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Japan yanking ODA for key project as part of Myanmar protest++++++++++++Japan is withdrawing its official development as...
01/06/2023

Japan yanking ODA for key project as part of Myanmar protest
++++++++++++

Japan is withdrawing its official development assistance (ODA) for a key railway project in Myanmar that has stood as a symbol of cooperation between the two countries for the past 10 years.

The decision, as a mark of protest over the 2021 military coup against the democratically elected government, affects financial assistance for upgrades to the railway system.

Japan has been involved in the rail project since 2013. It notified Myanmar last autumn that it will not provide additional yen loans that are essential for its continuation.

Myanmar’s military authorities sent word by April that they understood Japan’s position, sources said.

The project stands as testimony to efforts by Japan to provide infrastructure-related assistance.

Japan is expected to review other major ODA projects for the country to protest continued oppressive military rule in Myanmar, observers said.

The project upgrades involve 620 kilometers of track linking Yangon, Myanmar’s largest city, and Mandalay in the central part of the country.

As its rails and bridges were aging, trains were prone to delays and derailments.

Japan declared it would resume yen loans in Myanmar after a civilian government regained the reins of power in 2011.

A feasibility study on upgrading the rail network got under way in 2013 and the project got going in 2018. This has resulted in repaired or renewed rails, railway bridges and signal systems.

Japan had reached an agreement with the Myanmar government to provide yen loans of up to 142.2 billion yen ($1 billion) for the project by 2020.

Tokyo had been ready to provide more funding in the form of yen loans as needs arose until around 2024 when the project is scheduled for completion.

However, Japan informed the Myanmar military in November that it would overhaul the project, and consider canceling some parts of it, according to sources linked to diplomatic relations between the two countries.

“It is difficult to consider providing additional yen loans,” the Japanese government told the Myanmar military at the time. “The project requires more time and funding due to things like the COVID-19 pandemic, the deteriorating security situation and the rapid depreciation of the yen against the dollar.”

Japan has suspended new yen loans for Myanmar since the coup.

Had it not done so, Tokyo would have been seen as recognizing the military administration as the country’s legitimate government.

The notification to Myanmar about the railway project made clear that Japan will not sign a new contract to provide additional loans to the country, even for an existing project that started before the coup.

Some repair work for the railway project stopped as the weaker yen and other factors caused a shortfall in aid that Japan had promised. But Japan has decided not to do anything about that, according to sources.

It is believed that only around a quarter of the project has been finished.

(This article was written by Makoto Oda and Azusa Kato.)

Source - THE ASAHI SHIMBUN

https://www.asahi.com/sp/ajw/articles/14921224

3rd Day of Thingyan in YangonScenes of people celebrating the 3rd day of Thingyan on the evening of April 15th at the pa...
15/04/2023

3rd Day of Thingyan in Yangon

Scenes of people celebrating the 3rd day of Thingyan on the evening of April 15th at the pavilions of Yangon People Square

Source; Eleven Media Group - English Edition

Myanmar expects to build lithium battery factories with Russian aidHsu (NP News) - Dec 9 Discussion has been made betwee...
09/12/2022

Myanmar expects to build lithium battery factories with Russian aid

Hsu (NP News) - Dec 9

Discussion has been made between ’s Ministry of Electric Power (MOEP) and Russia’s to construct factories as part of the project.

The meeting was conducted in Naypyidaw on December 8.
Development topics related to small hydropower plants, renewable energy, wind energy project, and thermal power plant project were also discussed between the MOEP and ROSATOM from Russian Federation.

Electric motor vehicle import will be allowed starting from 2023 January 1 and the importer companies must abide by the directives, rules, and regulations laid down by the Ministry of Commerce.

A total of 26 foreign companies have reportedly proposed the import of electric vehicles to Myanmar.

The Ministry of Planning and Finance also exempted customs and tariffs to zero percent for the electric vehicle importing process.

Myanmar is now facing a power shortage including in big cities like Yangon and the power is distributed according to the schedules like the ration system which leads to many difficult situations for industries, workplaces, and companies.

Source;NP NEWS

13/08/2022

Manchester United vs Brentford 0−4 - All Gоals & Extеndеd Hіghlіghts - PREMIER LEAGUE 2022






Suu Kyi disclaims existence of NUG/CRPH and PDFWritten by Iris (NPNews) – August 12Former State Counselor and the Chairw...
12/08/2022

Suu Kyi disclaims existence of NUG/CRPH and PDF

Written by Iris (NPNews) – August 12

Former State Counselor and the Chairwoman of the National League for Democracy (NLD) Aung San Suu Kyi refused to acknowledge the existence of an anti-government entity that is resisting the State Administration Council in parallel in current political crisis.

