By HTET NAING ZAW/ THE IRRAWADDY

NAYPYIDAW — Burma’s Central Bank chairman confirmed recent claims that the government holds billions of dollars of foreign reserves in overseas bank accounts. He said on Friday that a total US $7.6 billion was kept offshore by Burmese state-owned and private banks.

Central Bank Chairman Kyaw Kyaw Maung, President’s Office Minister Soe Thein and Deputy Energy Minister Myint Zaw held a general press conference in Naypyidaw on Friday morning.

Asked by The Irrawaddy about recent reports that claimed that the government held up to $11 billion in several bank accounts in Singapore, Kyaw Kyaw Maung said the claims were partially true.

By DVB

Nuclear whistleblower and former military engineer in the Burmese army, Sai Thein Win, says Naypyidaw is “doing what needs to be done” by signing an agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Tuesday.

The Additional Protocol would give UN weapons inspectors wider access to facilities that could be used to develop nuclear technology.

In 2010 Sai Thein Win leaked sensitive documents and photographs to DVB, which amounted to evidence that Burma had a nascent nuclear weapons programme.

 Sai Thein Win says he welcomes Burma’s cooperation with the UN’s nuclear agency.

By Brian

China has been aggressively moving into developing countries across the world, but an inherent flaw in their strategy is slowly coming to light. China’s self-centered approach is alienating governments, activists, and organizations across the world.

China is set to become a world super power

China has emerged as perhaps the strongest single challenger to American supremacy on the world stage. With an economy that regularly records growth rates in excess of 6 percent per year, and an emerging middle class that may some day replace American and European consumers as the world’s number one engine of growth, China is set to become a world super power.

By MATTHEW PENNINGTON / AP WRITER

WASHINGTON — The United States on Thursday welcomed Burma’s signing of an agreement with the UN atomic watchdog that will require it to declare any nuclear activities and allow inspections—the latest step by the former pariah nation toward openness.

But citing concern about human rights abuses and ties with North Korea, Republican lawmakers said it is premature to deepen US ties with Burma’s powerful military.

The Obama administration has moved rapidly to ease sanctions against Burma as it has undertaken democratic reforms after decades of repressive military rule. The engagement policy has been motivated partly by a desire to cut the military ties that the former ruling junta forged with North Korea.

(Burma Times) Yangoon – When they were unveiled in May, the United States government’s Burma Responsible Investment Reporting Requirements were touted by Washington as the cornerstone of the Obama Administration’s policy for transparent business reengagement with Myanmar.

However, just a handful of reports have been filed on the US embassy’s website and the requirements have drawn the ire of both businesses, which see them as an unnecessary hurdle, and human rights groups, which say they are not stringent enough to ensure US businesses respect human rights.

“For larger firms it may be less of an issue, but for smaller firms, the cost of time and resources necessary to comply can be considerable, and could be a deterrent to new investment,” said Lisa Burgess, spokesperson at the US Chamber of Commerce, which has opposed the reporting requirements and lobbied against them since they were first announced.

by Patrick Winn

Little King can’t read or write. Little King can’t tell you the name of his country’s president.

But he’s sturdy enough to balance heavy, spine-bending bundles of cargo atop his skull. Strong enough to tug dinghies loaded with bananas across the Yangon River’s mucky banks at low tide.

Down by the docks, where men work like mules, Little King can earn $3 per day. He is a breadwinner, the primary supporter of a woman he adores and her two children.

But that woman is his mother. Those children are his sisters. Little King is just a kid.