News
Myanmar must listen to those protesting internet shutdowns, not persecute them
Access Now, Article 19, Fortify Rights, and seven others are calling on authorities in Myanmar to immediately end criminal proceedings against, and release from detention, all those charged in relation to recent protests shining a spotlight on human rights violations and internet shutdowns in Rakhine and Chin ...
Myanmar implementing 14 projects with Mekong-Lancang Cooperation special fund
Myanmar has received four projects in the third batch to be implemented with Mekong-Lancang Cooperation special fund in the current 2020-2021 fiscal year, bringing to the total number of ongoing projects to 14, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation on 23 November. Myanmar ...
Accelerating Mini-Grids In Myanmar And Expanding Energy Access To Villagers
Only 50% of households in Myanmar, one of the poorest nations in Southeast Asia, are connected to the public grid. Five years ago, the government set a goal of electrifying 100% of the country by 2030. With that in mind, in June, Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship, together ...
Anne Field
Facebook’s experimental hate-speech policy seems to be working
Wearing a plastic face shield and his orange monastic robes, Ashin Wirathu walked into a Yangon police station on November 2 after more than a year on the run. Until he went into hiding in June of last year, Wirathu, a nationalist preacher with links ...
PETER GUEST
Innovation in Myanmar: 4 Organizations Reducing Poverty
Myanmar, a Southeastern Asian country roughly the size of Texas, houses almost 54 million people. In 2005, almost half of Myanmar’s population lived in poverty. However, a report released by the Central Statistical Organization (CSO) determined that Myanmar successfully increased its GDP and cut poverty to 24.8% ...
Elizabeth Broderick
Myanmar polls: Facebook under scrutiny over hate speech
One of two Muslims allowed to run for the governing party in Buddhist-majority Myanmar’s general election on Sunday, Sithu Maung, worries fake news on Facebook could damage his chances. Within a torrent of racist abuse and misinformation posted about him ahead of the polls are false ...
Reuters
UN chief calls for ‘peaceful, orderly and credible’ elections in Myanmar
Ahead of elections in Myanmar on 8 November, UN Secretary-General António Guterres has stated his hope that the vote would help advance “inclusive sustainable development” across the country. Calling for a “peaceful orderly and credible” election process in a statement issued by his spokesperson, Mr. Guterres also expressed his hope that ...
Myanmar Offers Struggling Families COVID-19 Cash
Myanmar’s government says it will provide a fourth round of cash handouts for those struggling because of COVID-19. However, only the Yangon regional government has announced the cash plan and The Irrawaddy could not confirm if it would be replicated elsewhere. “This time the government will provide ...
AUNG THIHA
ADB Approves $484-Million Loan for Expressway Linking Myanmar’s Bago Region, Mon State
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a US$484-million (624.52-billion-kyat) loan to construct a new expressway connecting Bago Region and Mon State, which lie along Japan’s planned East-West Economic Corridor, a grand infrastructure scheme for the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS). The ADB said the new GMS ...
NAN LWIN
Can Myanmar’s second wave lead to ASEAN CDC formation?
The rapid rise of COVID-19 in Myanmar has caught the attention of Asian neighbors and international organizations. Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand, South Korea, Japan, and China have provided aid to Myanmar to fight the virus. They are well aware that if the second wave in Myanmar ...
Aung Win