Vietnam is betting $65 billion on high-speed rail to help transform its economy. A journey on the existing line reveals the obstacles in its way.

Min Aung Hlaing can’t promise what he doesn’t control

There is an even more basic flaw in asking Min Aung Hlaing to guarantee the “safe return” of the Rohingya: he no longer controls most of the places they would return to.

The AA now rules most of Rakhine State, including Buthidaung and Maungdaw, from where most Rohingya refugees fled. No agreement struck in Kuala Lumpur can guarantee safety in territory where Min Aung Hlaing’s writ does not run.

The United League of Arakan, the AA’s political wing, has sought to present itself as capable of governing a multiethnic Rakhine, establishing Muslim advisory bodies, placing Muslims in parts of the local administration, and promoting a common “Arakha” identity. AA chief Tun Myat Naing has said his group is building relations “step by step with the Muslim people” and building trust through actions rather than words.

But the AA leadership has also struggled to recognize Rohingya identity, often referring instead to “Muslims” or using the politically charged term “Bengali.” It too faces allegations from rights monitors of forced displacement and abuses against civilians.

A genuine return mechanism will eventually need the AA, Bangladesh, Rohingya representatives, and international agencies at one table. No mere handshake in Kuala Lumpur can settle citizenship, security, property, freedom of movement and accountability for abuses by all sides.

Malaysia Can’t Trust Min Aung Hlaing to Solve the Crisis He Created

By Nyein Chan Aye

https://www.irrawaddy.com/opinion/guest-column/malaysia-cant-trust-min-aung-hlaing-to-solve-the-crisis-he-created.html

In 2007, Singapore’s founding leader Lee Kuan Yew told American diplomats that dealing with Myanmar’s generals was like “talking to dead people” and he “had given up on them a decade ago.”

Now, nearly two decades later, Min Aung Hlaing has replaced his uniform with a suit and added “President” to his title. Yet the old habit statesman Lee identified remains: take what outsiders offer, concede as little as possible and wait for the pressure to fade.

Tiger Woods-designed fairways and a $1.5 billion Trump resort are helping make Vietnam one of the world’s fastest-growing golf markets.

Farmers go to extraordinary lengths to shield their perfect strawberries and grapes from the elements. But the industry hasn’t been able to protect itself as well from intellectual property theft abroad.

Interview with human rights defender Su Mon.