quick news

Myanmar is set to establish diplomatic ties with eight more countries, a Foreign Ministry official said.

The countries are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Malawi, Bhutan, United Arab Emirates, Luxembourg, Latvia, Estonia and Dominican Republic.

The proposed ties have been submitted to the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (parliament) for approval.

“Currently, the Republic of the Union of Myanmar maintains diplomatic relations with 103 countries across the world,” said the Ministry official. “When the civilian government was elected in Myanmar, eight more countries proposed their desire to establish diplomatic relations. When these diplomatic proposals are approved at the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw, Myanmar will have diplomatic relations with 111 nations across the globe.”

 

Cartoonist scores in Euro 2012 contest 

A Myanmarese work titled “Football is In Play” was selected in the international cartoon contest for Euro 2012 held in Poland and Ukraine.

“Competing in the international contest exposes artists to creativity, thoughts and ideas. I am very happy about being selected,” said cartoonist Ngae Oo.

Ngae Oo’s “Football is In Play”, illustrating a soccer match, won through to the second round of the Euro 2012-related competition.

 

Parliament to discuss anti-monopolies law

The Amyotha Hluttaw has agreed to discuss a motion urging the government to draft a competition bill and competition policies intended to prevent the business monopolies.

Proposing the motion, Yangon constituency representative Myint Kyi said, “Section 36 of the State Constitution forbids any individual or organisation from monopolising or manipulating the market against the interest of the people. Such anti-dumping laws are also in place in Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, Malaysia, Vietnam, India, China, Japan, etc. Similarly, we need to enact a competition law in our country.”

The Amyotha Hluttaw will also discuss a motion to urge reforms for the development of financial and legal infrastructures.

 

Accord with UN to release child soldiers 

Myanmar and the United Nations have signed an action plan to prevent the recruitment and use of minors in the Tatmadaw and allow for the release of under-age recruits. 

Radhika Coomaraswamy, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, said the agreement was signed on June 27 and will take effect within 18 months.

She said that the agreement carried penalties of economic sanctions if children were still being recruited after 18 months.

Coomaraswamy said child soldiers were being recruited by the Tatmadaw as well as seven armed groups. She added that the exact figure of underage recruits is unknown but it could be high compared with other countries where this problem exists.

Unicef stated that more than 500 underage recruits have been released from the Tatmadaw since 2007 at the request of Unicef.

Defence Minister Lt-General Hla Min said action had been taken against 201 members of the military for not following regulations on recruitment.

 

Healthcare for mothers, babies

Myanmar Red Cross Society along with its counterparts from Denmark and Britain signed a memorandum of understanding on Thursday for a joint effort to launch a community-based healthcare project.

The US$5.6-million (Bt177.4 million) project is aimed at providing healthcare for mothers and newborn babies for the next five years, and covers 75 villages in Chin State, Sagaing Region and Mandalay Region. As an initial step, it will cover 23,000 women and infants under five. “This project is intended to educate the public on healthcare for expecting mothers, newborn babies, infants and immunisation programmes,” an MRCS official said. Asked why those areas were given priority, he said the under-five mortality rate there was high. “It is 60-70 deaths out of 1,000 born”.