By Massita Ahmad SINGAPORE, Nov 15 -- Myanmar's partners in the 10-member ASEAN are "indirectly critical" of and "concerned" over the Rohingya issue, Malaysian Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said here Thursday. They hope that the Rohingya can return safely , he said at the conclusion of the 33rd ASEAN Summit and Related Summits here.

British Viceroy Mountbatten had grandly announced August 15, 1947 as India's Independence Day, as it was important to him, personally; it would be the second anniversary of Japan's surrender in WW2 with him as Britain's Supreme Allied Commander for South East Asia. However, he forgot to check with Indian astrologers! After the announcement, they all consulted their books and said that the 15th of August 1947 was an extremely unlucky day and foretold gloom and doom for the newly independent country! However, Mountbatten was now stuck with this day as it was public and had been accepted by British Parliament.

If you're craving some flavorful Italian food, in an exciting collaboration between Melia Yangon and the Embassy of Italy in Myanmar, an Italian Food Week is running from Nov. 10 to 18 at Olea in Melia Hotel. As well as Olea's regular Mediterranean menu, Italian Food Week features a rare chance to experience guest chef Stefano Santo's select authentic Italian dishes-much more exciting than the usual pasta and pizza.

Kyaw Hsan is trying to bridge the deep rift between his own ethnic Rakhine community and the Rohingya minority in Rakhine State, where 700,000 Rohingya were driven out last year in a purge the UN says could amount to genocide. But he faces a monumental task countering generations of hatred and distrust that culminated in last year's humanitarian crisis .

Myanmar is the latest country to benefit from International Maritime Organization 's work to enhance marine oil spill preparedness and response in the ASEAN region. A press note from the UN agency informed that a training course for senior officials and members of the national oil spill management team is taking place in Yangon, Myanmar .

Since 2015, Myanmar has been heading toward a market approach. There is also huge potential for the country to upgrade its structure with China, and also within the rest of the country.

Nar Auk became a hero of the Burmese people by using the wealth he amassed as a successful businessman to resist the British Empire's powerful Irrawaddy Flotilla Company and help the poor evade exploitation by British and Indian merchants. Today, 115 years after his death, the temple he built in Mon State continued to draw admirers.

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence pressed Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi "multiple times" on Wednesday to pardon two Reuters journalists jailed in her country, a senior White House official said. Reuters journalists Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo were arrested in Yangon in December 2017.

If you've been to Kayah State, Myanmar's smallest state located on the eastern border, you've undoubtedly sipped at a cup or jar of traditional rice wine. Kayan rice wine, or , is drank by men, women and children alike in Kayah State on special occasions celebrating weddings, harvests and religious festivals.

IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, and the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry , organized a national seminar on food safety in Yangon, Myanmar. The aim was to help food sector companies in Myanmar address and improve food safety practices, thereby developing the nation's agribusiness sector, increasing exports, and generating jobs.

Smoke is seen billowing on the Myanmar border as Rohingya refugees walk on the shore after crossing the Bangladesh-Myanmar border by boat through the Bay of Bengal, in Shah Porir Dwip. PHOTO: REUTERS Mid-November has arrived and insecurity and uncertainty have descended over Rohingya refugees in Ukhia and Teknaf.

Police have arrested five of eight men involved in forcefully claiming back money from a family-owned company in Yangon's Ahlone Township on Monday evening. Ko Soe Kyaw Kyaw Lwin, one of the five detainees, said that he was paid by a middleman identified as Ko Hla Win to claim back debt from a currency dealer.

The United Nations' refugee agency will not provide humanitarian assistance to Rohingya Muslims who return to Myanmar if they are interned in camps, according to an internal position paper circulated days before the initial repatriation is due to start. FILE PHOTO: Rohingya refugees walk at Jamtoli camp in the morning in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, January 22, 2018.

As many as 246,000 unsafe abortions are undertaken every year in Myanmar, which has the second-highest maternal death rate in the region Eight months pregnant, shamed by her family and shunned by the father of her child, Aye Mar has accepted she will have to give up her baby to an orphanage in Myanmar, a country where single mothers are ostracised and deemed a "disgrace". For now, she is taking refuge in a house in a leafy suburban Yangon street, away from the disparaging eyes of her neighbours and the chastisement of her aunts, her only family.

CHIANG MAI, Thailand-The Karen National Union is standing firm on its decision to temporarily suspend its participation in ongoing peace talks, but will seek solutions to overcome the impasses facing the peace process through informal negotiations, it said in a statement. The KNU leadership met last week to review its high-level talks with the government, Tatmadaw and ethnic armed organizations in mid-October, and to reflect on the The group announced it was suspending its participation in the peace process two weeks ago, saying it needed time to conduct internal consultations on a meaningful participation in the process, before moving on with it.

Fresh from their sold-out ADE party, popular U.K. duo Third Party have unveiled their massive new single, "Come With Me," a euphoric production that perfectly encapsulates the seismic progressive sound has made the pair famous. With moody vocals, "Come With Me" flaunts a huge festival-ready drop and emotive hands-in-the-air hook, spreading the message that music is the ultimate healer via the poignant lyrics: "No one has to be alone," "If it gets colder, I will help you find the light."

China and Myanmar are moving ahead with a China-backed deep-sea port project in Kyauk Phyu Special Economic Zone , 250 miles northwest of Yangon. The framework agreement was signed by Myanmar's Deputy Minister of Planning and Finance and Chairperson of the Management Committee of the Kyaukphyu SEZ U Set Aung and President of CITIC Group Chang Zhenming, stated Chinese state media.