June 18, 2025

Our final destination is Amara Pura, the town in between Mandalay and Sagaing, prior to crossing the river from Mandalay side. On the way to Sagaing we noticed how much of its roads were out of shape due to the town being directly on the path of the fault line.
If we were to give a judgement on which city or town suffered most from the quake as a percentage of all the households, we have to call Amara Pura out. In Mandalay, we had one building out of every ten fallen. Yes the damage in $ terms is higher as the buildings were higher and larger. In Sagaing one out of every five or six buildings had collapsed. In Amara Pura, every alternate building along the main street is gone.

SMEs
Amara Pura is famous for making the traditional ‘Chaik Hta Mein’ or sarong with artworks. Now none of these SMEs and businesses were left standing. The heritage of this weaving houses may be gone as the forever association between the town and the craft.
Finale
We were extremely fortunate to have a great opportunity to have this documentary tour of the quake within two weeks of the actual event. Anytime later, we would not have a chance to see as much devastation as the clean up and recovery would have removed any remaining traces of how bad the quake has been.
The sadness of the situation is that based on evidence, there was a mismatch between help being offered and the needs of the displaced in Nay Pyi Taw as International aid efforts conveniently skip the civil servants. And Amara Pura needs more help too, to safe its heritage to the nation.

The Epicentre of Sagaing

Insider Documentary

zhm

June 17, 2025

After the one full day tour of Mandalay, we crossed the new Sagaing bridge to head towards the city closest to the epicentre.

Roads and bridges
Sagaing and Mandalay were separated by the famous Ayeyarwaddy river and there were two bridges to go across the river. The new bridge that we drove through was only slightly damaged and it was operational one week after the quake. But until the Thingyan (Water Festival) time, only smaller cars are allowed to pass through this bridge, Trucks and large vehicles have to use the old car carriers vessels (barges) to go through the river.
The old bridge was not so lucky. It was awful and picturesque at the same time, to see how such a structure succumb to the wrath of mother nature. Along the road from Mandalay to the bridge, we passed through the town of Amara Pura and the disfigurement of the roads that unfortunately happened to be along the fault line has been so enormous that even all terrain vehicles have to be manoeuvred with utmost care along these roads.

Buildings
Surprisingly, the damage in Sagaing did not seem as vast as in Madalay, visually at least. May be due to the lack of large and high rise structures perhaps. Yet it was widespread. Front house, back house, guest house, outhouse, monk house, warehouse, town house, farm house, dog house, hen house, none of them were spared. All suffered some form of destruction.
Markets were back to normal at least. People were starting to go about doing their own daily activities.

Pagodas
We were privileged to have the chance to explore the compound of the most famous pagoda in Sagaing, Kaung Mhu Taw. Other than the main white colour dome-shaped pagoda, the rest of the structures within the compound were turned into a sea of rubble. Our filming team ventured into the compound without footwear (a tradition of respect to pagoda in Buddhism) avoiding broken glasses and shrapnels of various kinds. We believe the footage would represent a unique coverage in Myanmar history. Tunnels and walkways previously aligned with artworks and curving hundreds of years old were destroyed too, as the ceilings and the walls collapsed. Sadly these heritage of the eras of Kingdom dynasties would be lost forever.
The other pagodas starting from the one visible from the bridge crossing point were also equally unlucky. Umbrella sections of all pagodas we witnessed were gone, including Kaung Mhu Taw. The heritage ones suffered more.

Educational institutions
We managed to visit University of Cooperative and Management and Technology University, both in Sagaing. The damage was considerable in both universities. Collapsed roofs, fallen ceilings, broken windows, sharp and uneven broken floor tiles, fragmented stairs and steps, just to name a few.

The Old Abode of the Kings

Insider Documentary

zhm

June 13, 2025

The meaning of Nay Pyi Taw means the abode of the kings, yet it was the old dynasty era abode that suffered most in terms of financial damage. Mandalay being the second largest city in Myanmar and the capital of upper Myanmar, many high rise buildings exist as apartments, condos, hotels or office towers. And all these buildings felt the strength of the quake near the epicentre across the Ayeyarwaddy river.