She confessed this statement during the hearing of the court trial in response to the questions raised by the prosecutors if she acknowledges the NUG/CRPH and the PDF’. Since this confession statement was made by Suu Kyi before the court, will it be an official record and become a kind of legal precedent, a source with knowledge of the case told the NP News.

“She said ‘What is NUG/CRPH? And what is PDF and who are they?’ She said she isn’t aware of those entities,” the source told NP News.

Her lawyers made a written record of what she had confessed before the court with respect to the NUG/CRPH and the PDF that meant to be ‘nothing to do with her’.

The former State Counselor did not only refuse to recognize the existence of the NUG/CRPH and the PDF but she also asked the prosecutors what they are and who they are referring to those groups, the source continued. Therefore, the prosecutors made a short clarification to her about the activities and courses of what the NUG/CRPH and the PDF did or are undertaking.

“She just said ‘Oh, is that so? I do not know them,” the source said.

Such messages of what the former State Counselor confessed before the court are usually timely reported directly to Aung Kyi Nyunt, one of the leading personnel of the CRPH (Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw) within 24 hours, confirmed the NP News’ source who is the acquaintance of the NUG. Thus, personnel of the NUG and the CRPH including Aung Kyi Nyunt are extremely anxious if the former State Counselor is released from prison by any means, the source added.

“They take that it is against them that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi said she doesn’t acknowledge their existence as the NUG/CRPH or the PDF. That is why they are afraid of and they have concerns if there will be a chance in which Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the international community can meet and have dialogue,” told the source.

Hence, it becomes a dilemma or puzzle for the NUG/CRPH with regarding Suu Kyi and how they will be dealing this issue forward.

The page of the National League for Democracy was grabbed by the NUG’s intimate acquaintances from those who are still ranked as the NLD’s top leading role and still residing within the country.

According to the abovementioned source, the NUG has currently chosen a coercive course by continuously releasing offensive statements via the ‘NLD page’ without the concurrences of the former State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi.

Aung San Suu Kyi sentenced to 5 years in prison for the case in which Phyo Min Thein testified against her 27 APRIL 2022...
27/04/2022

Aung San Suu Kyi sentenced to 5 years in prison for the case in which Phyo Min Thein testified against her

27 APRIL 2022

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has been sentenced to five years in prison for the corruption case in which U Phyo Min Thein testified against her, saying he gave her gold and US dollars.

The final verdict was passed today on her regarding criminal case No.2 under section 55 of the Anti-Corruption Law after the testimony of former Yangon Region chief Minister U Phyo Min Thein.

The final hearing for Daw Aung San Suu Kyi started at 9.30 am today, but she was not allowed to meet her lawyers, according to a source close to the court.

Although news emerged that the court would reach a verdict yesterday, it was postponed and her sentence was passed today.

U Phyo Min Thein and his wife Daw Khin Mi Mi Kywe appeared in court and testified against her. In response to their testimonies, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi described them as ‘all absurd’ on October 4 last year.

Criminal case No.2 under Section 55 of the Anti-corruption Law can give a sentence of up to 15 years in prison if guilty is found.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is facing about 12 charges, including those under the Anti-Corruption Law and Section 103 of the Penal Code. She has already been sentenced to six years in prison for the previous cases.

https://elevenmyanmar.com/news/aung-san-suu-kyi-sentenced-to-5-years-in-prison-for-the-case-in-which-phyo-min-thein-testified

Yangon-Mandalay railway upgrade continues with JICA ODAD loan Section 1 of the Nyaung Lay Pin-Taungoo road will be compl...
20/01/2022

Yangon-Mandalay railway upgrade continues with JICA ODAD loan
Section 1 of the Nyaung Lay Pin-Taungoo road will be completed in November this year

Yangon, January 20

The Yangon-Mandalay railway upgrade project is underway with an official development loan (ODA) from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

Route 1 will be upgraded from Nyaung Lay Pin to Taungoo, and has now been completed from Pine Zalaw to Taw Kywe Inn, and will start testing new trains at 100 km per hour next Monday, according to a state-run newspaper.

In May 2020, Japan's foreign minister said he would consider suspending ODA to Japan if conditions did not improve after the February transfer.

Currently, Myanmar Railways is upgrading the railway, which is part of the ODA, and said the upgrade from Nyaung Lay Pin to Taungoo will be completed in November this year.

It has previously said it intends to run air-conditioned trains equipped with air-conditioned upgrades, which will cost $ 64 million for the new locomotives.

A report released by the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) at the end of the year said that 70 percent of Japanese businesses were still operating in Burma, despite the devastation of power and the Kovis-19 epidemic.

Currently, projects underway with official development loans from foreign countries in the country include upgrading the Yangon-Mandalay railway, as well as the Yangon bypass. The Korea-Myanmar Friendship (Dala) Bridge Project is also underway.

