Myanmar Morning News For March 16

Myanmar Morning News For March 16
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Myanmar morning newsAustralia to raise rights concerns with Myanmar, Cambodia at ASEAN summit
Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said she will raise human rights concerns with Myanmar and Cambodian leaders during a three-day summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) that begins in Sydney on Friday.
Reuters 

From battlefield to marketplace on the Thai–Myanmar border
The Thai–Myanmar relationship is changing as diplomatic and economic bonds deepen, and so is economic life on the border. But large and still-marginalised migrant communities remain in Thai frontier towns like Mae Sot, facing challenges as donors redirect aid to “transitioning” Myanmar.
New Mandala 

Myanmar willing to take back fewer than 400 Rohingya refugees
Myanmar has said it is willing to take back fewer than 400 Rohingya refugees of the 8,000 who have said they would voluntarily return from Bangladesh.
The Guardian 

Myanmar needs urgent reforms as economy’s in the woods
MYANMAR’S economy is still in the woods: The Aung San Suu Kyi-led government has delayed a long-awaited reform to allow foreign companies to purchase stakes of up to 35 per cent in local companies as business confidence has plummeted drastically, while jungle-style “ceasefire capitalism” flourishes in insurgency affected areas.
The Business Times 

Troubled Myanmar’s economy loses its shine
It’s 5 o’clock in the afternoon when thousands of garment workers of Hlaing Tharyar, an industrial zone in Yangon, end another working day. Slowly the workers make their way to waiting buses, cars, pickup trucks and motorbikes to drive them home.
Ucanews

Foreign trade exceeds US$ 30 billion and set a new record even before the end of the fiscal year
The government and the people are striving in harmony in all sectors for Myanmar, a developing country to reach the status of a developed one. Foreign trade is much supportive for national economic progress.
The Global Newlight of Myanmar

‘I fear Myanmar, I don’t want to go home’: Rohingya in Bangladesh – in pictures
Refugees from Myanmar continue to arrive daily at the 20 rapidly expanding camps around Cox’s Bazar. With makeshift shelters perched precariously on slopes, aid agencies fear land slides could cause a catastrophic loss of life when the cyclone season begins. Refugees in Balukhali camp speak of their dreams for the future and the horror that drove them to leave
The Guardian 

Myanmar Urged Not to Drag Out Case Against Reuters Reporters
Some international observers urged Myanmar on Wednesday not to drag out legal proceedings against two Reuters journalists, as they appeared in court for the 10th time since they were arrested in December and accused of possessing secret government papers.
The Irrawaddy 

Myanmar’s Lower House Prepares to Discuss Changes to Public Assembly Law
Eighty representatives in Myanmar’s lower house of parliament have registered to discuss controversial proposed amendments to the country’s public assembly law, which rights groups oppose for their ambiguous language and additional restrictions on peaceful demonstrations in the emerging democracy.
Radio Free Asia 

Driven by agriculture, first half GDP growth forecast at 7.2pc
Myanmar’s GDP growth is forecast to hit 7.2 percent during the first six months of 2018 under the National Planning Law, which was signed and approved by President U Htin Kyaw on March 8 and announced Monday.
The Myanmar Times 

Amnesty International report condemns Myanmar ‘land-grab’ of Rohingya villages
MYANMAR is conducting a “land-grab by the military” on sites where Rohingya villages formerly stood, a new report, Remaking Rakhine State, by Amnesty International, suggests. Images from satellites are used as evidence.
—  Church Times 

IFC plans for more investments in microfinance
INTERNATIONAL Finance Corporation (IFC), a private sector arm of World Bank Group, has invested US$23.5 million (about Bt736 million) in four microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Myanmar, and is eager to invest more this year.
Eleven Myanmar

Yoma and Grab cooperate to increase the quality of taxi services
SGX-listed Yoma Strategic Holding, a joint company of First Myanmar Investment Co. Ltd. (FMI), has signed a strategic partnership agreement with Southeast Asia’s leading ride-hailing platform Grab on March 12 to upgrade the fleet of Grab taxis in Myanmar, announced the Yoma Strategic Holding.
Eleven Myanmar

Nine million euros to be spent on Shan State electrification project
The government is planning to spend 9 million euros on an electrification project for 253 villages in Shan State (South), said Dr. Soe Soe Ohn, the project manager, according to state media.
Mizzima 

Blogging back the tourists
The New York Times, arguably the world’s most famous newspaper, this week published an article calling Yangon one of the world’s most unsafe cities. Despite the dubious metric used by the author to arrive at that conclusion, it’s little wonder the question “is Myanmar safe?” sits heavy in the minds of would-be visitors to the golden land.
The Myanmar Times 

Bangladesh: Landmine Kills Buddhist Trying to Enter Myanmar
A landmine explosion along Bangladesh’s southeastern border killed a Buddhist tribesman and injured five members of his family Thursday as they tried to sneak into Myanmar, officials said.
Radio Free Asia 

Trade through Thai-Myanmar border gates increases
Trade through the Thai-Myanmar border gates from 1 April to 2 March of the current fiscal year (FY) was worth some US$1.33 billion, which is some $90 million more than the trade value achieved during the same period last FY, according to state media.
Mizzima 

Monk faces accusations of covering up alleged rape of 5-year-old girl
A male teacher at a Mandalay school has been charged with allegedly raping a 5-year-old female student in 2016, several local news outlets reported on Sunday. The news has prompted online accusations that the school and its principal, a senior Buddhist monk, hid the allegations from the alleged victim’s family and from authorities for more than two years.
Coconuts Yangon (metered paywall)

Myanmar’s Presidents Since Independence
Two years ago today, Parliament elected U Htin Kyaw — nominated by the National League for Democracy (NLD) after its 2015 election win — as the country’s new president. It was a long-delayed victory for the NLD, after its 1990 election win was annulled by the military regime then in charge.
The Irrawaddy 

 

Feature photo Jaume Escofet

 

Find our previous morning news feature photos in the AEC News Today Morning News Feature Photos gallery where you will find a pictorial display of daily life throughout the Asean Economic Community (AEC).

Myanmar morning news by AEC News Today is your one stop source for Myanmar news on matters of governance and policies affecting Asean business communities. It is published M-F by AEC News Today: Governance, not government; policies not politics.

 

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Leakhena Khat

Leakhena is a junior journalist at AEC News Today who is also currently studying International Relations, which she finds adds perspective to her work reporting on the Asean Community.

“I love what I am doing so much as it gives me a lot of great experience and provides challenges to my mind.

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