National News

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• Transition teams kick off months-long dialogue
• Peace dialogue to start in early January
• Tatmadaw to arm police amid security concerns
• Ministry set to introduce social pension in January
• Off the rails: Walking ban imposed on Gokteik bridge
• Myanmar still behind ASEAN peers in UN report
• KNPP prepares for NLD-led peace process
• NLD starts training for its class of 2016
• Govt sets K6 trillion tax target for next year
• Another student activist detained over June protest

Transition teams kick off months-long dialogue Posted: 16 Dec 2015 02:30 PM PST Transition committees set up to ensure a smooth handover of power are to meet four times a week until March, a senior National League for Democracy member said yesterday.

Peace dialogue to start in early January Posted: 16 Dec 2015 02:30 PM PST Political dialogue with ethnic armed groups will start in the first week of January, President U Thein Sein said yesterday, announcing the next stage in Myanmar's peace process which risks leaving out some of the most powerful non-state armies, mostly along the border with China.

Tatmadaw to arm police amid security concerns Posted: 16 Dec 2015 02:30 PM PST With the help of the Tatmadaw, police are to be armed to help them fight increasingly violent crime, parliament heard yesterday. Deputy Minister for Home Affairs Brigadier General Kyaw Kyaw Tun told the Pyithu Hluttaw the 38-calibre pistols issued to police were being replaced with more modern military-style weapons.

Ministry set to introduce social pension in January Posted: 16 Dec 2015 02:30 PM PST Nonagenarians and centenarians are to receive their social pensions starting next month, the government says. The Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement will provide the annual K18,000 payment to 7754 elderly men and 15,619 elderly women aged from 90 upward, a total of 23,373 people across the country.

Off the rails: Walking ban imposed on Gokteik bridge Posted: 16 Dec 2015 02:30 PM PST No walking – and definitely no selfies – on the track, railway officials have warned enthusiasts who like to stroll along the country's highest rail bridge, which towers more than 100 metres above a ravine in Shan State. Pedestrians have now been banned from Gokteik Viaduct as a safety measure.

Myanmar still behind ASEAN peers in UN report Posted: 16 Dec 2015 02:30 PM PST Despite continuing its positive trend and rise through the ranks, Myanmar remains identified as a country with low human development in the annual United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Human Development Report, released yesterday.

KNPP prepares for NLD-led peace process Posted: 16 Dec 2015 02:30 PM PST Despite its status as a non-signatory group outside the nationwide ceasefire process, the Karenni National Progressive Party has been preparing for the next stage of the peace process by seeking consensus among political parties, civil society groups and ethnic armed groups in Kayah State.

NLD starts training for its class of 2016 Posted: 16 Dec 2015 02:30 PM PST With just over six weeks to go before they take up their seats in parliament, the National League for Democracy's election-winning candidates have started a crash-course in legislation 101, with party leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi herself laying down the law.

Govt sets K6 trillion tax target for next year Posted: 16 Dec 2015 02:30 PM PST More than K6 trillion (US$4.57 billion) will be raised next year in taxes, announced finance minister U Win Shein on December 15. The Union minister was introducing the 2016 tax law into Pyidaungsu Hluttaw.

Another student activist detained over June protest Posted: 16 Dec 2015 02:30 PM PST Police said yesterday that they had arrested a student activist accused of stirring unrest at a June protest calling for an end to military MPs holding one-quarter of parliament's seats.

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