Myanmar’s escalating conflict and the worst violence since the military takeover in 2021 are having a devastating impact on human rights, fundamental freedoms and basic needs of millions of people – as well as “alarming spillover effects” in the region, U.N. officials said Thursday. Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs Khaled Khiari told the U.N. Security … Read more
As 2023 draws to a close, the findings of the latest World Bank report about Myanmar should come as no surprise, with inflation running at 28.6 percent over the year to June and the kyat collapsing by 18 percent against the U.S. dollar over the three months to September. Life has only deteriorated further since … Read more
Myanmar has overtaken Afghanistan as the world’s top producer of opium after the third consecutive year of expanding cultivation, the United Nations said in a new report, attributing the increase to the country’s intensifying conflict. In its annual Southeast Asia Opium Survey, released yesterday, the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) reported that the … Read more
Early efforts by Myanmar’s opposition National Unity Government (NUG) to issue a U.S. dollar-backed cryptocurrency have failed. They should try again, and harder: economic independence would further speed the momentum of resistance forces’ recent victories and free the Myanmar people from the military junta’s authoritarian grip. As things stand, the Central Bank of Myanmar (CBM) … Read more
On November 17, 2022, the Australian economist Sean Turnell was released from prison in Myanmar after nearly two years of isolation. As an adviser to the country’s civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi who had spent many years living and working in the country, Turnell was arrested shortly after the military coup that unfolded on … Read more
Advertisement Myanmar’s military government junta is threatening legal action against anyone found to be in possession of foreign currency without the proper authorization, as it makes increasingly desperate moves to shore up the country’s economy. The Central Bank announced on Sunday that those in possession of foreign currencies without permission will face charges under the … Read more
Advertisement Myanmar’s economy has been “permanently scarred” by the military coup in February 2021, and the conflict and economic distortions that have since resulted, the World Bank said in a new report. In the latest issue of its semi-annual Myanmar Economic Monitor, released yesterday, the World Bank predicted that the country is far from recouping … Read more