Civilians wounded in Phakant fighting

The rest have been transferred to Myitkyina Hospital, locals said.

An encounter took place in a village of Sutngaiyan, Phakant, in the evening of September 13, killing a 15-year-old female student and wounding seven civilians.

The skirmishes between the two armies in Kachin State started on June 9 last year. 

Skirmishes also occurred in Phakant Township, the commercial hub of Kachin State, where jade mining is a major business, delaying business activities. 

The armed conflict between government troops and KIA resumed late last month, forcing tens of thousands of local residents to seek shelter in refugee camps.

 

Getting a visa still difficult: journalist

Bertil Lintner, a Swedish journalist based in Thailand, says that it is still difficult for him to get a Myanmar visa although his name is no longer in a notorious blacklist compiled by Burmese former military regime to keep out critics.

Lintner was one of many blacklisted people, including journalists, aid workers and critics, who have not been allowed to enter Burma since 1985.

In late August this year, the government removed a third of names, or around 2,000 people, from the list. Lintner is among the names.

“I have tried many times to get into Myanmar. I was denied repeatedly. Though I was lately removed off the list,” he told Eleven Media Group. “So, I tried again to get the visa at Myanmar’s embassy in Bangkok. I applied for it, but no official at the embassy signed my application yet. I will keep on trying to get it.”

Lintner is known for his criticisms on Myanmar government. He wrote numerous articles and books on Myanmar namely “The Rise and Fall of the Communist Party of Burma”, “Outrage: Burma’s Struggle for Democracy”, “The Kachin: Lords of Burma’s Northern Frontier”, and “Land of Jade: A Journey from India through Northern Burma to China”, “Merchants of Madness: The Methamphetamine Explosion in the Golden Triangle”.

He is a regular contributor to several publications such as Wall Street and Asia Times. His latest books are “Great Game East-India” and “China and the struggle for Asia’s most volatile frontier”.

 

Myanmar, Japan to boost agri ties 

Nine private agriculture companies in Myanmar will be visiting Japan early October to promote bilateral cooperation in the agriculture sector. 

The delegation will be visiting Fukuoka and Tokyo where Myanmar businessmen can study Japan’s agriculture technologies and discuss cooperation with prospective Japanese counterparts. 

“We are scheduled to meet Japanese business people and hold business networking meetings in related fields,” said an official of Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), the group that arranged the visit. 

The delegation will be headed by the director general of the Agricultural Mechanization Department. The group will also be visiting Bangkok in Thailand.