Latest Myanmar News
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Fleeing Rohingya at the mercy of a smuggling network greased by graft
For desperate Rohingya arrested in Thai territory, hope for the future can rest simply with how much money they have to pay off local officials and human traffickers. The prospects are dire for those without the required cash--being sold into slavery is ...
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Shan Sauvignon on the grapevine
Vines cascade down terraces overlooking the vast mirror of Inle Lake in northeastern Myanmar, an unlikely setting for a budding wine industry tempting the tastebuds of tourists now flocking to the country as it opens up. "Everybody is surprised to see a vineyard here in the middle of Myanmar with all this modern equipment," said Francois Raynal, winemaker at the Red Mountain estate in ...
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A new generation of Burmese-Chinese
Li Piaoxing, dressed in a traditional Burmese longyi, was lying on a sling chair in the dusty antique lobby that serves as a base for the Burma Overseas Young Chinese League. Like many other similar communities launched by Burmese-Chinese (that is, Chinese people born in Burma), the MOYCL faces the distinct possibility of withering away. Mr. Li, the Chief Secretary of the League and the only ...
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The truth behind the Chinese tourism boom
In 2011, Chinese tourists overtook Thais as the leading nationality visiting Burma with, officially, 65,838 visitors. But if you walk around the famous attractions in Rangoon such as Shwedagon Pagoda, you will hardly find any tour groups from China or even an individual Chinese traveler. So where are ...
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Democracy and Peace Party calls for abolition of ruling-USDP
Rangoon (Mizzima) - The Democracy and Peace Party (DPP) has called on the Election Commission to close down the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) over alleged election ...
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Two RNDP MPs win in electoral lawsuits one MP must resign
Chiang Mai (Mizzima) - The Burmese Electoral Tribunal on Friday delivered verdicts in three lawsuits regarding alleged electoral malpractice filed by the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) against three MPs of the Rakhine National Development Party (RNDP). Two MPs won, and one was ordered to ...
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Factious NDF party has mass resignation of members
New Delhi (Mizzima) - Forty-five members of the National Democratic Force (NDF) in South Dagon Township sent letters of resignation to the party's head office on July 30, according to former party organizer Shwe ...
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Ethnic parties urge Burmese government to form peace committee
Chiang Mai (Mizzima) - Adding to the chorus of calls for peace, five ethnic parties on Wednesday called on the Burmese government to form a peacemaking committee to stop the widespread fighting in ethnic ...
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Central government not sharing power with states and regions
Chiang Mai (Mizzima) - The central government is still holding on to absolute power and states and regions are suffering, according to political party ...
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Into Myanmar Ict Global Summit 2012
INTO MYANMAR ICT Global Summit 2012: Mobile Telecom | Internet Infrastructure | Cloud Computing which will be taking place from 3 - 4 December 2012 in Yangon, Myanmar? This important summit will see telecom operators, service providers, ICT vendors & distributors, handset & device manufacturers and network technologists congregate to discuss new opportunities and current concerns faced ...
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Indian Look East Policy and the Kaladan Project of Western Burma
On April 2, 2008, the Indian government signed an agreement with the Burmese military regime for the Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project which is also known as the Kaladan Project. The project will connect Eastern Indian seaports, particularly Kolkata seaport in East India, with the seaport in Western Burma (Myanmar) Rakhine State's capital, Sittwe--a total distance of 593km. It ...
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Burma’s ‘at risk’ food areas
The following is a food security update for Burma in September by the World Food Program, noting areas of potential risk and political and other factors affecting food ...
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Suu Kyi’s unsteady pedestal
It seems Aung San Suu Kyi is taking on what should have been the government's job. Her work on the Latpadaung Inquiry Commission was to find facts--not to make decisions for the government, because she does not lead the government. Thein Sein ...
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Myanmar—the ‘promised land’ for oil and gas explorers
While other countries may be more reliable and better equipped, Myanmar has emerged as the new promised land for global oil and gas giants unperturbed by a lack of data on its proven energy ...
