Myanmar Morning News For May 31

Myanmar stalling on end to child soldier recruitment: UN
Myanmar has not done enough to fulfil its promise to end the use of child soldiers and underage recruitment may even be on the rise, a top UN official said Tuesday.
— Mizzima

Myanmar’s Daily Minimum Wage Increased from Kyat 3,600 to Kyat 4,800
Myanmar’s union government has increased the country’s daily minimum wage for an eight-hour work day from Kyat 3,600 (US$2.65) to Kyat 4,800 (US$3.54).
— Asean Briefing

Amara launches 4G+ service in Yangon
Myanmar’s Amara Communications has launched its data-only LTE service in Yangon under the brand name ananda.
— Telecomasia.net

Raped Rohingya women due to give birth in refugee camps
Thousands of Rohingya women, some of whom were raped during a military crackdown in Myanmar’s Rakhine State in August last year, are due to give birth.
— Al Jazeera

400 Thumbprints: Behind the Push to Prosecute Myanmar for Atrocities
In a request submitted to the International Criminal Court on Wednesday, lawyers included an unusual annex: 20 pages of purple thumbprints.
— The New York Times

US govt agency OPIC offers $10m financing to Myanmar’s Early Dawn Microfinance
Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), the U.S. government’s development finance institution, is extending a $10-million financing package to Myanmar’s Early Dawn Microfinance Ltd (DAWN).
— DealStreetAsia

Myanmar University Students Object to Government Controls on Campus Political Talks
Student organizations in Myanmar have objected to new restrictions by higher education officials on public speaking on campuses, which they say have been put in place to prevent them from holding political lectures, discussions, and panels, in the latest government assault on freedom of assembly and freedom of speech.
— Radio Free Asia

Israel, Myanmar sign agreement that allows changing each other’s history textbooks
Israel has killed more than 100 Palestinian protesters since late March; Myanmar is accused of ethnic cleansing against Rohingya Muslims
— Middle East Eye

Policymaking after dictatorship in Myanmar
As Myanmar’s fitful democratic transition moves forward, many observers are torn between early, high hopes for the end of military rule and a growing pessimism about wider democratic, economic, and social reforms.
— The Myanmar Times

Myanmar’s next Central Bank governor: the contenders
THE FIVE-YEAR term of Myanmar’s Central Bank governor will end on July 31 and in the coming months President U Win Myint will select a replacement, with the consent of the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw.
— Frontier Myanmar

Room rates in Bagan needs to decrease: tourism official
Room rates in Bagan are two times higher comparing against with those from neighbouring countries such as Thailand, Laos and Cambodia and needs to be reduced, according to Ministry of Hotel and Tourism.
— Eleven Myanmar

Telenor Myanmar launches WowPlay video streaming app with Huawei
Telenor Myanmar, in partnership with Huawei and WowBox, has launched a video streaming application. Dubbed ‘WowPlay’, the new Android application is now exclusively available for Telenor customers.
— Telecompaper

SGX-listed Memories Group acquires Kayah Resort in Myanmar for $2.9m
Singapore-listed Memories Group Limited, a tourism company based in Myanmar, has acquired a boutique property in Loikaw region, Kayah Resort, for about $2.9 million, in a cash-cum-stock deal, the company announced.
— DealStreetAsia

Workers to raise Myanmar labour laws at ILO meeting
The Confederation of Trade Union Myanmar (CTUM) will study the experiences of worker organisations in other countries to strengthen labour laws and increase protection for Myanmar’s workers at the International Labour Conference, which started Monday.
— The Myanmar Times

Myanmar ministry investigated for spending $347,000 last year to polish parliament’s doors
Myanmar lawmakers have investigated a ministry department for circumventing rules, allowing it to spend K470 million (US$347,000) on polishing teak doors on parliament buildings during the 2017-18 fiscal year.
— Coconuts Yangon (paywall)

Guidelines for businesses to fight against plastic pollution issued
Yangon-based Myanmar Centre for Responsible Business (MCRB) has joined the grassroots movement Thant Myanmar which is fighting against pollution in the country.
— The Myanmar Times

Border rice export declines as China reduces MSP
Rice export via border route had decreased over the past two months as China reduced minimum support price (MSP), said Lu Maw Myint Maung, general secretary of Myanmar Rice Federation.
— Eleven Myanmar

Myanmar, South Korea’s anti-corruption commissions sign MOU
At the invitation of South Korea’s Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (ACRC), a delegation led by Chairman of the Anti-Corruption Commission of Myanmar, U Aung Kyi, and commission members, Hluttaw Representatives and officials from the Union Attorney General’s Office, as well as the Union Auditor General’s Office, traveled to South Korea on 28 May.
— The Global Newlight of Myanmar

More work needed to end recruitment and use of child soldiers: UN
Myanmar officials must do more to fulfil their promises to end the recruitment and use of child soldiers, a top UN official said on Tuesday.
— Frontier Myanmar

Sagaing Region’s tourism increases by 13.45% from last FY
The number of local visitors and tourists entering Monywa, Kalay, Sagaing, Katha and Shwebo sites in the Sagaing Region during the 2017-2018 fiscal year has increased 13.45 per cent compared to the 2016-2017 FY, according to a report prepared by the Directorate of Hotels and Tourism (Sagaing Region).
— The Global Newlight of Myanmar

Feature photo Jacques Beaulieu

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.

Myanmar Morning News For May 31 added by Leakhena Khat on May 31, 2018
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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.