Myanmar gov't appoints team to spread information

YANGON, Myanmar – Myanmar's new government has formed an information team of Cabinet ministers to disseminate official news in the secretive Southeast Asian nation.

The state-run New Light of Myanmar newspaper reports that the 11-member team was formed Wednesday and is led by the information minister.

The move is an effort to remedy the country's image as a place where media access is extremely difficult and successive military governments have been hostile to the press. The team will hold its first press briefing Friday in the capital, Naypyitaw.

An elected, nominally civilian government took over power in March from a long-ruling junta. However, the new government is led by mostly retired military figures, and the constitution ensures the army retains dominance.