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Cronyism v proportional representation
There is no doubt the players involved are not going to leave the stage any time soon--they are part and parcel of the infrastructure that the people of Myanmar inherited from the previous military regime, whether they like it or not. The big issue is going to be before and after the 2015 general elections. In all democratic countries, because of the nature of multi-party elections, all ...
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Violence throws spotlight on Rohingya
(Analysis) - The week-long sectarian violence between Buddhists and Muslims in Burma's western Rakhine state has thrown the spotlight on the Rohingya, one of the most oppressed groups in the country, and compels the government to address a burning issue that has been swept under the carpet for ...
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Mapping humanitarian services in Southeast Burma
The reach of humanitarian organizations serving Burma and Thailand have been mapped by the Thai-Burma Border Consortium (TBBC) and the Myanmar Information Management Unit (MIMU), showing the organizational reach of services in education, health care and livelihood support ...
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The fading gray line in Burma
(Analysis) - After half a century of having its currency traded on gray and black markets, Burma wants to free up its kyat by the end of next ...
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Burma again on most-censored nations list
(Mizzima) - Burma remains among the 10 most censored nations in the world despite the move from a military regime to a quasi-democratic government, according to the Committee to Protect Journalist, which released their latest report this ...
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Why the burst of Kachin news stories in state-run press
(Analysis) - A number of commentators last week noted more news coverage of Kachin State in the state-run Burmese press, especially an editorial that blamed Kachin "hard-liners" for blocking progress in the on-going peace negotiations between the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) and the ...
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Min Ko Naing on Meiktila
Interview - Meiktila was quiet on Wednesday, March 20. Everyone was going about their business, including the customers in a local gold shop. Somehow an argument broke out in the shop and a customer stormed out. He returned with friends and attacked the gold shop owner who is Muslim. A crowd quickly gathered and the situation spiraled into mob violence--local Buddhists taking sides with the ...
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KIA soldier discusses ’85 assassination of Northern Command leader
A four-member Kachin Independence Army commando team carried out a raid that killed the head of the Northern Command L. Kun Hpang in Myitkyina, Kachin State, in 1985. Special commando, Laphai Zau Seng, who was involved in the assassination, was arrested and given the death sentence. On Monday, Laphai Zau Seng, 49, was released from Myinchan Prison under a presidential amnesty after 27 years in ...
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China pushed to the brink
Mizzima on Monday. In the meantime, an awkward lull in fighting at Laiza perseveres though skirmishes continue in other parts of Kachin State. But while both governments take all precautions to ensure that China does not become embroiled in Myanmar's civil war, a second scenario looms which severely tests Chinese resolve to refrain from direct intervention. The 700-mile-long Shwe Gas ...
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Transcript of Suu Kyi’s VOA interview
Voice of America broadcaster Scott Stearns interviewed Aung San Suu Kyi at VOA in Washington D.C., on Tuesday. Here is a transcript of the ...
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Burma A captive nation or a nation at the crossroads
(Random House UK, 2013), the third Burma-focused work offered by Benedict Rogers of Christian Solidarity Worldwide, is in many respects a tour de force of recent rights violations occurring throughout Burma, with a strong focus on ethnic communities and the periphery of the country. As with his previous ...
Myanmar Focus
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Foreign couple's novel approach to helping Burmese village
The political situation in Myanmar is well-known throughout the world, but often overshadows the circumstances of local people and our rich culture. A couple overseas have combined the two to create an unusual approach to helping the people of one village in the country.
Myanmar is one of the most politically and socially isolated countries in the world, much bad press is leveled at our country for decisions made and actions taken that the people are not responsible for and while attention focuses on the political dynamic of the country, the plight of many Burmese such as poverty, lack of access to water and education, become overshadowed. One family in the United States has taken a novel approach to giving back to a country that has stolen their hearts. Read more
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