Tourism operation in major beach resorts in Myanmar remained normal without being seriously affected by the recent tsunami that caused massive destruction in coastal areas of other countries around the Indian Ocean, the local Myanmar Times reported Monday.

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January 9: The number killed in Burma’s Arakan State by the tsunami waves has risen to 96, stated a press release of the Arakan National Council, ANC, on January 7.

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January 9: Source: Democratic Democratic Voice of Burma web site, Oslo, in Burmese 1430 gmt 8 Jan 05

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Yangon, Myanmar — The Tsunami Assistance Coordination Group met yesterday to consolidate the findings of the different assessment and verification missions undertaken throughout the affected areas of Myanmar. The CoordinationGroup* was set up at the onset of the disaster and is chaired by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC). The group concluded that Myanmar has been largely spared from the destructive forces of the earthquake and subsequent Tsunami, and that the initial emergency needs have been met by the Government and by the aid community. The group’s assessment of the scale of impact is in line with the Government’s own findings. The group confirms a death toll of 60-80, and estimates the longer-term affected population at 10-15,000, of whom

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Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) recovered a number of sophisticated arms and ammunitions from the Burma-Bangladesh border on January 6, according to a local news agency.

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State-run GAIL (India) (BSE:GAIL) said the prospects of sourcing gas from Myanmar have brightened by the success of the first appraisal well of the Shwe gas field.

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January 7: Launching its biggest ever oil diplomacy blitzkrieg, India today goaded major Southeast Asian oil producers and consuming nations to develop an Southeast Asian oil market and bring about long term and possibly cheaper oil supplies as a means to stabilise the volatile market.

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January 7: ONGC Videsh Limited has announced gas in the first appraisal well in the Shwe gas field in Block A-1, Myanmar, 7.8 kilometers away from the first exploratory well, where the Consortium discovered gas in January last year.

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Thailand and other Asian countries have agreed to establish a regional quake and tsunami early warning system in the Indian Ocean and the Southeast Asian region.

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January 9: The United States is keen to help set up an international tsunami early warning system in the Indian Ocean where giant waves crushed coastlines from Malaysia to Africa on Dec. 26, an official has said.

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January 9: Text of report by Tul Pinkaew, published in English by Thai newspaper Bangkok Post web site on 9 January

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January 7: Activist and welfare groups in the United States launched an appeal for funds to help tsunami-hit Myanmar migrants and refugees in Thailand.

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January 9: Not everyone caught up in the disaster wants help. When rescue teams reached the remote island of Sentinel between India and Burma the local tribesmen were on the beach ready to repel them, writes Meenal Dubey.

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