Collapsed buildings
The damages as we discovered were more devastating, extensive and more in-depth. The fallen debris revealed stronger shaking and hence, slightly smaller sizes of rubble and scraps arising out of fallen structures. Compared to previous towns and cities, there were fewer half standing buildings or ground floor left over while the top parts gave way or ground floor only sunken into the soil while others on top stayed in shape.
Most buildings in Mandalay were constructed without even reserving a distance of a couple of feet from each other. These should somehow act as support structures to one another. Yet, because of the strength of the quake, even weak buildings sandwiched between two strong, relatively new ones were not spared. There is no chance for any building of questionable construction to remaining standing tall.
To add salt to the wound, the city suffered a wave of incessant rains and strong winds within a week aftermath of the earthquake, making the lives of residents displaced from their own homes unbearable to say the least.
Many areas have been cordoned off to prevent looting and for safety reasons; the Great Wall hotel, Hotel 78, Sky Villa condo, etc. Large high rise buildings such as hotels, condos and apartments were all affected in one way or the other. The contractors and construction companies of those collapsed buildings have probably disappeared overnight and those on the other side of the spectrum, i.e., the companies that built the buildings that were not damaged by the quake, were in flux with orders for reconstruction jobs. A couple of those latter construction companies in Mandalay that MI spoken to, has their order books filled for the next two to three years.
This is also the first time we have sighted many cars that had been flattened by fallen debris. It was such a unique sight to behold.

Front tilts and side leans
We observed many front tilts and side leans of tall buildings in Mandalay, especially around immediate south of the palace compound is densely populated. And for the very first time on our trip, We saw tall buildings tilted towards the front, i.e., the road, on the verge of falling down. Just imagine adding another 15-20 degree of tilt to the leaning tower of Pisa in Italy.
Access to almost all with such dangerous front tilted structures had been sealed off. Some with slightly lesser front tilt, owners were probably trying to carry out the valuables from within and sourcing scarce contractors to demolish the whole set up. Some are still setting up pandals in front of them and enjoying the water festival, perhaps oblivious of the danger they would be in, with a tiny bit of extra shakes of the mother earth.
Some front tilted buildings are so tall that their collapse would undoubtedly destroy the houses right opposite of them across the road. The demolishing job has to be handled with extreme care.
Side tilts of the buildings were also causing distressed not only to the buildings in question, but also to the impacted neighbours whose houses might as well have to be pulled down.

Recovery efforts
Most of the rescue and recovery efforts were concentrated in Mandalay from the start. After two weeks, tents were still occupying across the moat around the old palace and field hospitals sponsored by friendly international countries are still in operation in the suburbs at the time of our documentary filming.
The difference between the rich and poor became painfully obvious during any disaster. The poor were still living in tents, while the rich moved out of the city temporarily to live in their summer homes in hilly Pyin Oo Lwin 60 mile to the east. The poor were still sorting the bricks out from the rubble manually, while the rich were getting mechanised equipment to quickly clear the detritus off their lands. But the rich are also feeling the pain. At the time of writing, there is a noticeable increase in offers for sale of cars from Mandalay, especially luxury cars such as Mercedes and Range Rovers.

Palace, pagodas and places of worships

The history place of interest in Mandalay was not spared either. All the barbicans or at least the roof of them, have fallen. Palace walls were on most parts damaged. Some have been covered by vinyl sheets to prevent further environmental damage. The calming waters of the moat surrounding the palace walls offers a stark contrast to the extensive damage suffered by the palace in plain view.
A visit to Mandalay would not be complete without doing a pilgrimage to Mahar Myat Muni Pagoda (aka Payargyi). Other than the stupa of the sitting Lord Buddha right in the middle of the pagoda, the rest of the structures, walls, pagodas, stupas were extensively damaged. It was such a sight to behold that it was hard for us at least, to think that it was really Mahar Muni.

A Tale of Five Cities

Insider Documentary

zhm

June 12, 2025

After Pyin Manar, we headed up north towards Mandalay via the old highway, getting closer and closer towards the centre of the earthquake. Along the way we passed by five historic towns of note, in existence since the times of the Burmese kingdoms.

