January 16: Yangon: Myanmar’s military government has initiated criminal cases against several military intelligence officers who were detained after the ouster last year of former Prime Minister Gen. Khin Nyunt, officials said.
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The Karen National Union, or KNU, charged Tuesday that recent attacks by the Burma Army on KNU rebel camps showed that the Rangoon regime failed to take the ceasefire between the two sides seriously.
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January 14: The trial of Saw Pan Koo, a youth member of National League for Democracy (NLD) from Bogale Township, Irrawaddy Division in the delta region of Burma, who has been detained for distributing leaflets containing the UN Universal Human Rights Declaration, is to be postponed to the coming week. (more…)

January 14: The trials of 11 NLD members from Bogale Township, Irrawaddy Division in the delta region of Burma, charged with attempting to celebrate the Burmese National Day, continued inside nearby Pyapon Prison on 13 January.

The defendants are, Bogale Township NLD chairman U Aung Khin Bo, members U Aung Htay, U Khin Maung Chit, U Tet tun, U Tin Oo, U Aung Myint, U Win Naing, U Hla Myint, Daw Myint Myint Sein, Daw Hnin Si and Daw Khin Khin Lay.

The defending lawyer U Tin Win told DVB that the court cross-examined the defendants including Saw Pan Koo who was also charged with distributing leaflets containing the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights. As the trials were held within a prison no one including family members of the defendants, was not allowed to attend trials.

The defendants were arrested on 6 December 2004 and U Win Tin said that they still appeared to be in a positive mood as they are convinced that none of them are guilty as charged.

Guwahati, India: India’s army said Tuesday it had killed 126 separatist rebels and captured several hundred more in a crackdown begun three months ago in the revolt-hit northeastern state of Manipur.
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New Delhi: While a new trilateral deal for Burma to export natural gas to India through Bangladesh augurs well economically for New Delhi, activists warned that the Burmese military regime could implement the project using forced labor.
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January 16: Ranong, Thailand: At least 2,500 Myanmar (Burma) migrant workers were killed in a single Thai province when it was lashed by tsunamis on December 26, Myanmar non-governmental organizations based in Thailand said Sunday.
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Manila: A senior Philippine legislator on Tuesday urged the government to oppose Myanmar’s (Burma) chairmanship in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 2006.
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January 17: Ban Namken, Thailand: While urgent efforts continue to find more than 3,000 people missing in Thailand since the Boxing Day tsunami, others are trying hard not to be found. They are Burmese immigrants, many of whom built and serviced the seaside resorts flattened by the huge waves.
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January 15: Win Soe, a 19-year-old Burmese worker, spent days searching for her parents and two brothers who went missing from a fishing boat anchored off Ban Nam Khem in Phang Nga.
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January 17: About 160 Burmese Chin immigrants, including several women, were arrested by the police this morning for demonstrating outside the Burmese embassy off Jalan Ampang, Kuala Lumpur.
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Yangon: Iran has airlifted 600 tones of tsunami aid relief to military-ruled Myanmar, media reported Tuesday as the United Nations confirmed it had sent several teams to the isolated nation to assess damage there.
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January 13: Tsunami denial shows Rangoon is the worst enemy of its people
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January 15: The unprecedented generosity in response to Asia’s tsunami has reflected the sense that this is a different sort of tragedy. Many disasters in poor countries are caused or exacerbated by human failings: Famines often are created by war; tornadoes kill people in large numbers where authorities have failed to plan for them; the long-term problems of poverty frequently reflect corrupt or incompetent leadership. (more…)