News
China Building Massive Myanmar Border Wall: Reports
Reports have emerged that the Chinese government is constructive a 2,000-kilometer reinforced fence along its coiling border with Myanmar, following a spike in COVID-19 cases in the latter country. According to a report in Radio Free Asia (RFA), the giant undertaking has been codenamed the “Southern Great Wall” ...
Sebastian Strangio
Open letter to Aung San Suu Kyi to address water contamination issue
Your Excellency; First of all, I am Saw Paul Sein Twa, the Chairperson of the Salween Peace Park in Mutraw District, Karen State, Kawthooeli, Eastern Myanmar, which recently was awarded the 2020 Equator Prize. I work closely with local Indigenous Karen people and walk with them as ...
Saw Paul Sein Twa
Myanmar COVID-19 Vaccination Expected from April
Myanmar plans to start providing COVID-19 vaccines to about 20 percent of its 54.4 million population in April under the global Covax affordable medicines program, according to health minister Dr. Myint Htwe. Myanmar on Dec. 7 submitted its request to the Covax program at the World ...
NYEIN NYEIN
RCEP trade deal: Will Myanmar really benefit?
Existing free trade agreements and longstanding non-trade barriers could limit the RCEP’s impact on Myanmar, but the country may benefit from increased investment due to improved access to global value chains. The signing of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership on November 15 made headlines across the ...
MYAT MYAT MON and BERNARD MINN
Construction of highway connecting Dawei SEZ, Htikhee to commence next year
The construction of a 140-kilometer two-lane highway connecting the Dawei Special Economic Zone (SEZ), in Tanintharyi Region to the Htikhee at the Thai border will commence in mid-2021, according to the Dawei SEZ Management Committee. When complete, it will take travellers from the SEZ about 2.5 ...
Chan Mya Htwe
Local efforts help protect the endangered Irrawaddy Dolphins in Myanmar
Irrawaddy dolphins can be seen in three major rivers in Southeast Asia: the Ayeyarwady (Myanmar), the Mahakam (Indonesian Borneo) and the Mekong. In Myanmar, the dolphin is known for its close relations with local fishers as they often help to drive shoals of fish towards ...
Thinn Nay Chi Sun
Myanmar’s Long COVID-19 First Wave Continues
The coronavirus continues its rapid spread in Myanmar, with the number of confirmed cases surpassing 90,000 and threatening to spread to neighboring countries. After months of being relatively untouched by the virus, the country is now the third-most affected nation in Southeast Asia, after Indonesia and the ...
Sebastian Strangio
Poverty spikes in Myanmar following second wave of pandemic
The second wave of COVID – 19 in Myanmar has had a significant impact on incomes, with a rising number of households now living below the poverty line compared to before the pandemic, according to the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) in Myanmar. In September, ...
Thiha Ko Ko
Making Myanmar’s Markets Work for Safe Farmers
It was a Saturday morning and several people have started to gather around small stalls lined up along Nat Mauk Street near Yangon’s Kandawgyi Lake. There is nothing unusual seeing a weekend market packed with shoppers, some of them fresh from their early morning walk, ...
DWIGHT JASON RONAN
Overwhelming majority approves Myanmar anti-corruption efforts
An overwhelming majority of the Myanmar people approved of the government’s efforts to stamp down corruption, the international anti-corruption watch group Transparency International said in a report released on November 24. The report said Myanmar has the highest percentage of citizens among the 17 Asia Pacific ...
John Grafilo