“The Voice,” Myanmar’s weekly journal, cleared of defamation charge in a show of improved gov’t attitude toward the press

In this March 14, 2013 photo, journalists work in the newsroom of weekly journal “The Voice,” in Yangon, Myanmar. The Voice Weekly news journal was temporarily suspended for 6-times during the period of 2005-2012. After eight months and 26 hearings, Myanmar’s ministry of mining dropped its controversial defamation lawsuit against the journal in early 2013. The lawsuit originated from publication of corruption allegations against the ministry in 2012. Myanmar’s newly energized press corps is calling on the government to revise a proposed new publishing law, saying it will mark a severe setback to press freedoms and replace the country’s old censorship regime with other forms of repression.

In this March 15, 2013 photo, a printing worker of weekly journal “The Voice,” inspects a sheet-film, that use for printing in a printing press in Yangon, Myanmar. <AP Photo/Gemunu Amarasinghe>