The Irrawaddy River runs through Kachin State in northern Myanmar. The country's President Thein Sein called for a halt to construction of a controversial Chinese-backed hydroelectric dam on the river.

Thein Sein's call for the controversial hydroelectric project in the country's north to be halted was a rare and surprising concession to opponents that was welcomed by the nation's pro-democracy movement and environmentalists.
The Myitsone dam project in Kachin state should be terminated because "it is against the will of the people," Thein Sein said in a statement read out on his behalf at Parliament.
The Myitsone dam, Myanmar's largest hydropower project, had sparked rare public criticism in the authoritarian country. It was backed by hardliners with ties to Chinese investors and opposed by an increasingly vocal band of reformers.
It was not immediately clear when or how the project could be halted, however.
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