Myanmar Monitor Weekly

Soldiers of Kachin Independence Army (KIA) gather during the training session at a military camp near Laiza, Kachin State, northern Myanmar (EPA Photo)

Security

Kachin Independence Army Teams Up with Other Fighters in Myanmar Attack
One of Myanmar’s most powerful ethnic militias, the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), joined three smaller groups in a weekend attack on 10 government targets in the country’s northern provinces, killing at least nine people were killed and wounding 29 people. None of the four groups signed onto the country’s 2015 nationwide ceasefire agreement but the KIA’s political arm took part in Aung San Suu Kyi’s 21-Century Panglong Conference in August.

China has said its army is on high alert after armed groups in Burma attacked military and police posts close to their shared border at the weekend and that it is providing shelter for a number of people who fled the fighting.
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Rohingya Muslims flee Myanmar crackdown to Bangladesh
A total of 130 people have been killed in the latest surge of violence in the country and scores of Rohingya Muslims are fleeing to Bangladesh because of the military crackdown in Rakhine state. Some of the Rohingya were shot as they tried to cross the Naaf River that separates Myanmar and Bangladesh, while others arriving by boat were pushed away by Bangladeshi border guards. The surge of violence is believed to underscore the lack of oversight of the military by the seven-month-old Aung San Suu Kyi administration.
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Economy

World’s Youngest Stock Market Struggles in Myanmar
Since the YSE, a joint venture between Myanmar, Japan’s Daiwa Institute of Research and the Japan Exchange Group, began trading in March, only 20,000 investors have ventured into the market. Only three companies are listed on the board and at the end of the day just 7,221 shares were traded, compared with nearly 839 million the same day on the New York Stock Exchange. Regulators complain that those who do take the plunge rely largely on rumors, herd psychology and even the stars.
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Foreign Affairs

World’s press condemn arrest of Myanmar media executives
The World Association of Newspapers (WAN) and News Publishers have echoed international concerns that the detention of the two media executives has raised serious doubts about the NLD-led government’s commitment to freedom of expression. WAN and the World Editors’ Forum wrote a letter to Myanmar President Htin Kyaw and called for authorities to drop the charges against Than Htut Aung and Wai Phyo, CEO and Chief Editor of Eleven Media respectively.
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Health

Myanmar health authorities struggle to prepare for Zika outbreak
Myanmar is largely unprepared for an outbreak of Zika, experts say, with the health ministry slashing anti-virus measures due to lack of funds, overworked doctors skipping check-ups and pregnant women saying they are in the dark about the dangers. The World Health Organization’s (WHO) warned Myanmar was likely to experience more cases of the mosquito-borne virus that has spread quickly in the region.
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Myanmar ranks last in ASEAN tobacco control study
Myanmar ranks last of the ASEAN countries in a new tobacco survey by the Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance (SEATCA), which measures each of the ASEAN countries’ implementation of the World Health Organization (WHO) framework for tobacco control. Myanmar scored 45.7 out of 100, falling just behind the Philippines and Laos, while Singapore topped the list with a score of 80.5. According to the study, Myanmar’s smoking policies are badly out of date.
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Myanmar refugee doctor wins humanitarian prize for clinic in Thailand
The doctor Cynthia Maung opened a health clinic in the border town of Mae Sot in north-western Thailand in 1988 to help fellow refugees who had fled Myanmar’s crackdown at the time. Starting with only four beds, the clinic has now developed into a fully-fledged health facility providing inpatient services, surgery and trauma care, dental care, vaccinations and HIV prevention, serving more than 75,000 patients per year. For her service for refugees, Maung received the AidEx Humanitarian Hero of the Year Award in Brussels.
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