Development news roundup: More rewards for Myanmar, U.S. Senate allocates $53B for foreign operations, and more

Today, we reported:

• Myanmar earns more rewards for ongoing reforms

• Senate allocates $53B for foreign operations

• More UK aid for Syrian civilians, refugees

• World Bank: Help the poor ‘bank’ on their future

• Development in numbers: What indicators say

• In aid transparency, joining IATI is ‘not enough’

• The water problem? How about ‘better manners,’ ‘fewer forks’

Other must reads:

• New SIDA initiative links Swedish universities to Bolivia, Rwanda counterparts

• Estonia makes first-ever voluntary contribution to FAO

• Japan helps replenish WFP resources for Myanmar relief programs

• UNRWA expands tertiary health care coverage for Palestinian refugees in Lebanon

• Andrew Mitchell appears highly pleased with Global Fund reforms

• On the spotlight: Development implications of a robust Afghan telecom sector

• Russia sends aid to Serbia

• Robert Zoellick opens spring meetings with discussion on eurocrisis, the Arab Spring, and his successes and failures as World Bank president

• José Graziano da Silva identifies 5 points that need ‘concerted action’ to end hunger

• UNAIDS calls on countries to implement WHO’s new HIV testing guidelines

• New Zealand provides additional $1M for Fiji flood recovery

• Brazil donates $2.2M worth of white rice, beans to WFP

• World Bank approves new mechanism to support, scale up social accountability among CSOs

• ADB to China: Reduce, manage risks causing frequent and severe droughts

• France, Senegal agree to boost aid, defense cooperation

• Denmark urges EU to lead talks for tangible targets at Rio+20

• Report: Microfinance demand on the rise in West Bank, Gaza

• New dataset shows where donors are working in Malawi

• How effective is aid in fragile states? New report lists lessons from early compacts

• The ‘name of the game’ in climate finance? ‘Innovative leadership’

• Scorecards for political change - Oxfam

• Mutharika led an ‘agriculture-led boom’ in Malawi - Jeffrey Sachs

• Democratic forces call on international community to stop aid to Swaziland over human rights violations

• Mali in serious threat of ‘Somalisation’

• Former officials: Protect UNCTAD from rich countries

• Rich nations ‘wiggling out’ of pledges to help developing countries cope with climate change - Eurodad report

• Conflict, violence displaced 26.4M in 2011

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