Ya Mare Thin
Once you left Nay Pyi Taw and Pyin Manar, you would pass by the dusty township of Tat Kone before the first major town called ‘Yamethin’, pronounced ‘Ya Mare Thin’. Ya Mare Thin was mostly spared from disaster. We only encountered a few damaged buildings and billboards. The casualties were very few.

Pyaw Bware
The damage was much more in Pyawbwe (Pronounced ‘Pyaw Bware’), the most famous of the collapsed being the KBZ bank, where close to 40 people died after the bank branch caved in. There were rumours of the bank closing off its doors to prevent looting during the first round of the quake, trapping the customers and staff within, before the whole building fall upon them during the second round a minute later.
In addition to that, the town centre was adversely affected with many of the large buildings bearing the brunt of the ground force. The clean up was underway when we passed by, as the city trying to get its own feet. Pyaw Bware is the junction before heading to the Shan State towards Kalaw, Inn Lay, Taung Gyi, etc., hence it is always bustling with traffic and businesses want to get back up and running soonest possible.

One Twin
After Pyaw Bware, we drove further north to reach the town of Wundwin (Pronounced ‘One Twin’). It became more and more obvious by then where the quake originated. The damage got worse and worse as we headed up (north).
The buildings left and right of the main street were all in some state of disarray, some tilted, some totally collapsed, some partially. We went though these towns during the water festival and the youngsters especially were in full spirit of Thingyan, seemingly oblivious of what had just happened two weeks ago. The banks of the canal going through the town were also extensively damaged as our film crew covered the area.

Ku Mare
In Kume (Pronounced ‘Ku Mare’) the damage was slightly worse than One Twin. We started to observe the more sizeable impact on the religious infrastructure, such as the whole pagoda compound becoming totally off limit due to the fallen debris everywhere.

Kyauk Se
Kyauk Se was in fact a city, much larger in size than the four prior. In fact, along the old road from Nay Pyi Taw, it is the second largest city after Meik Tilar, which we did not pass through. We saw damage on almost every single high street banks. Unsurprisingly, it was the worst hit of the five as it was closest to the epicentre.
We had our lunch there, but we did not notice any shortages of supplies or menu items on the restaurant. Despite huge losses, the businesses and people are back to work within two weeks.

Abode of the Kings (literal meaning of ‘Nay Pyi Taw’)

Insider Documentary

zhm

June 11, 2025

Status of ministries
We visited a trio of ministries and seen the wreckage aftermath with our own eyes. There was extensive damage caused to almost all ministries’ buildings that it is currently impossible to live and work under the existing premises. Ceilings had collapsed. Staircases had crumpled. Whole sections of the building have sunk a couple of feet into the ground. There were debris everywhere. Staff are scared. One senior official had been killed as the wall fell onto his neck. Another from a different ministry has been killed as a large chunk of fallen glass pieced into his body. All in all, more than 500 civil servants had died during the quake and the aftermath. There were rumours of some ministries moving back to Yangon (we hope not!). Sources from ministries told MI that it is just a portion of staff that would be temporarily relocated to Yangon, provided there are available premises over there.

Staff housing
If you think ministerial buildings are in bad shape, wait till you see the government staff quarters (other than for DG, DDG, etc.) in major housing estates in the centre of Nay Pyi Taw. All of them were four storey buildings, with each level housing four apartments, representing four families.
The compounds house families of staff and officers from various ministries and departments. The older units were most affected. The buildings that were constructed in recent years escaped unscathed as if their exping date is not up yet.
The older buildings more or less collapsed and all are now beyond the state of repairs and around 90% of them need to be demolished. Almost all the crumbling happened as a result of the ground floor caving in. The cave-in happened as the pillars on the ground floor supporting the top three could not withstand the shaking and gave way to the enormous pressure and weight from above.
Upon closer inspection, we noted the supporting columns and the iron rebars within the concrete snapped. Once these tiles broke, there was no way the downstairs would survive the weight of the three floors atop.
Every housing of each ministry is affected, MOTC being the worst of the lot. The buildings that collapsed in whole are housing for the staff of Myanmar Railways. We have interviewed some of them as well as came across recovery works in that area, trying to extract valuables and items of use.
Civil servants in Nay Pyi Taw are really in desperate need of help; they are short of cash, short of supplies, short on essentials, short of household equipment, lack in furniture and short of proper accommodation and infrastructure. Meanwhile, bills kept piling up from internet services to loan instalments to children school fees. To say they are all facing a liquidity crisis may be an understatement.
The government, respective ministries and charitable organisations are providing some aid at daily subsistence level, but the former also have their own limit as even the infrastructure repair costs could cost billions of Kyats.

