More than two decades after their last encounter, pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi and recently released leaders of the 88 Generation Students group met on Tuesday for an evening that focused on reflections on the past and plans for the future. (more…)

Yangon — Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari Wednesday presented Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi with an award in recognition of her long struggle for democracy as he visited the military-dominated country. (more…)

Former Burmese prime minister Khin Nyunt walked free from seven years under house arrest earlier this month and into a position as patron of a philanthropic foundation owned by business tycoon and MP Khin Shwe, with a salary close to $US5,000 a month. (more…)

Burmese soldiers continued an offensive against an ethnic Kachin army last week in northern Myanmar while cease-fire negotiations were being held, La Nan, an official of the autonomous Kachin government, said in an article posted Tuesday in The Irrawaddy, a newspaper run by Burmese exiles in Thailand. The military is waging war against the Kachin despite a Dec. 10 order from President Thein Sein to halt combat. The cease-fire talks were inconclusive.

More than 1,500 Burmese troops are currently on their way to reinforce government positions in northern Shan state, as the Burmese military continues an offensive against the Kachin Independence Army’s (KIA) Eighth Battalion, according to KIA sources in the area. (more…)

Washington — The International Monetary Fund on Wednesday published its analysis of Myanmar for the first time since 1999, applauding recent reforms but stressing the need to move further to stabilize the economy. (more…)

DAVOS, Switzerand – Travelers hoping to glimpse the golden pagoda of Rangoon or hear the “tinkly temple-bells” of Kipling’s Road to Mandalay may soon be able to book into a Westin or a Marriott, thanks to Myanmar’s re-emergence from political isolation. (more…)

Environmental activists in Burma have sought to capitalise on a recent decision by the government to suspend a massive coal-fired power plant in the country’s south by demanding a moratorium on all existing and planned coal projects. (more…)

Tokyo – Mizuho Corporate Bank said Wednesday it will set up an office in Yangon in Myanmar, possibly in March, to help Japanese corporate clients set up business bases in the country. (more…)

New Delhi — Myanmar’s foreign minister said Wednesday that the transition to democracy in the once-authoritarian southeast Asian country will be gradual and systematic. (more…)

United Nations – U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday praised the government of Myanmar for its democratic reforms and said he planned to visit the Southeast Asian nation soon. (more…)

Washington – The United States is looking at easing sanctions on Myanmar, but needs to see more democratic progress including a smooth April by-election before it can start unwinding decades of overlapping economic and political bans on the country, U.S. lawmakers said on Tuesday. (more…)

Washington – US President Barack Obama on Tuesday hailed democratic reforms in Myanmar as offering “new hope” as he recommitted the United States to a lasting presence in the Asia-Pacific region. (more…)

Yangon – Business is booming at the Golden Sea employment agency in downtown Yangon, but that doesn’t mean Myanmar’s long-stagnant economy is improving. Quite the opposite. (more…)

Rangoon—On the road to Mandalay, the Burmese military intelligence men and their thugs kicked him, beat him, put a hood over his head and threw him into a waiting truck. (more…)

Speaking at a ceremony held in their honor, two recently released leaders of the 88 Generation Students group told their supporters in Pegu on Tuesday that they welcome recent political changes in Burma, but hope for more far-reaching reforms in the future. (more…)

A political activist who underwent spells of physical and mental illness resulting from severe torture during his decade in jail in Burma has died only 10 days after being freed. (more…)

WASHINGTON — Fewer than half of the 651 prisoners the Myanmar government announced it was releasing 10 days ago were political prisoners, according to two human rights groups that have compiled lists of those released. Petty criminals, whose sentences are being commuted, were among the rest. (more…)

YANGON — With the fighting peacock flag flying outside, Aung San Suu Kyi’s Yangon party headquarters are once again a hive of activity as her Myanmar opposition prepares for its first poll battle in two decades. (more…)

Norway’s foreign minister will head to Burma soon to continue to push for reform in the country, and says the changing landscape there could turn looming Norwegian investment into a constructive force that can integrate Burma into the global economy. (more…)