Yangon: Myanmar’s military junta adjourned much-criticised talks to draw up a new democratic constitution on Thursday, despite growing pressure from the region to speed up political change.

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Bangkok: Her 12-day-old daughter clasped to her breast and tears rolling down her cheeks, 30-year-old Aye Aye Win signed up at a Thai police station on Thursday to be sent to an uncertain future in a Myanmar refugee border camp.

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Yangon: Singapore and Myanmar (Burmese) leaders yesterday discussed political developments in Myanmar when they met for talks in this bustling capital. Prime Minister (PM) Lee Hsien Loong was briefed on Myanmar’s democratization process shortly after arriving. The subject came up when he made separate calls on Prime Minister Soe Win and State Peace and Development Council Chairman Than Shwe in the afternoon.

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Manila: Lawmakers asked President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and other Southeast Asian leaders Thursday to be more aggressive in bringing Myanmar to democracy, urging them to block it from leading a regional bloc next year unless it undertakes immediate reforms.

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Phnom Penh: Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen told his Singaporean counterpart Lee Hsien Loong during his official visit here Thursday that Cambodia supported Myanmar’s chairing of ASEAN in 2006.

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March 30: New Delhi: Thirty-five Burmese refugees, including ten children, have started an indefinite sit-in here since yesterday protesting the slash in the UNHRC subsistence allowance which has taken off roof above them.

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Washington: The United States and the European Union should boycott all Association of Southeast Asian Nations meetings if Myanmar is allowed to chair the grouping in 2006 without embarking on democratic reforms, a ranking US Senator said Wednesday.

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Just as Burma’s neighbours start attacking it over its human rights record, there are signs the European Union might stop.

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Brussels: The European Union said Thursday it wanted Myanmar to release political prisoners, including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, if it wanted to hold a reputable chairmanship of the 10-nation ASEAN group next year.

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What on Earth is happening in Brussels? The European Commission, or EC, has organized an annual Burma Day session there on April 5, purportedly to discuss humanitarian aid to the sad country. Fine. But look at the meeting’s agenda, and guess who’s coming to dinner.

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A media training organisation in Chiang Mai seeks a manager for its grants program to start around early May. Women and members of all ethnic communities of Burma are encouraged to apply

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