an attempt to end their pregnancies, doctors and specialists say. In Yangon’s Central Women’s Hospital, it is estimated that from one-third to half of pregnancy deaths occur because of botched abortions, often ...
Gems traders in Mandalay to protest decline in jade market
Gems traders in Mandalay plan to hold a protest tomorrow, calling on the government to take action to bolster the region’s slumping jade market. According to U Than Win, one of the protest’s leaders, the market for jade in Mandalay has been in decline for ...
No back-up plan for Karenni refugees in Thai border camp as funds dry up
As the first wave of Myanmar refugees is repatriated from Thai border camps this week, returning to a home some have not seen for decades, others in the camps fear they will soon have no choice but to follow suit. Since the National League for Democracy ...