Burmese President Thein Sein burnished his perception as a reformist last week by suspending one of the country's largest -- and potentially most destructive -- foreign investment projects. The Myitsone hydro-electric dam, the largest of seven dams to be constructed by the Beijing-controlled China Power Investment Corporation, would have flooded...

BANGKOK--Two years ago, in early May 2008, Cyclone Nargis destroyed much of Burma's Irrawaddy Delta and parts of its former capital city Rangoon with 160 kilometer winds and a massive storm surge, killing more than 140,000 people. The ruling military junta, the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) then failed...

MAE SOT -- United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appears to have been granted a belated booby prize from Burma's military rulers after his recent trip. On July 13, Ban bleakly reported to the Security Council that his visit was a major lost opportunity for the ruling State Peace and Development...