According to May 1’s state-run The New Light of Myanmar, after scrutinizing 11 applications, the committee granted 10 private dailies on a temporary basis with more to be assessed at its next meeting.

The report said the 10 new licenses were issued to: National Time Daily (Applicant Dr Sabai Tin); Daily Eleven News (Applicant Daw Yin Maw Oo); Myanma Freedom Daily (Applicant U Thiha Thiha Saw); The Nagani Daily (Applicant U Thein Tun); Dana Business Daily (Applicant U Maung Maung Sein); Warazein Daily (Applicant U Maung Maung Sein); Newswatch Daily (Applicant U Chit Maung); The Pyi Myanmar Daily (Applicant Dr Khin Moe Moe); Myanmar Post Daily (Applicant U Win Aung); and the International Herald Tribune (Applicant U Myo Aung).

The previous 16 dailies which were granted licenses are: Union; Golden Freshland; Standard Times; Voice; Myanmar Newsweek; 7-Day; Khit Moe; Empire; The Messenger; Up-Date; Mizzima; Khit Thit; Yangon Times; Myanmar Dika; Union Athan; and D-Wave.

The Union Daily is run by the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), while D-Wave was previously a journal owned by Aung San Suu Kyi’s opposition party, the National, League for Democracy.

To date only four of those issued licenses have gone into daily circulation since permission was authorized to begin printing dailies on April 1, the first time in five decades that daily newspapers have been allowed in Myanmar.

The Myanmar government has also formed a governing body for transforming the tree state-owned dailies—Myanmar Alin, Kyemon (Mirror) and the New Light of Myanmar—into public service media.

Three foreign wire services have also announced launches in Myanmar—Japan’s NHK and Kyodo news agencies, and US-based Associated Press.