8th April 2021 The Irrawaddy spoke to Scot Marciel, who served as US ambassador to Myanmar from 2016-20, about the unfolding crisis in the country and how the international community and regional powers can help stop the regime’s violence against the Myanmar people. THE IRRAWADDY: It seems Myanmar is
Covid: India travel ban Luke Malpass (Stuff): Is the the ‘temporary’ India travel ban proportional or a massive overreaction? Keith Lynch (Stuff): What the numbers say about the India travel ban 1News: Michael Baker says halting arrivals from India ‘absolutely right thing to do’ 1News: Temporarily halting travellers from India
7th April 2021 A series of explosions were recorded across Yangon today, and the blames is being laid at the feet of the protesters. The other thought is that it could have been the Military who will now use it as a pretext for even tougher clampdowns and violence. The
Vaccinations and leaked figures Jason Walls (Herald): ‘Leaked’ document shows NZ vaccine rollout is ‘miles’ behind schedule, says National Party Thomas Coughlan (Stuff): Government has vaccinated a third of its original target – leaked report Rachel Sadler (Newshub): How New Zealand’s vaccine programme will ramp up, why targets aren’t
6th April 2021 We’ll start off today with a cartoon that sums up peoples’ feelings in Myanmar. The death toll in Myanmar continues to mount, but not quite in the way you would expect. Four soldiers died on Sunday afternoon when a grenade was hurled into a truck as
Travel bubble announced with Australia Luke Malpass (Stuff): Trans-Tasman bubble brings palpable relief to Parliament Audrey Young (Herald): Jacinda Ardern manages expectations over transtasman bubble (paywalled) Herald: Editorial: Bubble a significant and welcome step Jo Moir (Newshub): The public handbrake on an Aussie bubble Hannah Martin (Stuff): Public health experts
Simon Black sovereignman.com James (aka Simon Black) is an international investor, entrepreneur, and founder of Sovereign Man. His free daily e-letter Notes from the Field is about using the experiences from his life and travels to help you achieve more freedom, make more money, keep more of it, and
5th April 2021 Following on from the report about Russia’s incursions into Myanmar’s domestic affairs, there is a local view from the Irrawaddy which is worth a read. The presence of Russian Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Vasilyevich Fomin, dressed in his full colonel-general uniform, at the Armed Forces
5th April 2021 Russia’s deputy foreign minister, Alexander Fomin paid a visit to Nay Pyi Taw on Army day and met with the coup leaders, saying Moscow was “committed to a strategy aimed at bolstering relations between the two countries.” Russia has been Myanmar’s second-largest source of arms
Mong Palatino Regional Editor for Southeast Asia globalvoices.org Activist and former two-term member of the Philippine House of Representatives. Blogging since 2004 at mongster’s nest. Joined Global Voices in 2006. A campaign named “Raise Three Fingers” has been mobilizing artists around the world to show support for Myanmar’
Mental health crisis Kyle MacDonald (Herald): Jacinda Ardern has failed us on mental health – and it’s only going to get worse (paywalled) Henry Cooke (Stuff): ‘A lot of data and negative statistics’: Inside the battle behind dramatic edits and huge delays to a Government mental health report Tess McClure
Vaccination System Has a Bug, Government Refuses Target In the last week we’ve seen some troubling news around the vaccination rollout, with a data privacy breach within the booking system being used for household contacts to book their COVID-19 vaccination. People accessing the system were able to pull the
3rd April 2021 Regular readers of these pieces will know that I always try to give a balanced view and occasionally give space to items from The Global New Light of Myanmar, the state-approved English language newspaper, a rival to The Myanmar Times, which has not been published since February
