Myanmar Morning News For January 22

Legal reforms to support Myanmar’s anti-corruption battle
Following the appointment of a new Anti-Corruption Commission in November, attention is turning to the need for legal reform to ensure the commission’s independence and protect whistleblowers.
— Frontier Myanmar

Hopes for revival of Dawei SEZ
IMPLEMENTATION of the Dawei special economic zone (SEZ) has been suspended for years, but Myanmar and Thailand are still eager to revive the mega project, according to an official in Myanmar.
— The Nation

Scandal-hit Thai temple helps to stage mass Buddhist event in Myanmar
Thousands of Buddhist monks gathered in Myanmar’s second largest city on Sunday for an event partly organized by a scandal-hit Thai temple whose abbot is wanted for questioning on money-laundering allegations.
— Reuters

Thailand, Myanmar build 17-kilometer fire barrier
Thai and Myanmar authorities on Saturday built a 17-kilometer long barrier in the northern province of Chiang Rai as a precautionary measure against forest fires.
— NNT

Taking to the runway for Myanmar-Thai unity in monkhood
Thousands of Buddhist monks participating in an alms-offering ceremony on the runway of an abandoned airport in central Mandalay yesterday.
— The Straits Times (paywall)

MIC plans to reduce SME registration fee
The Myanmar Investment Commission (MIC) is planning to reduce the registration fee for small-and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), it announced at a press conference.
— Eleven Myanmar

UN official: Rohingya camps at risk of deterioration
Humanitarian conditions in camps hosting Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh are set to worsen in the next few months, a human rights investigator has told Al Jazeera, while also raising concerns about a plan to repatriate the fleeing minority back to Myanmar.
— Al Jazeera

While political prisoners released, Myanmar’s judicial reforms stall
Hundreds of political prisoners have been released from Myanmar’s jails in amnesties in recent years, including dozens freed in January 2016, days before democracy champion Aung San Suu Kyi’s party took power for the first time.
— Reuters

Annual phone bill revenue hits K98 billion
The IRD collected K8.4 billion in January, K8.01 in February, K9.12 billion in March, K8.78 billion in April, K9.06 billion in May, K8.65 billion in June, K6.22 billion in July, K8.68 billion in August, K8.18 billion in September, K7.69 billion in October, K8.1 billion in November and K7.7 billion in December.
— Eleven Myanmar

Rohingya resist push to return amid Bangladesh, Myanmar repatriation deal
Mustafa Khatun has fled her native Myanmar three times.
— ABC

WFP Warns Food Shortages in Myanmar’s Rakhine State
The World Food Program warns food shortages and undernutrition in Myanmar’s Rakhine State are seriously affecting the health of women and children.
— VOA

Genocide, famine and a democratic retreat — all after one year of U.S. inaction
Maybe it’s just a coincidence, but as the United States has retreated from international leadership in the past decade, several toxic global trends have gained momentum. Democracy is steadily retreating, according to Freedom House, whose annual study documents a decline for the 12th consecutive year.
— Washington Post

Planned relocation to Myanmar: Tensions mount in Rohingya camps
Tensions mounted on Sunday at refugee camps in Bangladesh holding hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims over an operation to send them back to Myanmar, from where they have fled following a military crackdown.
— The News

Russia and Myanmar Extend Military Cooperation
An intergovernmental agreement on simplified procedure for calls of warships to the ports of Russia and Myanmar was reached on Saturday after talks between Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and the commander-in-chief of the Myanmar Armed Forces Senior General Min Aung Hlaing.
— Maritime-Executive

FDA reveals malaria drug is a fake
The Department of Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced on January 20 that a quinine injection made by Henan Dekang Pharmaceutical Company was a fake drug.
— Eleven Myanmar

Forest Department plans to regenerate 200 acres of mangrove wetlands
The Forest Department is planning to revive 200 acres of depleted mangrove forests over 1500 acres of abandoned prawn-breeding wetlands in the Ayeyarwady Delta region, said Forest Department Director Nyi Nyi Kyaw.
— Myanmar Times

Feature photo Brian Holsclaw

Find our previous morning news feature photos in the AEC News Today Morning News Feature Photos gallery where you will find a pictorial display of daily life throughout the Asean Economic Community (AEC).

Myanmar morning news by AEC News Today is your one stop source for Myanmar news on matters of governance and policies affecting Asean business communities. It is published M-F by AEC News Today: Governance, not government; policies not politics.

Myanmar Morning News For January 22 added by Leakhena Khat on January 22, 2018
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Leakhena Khat

Leakhena is a junior journalist at AEC News Today who is also currently studying International Relations, which she finds adds perspective to her work reporting on the Asean Community.

“I love what I am doing so much as it gives me a lot of great experience and provides challenges to my mind.