Lead Story Natural Disasters News
One decade after an earthquake killed almost 70,000 people, China’s investment in disaster preparedness means a similar tragedy is unlikely, said experts who urged other Asian nations to follow suit.
The delay of the much-anticipated reform comes as Suu Kyi faces criticism that she has neglected economic reforms.
Chin climate change Environment Farmers Lead Story News
Chin State has suffered particularly erratic rainfall, landslides and floods. But new adaptation programs are aiming to prepare farming communities for future changes in the climate and improve food security.
Climate change will bring soaring temperatures, more intense storms, erratic rainfall, plummeting crop yields and a collapse of coral reefs to the Asia-Pacific unless countries fully implement their commitments under the Paris climate pact, scientists say, calling the challenges “unprecedented.”
Electricity Feature Lead Story News
Generators are expensive. Pact says one hour of diesel power in rural Burma costs roughly the same as 24 hours of power in Rangoon.
The Ministry of Transport and Communications is reviewing the 2013 Telecommunications Law to determine whether the legislation’s article 66(d), a controversial provision on electronic defamation, should be amended.
Infrastructure Lead Story News Trade
The Thai government is stepping up efforts to boost the Rangoon-Mae Sot trade link by approving a 1.8 billion baht ($53 million) budget to help Burma develop part of its road along the transnational route.
Lead Story News Women's Issues
Burma’s progress in achieving gender equality was under the spotlight in Naypyidaw on Friday during a review of the country’s National Strategic Plan for the Advancement of Women.
Infrastructure International Relations Lead Story News Travel & Tourism
The Asian Development Bank says a US$1.5 billion loan to Bangladesh to build a railway line will bring trade and tourism to the country’s south and improve access to Burma.
Education Feature Lead Story News
Education reform in Burma is underway — and not a moment too soon.
Accidents Electricity Lead Story News
A series of tragic deaths from electrocution has forced Burma’s largest city to try to untangle the mess that its power grid has fallen into after decades of neglect.
Education Ethnic issues Lead Story News
Language-education experts in Burma say ethnic children should be taught in both their mother tongue and in Burmese.
The Asian Development Bank says it will lend US$350 million to Burma next year, more than doubling the amount for this year, as the country begins to focus on major infrastructure projects.
The number of deaths on Burma’s roads reached nearly 500 in March alone — a significant increase over the monthly average for last year.
Foreign direct investment in the fiscal year ending in March grew to nearly $9 billion, after a rush of last-minute approvals.
Long-delayed mega-project is finally taking its first bookings, but whether it ever reaches its vast potential could depend on Burma’s new government.
Business Lead Story News Trade
Catch up on all this week’s business news from Burma.
2015 Elections Analysis Contributor Lead Story News Politics
Post-election Sino-Burmese relations will be determined by Naypyidaw’s veto power versus Beijing’s hegemonic power, says academic Dr Bryan Pak-Nung Wong.
Citigroup Inc and Standard Chartered Plc are set to advise Burma on its first credit rating, paving the way for it to issue its maiden international bond.
Business Business Weekly Lead Story News
This week in business; negotiations for a minimum wage begin in Rangoon, Burma looks to wind farms for energy supply, and companies cash in on tourism boom.
Burma is one of 20 countries whose military expenditure is more than four percent of its GDP, according to a Swedish think tank.
Business Weekly Economy Labour Issues Lead Story News
ADB predicts 8.3% growth in Burma for 2015; Burma energy drink firm signs Liverpool FC; Chevron inks oil deal; and problems for the shrimp industry.
Business Lead Story News Parliament
Burma’s Finance Minister Win Shein confirms a plan to increase the salaries of government workers from April this year.
Business Business Weekly Lead Story News
In business this week: Thai-Burma cooperation on Dawei, and an extension for YSX license applications.
A plan to provide the entire Mandalay region with electricity is receiving less than a quarter of the necessary funding from the government, according to a local official. Mandalay’s Minister[…]
Burma Business Business Weekly Lead Story News Trade
ADB pledge $80m to Irrawaddy delta; Burma tackles rising power demands; preparations underway for new Indo-Burma trade zone; S Korea assists rice exports.
A US$80 million loan agreement has been signed between the Asian Development Bank and the Burmese government, with an aim to improve road infrastructure to support economic development in the[…]
An event to promote and facilitate the protection of the city’s architectural gems will begin this week.
Organised crime businesses in ASEAN countries is in the order of US$100 billion per year – that is no less than the combined economies of Brunei, Cambodia and Laos.
The World Bank estimates Burma’s economic growth rate at 8.5 percent for 2014 and 2015, a figure higher than any other nation it surveyed, including China.
