The boat was carrying cargo from Penang, Malaysia to Myeik, Myanmar. The crew left on May 18 and were due to arrive on Saturday, but their boat was wrecked after experiencing stormy weather and strong waves near Racha Noi Island.

A Rangoon court charged six family members on Thursday under eight legal statutes-some of which carry life sentences-for the torture and enslavement of two children in the family's tailor shop. Tin Thuzar, 59, Tin Min Latt, 37, Su Mon Latt, 27, and Yarzar Tun, 25, were charged under Burma's Anti-Trafficking in Persons Law, the 1993 Child Law, and for assault under the Penal Code.

Rescue workers look at a lorry which slammed into a worker camp in Muang district, Pathum Thani, killing three persons. A Pao ethnic woman wearing the traditional costume walks to attend the opening ceremony of the second session of the 21st Century Panglong Union Peace Conference at the Myanmar International Convention Centre in Nay Pyi Taw.

A former religion minister, interfaith activists, and a man charged under Article 66 of Burma's controversial Telecommunication's Law were among 259 prisoners released under a presidential amnesty on Wednesday. In recognition of the opening of the Union Peace Conference in Naypyidaw, 186 prisoners from Burma were released and 73 foreign prisoners were deported from jails across the country.

Asbarez – Her Excellency Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the Foreign Minister of Myanmar on May 19 visited Very Reverend Father Zaven Yazichyan the Pastor of the Armenian Spiritual Pastorates of Myanmar, Singapore and Bangladesh and the Representative of the Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians to The Far East. A new chapter was written in the long, eventful and fascinating history of these two nations when Her Excellency Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, warmly welcomed Very Rev.

Call it a twist of fate when one grants amnesty to he who once arrested him. This occurred on Tuesday when Burmese President U Htin Kyaw signed an order to release for ex-religious affairs minister U Hsan Hsint, along with 258 prisoners, in commemoration of the second session of the Union Peace Conference.

A fire destroyed 11 houses and 42 shops in Thae Chaung internally displaced persons camp in the Arakan State capital of Sittwe on Monday night, police have confirmed to The Irrawaddy. According to Lt-Col Win Naung of the Sittwe district police, there were no casualties in the incident.

Myanmar's State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi smiles during a photo session after the second session of the 21st Century Panglong Union Peace Conference at the Myanmar International Convention Centre in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Wednesday, May 24, 2017. less Myanmar's State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi smiles during a photo session after the second session of the 21st Century Panglong Union Peace Conference at the Myanmar International Convention Centre in ... more A Pao ethnic woman wearing the traditional costume walks to attend the opening ceremony of the second session of the 21st Century Panglong Union Peace Conference at the Myanmar International Convention Centre in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Wednesday, May 24, 2017.

Even though insurance has been around for more than 150 years in Myanmar, it has all the makings of a new phenomenon. Before independence in 1948, there were between 80 and 100 insurance firms in operation.

The state Buddhist Sangha authority, Ma Ha Na, imposed further restrictions on Burma's biggest religious nationalist group, the Association for Protection of Race and Religion, better known as Ma Ba Tha, banning the organization from operating under its current name and ordering that their signboards be taken down across the country by July. It was the second blow by the Buddhist cleric authority after their announcement last year that Ma Ba Tha was not a "lawful monks' association" as "it was not formed in accordance with the country's monastic rules."

Myanmar's leader Aung San Suu Kyi will open a new round of talks with some of the country's myriad ethnic groups on Wednesday, looking to revive a stuttering peace process after a tough first year in power that saw the worst fighting with rebels in years. FILE PHOTO: Myanmar State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi smiles as she visits an IDP camp outside of Myitkyina, the capital city of Kachin state, Myanmar March 28, 2017.

Myanmar State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi talks with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang during a meeting at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China May 16, 2017. Myanmar's leader Aung San Suu Kyi will open a new round of talks with some of the country's myriad ethnic groups on Wednesday, looking to revive a stuttering peace process after a tough first year in power that saw the worst fighting with rebels in years.

Myanmar's leader Aung San Suu Kyi will open a new round of talks with some of the country's myriad ethnic groups on Wednesday, looking to revive a stuttering peace process after a tough first year in power that saw the worst fighting with rebels in years. The conference comes amid continued tensions between ethnic armed groups, the military and Nobel Peace Prize winner Suu Kyi, and it is unlikely to see any new groups join a landmark ceasefire accord negotiated by the previous administration.

On Thursday a court will decide on the charges with which to prosecute six family members for torturing and enslaving two children in a downtown Rangoon tailoring shop for five years. Ko Latt, 63, Tin Thuzar, 59, Tin Min Latt, 37, Yarzar Tun, 25, Su Mon Latt, 27, and Thiri Latt, 37, who ran Ava tailor shop and factory in Kyauktada Township, are currently detained in Insein Prison and will be present at the session at Rangoon's West District Court.

Representatives of the Diocese of Winchester have just returned from a visit to the south Asian country of Myanmar formerly known as Burma. The Diocesan chief executive Andrew Robinson and other representatives made a number of visits aimed at improving the Church's shared work in education and understanding about the importance of social engagement.

The Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee, Myanmar's highest Buddhist authority, sent a letter to government ministries saying the Ma Ba Tha group must remove any public literature or billboards with its name on it. YANGON: Myanmar's top Buddhist body has banned hardline group Ma Ba Tha, according to a document sent out on Tuesday , a move aimed at curbing the movement's influence amid rising Islamophobia.

Ahead of the second 21st Century Panglong peace conference, China's influence has been quite visible. Staying in Naypyidaw, Chinese special envoy Sun Guoxiang engaged in quiet shuttle diplomacy between Burma's state counselor, army chief, and powerful armed groups along the China border.