Myanmar’s opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi told China to deal directly with the government if they wish to resume the controversial Myitsone project. (more…)

After decades of monopolizing the news industry, state-owned newspapers are exploring ways to make the transition into a new media environment shaped by fierce competition among the privately owned publications, editors of the different newspapers said. (more…)

Burma’s parliament agreed on Tuesday to extend a state of emergency for the central town Meikhtila, which was devastated by religious violence in March, despite warnings from opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. (more…)

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said Burma’s economy is on track to top 6 percent growth this year as the country’s “ambitious reform program is bearing fruit,” according to Matt Davies, the IMF’s deputy Asia and Pacific chief, speaking in Rangoon on Wednesday.
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Myanmar’s increasing engagement is fuelling demand for mobile phones in a country described as less connected than North Korea. (more…)

Anyone who wants to credit Burma’s President Thein Sein for the country’s political and economic reforms must first thank former dictator Sr-Gen Than Shwe. (more…)

Gen. (ret) Thein Sein, who won international praise for leading reforms in Myanmar, received a warm welcome from US President Barack Obama at the White House on Monday. It was a reciprocal visit following Obama’s trip to Yangon last November. The general deserves the credit. (more…)

Meiktila, Myanmar — Nineteen-year-old Hnin Ei Phyu is on her knees at home, whispering her prayers. It’s a small sign of normality in a community where things have been anything but normal in recent months. (more…)

HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL

Twenty-third session, Agenda Item 3, General Debate

A written statement submitted by the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC), a non-governmental organisation with general consultative status (more…)

The text of the following statement was released by His Excellency Union Minister of Energy U Than Htay of Myanmar and Special Envoy and Coordinator for International Energy Affairs Carlos Pascual.
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President Thein Sein has visited President Barack Obama at the White House in Washington. The visit is being promoted by both Myanmar and the United States for its symbolism. This is a shame.
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Meikhtila, Myanmar – A Myanmar court sentenced seven Muslims to prison Tuesday — one of them to a life term — in the killing of a Buddhist monk amid deadly sectarian violence that was overwhelmingly directed against minority Muslims but has not led to any criminal trials against members of the country’s Buddhist majority. (more…)

An armed militia in northeastern Burma’s Shan state forced more than 50 National League for Democracy (NLD) members at gunpoint to resign from the party on Sunday following a land dispute in the area. (more…)

The main investor in the controversial Myitsone hydropower dam in Kachin State has expressed a desire to restart the suspended project, according to members of a National League for Democracy (NLD) delegation that traveled to China earlier this month. (more…)

President Thein Sein has met with representatives of varied political, economic and social interests since his reformist government took office, leaving some analysts to wonder why he has yet to meet with perhaps Burma’s most prominent activists, the 88 Generation Students group. (more…)

Leaders of the Karen National Union (KNU) expect to meet with a Burmese government peace delegation in June, when the ethnic group hopes hammering out a “code of conduct” agreement will top the agenda. (more…)

Myanmar is planning to hold elections in 2015. Key to the success of the elections will be a free and uncensored press. Recent changes to media law mean that there are more newspapers going to print and censorship has for the most part been lifted. Myanmar’s journalists are now busier – and freer – than ever before. (more…)

The first state visit to the United States by a Burmese president in almost 50 years went off largely as expected, with a strong emphasis on trade and investment, and some discussions of the ethnic and religious violence that has clouded the country’s transition from army rule. (more…)

Nai Kun Oung, a resident from north Mon State, remembers when he first decided to send his son to a drug rehabilitation center run by ethnic rebels. He had heard success stories about the center, where former drug addicts were known to have recovered after several months, and he thought his son might benefit. (more…)

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will pay a state visit to Myanmar soon, an official announcement said here Tuesday without specifying the date of his visit. (more…)