National News

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• Conflicting calls mark peace conference
• NLD said to shortlist candidates for Speaker
• Winning candidate’s ethnicity questioned
• Canal repair reduces Yangon water supply
• Sister of murdered UK tourist says Thai investigation ‘bungled’
• Court process still pending because of shift in judges
• Local election delay sparks confusion
• Labour agencies mull boycott of Malaysia
• Key witness missing in illegal jade ownership case

Conflicting calls mark peace conference Posted: 12 Jan 2016 02:30 PM PST Key ethnic armed groups are boycotting the talks and more than 100 civil society organisations called for their postponement, but nonetheless President U Thein Sein's government yesterday launched the first round of a political dialogue aimed at bringing a permanent end to over six  decades of civil war.

NLD said to shortlist candidates for Speaker Posted: 12 Jan 2016 02:30 PM PST Among the immediate tasks of the new parliament meeting on February 1 will be to elect Speakers for both houses, and sources in the National League for Democracy say the party has shortlisted two candidates.

Winning candidate’s ethnicity questioned Posted: 12 Jan 2016 02:30 PM PST The Union Electoral Commission is investigating a complaint that a winning National League for Democracy candidate in November's election, though elected in an ethnic Shan constituency, is not an ethnic Shan. According to U Sai Naw Khay, the defeated candidate who filed the complaint, the winner, U Sai Kyaw Zaw, was not even entitled to vote as a Shan, let alone stand in the constituency.

Canal repair reduces Yangon water supply Posted: 12 Jan 2016 02:30 PM PST Householders in 19 Yangon city townships are being urged to store water as repair work proceeds on the canal that supplies much of the city's water. The city's Irrigation Department will be working on the canal between the Ngamoeyeik dam and the city's Nyaunghnapin pumping station from January 11 to 13, according to state-owned media.

Sister of murdered UK tourist says Thai investigation ‘bungled’ Posted: 12 Jan 2016 02:30 PM PST The sister of murdered backpacker Hannah Witheridge has hit out at the treatment her family received from the Thai authorities, calling the investigation "bungled".

Court process still pending because of shift in judges Posted: 12 Jan 2016 02:30 PM PST Volunteer activists for religious tolerance are still facing prosecution, and possible imprisonment, for contacts they had with an ethnic armed group. Ko Zaw Zaw Latt and Ma Pwint Phyu Latt, who are both Muslim members of the Mandalay Interfaith Social Volunteer Youth Group, face prosecution under the Unlawful Association and Immigration acts.

Local election delay sparks confusion Posted: 12 Jan 2016 02:30 PM PST In what many see as an expansion of grassroots democracy, preparations to elect ward- or village-level administrators throughout the country began last month. But now those preparations are on hold amid confusion over the mechanics of the selection process, officials say.

Labour agencies mull boycott of Malaysia Posted: 12 Jan 2016 02:30 PM PST A tenfold increase in visa fees has prompted employment agencies to consider boycotting Malaysia, long a favoured destination of Myanmar migrant workers. The threat, which could be backed up by demonstrations, followed an announcement by the Malaysian embassy to raise visa application costs from US$6 to $57.

Key witness missing in illegal jade ownership case Posted: 12 Jan 2016 02:30 PM PST A Key witness in a long-running dispute between two mining companies over a large lump of jade has gone missing, parliament has been told.

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