News
New Speaker flags human rights focus
Mandalay witnessed a distinct changing of guard on 8 February as its new hluttaw took office, with the newly appointed Speaker stressing the importance of being accountable to the public. He added that human rights and economic and social development will be priorities, and promised to ...
Union parliament sets March 17 as deadline for presidential nominations
Myanmar’s Union parliament has set 17 March as the deadline for the lower and upper houses to submit their nominations for president. Holding its first session today with MPs elected last November, the Pyidaungsu announced that parliamentary committees would start discussing the presidential nominees on 17 March. Keep reading ...
Despite rise in deadly accidents, seat belts not catching on
The penalties for failing to fasten your seat belt may include a K30,000 fine and a broken neck. The police are not enforcing the first part of the penalty because the necessary by-laws have not yet been approved by parliament. But the second part of the ...
Two fires leave hundreds of families homeless
Over 1000 people have been left homeless after fires this weekend blazed through Namhsan in northern Shan State and Labutta in Ayeyarwady Region. In Namhsan on 4 February, a fire that began roasting tea leaves caught kindling next to the stove, then lit a wood wall ...
Myanmar’s Suu Kyi names former general to head key advisory panel
Myanmar democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s party on 4 February nominated Shwe Mann, one of the country’s most powerful politicians, to head a prominent legal advisory panel, as the freshly elected parliament prepares to choose a new president. Shwe Mann, the No. 3 in the junta ...
‘Fifth Estate’ app aims for govt accountability in Myanmar
In a country now saturated with smartphones and an information-hungry population, it was only a matter of time before someone developed an app for civic engagement with the newly elected National League for Democracy-led government. Enter Ko Soe Lin Htoot, a 32-year-old computer designer who hopes ...
Ethnic MPs get ready to take on the majority
Even though Myanmar’s NLD controls both houses of parliament, ethnic minority MPs are ready to take on the majority to improve ethnic rights. The representative of the Zomi Congress for Democracy, which won two upper house and two lower house seats, said that even with a small ...
Rakhine government builds homes for displaced people
The Rakhine State government has started building new homes in six villages in Kyauktaw and Mrauk-U townships for civilians who fled fighting between the Arakan Army (AA) and the military last month. District and township authorities, as well as police, had ordered IDPs (internally displaced people) to ...
Upgraded Yangon bus system to kick off next week
A Bus Rapid Transit system, designed to relieve traffic congestion in Yangon and increase the safety of commuters, is aiming to launch the second week of February. At present, 18 buses have arrived in Myanmar that will run from Htaukkyant to 8 Mile junction, from where ...
Laos to export electricity to Myanmar, more for Vietnam
Myanmar hopes to import electricity from Laos at an installed capacity of about 300 megawatts (MW) in the near future while the exports to Vietnam may be increased in the next few months. “The Myanmar government proposed this project to Laos about two months ago,” Deputy ...