IDP camps
In Nay Pyi Taw, almost all Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) are civil servants. They are now having to live in make shift IDP camps, some set up by the government and some with the aid from some friendly foreign countries.

At the time of our visit, lunch and dinner packets are supplied at respective times. The warehouses at such camps were also stuffed with emergency supplies. Yet, the situation is not ideal. The camp residents highlighted the unbearable heat during day time, from the sun above and the ground below. Having no wind or electricity is not helping either. At least, night times are more tolerable. Combined these issues with lack of furniture and fittings, no wonder some families ended up going back to their home town or villages after a week or so in camps.
IDPs can only provide short term solutions for the displaced public servants. The optimal outcome would be the reconstruction of their quarters, which would take years with even with generous government spending and dedicated international assistance.

Other buildings of stature
The esteemed exhibition compounds MICT I and II were not spared either. Collapsed false ceilings, fallen marble tiles, cracked tempered glasses, tilted fences and broken pavements lined both complexes, even though the structures of the two expo halls seemed to have remained intact.
The hotels and shopping malls in and around Nay Pyi Taw did not do well either. There were damages everywhere, from battered gardens to broken mirrors to fallen facade to ruined escalators to usable stairs. Restaurants have to shut down. Shopping centres have closed. Some resorted to selling their wares in open air areas in front of these centres.
Even less than a-year-old building of Myanmar Economic Holdings, the business arm of Myanmar military, suffered extensive damage as a result of the quake.

Bad luck comes in threes
There are a couple of proverbs in Myanmar equal to the above; one of them being ‘Heavy rains follow someone who is already unlucky” and the other being “Trying to push someone who is drowning down with a long stick”. The bad luck comes in three became a reality here, as victims of the quake were hit with heavy rains and winds in less than one week after the quake. But the worse is not over yet.
Pillage, plunder, looting, theft, robberies and break-ins are happening right in front of our very eyes. We ourselves witnessed a group of three, two man and a woman going around half collapsed and abandoned building, with a light truck, ‘collecting’ concrete deck blocks or CMU (Concrete Masonry Units) used as bases of wooden structures.
All displaced staff we had interviewed informed us that these thieves have stolen all the water pumps and motors in every block and run off with as much valuables that they could get out of collapsed premises. They have either experienced the larceny themselves or knew of colleagues and friends who suffered the same fate of triple whammy of bad luck.
Even in the administrative centre of the government itself, the prevalence of theft is astonishing and lack of law and order seems apparent, at least in and around the staff quarters areas.

Journey to the Centre of the Earth (quake)!

Insider Documentary

zhm

June 11, 2025

With difficulties in accessing the actual affected areas by media organisations due to the government’s lack to adequate resources to provide security and accommodation details, MI has decided to volunteer ourselves to venture deep into the centre of the quake impacted areas on a road trip from Yangon. With the intention of making a documentary less than a month into the disaster, we had discovered many that the world has not seen and collected evidences ourselves to counter many mis-information farmed out by foreign anti government media entities. Along the way, we also did many good deeds donating to many of those in need while trying to pinpoint the genuine areas in need of assistance.

