Urban poverty is on course to triple in Myanmar, pushing nearly half the population below the poverty line next year, the United Nations said on Wednesday, as the twin impact of the pandemic and a military coup threatens progress made in the past decade.

The army seized power from the elected civilian government of Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi on Feb 1, unleashing political and economic turmoil as it sought to crush opposition and hurting efforts to fight the coronavirus...