National News

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• Myanmar signs off on statement to remedy “root causes” of boat smuggling crisis
• Census results reveal striking disparities
• New Zealand says no to extra Rohingya refugees
• Pressure mounts on Daw Aung San Suu Kyi to speak out on Rohingya
• Nations meet for migrant talks
• Thousands still unaccounted for
• War freezes Kokang econ zone
• Ethnic groups, government start dialogue work
• Mro parties demand release of arrested men
• MPs slam constitution referendum bill

Myanmar signs off on statement to remedy “root causes” of boat smuggling crisis Posted: 29 May 2015 12:35 PM PDT An emergency meeting convened today in Bangkok over the ongoing smuggling crisis concluded with Myanmar agreeing to address the "root causes" compelling people largely from Rakhine State and Bangladesh to flee on perilous boat voyages.

Census results reveal striking disparities Posted: 29 May 2015 06:38 AM PDT A second batch of information from the last April's nationwide census reveals a picture of Myanmar  as a country of pronounced wealth discrepancy and rural-urban differences.

New Zealand says no to extra Rohingya refugees Posted: 28 May 2015 08:10 PM PDT New Zealand is "deeply concerned" about the boat crisis in the Andaman Sea but will not accept additional Rohingya refugees to its current annual intake, Prime Minister John Key said ahead of a meeting on the issue in Thailand today.

Pressure mounts on Daw Aung San Suu Kyi to speak out on Rohingya Posted: 28 May 2015 08:08 PM PDT The Dalai Lama and former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad have added their voices to growing international pressure on Daw Aung San Suu Kyi to speak out on the plight of Myanmar's persecuted Muslim Rohingya minority amid a worsening migration crisis.

Nations meet for migrant talks Posted: 28 May 2015 08:08 PM PDT As fragments of human remains continue to be unearthed from smugglers' camps and governments launch increasingly desperate rescue operations for boats of migrants still adrift at sea, Thailand has assembled 19 nations for a one-day summit today to address the immediate crisis and longer-term, anti-human-trafficking measures.

Thousands still unaccounted for Posted: 28 May 2015 08:07 PM PDT Aerial and naval searches by at least four different countries have failed to locate more than 6000 people who remain unaccounted for and presumed abandoned on boats by human traffickers.

War freezes Kokang econ zone Posted: 28 May 2015 08:02 PM PDT The Kokang economic zone, located at the epicentre of the heavy fighting that broke out in February near the Chinese border, is undamaged but unlikely to come into operation any time soon, local officials said yesterday.

Ethnic groups, government start dialogue work Posted: 28 May 2015 08:01 PM PDT Representatives of armed ethnic groups said they met with chief government negotiator U Aung Min in Chiang Mai yesterday to work on a policy document that will form the basis of a future political dialogue aimed at ending over six decades of conflict.

Mro parties demand release of arrested men Posted: 28 May 2015 08:00 PM PDT Three ethnic political parties have called for the release of eight Mro men suspected of being in contact with the Arakan Army (AA), a Rakhine armed group fighting the government in Kyauktaw township in Rakhine State.

MPs slam constitution referendum bill Posted: 28 May 2015 07:58 PM PDT Parliament's lower house yesterday approved a bill authorising the holding of a nationwide referendum on amending the 2008 constitution.

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