Latest Myanmar News
RSS-
Myanmar welcomes reconciliation but won’t be just Washington’s pawn
The US visit of Myanmar President Thein Sein raises hopes for increased cooperation and commerce, but some in Washington unrealistically view the country as a tool in the containment of a rising China.Naturally, there is an appropriate US interest in developing commercial relations with Myanmar and in helping promote a modernization process there. Beginning in 2009, Washington has taken steps to ...
-
Prisoners of Mae Sot
A little over a week ago, a young Myanmar friend of mine, let's call him Myo, found himself hiding in some farm fields, avoiding the Thai police while being smuggled from Mae Sot to Bangkok. Unlike many other undocumented migrants who get smuggled--and sometimes arrested--in this way, Myo had applied for a passport and work permit through Thailand's legal registration process. ...
-
GE to light up Myanmar
American energy giant General Electric (GE) announced on Thursday that it has joined forces with two local companies to continue to develop electricity solutions in Myanmar. GE signed a Memoranda of Understanding with Lighting Co Specialist Pte Ltd to develop lighting solutions. The company also made a deal with Partners Associates to create storage solutions for the local telecommunications ...
More Myanmar News
RSS-
Poor record for Myanmar in extractive industries
Easing economic pressure on Myanmar ignores serious human rights abuses in the country's extractive industries sector, an advocacy group said. U.S. ...
-
Rakhine IDP camps still lack basic supplies
. "Very little in the way of oil, beans and salt has been received. We can't even get fish or basic supplies for cooking." He went on to explain how the lack of nutrition is affecting the IDPs' health. He said the few donations the camps receive are from the World Food Programme (WFP), but that other NGOs and relief groups do not support them. Kyaw Nu said that the camps have ...
-
Myanmar US enter new higher stage of relations
/enpproperty--> YANGON - Myanmar President U Thein Sein's working visit to Washington, who returned to his country on Wednesday night, has brought back positive achievements more than expected, signifying the entry of a new higher stage in Myanmar-U. S. relations, said some media and observers here Thursday. U Thein Sein's visit represented the first to the United States of a ...
-
Myanmar embassy bomb plot mastermind arrested
Indonesian media are reporting that the country's counterterrorism unit has arrested a man believed to be the mastermind behind a plot to bomb the Myanmar embassy in ...
-
Myanmars goldrush luring foreigners in droves
From seasoned investors to recent graduates armed with little more than hastily-made business cards and dreams of striking it rich, foreigners are pouring into Myanmar to stake a claim as it opens up. It is an expat "goldrush" driven by the promise of an economic boom after the rollback of many sanctions following the end of decades of junta rule. But some, at least, are also drawn ...
-
Indonesian police arrest 2 militants sought in connection with plan to attack Myanmar Embassy
JAKARTA, Indonesia - Indonesian police said they have arrested two suspected militants in connection with an alleged plot to bomb the Myanmar Embassy. National police spokesman Brig. Gen. Boy Rafli Amar said Sigit Indrajit was believed to have planned the foiled attack and was captured Wednesday night in northern Jakarta. The second militant, identified only as Rohadi, was taken early Thursday ...
-
Myanmar communications gets boost from Japan
Myanmar's notoriously underdeveloped communications infrastructure is to get a boost following the signing of a contract between three Japanese companies--Sumitomo Corporation, NTT Communications and NEC Corporation-- and the Ministry of Communications last ...
-
Expat ‘gold rush’ hits Myanmar
From seasoned investors to recent graduates armed with little more than hastily-made business cards and dreams of striking it rich, foreigners are pouring into Myanmar to stake a claim as it opens ...
-
Burmese Pythons Still Making Headlines
The Python Challenge in the Everglades in January and February has faded from conversation, but Burmese pythons are still creating ...
-
Economy to grow by 6.75 IMF
Myanmar's economy expanded 6.5 percent last year and is set for further modest acceleration, the IMF estimated Wednesday, as sweeping reforms herald hopes of a renaissance for the impoverished ...
-
Ross Dunkley’s Quest to Run a Daily Newspaper in Burma Is “His Everest”
Burma, also known as Myanmar, is emerging from half a century of brutal dictatorship. It now has a free press. And a swashbuckling Australian journalist--no, not Rupert Murdoch--is determined to seize the ...
-
Who can stem the tide of Buddhist supremacy in Myanmar
The recent communal violence between Buddhists and Muslims in central Myanmar seems to be a result of the conflict which took place in Rakhine State last ...
