Suu Kyi vows to protect migrant workers

Thursday, 31 May 2012 13:49 RFAPro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Wednesday pledged to better protect the rights of impoverished migrant workers from Burma as she spoke to a crowd of thousands of supporters in central Thailand on her first official trip outside of her homeland in more than 20 years.The Nobel laureate spoke in Maha Chai, home to Thailand’s largest population of Burmese immigrants,...

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471 confirmed political prisoners in Burma’s jails: AAPP

Thursday, 31 May 2012 13:19 Mizzima NewsIn a recent update, the number of political prisoners is Burma has been put at 471 confirmed prisoners, with 465 more prisoners in a verification process as of May, according to The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners – Burma. An aerial view of Insein Prison. Photo: Mizzima The confirmed figure will continue to fluctuate and is expected to increase...

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Major universities to get ‘special education centres’

Thursday, 31 May 2012 13:06 Mizzima NewsUniversities in Rangoon and Mandalay in the future will have special education centres with a mission to upgrade the overall education standards in Burma, said presidential adviser Ko Ko Hlaing, who was quoted in an article in Weekly Eleven on Tuesday.“Some foreign organizations have offered to promote the Myanmar education system. We hope to upgrade the universities...

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‘Bottom-up initiative’ needed: gov’t editorial

Thursday, 31 May 2012 12:53 Mizzima News Officials alone can’t transform Burma and the country  needs a “bottom up initiative” to become a democratic nation, an editorial in the state-run newspaper said on Thursday. However, there will be no turning back in the process of democratic reforms throughout the country, the editorial in The New Light of Myanmar said: “The reform strategy the...

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Japan to develop Burmese stock exchange by 2015

Thursday, 31 May 2012 12:43 Mizzima NewsAn agreement on technical aid has been signed between the Central Bank of Myanmar and the Daiwa Research Institute and Tokyo Stock Exchange of Japan, the New Light of Myanmar said on Thursday. Burma’s opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and Finance and Revenue Minister Hla Tun at a financial workshop in Rangoon in November 2011. Photo: Mizzima Minister...

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Suu Kyi to visit India

Thursday, 31 May 2012 12:33 Mizzima NewsWhen Aung San Suu Kyi visits India sometime this year, she will return to a country with which she has deep family and personal ties. She has accepted an invitation to deliver the Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Lecture in India, after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh presented her a letter earlier this week from Sonia Gandhi asking her to deliver the prestigious address....

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Burmese gov’t allows torture with impunity: report

Thursday, 31 May 2012 14:04 ND-Burma The Burmese government continues to commit human rights abuses including torture and inhumane treatment with impunity, according to a new report by ND-Burma, a network for human rights documentation.From January to December 2011, ND-Burma said its member organizations documented 371 cases of human rights violation across the country of which 83 cases, or 22...

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Suu Kyi tells migrant workers: ‘I will never forget you’

Wednesday, 30 May 2012 16:48 Mizzima NewsJubilant Burmese migrant workers greeted Aung San Suu Kyi on Wednesday morning, who told them she is working to make it possible for them to return home.Thousands of local people and migrant workers packed a narrow street in Samut Sakhon near Bangkok to hear her speak during her first foreign trip in 24 years. Burmese democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi...

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Thein Sein to visit Thailand in June

Wednesday, 30 May 2012 12:54 Mizzima News Burmese President Thein Sein will officially visit Thailand from June 4-5 to strengthen bilateral relations and sign agreements on various development projects, the Thai News Agency said on Tuesday. The president, who cancelled a planned visit to the Asian World Economic Forum that started on Wednesday, is scheduled to hold bilateral talks with Prime Minister...

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Opposition advice sought over electricity protests

Wednesday, 30 May 2012 12:45 RFA Burma’s Election Commission held roundtable talks on Tuesday with representatives from the country’s six major political parties to address a recent string of protests over electricity shortages and workers’ rights, according to an opposition lawmaker in attendance. Ohn Kyaing, a member of Parliament for Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy...

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Aung San Suu Kyi starts landmark Bangkok visit

Wednesday, 30 May 2012 12:32 VOA Burma's long-time democracy icon and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has arrived in Thailand's capital, marking her first international trip in 24 years and ending an era of isolation in her home country. The plane carrying the Nobel laureate touched down in Bangkok late Tuesday evening following a brief flight from Rangoon. Burmese opposition leader Aung San...

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Mizzima launches print version of new business weekly, M-ZINE+

Wednesday, 30 May 2012 17:01Mizzima Media is pleased to announce the official launch of its new weekly magazine, M-ZINE+, in Yangon.M-ZINE+ (M-ZINE Plus) is a weekly business-oriented magazine, deciphering developments concerning business, the economy, development, social issues and politics in Myanmar.Mizzima Media will hold a Launch Party on Saturday at the Sedona Hotel Yangon.M-ZINE+ is designed as a niche publication to fill a gap in the modern world of 24/7 news and sound bites. The “M” stands for a multiplicity of meanings, from Mizzima,...

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Official editorial praises India-Burma ties

Wednesday, 30 May 2012 12:23 Mizzima News“India needs Myanmar, and Myanmar also needs India, and that is the common ground,” an editorial in The New Light of Myanmar, the state-run newspaper, said on Tuesday.“As for Myanmar, India is a giant neighbor whose long experience in democracy will be valuable for the democratization process that needs international cooperation to achieve further acceleration,”...

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Surin says Asia needs media ‘to keep us on track’

Wednesday, 30 May 2012 12:13 Mizzima NewsAsean Secretary-General Dr. Surin Pitsuwan on Tuesday said Asia has become the fastest growing region of social media users in the world. Asean-member states such as the Philippines and Malaysia have already achieved penetration rates of as much as 85 per cent for popular social media sites, he said. Dr. Surin Pitsuwan Photo: Facebook Speaking at the...

