FAR EAST CORRESPONDENT — Reforms are biting fast in Burma. The sight of pro-democracy icon and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi being swamped by supporters and lavished with flowers over the weekend as she begins campaigning for the April 1 by-elections was another extraordinary moment.

Under military rule, Burma has sunk to the near bottom of almost every index used by the United Nations, International Monetary Fund, World Bank and any other major international institution to measure human development – and that includes standards for freedom of expression and association. Read more in The Diplomat.