-
Despite reforms Myanmars ethnic violence continues
-- When the European Union recently lifted economic sanctions on Myanmar, it closed a decades-long chapter designed to encourage democratic reform in the country. Although an arms embargo remains in place, the action will send an unequivocal message of "mission accomplished." But while the EU is celebrating the "new Myanmar," Rohingya Muslims in the western part of the ...
-
Myanmar reforms ‘bear fruit’ growth to accelerate—IMF
A man ties a boat to a huge bamboo raft in Sittwe, northwestern Rakhine State, Myanmar, Monday, May 20, 2013. Myanmar’s economy expanded 6.5 percent last year, the IMF estimated Wednesday, as sweeping reforms herald hopes of a renaissance for the impoverished nation. AP PHOTO/GEMUNU AMARASINGHE YANGON--Myanmar’s economy expanded 6.5 percent last year and is set for further modest ...
-
Myanmar reforms bear fruit growth to accelerate IMF
Myanmar's economy expanded 6.5 percent last year and is set for further modest acceleration, the IMF estimated Wednesday, as sweeping reforms herald hopes of a renaissance for the impoverished nation. At the end of a mission to the fast-changing nation, the International Monetary Fund predicted the economy would grow 6.75 percent in the 2013/2014 financial year, driven by gas production ...
-
Burma - In Burma telecoms risk complicity in surveillance censorship
International telecommunications companies risk being linked to human rights abuses if they enter the Burmese market before adequate protections are in place, Human Rights Watch said in a new report released on May 19 2013. Burma's human rights reforms thus far have been inadequate, including in the Internet and telecommunications sector, so companies entering the country should adopt ...
-
Abe to visit Myanmar to plug investments
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will visit Myanmar from Friday to Sunday to boost bilateral economic ties, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said Wednesday.During his visit, Abe, who will be accompanied by a group of Japanese business leaders, is expected to hold talks with Myanmar's leaders and senior officials to discuss bilateral economic cooperation, said Suga. He will ...
-
It’s Time for Burma’s President to Act
and several diplomats in Rangoon suggested that the central orders for the offensive did not come from the president's office, and some Western observers have told me in private conversations that a "rogue commander" was at work, out of the control of the president and commander-in-chief. Continued army operations were cast as "defensive actions," interpreted liberally ...
-
Opening up Myanmar puts heat on India
China and India declared during Chinese Premier Li Keqiang's recent visit to India that they have jointly proposed developing an economic corridor joining Bangladesh, China, India and Myanmar, thus promoting a closer relationship between the two largest Asian markets.The Sino-Indian relationship seems to be obstructed. Many have attributed this to the unresolved border issue. Indeed, a ...
-
US may end Myanmar sanctions after landmark visit by its leader
A key US senator on Tuesday backed an end to sanctions on Myanmar after a landmark visit by the country's reformist leader, signaling a new normalization in relations despite rights concerns.President Thein Sein, a general-turned-civilian who ended Myanmar's long isolation from the West, met lawmakers at the US Capitol one day after the first White House summit by a leader of his ...
-
Jakarta Jihadists rage against Myanmar
Two young men travelling on a motorbike were stopped by national counterterrorism police in a busy residential area of Jakarta on Thursday, May 2. A search revealed they were carrying five assembled pipe bombs, and an interrogation led police to a rented house in the city where more explosive material was ...
-
U.S. Senate leader eases pressure on Myanmar
Thein Sein and said he's seen significant progress in political and economic reforms. However, he also said he had concerns about the security situation in Myanmar. McConnell, R-Ky., who sponsored legislation that placed economic sanctions on Myanmar, said he wasn't going to press the issue further because of political reforms. "I will not be making an effort to renew those ...
Myanmar Focus
-
Foreign couple's novel approach to helping Burmese village
The political situation in Myanmar is well-known throughout the world, but often overshadows the circumstances of local people and our rich culture. A couple overseas have combined the two to create an unusual approach to helping the people of one village in the country.
Myanmar is one of the most politically and socially isolated countries in the world, much bad press is leveled at our country for decisions made and actions taken that the people are not responsible for and while attention focuses on the political dynamic of the country, the plight of many Burmese such as poverty, lack of access to water and education, become overshadowed. One family in the United States has taken a novel approach to giving back to a country that has stolen their hearts. Read more
News from around our Network