Quake details
The big one occurred on March 28, 2025, near Mandalay, occurred as the result of strike slip faulting between the India and Eurasia plates. M7.7 earthquake occurred around noon at exactly 12:50, saving many from certainly of demise and allowing many hours of daylight time to do rescue operations.
The finite fault solution, informed by satellite observations, indicates the size of the March 28, 2025 event is about 460 km by 15 km (length x width). This region has experience similar large strike slip earthquakes, with six other magnitude 7 and larger earthquakes, occurring with about 150 miles (250 km) of the March 28, 2025 earthquake since 1900.
The most recent of these was a magnitude 7.0 earthquake in January 1990, which caused 32 buildings to collapsed. A magnitude 7.9 earthquake occurred south of today’s earthquake in February 1912. Within this broad zone of tectonic deformation, other large earthquakes, including a magnitude 7.7 earthquake in 1988, have caused dozens of fatalities.
Phone lines, electricity, water supply and internet access were all unavailable for many hours right after the quake, making rescue and coordination inaccessible to many of the first responders. So far, as of April 20, the reported death toll announced by the government stood slightly below 5,ooo. Based on our own projections after our nationwide tour, the final figure could be closer to 10,000 when the dust settles.

Destination the epicentre
As mentioned in the previous March MI issue, some of our staff, including our editor was right in the centre of the quake in Nay Pyi Taw on the Taung Nyo Road travelling from Myo Ma Market to Yazar Thingaha Road. He has already witnessed the magnitude of devastation in Nay Pyi Taw, the capital.

Within a couple of days we already heard from our local and expat sources that cities and towns along the old Yangon Mandalay Road were also severely affected.
Hence, we planned our trek to cover the towns along the old road, exiting the expressway from Taung Ngyu to reach Nay Pyi Taw via the old road and again taking the former highway to get to Mandalay from Nay Pyi Taw. From the capital of the old Kingdom of Burma i.e., Mandalay, we set forth towards Sagaing, Amara Pura and beyond.

Along the route
Other than some serious shaking throughout the nation, especially in Yangon, major damages were not noticeable until we reached the capital. Along the way to Nay Pyi Taw, the destruction to roads, bridges, pavements and curb blocks did not appear till we reached around 147 mile marker and get worse and worse as we get closer to Mandalay.
But the government was quick in getting the repairs done and more than 95% of the expressway was in operation (with careful driving) and nearly all roads in Nay Pyi Taw had temporarily been restored to usable conditions.
In addition to exploring the havoc caused to Pyin Mana, the next door neighbour to Nay Pyi Taw, we passed by five many towns along the quake track, namely Ya Mei Thin, Pyaw Bware One Twin, Ku Mare and Kyauk Se, along our route from the administrative capital to Mandalay.

Fellow Countries Put Forward Extensive Assistance for Myanmar

zhm

April 12, 2025

The government and the people of Myanmar are all expressing enormous gratitude towards fellow countries and neighbours, who came to our aid amidst the quake disaster that started on March 28.

India sent 120 member team, including medical personnel under the codename ‘Operation Brahma’. They were the first to arrive at Nay Pyi Taw deploying two C17 military transport aircraft equipped with a field hospital and carrying many supplies such as blankets, tarpaulin, hygiene kits, sleeping bags, solar lamps, food packets, kitchen sets, etc. Two naval ships subsequently arrived in Yangon. Indian naval vessels carried instant noodles, fortified nutritious biscuits, plastic buckets, plastic cups, personal hygiene materials, tents, tarpaulin sheets, clothes, sanitation equipment and medicines, weighing some 40 tons.

China was not far behind, dispatching a team of 118 rescuers, six sniffer dogs and 82 medically trained personnel. It also sent 17 cargo trucks full of supplies from Yangon to Mandalay. China was quick to give cash aid too, dispersing $13.8 million in emergency funds. They have also provided 1200 tents and many generators so far. The nearest state of Yunan was even earlier than India perhaps, sending the specialist team into Myanmar within 18 hours after the quake.

Myanmar strategic friend Russia also flew in via four military air crafts, with 120 rescuers, four dogs, ambulances and an airmobile hospital. The aircrafts landed in Nay Pyi Taw and they will be focusing their efforts in the epicentre of Sagaing.

Pakistan has also showed it is really a friend indeed by sending the first trench of much-needed aid of 35 tons of supplies on April 1 and second trench of another 35 tons on April 3.

