The rare Washington consensus behind government policy toward Burma is cracking as US businesses grow impatient to invest and human rights groups push back.
Speculation is growing that Thein Sein is planning a shakeup of his government. If true, it will come not a moment too soon.
Burmese government troops continue to launch offensives against ethnic armies in Shan and Karenni states even after reaching ceasefire agreements with them.
KNU Vice-president David Takapaw says the Burmese government is insincere, that it is reinforcing military positions, and using the ceasefire as a distraction.
Lower House speaker Shwe Mann speaks with 88 Generation leaders, including Min Ko Naing, about the issues surrounding amendments to the 2008 Constitution.
The United States Senate confirms the nomination of Derek Mitchell as the first US ambassador to Burma in two decades.
“These were very precious memories, because I had lived a happy life. During the most difficult years, I was upheld by memories of Oxford.”
US companies steer clear of MOGE; skills shortfall hampers financial reforms; neighbor Thailand “fragile”; no tax on farm imports; direct flights from Japan
A round-up of some of the more thought-provoking comments from readers of The Irrawaddy taken from our top stories over the course of the last week.
A court in Rangoon briefly detains seven people in a case involving the eviction of 149 families from land they have occupied since 1996.
A UNHCR spokesman says the agency is trying to negotiate the release of local staff members who were detained by security forces in restive Arakan State.
The Election Commission tells Suu Kyi she should refer to her country as the Republic of the Union of Myanmar—not Burma.
Fearful of student protests, the military junta closed universities and colleges, crippling education, and spawning a lost generation.
A group of farmers is southern Burma worry they will lose their land after a local army installation claims ownership of their property.
The presidential nominee for ambassador to Burma, Derek Mitchell, says the US is concerned about transparency and corruption in Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise.
The Burmese army signs a UN action plan pledging to abolish the recruitment of child soldiers in the country.
The jovial government negotiator appears to be making friends as he leads his delegation in talks with 14 different exile groups in Thailand.
Recent heavy rains in northern Burma have cause floods in the capital of Kachin State, forcing the evacuation of as many as 2,000 people.
President Thein Sein faces calls to state his position on the status of the Rohingya as he prepares to make a state visit to Bangladesh.
Despite some positive political signs, fighting between the KIO and the Burmese army shows no sign of abating.
