The Irrawaddy
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Today's Newsletter
Burma's Deputy Defense Minister Skips Security Summit
By SAW YAN NAING
Burmese Deputy Defense Minister Maj-Gen Aye Myint is absent from the 9th annual Shangri La Dialogue security summit in Singapore.
Gates: NKorea Must Face Account in Ship Sinking
By ANNE GEARAN / AP WRITER
Addressing an international security summit in Singapore, US Defense Secretary said Asian nations cannot stand by in the face of North Korea's alleged sinking of a South Korean warship.
HIV Infection on the Rise Among Men Who Have Sex with Men
By MON MON MYAT / IPS WRITER
There are dozens of local MSM networks in major cities such as Rangoon and Mandalay, with local community-based organizations providing these with information and counseling services.
Business
Weekly Business Roundup (June 5, 2010)
By WILLIAM BOOT
An assessment of Burma's economy on the eve of promised national elections concludes that it is "unbalanced, unstable and largely without the institutions and attributes necessary to achieve transformational growth".
Regional
Green Revolution Has Little to Offer New Hungry Mouths
By MARWAAN MACAN-MARKAR / IPS WRITER
UN food experts are increasingly touting the region's chronic hunger figures for 2009. Last year saw the proportion of people in the grip of chronic hunger hit 17 to 18 percent in the Asia-Pacific region, up from 16 percent in 2006.
Thai PM Plans Cabinet Shuffle to Bolster Coalition
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Shakeup aims to strengthen a government coalition that showed signs of disunity during a no-confidence vote over last month's army crackdown on protesters.
Opinion
COMMENTARY
Burma's Nuke Ambitions an Opportunity for Obama
By HTET AUNG
The junta's plans to build nuclear weapons should give the Obama administration the ammunition it needs to put Burma back on the UN's security agenda.
CONTRIBUTOR
The Mekong In Peril
By PRASHANTH PARAMESWARAN
The Mekong river's future is threatened due to a host of natural and man-made threats. The main threat is from hydropower.
Bo Lindblom, Byv. 32, SE-31295 Laholm, 0430-223 64