Far away land of UAE has also contributed; search and rescue units from Abu Dhabi Police, the National Guard and the Joint Operations Command were here to assist in locating and aiding the quake victims. They have also delivered medical supplies and relief materials to the affected communities.

Trump was proactive pleading $2 million via USAID, despite some American channels mentioning that the aid would be distributed through humanitarians organisations, astonishingly including the PDF (the terrorists).

Bangladesh has also sent rescue teams via military aircrafts and ground convoys. They have delivered essential medical supplies and rescue equipments.

In terms of ASEAN, neighbouring country of Laos has sent in a 33 member team including engineers and military medics. They will provide search and rescue support, medical aid and essential supplies for the victims of the quake.Philippine also assembled and deployed rapid-response rescue and medical teams via military transport planes and helicopters. They delivered essential medical supplies and coordinated support with local agencies. The team was also essential to rescuing and repatriating many Philippine nationals working in Mandalay, now caught up in the disaster.

Rescue teams from Indonesia have also arrived via by sea and air, comprising of a hospital ship and hospital team. They will focus on providing medical care, search and rescue operation and damage assessments.

Vietnam was very proactive among ASEAN sending over 100 rescuers and medical personnel. They also delivered three tons of medial supplies, including antibiotics, other medications and essential healthcare equipment.

Malaysia has also deployed a 50 member team with ASEAN coordination and provided $2.25 million in aid.

Myanmar closest neighbour Thailand sent in 55 air force personnel, comprising of medics and search specialists and brought in medical supplies.

Singapore 80 members rescue team with sniffer dogs and equipment also arrived, with more than $100,000 aid via Singapore Red Cross.

US, Singapore and Thailand aids were marred by explicit or tacit support for the anti government forces. While US might want to distribute money via PDF terrorists, Singapore government wanted SAC to stop attacks on rebels and terrorists (despite all of them starting the attacks on the civilians and government personnel) and some Thai MPs promote propaganda supporting insurgents movements.

Apocalypse Now!

Insider Articles

zhm

April 11, 2025

It may seem quite quiet and cozy in the centre of Yangon right now, but the people were shaken and stirred since the swinging and swaying started by 7.7 magnitude earthquake with the epicentre 10 mile underneath the ground near the city of Sagaing. Some of them are still out onto the streets in the middle of the night, not because of insomnia, but because of the seismophobia.

For the people of Mandalay, Sagaing and Nay Pyi Taw, the experience can be a lot worse. The majority in all these three cities were still sleeping rough on the streets, as subsequent aftershocks came in incessantly. In fact, there are nearly 50 aftershocks from the judgement day till April 04. A lot of people are still feeling very uneasy about the current situation. While Mandalay and Nay Pyi Taw residents may only have to suffer the elements outdoor, while painfully viewing their dilapidated houses, condos and apartments, spare a thought of the people of Sagaing. Nearly 100% of the houses in the cities were damaged by the earthquake. And due to the collapse of the old bridge and the damage to the new bridge (the only two bridges that span across the Ayeyarwaddy river connecting Sagaing and Mandalay), people are having to cross the mighty river using barges only. That makes the rescue efforts close to impossible.

Most of the surrounding areas of the Sagaing city was controlled by PDF terrorist forces. They even shot at some aid convoys coming into Sagaing for rescue efforts. Because of that double whammy, the previously clear air of Sagaing is now taken over by the stench of putrefaction everywhere. In the excessive heat of the summer, dead bodies take less than two days to decompose, worsening the already desperate situation and health of the survivors.

MI has spoken to one lady, Ma Ni from Sagaing who has been working in Yangon since Covid times. Her family has to run from their home town in upper Sagaing region, due to PDF terrorists. The PDF terrorists burned their two houses. The family rented a house in Sagaing and survived with whatever little provisions that had. Now Ma Ni has not heard from her family since earthquakes. The phone calls went unanswered. She feared all of them might be dead because of the quake.

