LFM Service 1-25-19

Three Kachin State Ministers Told to Quit ‘on Suu Kyi’s Orders’
The Kachin chief minister has ordered three ministers to resign their positions without giving a reason other than to say that the instruction came from State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, according to one of the ministers.  Read More

What We Can Hope For From the 70th Anniversary of Karen National Resistance Day
The Karen National Union (KNU), the oldest ethnic armed group in Myanmar and a signatory to the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA), plans to celebrate the 70th anniversary of Karen National Resistance Day at its headquarter in Law Khee Lar, Karen State, on Jan. 28-31.  Read More

Upper House wants marriage age to stay at 18
The Amyotha Hluttaw (Upper House) intends to keep Myanmar’s marrying age at 18 as part of the Child Rights Bill, which it is now deliberating.  Earlier, the Phyithu Hluttaw (Lower House) removed the provision in its version of the bill, leaving local laws to set the age limit for marrying.   Read More

Aid curbs in Myanmar's Rakhine impact 'at least 50,000 people' – U.N.
New government curbs on aid activities in Myanmar’s western Rakhine State “are affecting at least 50,000 people”, the United Nations has said in an internal note, highlighting the growing impact of recent fighting on the civilian population. Read More

Thousands of women and girls are being trafficked from Myanmar to China and forced to marry, study finds
Thousands of vulnerable women and girls are being trafficked from Myanmar to China and forced to marry and bear children, new research has found.  Read More