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Burmese gov’t websites have little information – some don’t exist

Tuesday, 29 May 2012 16:55 Phone Thaw Zin  Rangoon (Mizzima) – Looking for information about the Burmese government? Don’t go to the official governmental websites because most provide little information and often they do not update what information they have for months or years. In short, they are nearly worthless compared to neighboring countries, which recognize the importance of the Internet...

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Suu Kyi to meet Burmese migrants in Thailand

Tuesday, 29 May 2012 14:42 Mizzima News During her visit to Thailand to attend the World Economic Forum starting on Wednesday, Aung San Suu Kyi will visit Burmese migrants to see working and living conditions and visit a local National Verification Center, according to migrant worker advocates. Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi wears France's highest civilian medal, the Legion d'Honneur,...

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Vietnam, Burma deepen ties

Tuesday, 29 May 2012 14:19 Mizzima NewsVietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung told Rangoon Region Chief Minister Myint Swe this week that Vietnam and Burma should increase investment, trade and tourism ties. Myint Swe was in Vietnam to implement 12 agreements signed by both countries during Burmese President Thein Sein’s recent visit to Vietnam. Dung said Vietnam will hold an investment conference in Rangoon next month, particularly to promote business in tourism, mining, agriculture and energy.In 2011, the bilateral trade between Vietnam and...

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Singapore ready to invest more in Burma’s hotel sector: reports

Tuesday, 29 May 2012 13:33 Mizzima News Singaporean businessmen are expected to make larger investments in Burma’s booming hotel and tourism sector, according to a local media report. A delegation of International Enterprise Singapore Business Department, led by the director of the Southeast Asia Group, Tan Soon Kin, held discussions with officials at the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism early this...

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Sales of SIM cards strong in Rangoon, Mandalay

Tuesday, 29 May 2012 12:55 Phone Thaw Zin Rangoon (Mizzima) – Burmese SIM card sales brought in about US$ 112 million during the past month, according to ministry figures. The sale of SIM cards is controlled and allocated periodically by the government. The sales came from GSM SIM cards that sold for 200,000 kyat each (about US$ 250), and WCDMA SIM cards that sold for 250,000 kyat each, according...

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Burma’s business visa-on-arrival starts Friday

Tuesday, 29 May 2012 12:42 Mizzima News A limited visa-on-arrival program aimed at easing business travelers entry into Burma will kick off on Friday, said Burmese officials. Originally, it was believed to include tourists, but Immigration Department Director-General Maung Maung Than told the Associated Press on Monday that tourists will not be included in the on-arrival program. The International...

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World Economic Forum to focus on ‘connectivity’

Tuesday, 29 May 2012 12:23 Mizzima News The upcoming 21st World Economic Forum on East Asia in Bangkok will concentrate on building up regional connectivity, organizers told the media on Monday. “This year's meeting is an exceptional opportunity not only for leaders from East Asia, but also from outside the region, as the Asean countries are a major evolving geopolitical and geo-economic pillar...

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‘Urgent need’ for power plants around Rangoon, Mandalay: minister

Tuesday, 29 May 2012 12:05 Mizzima News Burma is looking to build a large industrial park complex in the Bassein region west of Rangoon for domestic industries, in addition to more electricity power plants around Rangoon and Mandalay, according to the industry minister. Burma's Industry Minister Soe Thane delivers a speech during the 18th International Conference on the Future of Asia in Tokyo...

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Thein Sein to skip World Economic Forum in Thailand

Monday, 28 May 2012 18:22 Wai SandarRangoon (Mizzima) – According to sources close to Burma’s leader, President Thein Sein will not attend the Asian World Economic Forum in Bangkok from Wednesday through Friday.A source close to the president said that Thein Sein might go to Thailand on a state visit later.“The president is uncertain to attend the World Economic Forum in Thailand as he has to entertain...

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India, Burma sign wide-ranging economic deals

Monday, 28 May 2012 16:44 Mizzima News Burma and India tightened trade and connectivity ties in wide-ranging commitments signed on Monday in Naypyitaw. Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and President Thein Sein emphasized the importance of trade agreements, cultural exchanges and enhancing connectivity between the two countries. Indian Prime Minister Monmohan Singh and Burmese President...

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Private jade mining halted in north Kachin State

Monday, 28 May 2012 15:22 Mizzima NewsBurma’s mining authorities will suspend all jade mining work by private companies in northern Kachin State starting the end of this month, Rangoon media reported on Sunday.Quoting statement by the Ministry of Mines, The Voice newspaper said armed conflicts in the Pha Kant area make it unsafe there.Because traffic was stopped in the area by the Kachin Independence Army and government forces, thousands of workers have fled the area, it said.In times of fighting, hundreds of jade mining companies must pay a large...

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Japan to provid emergency turbines for Burma blackout

Monday, 28 May 2012 13:12 Mizzima News Burma will acquire three large gas turbines from Japan in addition to buying a dozen heavy-duty generators from the United States and Singapore in an emergency effort to meet citizens’ pleas for more electricity in Rangoon, Mandalay and other cities. Protestors walk past Sule Pagoda, Rangoon, on Thursday, May 24, 2012, holding candles in a symbolic gesture...

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Indian PM arrives in Burma

Monday, 28 May 2012 13:02 Mizzima News Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will arrive in Naypyitaw on Monday to have talks with Burmese President Thein Sein, as the two countries further cement bilateral relations. Singh, the first Indian prime minister visiting Burma in 25 years, will be ceremonially welcomed by President U Thein Sein. Singh is likely to announce a fresh line of credit for...

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