Myanmar’s prime minister met Monday in Hanoi with his Vietnamese counterpart two months prior to a summit here that European Union leaders have threatened to boycott if the junta from Yangon is allowed to participate.
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August 6: New Mon State Party, an ethnic ceasefire group which attended the National Convention in Burma, has criticised the Convention for lack of level playing field.
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At least 80 exiles from Arakan State held a demonstration in front of the Bangladesh high court premise, in Dhaka, yesterday in honor  of the 16th anniversary day of 8-8-88.
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August 8: Troops were on alert yesterday following fighting between Rangoon forces and the Shan State Army (SSA) at the Burmese border with Thailand.

A security source said the Pha Muang Task Force was keeping a close watch on the fighting, about one kilometre inside Burma, near Ban Piang Luang in Chiang Mai’s Wiang Haeng district.

Four mortars landed in Thai forest, but no one was injured, the source said.

The battle was the first major clash between Burmese government forces and the SSA this year.

Col Yawd Serk, the SSA leader, said Rangoon troops were surrounding an SSA military post in the area in an attempt to take over the position. He said four Burmese soldiers were killed.

August 8: Myanmar has signed energy contracts with Thailand paving the way for Thailand’s PTT Exploration and Production PCL to engage in oil and natural gas exploration in the country, state media reported Sunday.
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August 8: Thailand needs to be realistic in cooperating with the Burmese military to reform Burma’s politics. In order to reform the politics, Thai businessmen and Prime Minister Thaksin have attempted to reform the Burmese economy
first. It seems that Thai people believe that if Burma becomes a wealthy country the country’s politics can be reformed. This is a communist idea.
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The United Nations Children’s Fund ( UNICEF) is planning to launch a survey program later this year on street and working children in Myanmar, aimed at developing measures to protect them from being abused and exploited in various forms.
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August 8: Today is the 16th anniversary of the beginning of democratic change in Burma. Unfortunately, this noble goal has proved difficult to attain. Since that time, the country in general and its pro-democracy elements in particular have gone through hell and fire. Since the junta cheated its way into power during the May 1990 election, the political and economic situation inside Burma has not changed because the same military leaders are still in power and the opposition leaders, including Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, are still under house arrest.
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I woke up to a commotion. As if stirred up from a nightmare, I could not make out the hollering coming from the street. I stepped out of the bedroom. Through the window, I saw a group of teenagers walk past my house, talking noisily. I sensed some sort of excitement in their voices. Then I looked around the house. As if in a daze and still half asleep, I realized that my younger brother did not return home last night. The living room was empty and I saw his mat and blanket folded neatly under the Buddhist alter.
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August 8: Sir, Jeffrey D. Sachs’ article “Myanmar: sanctions won’t work” (July 28) was a tired old regurgitation of fallacies that Burma’s ruling military junta peddles to the international community.
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August 7: Kraisak Choonhavan, is chairman of the Thai Senate Committee on International Relations and the son of the former Prime Minister Chatchai Choonhavan. He spoke to The Irrawaddy about Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s regional foreign policy.
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