Myanmar morning news for April 17, 2019

China’s pipeline project brings 24-hour electricity supply to Myanmar
It was completely dark outside at night when this Global Times reporter visited Kyaukpyu county, Myanmar eight years ago.
— Global Times

S. Korea issues travel ban for Myanmar-Bangladesh border
South Korea’s foreign ministry said Tuesday that it has decided to issue its highest-level travel restriction to ban travel by its citizens in the northern part of Myanmar’s Rakhine state that borders Bangladesh, citing high safety risks.
— Yonhap News Agency

Maritime trade down by over $50 million
Myanmar’s maritime trade as of 29 March this 2018-2019 Fiscal Year has touched US$12.09 billion, down by over $50 million or 0.44 per cent, matched against the corresponding period of the last FY, according to the Ministry of Commerce, state media reported.
— Mizzima

Death toll of vessel capsizal rises to 11 in Myanmar
The death toll in a vessel capsizal which took place in northwestern Myanmar on Monday has increased to 11, a local official told Xinhua Tuesday.
— Xinhuanet

Myanmar Air Force conducts night-time airstrikes in Rakhine State
The Myanmar Air Force (MAF) has conducted an escalated campaign of airstrikes in western Rakhine State that, for the first time in the service’s history, has involved sustained combat operations at night.
— Jane’s 360

NSCN-K demand release of leaders
The National Socialist Council of Nagaland Khaplang (NSCN-K) has demanded release of their leaders by the Myanmar government to be able to carry out peace talks, according to a report by a Northeast Now.
— Mizzima

Aung San Suu Kyi Has a New Target: Political Satire
Poets were holding court on the street this week in Myanmar’s largest city, laying down satire as thick as the tropical humidity.
— The New York Times

Banana supply declines during Thai New Year
The price of bananas in production areas first increased and then declined last week.
— Fresh Plaza

Rohingya refugee and Bangladeshi women weave a brighter future
In a bamboo thatched women’s centre in Kutupalong, more than a dozen Rohingya refugees are sitting closely together on mats and concentrating so fiercely on their sewing that barely a sound can be heard.
— ReliefWeb

Myanmar lending startup raises series A ahead of fintech boom
While 21 million of Myanmar’s 54 million population are connected to the internet, only 5 million have a bank account.
— Tech in Asia (paywall)

Myanmar’s 2020 Elections and Conflict Dynamics
In late 2020, Myanmar will hold a general election for more than a thousand seats in Union, state, and regional legislative bodies.
— Reliefweb

Transforming Myanmar’s food industry via digital solutions
In response to the growing cash flow in Myanmar’s food and beverage industry, Code2LAB Pte Ltd, a local technology company, has brought two innovative solutions to the market to help digitise the nation’s restaurant industry, according to Min Zeya Phyo, the firm’s founder and chief executive.
— The Nation

Myanmar migrant caught with 112kg kratom powder
PRACHUAP KHIRI KHAN: A Myanmar illegal migrant was arrested along Tanaosri mountain range in Muang district with 112kg of kratom powder to be sold to Myanmar crewmen, police said.
— Bangkok Post (anoyng popups)

Displaced Kachin State Victims Trafficked To China For Forced Marriage
A report released last month by Human Rights Watch (HRW) entitled Give us a Baby and We’ll Let You Go: Trafficking of Kachin Brides From Myanmar to China has detailed the harrowing plight of women and girls trafficked from Myanmar’s Kachin State to China to bear children to unmarried men.
— The Organization for World Peace (media release)

State Counselor, Military Chief to Skip Wa’s 30th Anniversary Celebration
Myanmar State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and military chief Senior-General Min Aung Hlaing will not attend the United Wa State Army’s 30th anniversary celebrations despite having received invitations from Myanmar’s largest ethnic armed group.
— The Irrawaddy

A DIY furniture guide to Yangon
IT IS almost moving season, that magical time before rainy season when people trade homes like hermit crabs.
— Frontier Myanmar

Myanmar man in Tak hospital with ‘self-inflicted’ throat wound after fight with wife
A Myanmar migrant in Tak’s Mae Sot district was severely injured with a pair of scissors in what his wife claimed was a self-inflicted wound.
— The Nation

Daw Khin Kyi—Wife and Mother of National Leaders—Was Born 107 Years Ago Today
Today would be the 107 birthday of Daw Khin Kyi, the widow of Myanmar’s national hero General Aung San and mother of Myanmar State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.
— The Irrawaddy

Myanmar border guards ‘abduct’ four Bangladeshi fishermen
Four Bangladeshi fishermen were reportedly abducted by Myanmar’s Border guard police at gunpoint from the River Naf on Tuesday.
— Newage

PetroChina opens its first filling station in Myanmar
PetroChina International has launched its service station in Myanmar, marking the Chinese state-run oil major’s first foray into the country’s fuel station market.
— Myanmar Times

Myanmar migrant caught with 112kg kratom powder
A Myanmar illegal migrant was arrested along Tanaosri mountain range in Muang district with 112kg of kratom powder to be sold to Myanmar crewmen, police said.
— Bangkok Post

China Silk Highway Hua Shan Cup int’l Youth Soccer Event: Myanmar vs. Kyrgyzstan
Kyaw Thu Ya Oo(1st R) of Myanmar competes during a U16 match between Myanmar and Kyrgyzstan at the China Silk Road Hua Shan Cup international Youth Football Tournament Weinan 2019 in Weinan, northwest China’s Shaanxi Province, on April 10, 2019.
— Infosurhoy

First hotel in Thilawa opens, caters for business visitors
Four years after Thilawa Special Economic Zone (SEZ) was launched, the industrial hub welcomes the first hotel.
— Myanmar Times

This morning’s Myanmar Morning News Roundup is shortened due to the Thingyan celebrations.

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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.