Myanmar

[myahn-mahr, mee-uhn-mahr]

noun

1. a country in Southeast Asia, bordering on the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal; area 262, 000 sq. mi. (678,500 sq. km). Nay Pyi Taw.

Myanmar

/ ˈmaɪænmɑː, ˈmjænmɑː /

noun

1. Official full name: the Union of Myanmar. Former official name (until 1989, though still widely used): Burma. a republic in SE Asia, on the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea: unified from small states in 1752; annexed by Britain (1823–85) and made a province of India in 1886; became independent in 1948. It is generally mountainous, with the basins of the Chindwin and Irrawaddy Rivers in the central part and the Irrawaddy delta in the south. Official language: Burmese. Religion: Buddhist majority. Currency: kyat. Capital: Yangon. Pop: 55 167 330 (2013 est). Area: 676 577 sq km (261 228 sq miles)

Myanmar

1. The official name for Burma since 1989.

Usage

Due to a history of political and civil unrest, the official name of this country has been the subject of controversy. In 1989 the ruling military government changed the country’s name from Burma to Myanmar. The United Nations as well as almost all news organizations—including The New York Times, the Associated Press, and the BBC—adopted the new name. However, many pro-democracy groups and opponents of the government, both in-country and internationally, rejected the new name as illegitimate and continue to refer to the country as Burma. Both the U.S. Department of State and the CIA (for example, in its authoritative World Factbook ), as a matter of policy in support of democratic change, also continue to refer to the country as Burma.

Example Sentences

At least 24 people were killed and 47 others wounded while protesting Myanmar's military government after a motorised paraglider dropped two bombs on the crowd, a spokesperson for the government-in-exile has told BBC Burmese.

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Cardiff Metropolitan University does not have an overseas campus but its degrees are taught in locations including Singapore, Lebanon, and Sri Lanka while Wrexham University's partners include institutions in China, Myanmar and Greece.

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A Chinese court has sentenced to death 11 members of a notorious family that ran scam centres in Myanmar, according to Chinese state media.

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The other countries the US said had failed to meet their targets were Afghanistan, Bolivia, Myanmar and Venezuela.

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The crisis in Nepal has blown up as relations with Pakistan are at a low point, ties with Bangladesh remain strained and Myanmar is engulfed in civil war.

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