Myanmar Morning News for March 3

Welcome to the Myanmar morning news roundup by AEC News Today, your one stop for Myanmar news on matters of governance and policies affecting Asean business communities.

Chinese tourists stand second of Myanmar’s top visitors’ list
Chinese tourists were the second highest number of visitors to Myanmar last year.
— Eleven

RCEP could be completed by year-end
The negotiation of ASEAN-led Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) has been accelerated to ensure that the world’s largest economic block would be completed by the year-end.
— Myanmar Times

UN envoy calls for highest level Myanmar probe
The United Nations rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar on Thursday (Mar 2) called for the creation of a Commission of Inquiry (COI), the UN’s highest-level probe, to investigate abuses in the country.
— ChannelNews Asia

Thai border trade tops $1.1b
Cross-border trade with Thailand exceeded US$1.13 billion this financial year until February 17, according to the Ministry of Commerce.
— Eleven

Myanmar aviation outlook: traffic growth exceeds 16% in 2016 but local airlines continue to struggle
Myanmar was again one of the fastest growing markets in Southeast Asia – and the world – in 2016. Domestic passenger numbers were up 15% in 2016 and have doubled since 2010, while international passenger numbers increased by 17% and have doubled since 2012.
— CAPA – Centre for Aviation

Objection to naming bridge after Bogyoke Aung San
A proposal to name a bridge after national leader Bogyoke Aung San was opposed by two MPs at the Pyithu Hluttaw session on Tuesday.
— Myanmar Times

Myanmar proposes a 2017 defence budget of USD2.1 billion
Myanmar’s government has proposed a 2017 defence budget of MMK2.91 trillion (USD2.14 billion), reports in the country have said.
— IHS Jane’s 360

Factory workers protest over rates cut in Mandalay Region
Workers at the Kan Kaung Chin Yadanar wood products factory in Mandalay Region staged a sit-in yesterday over what they described as unfair labour practices by the management.
— Myanmar Times

Opposition in Pakistan over arms deal with Myanmar
As Myanmar and Islamabad are engaged in advanced negotiations to license-build the JF-17 Thunder, there is growing opposition within Pakistan regarding this agreement.
— Sify News

Indian Navy to Set Up Met Facilities for Myanmar Navy
New Delhi (Sputnik) – The Indian Navy will set up meteorological facilities for the Myanmar Navy in its bid to counter Chinese influence in the Bay of Bengal. Until now, China had been the leading contributor to capacity building in the Myanmar Navy.
— Sputnik International

Ministry of Health and Sports asks for Ks9 B to build staff housings
The Ministry of Health and Sports has asked for more than Ks9 billion to build housing for more than 5,000 staff in 2017-18 fsy, according to the ministry.
— Eleven

Himalaya Airlines links Yangon, Nepal
Himalaya Airlines now flies direct between Kathmandu and Yangon twice a week.
— Myanmar Times

Rural health centres handed over to government
The Three Millennium Development Goal Fund (3MDG) handed over 15 rural health centres in the Ayeyarwady Region to the Health and Sports Ministry on Monday in support of the government’s move to improve access to healthcare in hard-to-reach areas.
— Myanmar Times

Thilawa extends to Zone B
The Thilawa Special Economic Zone (SEZ), involving more than US$ 1 billion investment, will be extended to Zone B and construction of infrastructures will be completed by mid-2018, SEZ Management Committee Chair U Set Aung told the media.
— Myanmar Times

Budget Ks 32 billion targeted on Ygn outskirts’ development projects
angon plans to spend Ks 32 billion on the development of 12 townships on the outskirts of Yangon Municipal area, according to Phyo Min Thein, Yangon Region Chief Minister.
— Eleven

Kachin gov’t tries to regain vacant land
Kachin State is trying to regain more than 480,000 acres of vacant and virgin land out of nearly 600,000 acres that was set aside for perennial crops, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock Breeding and Irrigation.
— Eleven

Myanmar Farmers Protest Decade-old Land Grab in Kachin State
Farmers who were victims of land expropriations in the Hukaung region of northern Myanmar’s Kachin state protested on Thursday against the company that took more than 270,000 acres from them a decade ago, local residents said.
— Radio Free Asia

Why does the KIA still use war elephants?
Myanmar is the last place on earth where elephants are still used for warfare, and the Kachin Independence Army is the only group keeping this 4,000-year-old tradition alive.
— Coconuts Yangon

Arakan human rights activist denied bail for second time
Human rights group Fortify Rights has called for the unconditional release of human rights activist Khaing Myo Htun by the Myanmar government, after the activist was denied bail for the second time on Monday by a Sittwe court.
— Coconuts Yangon

UNFC commits to NCA negotiations, Panglong process
The United Nationalities Federal Council has backed away from a recent statement by some members in which they dismissed the nationwide ceasefire agreement, following talks with State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in Nay Pyi Taw.
— Frontier Myanmar

Netizen Report: Man in Myanmar Sentenced to Prison for Defaming Aung San Suu Kyi on Facebook
In a manifesto published in mid-February, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg laid out a sweeping vision of the social network’s role in “bringing us all together as a global community.” It echoed a 2015 Facebook ad that promised “the more we connect, the better it gets.”
— Slate Magazine (blog)

Mentally-Challenged Old Man Critical After Extremist Attack
A mentally-challenged old man was left critically ill with face and body injuries after being attacked by Rakhine extremists in Rathedaung Township on Tuesday (Feb 28), sources have reported.
— Rohingya Vision

Feature photo: John Le Fevre

The Myanmar morning news roundup is published M-F by AEC News Today: Governance, not government; policies not politics.

Myanmar Morning News Roundup For March 3 added by Stella-maris Ewudolu on March 3, 2017
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Stella-maris Ewudolu

Journalist at AEC News Today

Stella-maris graduated with a Bachelor of Arts, Education from Ebonyi State University, Nigeria in 2005.

Between November 2010 and February 2012 she was a staff writer at Daylight Online, Nigeria writing on health, fashion, and relationships. From 2010 – 2017 she worked as a freelance screen writer for ‘Nollywood’, Nigeria.

She joined AEC News Today in December 2016.