Infrastructure is bare bone now
Most of the roads in affected cities are now totally unusable, due to fissures, fault lines, waves and collapsed buildings and debris. Electricity is still out as of April 4 in these cities. Even Yangon was out of electric supply for nearly the whole days for three days in a stretch. Since most of the water supply is through underground water in Myanmar, water pumps are a must for a continuous supply of this basic necessity. And pumps need power to run.

The highways were gone too due to the sinking of the roads, it would take months to repair, optimistically speaking.

Collapse of many large buildings and condos would take years to clean up, denying residents of the standard of living that they were accustomed to a couple of years ago.

The government services
Civil servants are now living rough as their quarters in Nay Pyi Taw are no longer safe to live in. Even though rescue teams from friendly countries bought tents and tarpaulins in, the summer heat, which is highest in central regions of Myanmar traversing from the capital until Sagaing and Mandalay, no one is sleeping in these tents or under these tarpaulins.

Without proper sanitary facilities, communicable diseases would start to spread, making the government resources even more thinly spread. The government is no doubt doing its best within its limited capacity and budget, but without international help, the recovery would take doubly long.

Even now, with ministries offices in tatters, the approvals, payments, payroll and transactions are expected to delay, brining more misery to the helpless civil servants and general public.

The remains of the day
As of April 4, the death toll has creeped up close to 5,000. When the dust settles it is expected to probably reach close to 10,000 people. An enormous loss of life by any standard. Yet it would take close to a decade for the cities to recover.

In a country as poor as Myanmar, under attacks by its own NNCP terrorists, besieged by 75 years of civil conflicts, we have to ask our lord and heavenly beings above us – why must we suffer some more! Is Covid, flood, infighting, drugs, scams and recessions not enough for us? While hoping that this earthquake would be the last disaster for all of us, while looking at the horizon, we see serious storms brewing, some even thinking of ballooning into major cyclones, in the upcoming raining season. While currently being down on our luck, our unlucky streak may not be over that soon.

Canada, Mexico, China Responded to US tariffs

zhm

April 3, 2025

United States’ three largest trading partners have responded to tariffs imposed by the Trump administration. US President Donald Trump signed an executive order in the last week of January to impose a 10% tariff on goods imported from China. The latest US trade protectionist measure has drawn widespread opposition and criticism from both domestic and international community. The White House said the 10% tariff is on all imports from China is on top of existing tariffs. Trump says the tariffs are in line with his embrace of protectionist measures.

Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson said that China always believes that there is no winner in a trade war or tariff war, and remains steadfast in safeguarding its national interests. Spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce said China’s position on the tariff issue is consistent. Tariff measures are not conducive to the interests of either China or the United States, nor to the rest of the world, he said.

On February 4, China further announced it would impose additional tariffs on certain US imports from February 10, 2025 in retaliation to Trump’s action. The retaliatory tariffs included a 15% additional duty on imports of US coal, coke, and liquified natural gas, and a 10% additional duty on imports of US crude oil, agricultural machinery, large-displacement vehicles, and pickup trucks, among others.

In addition to China, the United States also imposed a 25% tariff on goods from Mexico and Canada. For energy products from Canada, the administration imposed a 10% tariff. Meanwhile, the leaders of Mexico and Canada struck last-minute deals by offering concessions on border security spending and others, to postpone the imposition of these hefty tariffs on goods exported to the United States, averting at least temporarily a damaging trade war that would roil North America and the global economy.

CBM Launches National QR Standard MMQR

zhm

April 3, 2025

Central Bank of Myanmar (CBM) has developed a national QR standard MMQR, finally, to enable secure and smooth international financial transactions and remittances while keeping abreast with other countries. The plan was already in place since 2017, but the road to successful implementation requires more time than the initial projections, to say the least.
With MMQRs, retailers do not have to have different pay/wallet arrangements with different providers and consumers can pay across different wallet platforms, making the use of digital money and wallets much easier than the current arrangement of the users having to open every single pay on their phones to actually use digital money effectively. It would also help develop the digital business infrastructure of the country. With the advancement of technology, CBM also needs to monitor online and digital money fraud while the new arrangements are provided.

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Amara Pura