The Irrawaddy
Myanmar Offers Struggling Families COVID-19 Cash
Myanmar’s government says it will provide a fourth round of cash handouts for those struggling because of COVID-19. However, only the Yangon regional government has announced the cash plan and The Irrawaddy could not confirm if it would be replicated elsewhere. “This time the government will provide ...
AUNG THIHA
ADB Approves $484-Million Loan for Expressway Linking Myanmar’s Bago Region, Mon State
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a US$484-million (624.52-billion-kyat) loan to construct a new expressway connecting Bago Region and Mon State, which lie along Japan’s planned East-West Economic Corridor, a grand infrastructure scheme for the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS). The ADB said the new GMS ...
NAN LWIN
Health Workers Make Up 10% of Myanmar’s COVID-19 Cases
More than 10 percent of those currently infected with COVID-19 in Myanmar are health workers, according to a top government medic. “More than 10 percent of those infected with COVID-19 after Aug. 16 are health staff,” said the director of contagious disease prevention and eradication at ...
THAZIN HLAING
‘This Is Our Land—and That’s the Truth’: Pa-O Farmers Challenge Myanmar Military
Much is in dispute surrounding nearly 2,000 acres of farmland in the ethnic Pa-O region of Hsi Hseng Township in southern Shan State, but native farmer Moe Bae is sure of two things: the land is owned by local farmers like her, and the military ...
NYEIN NYEIN
Myanmar COVID-19 Recovery Plan Won't Favor China's BRI Projects, Official Says
When Myanmar announced its seven-point economic relief plan to mitigate the economic impact of COVID-19 in late April, one item immediately raised eyebrows among China analysts in the country. The initiative’s third main objective is stated as “Easing the Impacts on Laborers and Workers”, and ...
NAN LWIN
Myanmar Condemns Report on Illegal Teak Exports to EU
Myanmar’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation has disputed the London-based Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA)’s latest report which claims illegal teak from Myanmar is being shipped to Europe through the black market. “All the teak we export is legal,” U Kyaw Zaw Oo, the deputy ...
THIHA LWIN
Key Data for Myanmar & COVID-19
Myanmar’s Ministry of Health and Sports confirmed on Monday that two Myanmar nationals who recently arrived from overseas have tested positive for COVID-19 in Chin State and Yangon Region. One had traveled to the United States and another had visited the UK during the past ...
NAN LWIN
Detained Myanmar Journalists Physically Abused by Karen Border Guard Force
Two journalists who were abducted and released by Border Guard Force (BGF) troops in Myawaddy Township, Karen State said they were tortured by the soldiers during interrogation. Naw Betty Han, a reporter for Frontier Myanmar, and Mar Naw, a photojournalist for Myanmar Times, were detained in the jungle ...
ZARNI MANN
Myanmar to Upgrade Urban Infrastructure in State Capitals, Border Town
The Myanmar government is planning to upgrade basic infrastructure and enhance urban management of three major cities in Mon and Karen states that lie along Japan’s planned East-West Economic Corridor for the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS). Minister of Construction U Han Zaw said Monday that his ...
Nan Lwin
Survey Finds Decade-High Numbers of Irrawaddy Dolphins
The number of the endangered Irrawaddy dolphins found in Myanmar this year has increased to 79, the highest in a decade, according to the Wildlife Conservation Society of Myanmar (WCS). The numbers include seven calves aged three months or younger. The Irrawaddy dolphins can also be found ...
Zarni Mann