Source; BETV Business

Pauk Online Media - English Edition

Photo ; ttrweekly.com

Breaking News: Microsoft agreed to buy the video game maker Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion, its largest takeover ...
18/01/2022

Breaking News: Microsoft agreed to buy the video game maker Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion, its largest takeover ever and a big bet on the metaverse.

With the deal, the largest in the software maker’s history, Microsoft will gain Activision’s nearly 400 million monthly users and access to some of the world’s most popular games.

In Pauk Township, a USDP member was assassinated at his home ……………………………………………………… Magway  December 15 Magway Region  In...
15/12/2021

In Pauk Township, a USDP member was assassinated at his home
………………………………………………………

Magway December 15

Magway Region In Pauk Township, a USDP member was assassinated in front of his house, according to locals.

The incident took place on December 14 at around 5 pm in Pauk Township. Tin Aung Moe, a member of the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) who lives in Sa Thein village, was killed in front of his house by two unidentified men.

"I heard he was killed at home yesterday. It is unknown at this time what he meant by that," said a local.

Currently, there are assassinations of USDP members in regions / states.

Source; People Media

Township

CBM allows Yuan/Kyat direct payments on China-Myanmar borderelevenmyanmar.comMyanmar has allowed Yuan/Kyat direct paymen...
15/12/2021

CBM allows Yuan/Kyat direct payments on China-Myanmar border

elevenmyanmar.com

Myanmar has allowed Yuan/Kyat direct payments on the China-Myanmar border, according to a notification issued by the Central Bank of Myanmar on December 14.

The CBM said the proclamation was issued by exercising its authorities under Sections 17 and 22 of the Foreign Exchange Management Law.

To increase Sino-Myanmar trade and facilitate the flow of goods, Yuan/Kyat direct payments were allowed on the Sino-Myanmar border to facilitate the two countries’ payment and clearing systems and to increase domestic currency in line with the objectives of ASEAN Financial Integration.

Designated banks have also been allowed to open Yuan accounts of importers and exporters for cross-border trade.

Therefore, the designated banks are required to adhere to the Guidelines for the Direct Use of Yuan/Kyat in Sino-Myanmar border trade. And this notice shall take effect from the date of the issuance, the CBM announced.

https://elevenmyanmar.com/news/cbm-allows-yuankyat-direct-payments-on-china-myanmar-border

Meta to ban all Myanmar-army controlled businesses from platforms  Dec 8 (Reuters) - Meta Platforms Inc (FB.O), formerly...
08/12/2021

Meta to ban all Myanmar-army controlled businesses from platforms


Dec 8 (Reuters) - Meta Platforms Inc (FB.O), formerly known as Facebook, said on Wednesday it would ban all Myanmar-military controlled businesses from having a presence on its platforms in an expansion of its earlier curbs on the country's security forces.

The U.S tech giant had already announced in February it would stop all entities linked to the military, known as the Tatmadaw, from advertising on its platforms.

"This action is based on extensive documentation by the international community and civil society of these businesses' direct role in funding the Tatmadaw," said Rafael Frankel, Meta's Pacific director of public policy for emerging countries, Asia Pacific.

Myanmar's military overthrew Aung San Suu Kyi's democratically elected government in a coup in February, prompting widespread protests.

A spokesman for the military junta, which itself banned Facebook in February, did not answer calls seeking comment.

Frankel said Meta was identifying the companies based on a 2019 report from a U.N. Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar, research from activist groups Justice for Myanmar and Burma Campaign UK, as well consultations with civil society.

He told Reuters it had already taken down over 100 accounts, pages, and groups linked to military-controlled businesses.

Facebook plays an outsized role in Myanmar as the dominant internet channel and remains widely used by both protesters against military rule and soldiers.

After coming under heavy international criticism for failing to contain online hate campaigns, Facebook has pushed back against the military and since the coup introduced measures to protect Myanmar users.

The platform is also facing a $150 billion lawsuit from Rohingya refugees over allegations it did not take action against hate speech targeted at the Muslim Rohingya minority that contributed to violence.

https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/meta-ban-all-myanmar-army-controlled-businesses-platforms-2021-12-08/


Efforts are being made to issue a card to those who are not registered for the upcoming election, said the Minister of I...
08/12/2021

Efforts are being made to issue a card to those who are not registered for the upcoming election, said the Minister of Immigration and Population


Nay Pyi Taw December 8 (People Media)

Efforts are being made to issue a kind of card for those who are not registered for the next election. Union Minister for Immigration and Population Khin Yee said.

A welcoming meeting for new staff of the Ministry of Immigration and Population was held at the Ministry Conference Hall at 2 pm yesterday.

