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As ceasefire signed, president confident more groups will join nationwide pact
More armed ethnic groups will join the nationwide ceasefire if it is implemented successfully with the first eight signatories, President U Thein Sein said at a signing ceremony in Naypyidaw on 15 October. Eight ethnic armed groups, including the Karen National Union and Restoration Council of Shan ...
Yangon flood losses top K11 billon
Yangon is at greater risk than many other parts of the country to natural disaster, said Yangon Region Chief Minister U Myint Swe. Flooding in 14 of the region’s townships caused losses of more than K11 billion (US$8.5 million) this year, he said. Keep reading ...
Rohingya refugee likely back in Myanmar
A Rohingya refugee who landed in Phnom Penh in June as part of a controversial resettlement deal with Australia is likely back in Myanmar after requesting to return home, according to the Interior Ministry. Ministry spokesman Khieu Sopheak said that the Rohingya man—who, according to the government, ...
At least 16 killed in Myanmar landslide
Downpours in Myanmar’s Kayah State have triggered a deadly landslide, killing at least 16 people and forcing residents to evacuate Hpasawng township. More are feared to have died in the incident. Ten men and seven women were killed in the landslide, which occurred on the afternoon ...
Hunger strikers see no end to pay dispute
The Labour Ministry considers the wage dispute at the Han Jen garment factory done and dusted, but workers yesterday told The Myanmar Times their woes are far from solved. “[The labour director] said the Han Jen worker’s dispute is finished and was resolved okay. Actually, we haven’t ...
Elephant poachers arrested in Ngapudaw, Myanmar
Two members of an elephant-poaching gang have been arrested in Ngapudaw township in Ayeyarwady Region’s Pathein district, but at least one other person associated with the group remains at large, the Department of Forestry said in a statement released on 13 October. Keep reading ...
Little hope for change as IDPs mull elections
International commentators are fond of saying that Myanmar’s 8 November election could bring sweeping changes to the country. But many of the displaced people living in camps in Kachin State do not see it that way. Any hope that an end of conflict might improve matters ...
Myanmar homes destroyed as heavy rain brings more flooding
Flooding caused by torrential rains in Magwe Region swept away several houses and a timber causeway on the night of 11 October. In Minhla, Pwinbyu, Ngape and Natmauk townships, flood waters cascading down from the mountains carried off five houses. “Three houses were swept away this ...
Yangon real estate enters election shutdown
Real estate agents in Yangon say the property market has fallen totally silent over the past week, with almost no deals signed. While sales have continued to slow since the start of the year, there has been no buying and selling whatsoever over the past week, ...
Myanmar's economic growth to pick up again post-election: IMF
Reforms and monetary policy changes in the post-election period would boost slowing growth in Myanmar, said an International Monetary Fund official. Hoe Ee Khor, deputy director for Asia and Pacific at the IMF, said the involvement of the National League for Democracy (NLD) in setting regulations ...
