Asia Sentinel

•

Press freedom an oxymoron in Bangkok

•

Monsoon to deliver up to five meters on refugee camps in the next three months

•

Some international organizations urge foreign businesses to stay out until conditions improve

•

This time around, Myanmar authorities at least try to help storm refugees

•

Christian human rights group's four-week visit uncovers widespread abuse

•

In Myanmar and Sri Lanka, anti-Muslim religious nationalism opens wounds

•

Beijing has suffered most from Burma's opening

•

Whoever wins the next elections, real political reforms must be enforced quickly but cautiously

•

Sixteen papers get licenses to publish, but a press law still lurks out there

•

A troubling new movement spells disaster if left unchecked

•

Burmese government battles insurgents as China and the US scramble for influence

•

Critics fear the democracy icon and Nobel Prize winner is being coopted by the government

•

A new chance to promote China's strategic aims

•

The last Irrawaddy Flotilla paddle steamer on the Irrawaddy River is still there, but in bad shape

•

Ongoing ethnic strife could erode progress; the US can help

•

Media landscape shifts but self-censorship remains

•

The country's backwardness could turn out to be a boon when it comes to power generation

•

Khin Nyunt, once the terror of the country, reappears

•

What's more, Thein Sein appoints Aung San Suu Kyi to investigate

•

Approach to Myanmar a signal success

•

Is democracy creating more trouble?

•

Rohingya, Rakhine minorities clash

•

Unlicensed "investment banks" on the prowl, officials say

•

Two irreplaceable buildings appear to face significant harm

•

Democracy hasn't arrived in the jail cells

•

Despite lack of energy for citizens, Burma one of region's biggest energy exporters

•

Constitutional row among government branches masks a more important legal battle

•

Despite hardline objections, latest appointments and demotions demonstrate Thein Sein is firmly in charge

•

ADB Prescribes Economic Medicine for an economy that atrophied for 50 years

•

Sugared water seller joins investment gold rush

•

Constructive Engagement 2.0

•

As society liberalizes after 60 years, new strains appear

•

Economic parity with Thailand could be 30 years away

•

The media, the military and the Arakan conflict

•

Having lost the Myitsone dam on the Irrawaddy, developers turn to the Salween

•

Government troops, ethnic Rakhine Buddhists go on a rampage

•

What if the Rohingya problem is 'legally produced'?

•

The full transcript, delivered by Daw ASSK in Oslo, 16 June, 2012

•

Aung Zaw, the editor of the independent Chiang Mai-based Irrawaddy Magazine, visited Rangoon earlier this week to assess the situation after violence broke out in Burma’s western Arakan State. This is his report, reprinted from The Irrawaddy.

•

Blatant racism involved, and the media aren’t reporting it

•

Inadequate infrastructure, investment laws, other problems stand in the way

•

AIPMC warning comes as Obama administration says it will lift restrictions on US business

•

United Nations unit says the country is vulnerable to corruption, commodity prices

•

Thailand's planned port could finish Burma’s planned industrial center

•

To speed political reforms in Burma, the West can’t end sanctions soon enough

•

Dam-building fever increasing

•

Four decades of isolation and decline have taken their toll

•

Malaysians in the vanguard to replace native forests with oil palm

•

Small step in the struggle for democracy

•

Sunday delivers a test for the country's nascent democratic institutions

•

The wrecking ball awaits as hungry developers eye precious city center property

•

Aung Zaw, editor of the Chiang Mai-based Irrawaddy, recently returned to his home country after 25 years of exile following his flight to escape arrest. This assessment of Burma’s press freedom first appeared in Irrawaddy.

•

Protesters want to shut down the Shwe gas pipeline, the potential source of vast revenues

•

Energy shortages a major problem

•

Reform process finely balanced

•

President pledges comprehensive transformation

•

It may not be as easy as it looks

•

Thein Sein's support rises

•

Thai-financed powerplant in southern Burma is scrapped

•

Concerns over a dance tradition

•

The commercial world beats a noisy path to a former pariah's door

•

One of the country’s most famous political prisoners gets a passport

•

A US demand that the country make peace is easier said than fulfilled

•

The US nudges Burma’s nationalistic military toward reform and diversified regional ties

•

Food security becoming an urgent concern

•

Burmese military chief snubs China, goes to Vietnam first

•

Surprisingly, the country has made some progress, although small steps

•

Technical problems dog the Web in Burma

•

Warlords find a lucrative new trade.

•

Civilian government warily negotiates a minefield

•

Government says it will stop construction of Myitsone

•

Myitsone Dam project unites citizens

•

The generals move toward acceptable authoritarianism -- just like most of Southeast Asia.

•

Exiled editor speaks out on reform, the press and going home

•

Mytsone Dam in Burma is just one of hundreds in a dam-building spree

•

No Respite from Suffering for Burmese

•

New intelligence chief said to be the “retired” general’s spear carrier

•

Generals sacked, others arrested

•

Chinese thirst for power drains Burma’s rivers

The leaders in Naypyidaw prefer fortune tellers to foreign policy experts

Irritation growing on dissidents’ activities across the border

There’s precious little for the poor

China Power Investment’s assessment calls for Burma’s Myitsone Dam to be scrapped

Throwback to Thaksin?

{mosimage}But Aung San Suu Kyi appears certain to be detained for another five years

{mosimage}Downer EDI abruptly abandons a Burma project after the press asks questions

{mosimage}The righteous western powers and their damage to the long-suffering Burmese people

{mosimage}A racist slight against the Rohingyas draws no criticism from ASEAN

{mosimage}As expected, Burma's junta ignores the world

{mosimage}The United Nations envoy readies for another fruitless trip to Burma

{mosimage}New Delhi looks to its own interests in its Burma policy

{mosimage}The US appears ready to move beyond sanctions

{mosimage}A new crackdown on dissidents

{mosimage}The victims of Cyclone Nargis continued to be whipsawed by a corrupt and uncaring government

{mosimage}Military rulers release key political prisoners in preparation for 2010 elections

The cyclone that devastated Burma could set in motion a train of events to bring down the regime

The generals’ referendum appears certain of passage while millions suffer in the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis  

The US goes after a shady Burmese “businessman” and turns up the heat on his Singapore links also

The junta blames insurgents and shadowy foreigners for several blasts, but analysts suspect the military itself

Human rights groups struggle to compile accurate information on the dead and missing in Burma

The experience of past political prisoners offers an unsettling look at what Burma may have in store for those arrested in the current crackdown

Photos and videos from the past week in Burma.

Several killed, curfew in effect, country isolated from the outside world in reaction to peaceful protests

Monks defy the state while information technology gets the word out and diplomatic maneuvers begin

 The odds are against it, but there are signs of life in Rangoon’s streets.

Driven by the growing need for energy, both India and China are throwing money and development projects at Burma’s junta