LFM News Service 2-1-19

Suu Kyi to investors: Myanmar is open for business
Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Monday urged global investors to put their money into Myanmar, seeking to offset the negative impact of the Rohingya crisis and slow pace of economic reforms. Read More

Imagining a Better World in a Kayan Mountain Village
Just before our Toyota pickup set off, a local middle-aged man told my friend who had organized our trip, “Sorry, I can’t join you, but our platoon commander will accompany you up there. Nothing to worry about.” Then, a cheerful, stout man in his 20s wearing camouflage pants and a blue jacket with a pistol jammed in his belt jumped onto our four-wheel-drive truck and we were off.  Read More

Cardinal calls Myitsone “death sentence” for Myanmar
Myanmar's Catholic leader condemned China’s efforts to resurrect the Myitsone dam project as "a death sentence" for local people and warned that it would destroy the country's peace prospects.  Read More

Myanmar’s land law is a ticking time bomb
THE government’s March deadline of implementing the 2018 amendments to the 2012 Vacant, Fallow and Virgin (VFV) Lands Management Law has created a ticking time bomb for farmers in ethnic areas, refugees and, ultimately, the peace process.  Read More

Transparency International: Corruption Getting Worse in Asia
North Korea in 2018 was ranked as the most corrupt country in Asia with the closed communist nation receiving one of the worst scores in Transparency Internationals (TI) corruption index.  Read More

Sanctions Squeeze Myanmar's Economy
A slowdown tied to the country’s treatment of its Rohingya minority may open the door for China.  Read More