Nine Rohingyas, who were arrested late last month for refusing to register as “Bengalis” at a displacement camp in western Burma, will be prosecuted for instigating riots, according to a state official. (more…)

There were further signs this week that construction on the controversial Hat Gyi hydropower dam on the Salween River in Burma’s Karen State has resumed, as representatives of the Thai dam developer visited Thai villages that would be affected by the planned 1,200-megawatt project. (more…)

After evening prayers at Shwedagon Pagoda, some elderly Buddhists descend from the temple’s eastern gate and settle into chairs before an array of free newspaper offerings that await their perusal. (more…)

Until mid-2012, thousands of foreign tourists would visit Sittwe every year. These days, few travelers come to enjoy the Arakan state capital’s colonial heritage or its beaches. Yet, local hotels are fully booked, room rates are high and transport services are thriving. (more…)

The UN’s Special Adviser on Myanmar, Vijay Nambiar, will attend the May 28 peace talks between the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) and the Myanmar government’s Peace Making Committee at Myitkyina, according to Kachin peace broker San Aung. (more…)

It is reported that as the government did not provide travel arrangement for the All Burma Student Democratic Front (ABSDF) representatives from northern region based in Kachin Independent Organization (KIO) controlled area, on Sino-Burmese border, to journey for attending the peace talks with government in Rangoon, they have not turned up at the meeting. (more…)

Myanmar’s opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi told China to deal directly with the government if they wish to resume the controversial Myitsone project. (more…)

After decades of monopolizing the news industry, state-owned newspapers are exploring ways to make the transition into a new media environment shaped by fierce competition among the privately owned publications, editors of the different newspapers said. (more…)

Burma’s parliament agreed on Tuesday to extend a state of emergency for the central town Meikhtila, which was devastated by religious violence in March, despite warnings from opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. (more…)

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said Burma’s economy is on track to top 6 percent growth this year as the country’s “ambitious reform program is bearing fruit,” according to Matt Davies, the IMF’s deputy Asia and Pacific chief, speaking in Rangoon on Wednesday.
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Myanmar’s increasing engagement is fuelling demand for mobile phones in a country described as less connected than North Korea. (more…)

Anyone who wants to credit Burma’s President Thein Sein for the country’s political and economic reforms must first thank former dictator Sr-Gen Than Shwe. (more…)

Gen. (ret) Thein Sein, who won international praise for leading reforms in Myanmar, received a warm welcome from US President Barack Obama at the White House on Monday. It was a reciprocal visit following Obama’s trip to Yangon last November. The general deserves the credit. (more…)

Meiktila, Myanmar — Nineteen-year-old Hnin Ei Phyu is on her knees at home, whispering her prayers. It’s a small sign of normality in a community where things have been anything but normal in recent months. (more…)

HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL

Twenty-third session, Agenda Item 3, General Debate

A written statement submitted by the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC), a non-governmental organisation with general consultative status (more…)

The text of the following statement was released by His Excellency Union Minister of Energy U Than Htay of Myanmar and Special Envoy and Coordinator for International Energy Affairs Carlos Pascual.
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President Thein Sein has visited President Barack Obama at the White House in Washington. The visit is being promoted by both Myanmar and the United States for its symbolism. This is a shame.
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Meikhtila, Myanmar – A Myanmar court sentenced seven Muslims to prison Tuesday — one of them to a life term — in the killing of a Buddhist monk amid deadly sectarian violence that was overwhelmingly directed against minority Muslims but has not led to any criminal trials against members of the country’s Buddhist majority. (more…)

An armed militia in northeastern Burma’s Shan state forced more than 50 National League for Democracy (NLD) members at gunpoint to resign from the party on Sunday following a land dispute in the area. (more…)

The main investor in the controversial Myitsone hydropower dam in Kachin State has expressed a desire to restart the suspended project, according to members of a National League for Democracy (NLD) delegation that traveled to China earlier this month. (more…)