BRIEF – Parliament approves new international loans for infrastructure
Burma’s parliament on Thursday approved a series of international loans to improve the country’s infrastructure, state media reports. The South Korean Economic Development Cooperation Fund will loan Naypyidaw US$137.83 million[…]
Better infrastructure, institutions and human capital ‘key’ to growth: ADB
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) launched a 217-page “country diagnostic study” of Burma’s economy on Thursday, detailing the pitfalls and growth potential of the country’s emerging economy.
BUSINESS – GE to help Burma with energy infrastructure
US-based firm General Electric (GE) will assist Burma in developing an energy infrastructure to address the country’s electricity needs, a Ministry of Electric Power representative said. According to the Myanmar[…]
Infrastructure, skilled workforce are keys to Burmese economic growth
Despite an influx of foreign investment and large resource base, Burma’s exponential growth could be held back by inadequate basic infrastructure and a lack of skilled workers, says an international business analyst.
Irrawaddy region’s infrastructure exacerbates flooding
The Irrawaddy region’s parliament may need assistance from the central government to improve faulty infrastructure and provide urgent relief after heavy flooding deluged swathes of central Burma last week
The jade scramble: Life at the bottom of the mines
Three years since the jade trade was revealed to be worth 31 billion dollars, questions still abound about what improvements have been made by Aung San Suu Kyi’s government to share these revenues.
Change brewing in Burma’s poppy country?
There’s been a steady decline in the cultivation of opium poppy in recent years.
From 2015 to 2017, the production of poppy has decreased from 54,000 hectares to 41,000 hectares, so what’s behind this trend. . .
Lead Story Natural Disasters News
10 years after Sichuan, China transforms quake preparedness, but Asia lags
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.
Foreign Affairs Lead Story News
Mahathir, 92, sworn in as Malaysia’s seventh prime minister
Mahathir Mohamad was sworn in as Malaysia’s seventh prime minister on Thursday after a stunning election comeback, defeating the coalition that has ruled the nation for six decades since independence from Britain.
AirAsia in talks to set up airline in Burma
Tony Fernandes’ AirAsia Bhd is in talks with a potential partner to open an airline serving Burma, in a move that would help the low-cost carrier cover up to 95 percent of the Southeast Asian travel market.
Lead Story News Refugees Rohingya
Floating Island: New home for Rohingya refugees emerges in Bay of Bengal
Bangladesh is racing to turn an uninhabited and muddy Bay of Bengal island into home for 100,000 Rohingya Muslims who have fled a military crackdown in Burma, amid conflicting signals from top Bangladeshi officials about whether the refugees would end up being stranded there.
DVB and four other broadcasters sign with ministry for free-to-air content
State-owned Myanmar Radio and Television and five content providers including DVB signed an agreement over the weekend to broadcast via digital free-to-air TV channels, in a landmark first for Burma’s media landscape.
ASEAN Drugs International Relations Lead Story News
US slaps sanctions on Laos Golden Triangle ‘casino’ in bid to break up narco-empire
The US Treasury Department has slapped sanctions on a gambling empire hacked from the Laotian jungle which it said was involved in drug, human and wildlife trafficking and child prostitution.
UN says 100,000 Rohingya in grave danger from monsoon rains
Over 100,000 Rohingya refugees huddled in squalid, muddy camps in Bangladesh will be in grave danger from landslides when the mid-year monsoon season begins, a UN humanitarian report says.
Burma finalises Rohingya repatriation plans as doubts mount
Burma was making final preparations to take back the first batch of Rohingya Muslims who had fled conflict in troubled Rakhine State, state media said on Saturday.
Analysis Ethnic issues Lead Story Peace Process
Resolving northern stalemate is key to peace in Burma
Insofar as the Union government’s agenda for ethnic reconciliation is concerned, there is little doubt that the north, where the most powerful rebel armies operate, holds the key to a permanent negotiated settlement.
International Relations Lead Story News
Japan’s Abe offers $1 billion in rural aid to Burma
Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Tuesday pledge up to 117 billion yen ($1.03 billion) of development aid to Burma in a meeting in Manila with Aung San Suu Kyi.
Arakan International Relations Lead Story News Rohingya
‘World can’t just stand idly by,’ America’s top envoy says of Rohingya crisis
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said on Wednesday the United States held Burma’s military leadership responsible for its harsh crackdown on the Rohingya Muslim minority.
China agrees to 70% share in Kyaukphyu sea port
Burma had pushed for a bigger slice of the roughly US$7.2 billion deep sea port in western Arakan State.
International Relations Lead Story News Refugees Rohingya
Bangladesh to press for Muslim refugees’ return to Burma
Bangladesh opens talks with neighbouring Burma on Monday with the aim of securing the return home of more than half a million Rohingya Muslim refugees from Burma, most of whom have arrived since late August.
Arakan crisis dents Burma’s hopes of Western investment boom
Western trade and investment in Burma is small, but there were hopes that reforms would prise open an economy stunted by international sanctions and decades of mismanagement under military rule. That now appears to be on hold.
DVB, four others to ink partnerships with state broadcaster next month
The five winners of licences awarded by the Ministry of Information to air their content in a landmark public-private broadcasting partnership, a roster that includes DVB, will sign official agreements with state-owned Myanmar Radio and Television in early October.
Economy International Relations Lead Story News
ASEAN economies get a lift from China. Later, they may get the bill
China is ploughing money into Southeast Asia, but as welcome as all this economic activity is to the region, it could also present political problems, as countries confront China over issues such as its claims in the South China Sea.
Chin climate change Environment Farmers Lead Story News
The silent climate burn in Chin State
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.
Arakan Lead Story News Rohingya
Kofi Annan arrives in Burma as Arakan Commission submits final report
Exactly a year ago, Suu Kyi appointed the Commission to investigate and recommend solutions to the inter-religious conflict that has wracked the Arakan region for so long.
CSOs left to plug mental healthcare gap for former political prisoners
Former political prisoners are still locked in a battle against depression and anxiety – the aftermath of decades of imprisonment and isolation.
Arakan Lead Story News Rohingya
Arakan Commission to submit final report next week
Kof Annan’s commission will report its recommendations after a year monitoring the inter-religious tensions between Muslims and Buddhists in Arakan State.
Suu Kyi’s man in Rangoon under fire over transit deal with China
Two deals to import 2,000 buses from China have caused a rift within the National League for Democracy, with Rangoon Division lawmakers questioning its cost and accusing Chief Minister Phyo Min Thein of cronyism and a lack of accountability.
International Relations Lead Story News
China in talks to sell electricity to Burma amid warming ties
Energy-hungry Burma is in initial talks to buy electricity from China, according to officials and documents reviewed by Reuters, in the latest sign of warming ties with Beijing under leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
Farmers Feature Features (OLD) Lead Story News
Climate of uncertainty fuels anxiety, exodus in Dry Zone
A changing climate is putting downward pressure on residents in Burma’s Dry Zone, where farming families stretch back generations.
