YANGON - Myanmar's Mining Ministry has dropped defamation charges against a weekly journal after reaching a settlement, sources said on Saturday.

"We reached a gentlemen's agreement and promised to clear the air between us at a meeting on Tuesday in Nay Pyi Taw with the minister," said Kyaw Min Swe, editor of The Voice Weekly Journal.

"This is good for creating understanding between the government and media," Kyaw Min Swe said. "We want a win–win situation."

The paper published an article last year alleging that the Auditor-General's office had discovered misappropriation of funds and fraud at the ministry, which then sued the private publication.

Myanmar, which was under military regimes between 1962 and 2010, has loosened restrictions on the press since reformist President Thein Sein came to power in 2011.

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