Mizzima awarded global JTI certificate for reliable news on Myanmar

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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 ...

First Burmese font smartphones launched

Monday, 14 January 2013 13:12 Mizzima News

Peter Chou, the Burma-born CEO of Taiwanese phone company HTC Corp., has announced the launch of the world’s first mobile devices designed to be used with Burmese text.

Photo: Hein Htet / Mizzima

In a bid to enter new markets ahead of rival companies such as Samsung and Apple, HTC have ensured the new devices can be used by buyers immediately by avoiding font installation problems.

“My aspiration is to design innovative smartphones that offer full compatibility with the Myanmar language, so that people in Myanmar can enjoy enhanced communications simply and easily,” said Chou in an interview with the BBC.

Until now, a failure to agree standardized fonts has hindered the development of Burmese-language systems, meaning that webpages and apps are often unreadable, adding to the country’s slow technology growth. HTC’s phones will also offer the first Burmese-language predictive text function and smart search.

“You don't have to spend two months to learn how to type it,” Chou said to Reuters. “You just type it. We want to give people here a computing device they don't have to learn. They just try it, they just use it, they just get it.”

In 2011, the World Bank listed Burma as the country with the lowest mobile phone penetration in Asia at just 3 percent. Currently there are only two mobile phone carriers in the country: Myanmar Posts & Telecommunications and Yatanarpon Teleport Co. This is set to change soon with the telecommunications regulator drafting a law to introduce up to five new telecom operator licenses.
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Related articles:

http://www.mizzima.com/business/8617-gsm-sim-cards-to-go-on-sale-in-january.html

http://www.mizzima.com/business/8093-sim-card-prices-remain-high-in-burma.html

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