At the meeting, Union Minister U Khin Yee said that national registration and citizenship registration is very important for each citizen as it is a business of issuing citizenship certificates to every citizen. In the last election, there was a lot of fraudulent voter lists, and it was found that a large number of voters cast their ballots without any documents, including citizenship cards. Efforts are being made to issue a kind of card for those who are not registered for the next election. An 18-month flower gardening plan has been drawn up and field work is being carried out nationwide. He said the new staff were the new generation of florists in the department who were born in line with the florist plan, and that they needed to work hard to make the florist project a success.

In carrying out the census, our department successfully carried out the census in 2014. Union Minister Khin Yee said that the department is also responsible for e-ID, the most basic business of e-Government.





Source; People Media

07/12/2021

Pauk Online Media - English Edition

07/12/2021
No one above the law, Myanmar junta minister says of Aung San Suu Kyi verdict07 Dec 2021 (Pauk Online Media)A senior Mya...
07/12/2021

No one above the law, Myanmar junta minister says of Aung San Suu Kyi verdict

07 Dec 2021 (Pauk Online Media)

A senior Myanmar junta official said on Tuesday (Dec 7) the imprisonment of Aung San Suu Kyi showed that no one was above the law and the army chief had commuted her sentence on "grounds of humanity".

Information Minister Maung Maung Ohn also told a virtual briefing that Myanmar's judicial system was impartial and Monday's sentencing of the Nobel laureate and former leader was according to the law.

Aung San Suu Kyi, 76, was sentenced to four years in prison for incitement and breaching COVID-19 regulations but the military junta leaders reduced it to a two-year term of detention in her current location.

“There is no one above the law,” Maung Maung Ohn said, adding that Myanmar's judicial system "has no partiality".

He was speaking at a rare media briefing during which he and the junta’s investment minister said the situation in the country was stabilising.

They said preparations for elections to be held before August 2023 were under way but would not confirm whether Suu Kyi's party, the National League for Democracy, would be allowed to compete.

The party is under investigation by the election commission, which Maung Maung Ohn said was due to report back early next year.

Photo; Myanmar's State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi at Akasaka Palace State Guest House in Tokyo, Japan on Oct 9, 2018. (Photo: Nicolas Datiche via Reuters)

The number of fire losses in the first 11 months of 2021 is higher than the number of fires in 2020  December 7 ၊ 2021 A...
07/12/2021

The number of fire losses in the first 11 months of 2021 is higher than the number of fires in 2020

December 7 ၊ 2021

According to the Myanmar Fire Brigade, the number of fires in the 11 months from January to November 2021 in each region and state was higher than the number of fires from January to December 2020.

According to the statistics, the value of fire loss in the whole year of 2020 was 6476 million kyats and the value of fire loss in the first 11 months of 2021 was 32826.283 million kyats.

The number of fires in these 11 months was 1949 and in the whole year 2020 it was 1990. The number of fires and the value of losses were from each region and state.

"In the first 11 months, there were the highest number of fires at 712, followed by electrical fires at 427, the second-highest at 403 due to human negligence," said Thet Htwe Aung, assistant director of the Myanmar Fire Brigade.

Since November and December are the busiest months of the year, the Myanmar Fire Brigade is working to plan for each region and state to prevent fires.

"As a precautionary measure, we are conducting door-to-door inspections. Now the markets are on fire, so we are taking precautionary measures to get access to the water needed to put out the fire," said Thet Htwe Aung.

Due to the high incidence of fires, Thet Htwe Aung advised that if the stove was to be lowered and the electric stove to be downed, the wires could rot during the rainy season and that the fire extinguishers should be re-inspected before use and that fire extinguishers should be stored in every house.

Photo; Popular News Journal

In Myaing Township, six people were killed in one day, including the families of education staff and ward administrators...
07/12/2021

In Myaing Township, six people were killed in one day, including the families of education staff and ward administrators

Myaing ၊ December 7 2021



Magway Region Pakokku District Myaing residents told People Media that six people, including ward administrators, were killed on December 6 in the same day as the families of education workers were killed.



On the night of December 6, in Myaing Township, Sayar U Myint Zaw, 52, headmaster of Myo Soe Village, Myo Soe Village; His wife, village administrator Aye Aye, 54, and their daughter, Aye Thuzar, 27, were assassinated.



Similarly, Baungbin Village Administrator in Myaing Township; One from Sin Sein village and another from Gwe Pin Dwin were also killed. It is unknown at this time what caused the killings.



People Media contacted Myaing City Police Station to find out more about , but could not be reached.


Source; PeopleMedia

Cambodia prime minister Hun Sen meets Myanmar junta foreign minister  prime minister Hun Sen meets   junta foreign minis...
07/12/2021

Cambodia prime minister Hun Sen meets Myanmar junta foreign minister

prime minister Hun Sen meets junta foreign minister Wunna Maung Lwin at the PeacePalaceKH this Morning. PM previously said the meeting would be to hear what representative had to say.

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