Myanmar lawmakers elected Htin Kyaw as the country’s next president during a parliamentary vote in Naypyidaw on Mar. 14. Htin Kyaw was chosen ahead of Henry Van Thio, an ethnic Chin lawmaker from Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party, and Myint Swe, a former general. Thio and Swe remain vice presidents. (Photo courtesy Reuters/Soe Zeya Tun)

In a Mar. 15 statement, Secretary of State John Kerry congratulated Htin Kyaw “on his election as Burma’s next president. The presidential election is another important step forward in Burma’s democratic transition, and we commend the people and institutions of Burma who continue to work together to ensure a peaceful transfer of power after the November 2015 elections…The United States remains committed to supporting the people of Burma in their ongoing pursuit of democracy, development and national reconciliation.”

The Yangon Stock Exchange (YSX) will start trading securities on March 25, said Maung Maung Thein, President of Myanamr's Securities and Exchange Commission (SECM). The YSX was launched in December with six listed companies, two securities companies and 1 fund settlement bank, although the exchange has not been open for trading. Over the last two months, SECM gave securities licenses for three additional companies.

The sudden rush to open banking operations in Myanmar is because the country stands ready to throw open its undeveloped economy, and those there first will make the best of it. Given Myanmar’s location, it stands to become the linchpin between Thailand and the ASEAN region and India and the rest of Asia, which may truly be an opportunity not to be missed.

Myanmar has granted operating licenses to four Asian banks, bringing to 13 the number of foreign banks allowed to conduct business in the previously isolated country. Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam, State Bank of India, Taiwan's Sun Commercial Bank and South Korea's Shinhan Bank were granted preliminary licenses, Myanmar's Foreign Bank Licensing Committee said.

Police in Myanmar seized more than $30 million worth of heroin and methamphetamine in early March, a bust that highlights the country's continued role as a major global drugs manufacturer. Myanmar sits at the heart of the "Golden Triangle," which also covers parts of Thailand and Laos, and has been a hotbed of narcotics production for decades despite repeated government vows to tackle the scourge. "It's worth about 37 billion kyats (US$30 million)," a senior police official of the anti-drugs squad in Naypyidaw said. "This is the biggest seizure of 2016."

Myanmar's military recently released 46 children and young people from service, the United Nations said in a statement, in its first discharge of underage recruits this year. The army has released 745 underage recruits since signing up to a joint action plan with the UN in June 2012 to end the use of children in the military. "The children and young people discharged will benefit from reintegration programs to help them re-start their lives and seize new opportunities for their own development and participation in the life of the country," the UN said.

Chinese scientists discovered 100-million-year-old amber in Myanmar, which is the world’s oldest amber so far. It is called “Myanmar amber” because it was discovered and produced in Myanmar, said Dr. Gao Lizhi, a researcher at the Kunming Botanical Institute at the Chinese Academy of Sciences. It was formed about 50 million years earlier than the famous Fushun amber and 80 million years earlier than Dominican Republic amber.

What can be more soothing than seemingly floating on the gentle waters of a lake and sampling a Myanmar supper and taking part in a cultural show? That’s what’s on offer at the Karaweik Palace restaurant — built to look like a royal golden teak barge that seems to be floating on the Kandawgyi Lake — in the heart of the former capital of Myanmar.