Mizzima awarded global JTI certificate for reliable news on Myanmar

-
Image
Mizzima Mizzima, one of Myanmar ’s most prominent news outlets and a press freedom advocate, obtained the Journalism Trust Initiative ( JTI ) certification from global audit firm Bureau Veritas , JTI says in a press statement 5 January.  Operating in clandestine mode within Myanmar and supported by an exiled team, Mizzima strives to fulfil its role as reliable source of news and information for the Myanmar public. “Your Journalism Trust Initiative certification affirms what audiences already know: that principled, transparent journalism matters. Congratulations on this achievement and on your continued contribution to informing citizens about Myanmar,” says Benjamin Sabbah , director of Journalism Trust Initiative “Myanmar’s ongoing conflict has created an intensely contested media landscape, where mis- and disinformation are increasingly deployed to reinforce state propaganda and the prevailing “official” narrative. Although Mizzima is already regarded as one of the most trusted ...
Post a Comment

Relief efforts underway for Shan quake victims

-
Friday, 25 March 2011 19:20 Mizzima News

Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – Local and international relief efforts are underway to help the victims of the earthquake that struck northeastern Burma on Thursday.

A house in Tachilek, Burma, where people are starting
to salvage debris for rebuilding after the earthquake
that struck on Thursday night, March 24, 2011. NGOs,
international relief agencies and the Burmese
government are starting to move into the remote area
to provide aid and make damage assessments.
Photo : Mizzima/Real Naing
According to a report from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs issued on Friday, the local authorities have been providing basic relief to affected households and the Burmese government’s National Disaster Preparedness Central Committee has deployed search and rescue and relief teams.

The death toll from the 6.8 earthquake that struck Shan State on Thursday evening stands at 74 people, with 111 people injured. But much of the affected region of Burma is remote and the full scale of the devastation and human toll has yet to be fully assessed.

This is the third earthquake to hit Burma this year. Quakes of 6.4 and 5.4 magnitude struck on February 4 and March 10 respectively, but no serious damage or casualties were reported.  This latest quake comes in the wake of the devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan that left at least 27,000 dead or missing.

Access to some of the affected areas in Burma is difficult because of the terrain, poor roads and security restrictions. There have been reports of disruption of electricity, water supply and telecommunications in the affected areas. Key bridges have been reported damaged by the quake, according to sources who spoke with Mizzima.

UN agencies and local and foreign NGOs met in Rangoon on Friday morning to plan an emergency response.

As of Friday, UNICEF had dispatched field staff to carry out a need assessment survey. The organization plans to distribute health kits and water purification items.

World Vision International (WVI), an international NGO, has staff in Tachilek and Kengtung and is reported to have sent personnel to 20 villages in the Tar Lay and Mong Lin township areas where they are handing out food and water, following a request from the ruling State Peace and Development Council.  Further aid will be supplied following an assessment of the needs, according to the UN report.

The Myanmar Red Cross Society has dispatched 20 volunteers to collect information and offer basic assistance.

The UNHCR and the UNDP have expressed a willingness to help.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

World's longest internet shutdown ends in parts of Myanmar

-
Image
Rakhine people travel by motorcycle in Sittwe, Rakhine State, Western Myanmar, 02 February 2021. Photo: Nyunt Win/EPA By AFP The world's longest internet shutdown -- affecting more than a million people for 19 months in one of Myanmar's ethnic conflict zones -- has come to an end, according to a mobile operator based in the region. The internet in parts of Myanmar's troubled northern states of Rakhine and Chin was suspended in June 2019 following "emergency" orders issued by the telecoms department under Aung San Suu Kyi's civilian government. Following Monday's military coup, mobile operator Telenor Group confirmed it had reinstated full services in eight townships in Rakhine and Chin states on Wednesday. "Telenor Group and Telenor Myanmar have been advocating for the restoration of services and emphasised that freedom of expression through access to telecoms services should be maintained for humanitarian purposes," the company said in a stateme...
Read more

First ministerial meeting held

-
Image
Mizzima Myanmar held the first meeting among newly appointed ministers after a recent major cabinet reshuffle by the military in capital city of Nay Pyi Taw on Tuesday morning, according to a release from the Military True News Information Team Xinhua reported. The Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, acting President U Myint Swe and nine newly appointed union ministers were present at the meeting held at the Presidential Palace, the release said. Min Aung Hlaing unveiled plans to include reopening religious buildings and pagodas, resuming domestic travel and hotel businesses as well as industries in line with COVID-19 rules and regulations, and revitalizing the country's economy.
Read more

Indonesia detains British woman on terror suspect list

-
Image
File photo of Indonesian police personnel standing guard. (Photo: AFP) AFP Indonesia has detained a British woman named on a list of global terror suspects and plans to deport her for visa violations, authorities told AFP Tuesday. Tazneen Miriam Sailar -- a Manchester-born convert to Islam married to an Indonesian jihadist who was killed in Syria -- is not charged with terror offences. But she and her late husband are on an Indonesian police list of suspected extremists that includes several foreigners notorious in the West. Sailar, 47, and her 10-year-old Indonesia-born son, were being held in Jakarta after being picked up last year without documents allowing her to remain in the Southeast Asian nation, her lawyer Farid Ghozali said. "She was put (in detention) while awaiting her return, which will be facilitated by the British embassy," Indonesian immigration directorate spokesman Ahmad Nursaleh told AFP. The embassy declined to comment, and it was unclear when...
Read more