The government of Bangladeshi is toying with the idea of providing identity (ID) cards to Bangladeshi nationals in Teknaf and Ukhiya, the Burma-Bangladesh area in Cox’s Bazaar district in Bangladesh. This is being done to make it easier to identify locals, given that there is an exodus of Burmese Muslims into Bangladesh.
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The alarming increase of gasoline prices has forced at least four major factories and a number of small factories in Akyab, the capital of Arakan state, to close down.”About 1,000 workers from Akyab are now jobless following the shut down of the factories,” said a worker from Akyab.
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Burma’s public transportation fees have risen six times to 120 kyat (8.4 US cents) from 20 kyat (1.5 US cents) the state-controlled All Bus Lines Control Committee announced yesterday. The current increase is the second in the last week.
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A report released by the International Labour Organization on Friday has confirmed the Burmese government intends to withdraw from the organization, leaving the relationship between the two at an all time low.
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Published October 10, 2005
The report is a summary of the efforts taken by the Secretary-General and his Special Envoy aimed at facilitating national reconciliation and democratization in Myanmar.
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Retired Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Nobel Peace Prize winner and architect of South Africa’s post-apartheid reconciliation, put the matter clearly: The United Nations has an “open-and-shut case” to intervene in Myanmar to restore democracy, deliver aid and win freedom for political prisoners.
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The Canadian government is to consider resuming humanitarian aid to Burma, which was cut in 1988 following the regime’s brutal suppression of pro-democracy demonstrations, according to the Canadian Friends of Burma organization.
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Beijing: Chinese President Hu Jintao on Oct. 27 appointed new ambassadors to seven countries in accordance with a decision made by the National People’s Congress Standing Committee.
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The United Nations must take concrete steps to improve the situation of women in conflict-ridden countries, activists and U.N. officials say.
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Jetstar Asia announced its first code-share deal yesterday, tying up with Myanmar Airways International to operate a four-times-a-week service between Singapore and Yangon.
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UNICEF and UNAIDS are planning to expand programs to combat HIV/AIDS in Burma as part of global efforts to fight the virus, a UNICEF representative based in Rangoon said yesterday.
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Cox’s Bazar: Unknown assassins killed a Bangladeshi Rakhaing, leaving the body hanging from a rope on 25th October in Mrait Na Kyaung Buddhist temple, which is also known as Bahar Chara Kyaung in Cox’s Bazar, a southeastern district in Bangladesh, close to Burma Arakan state.
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A team of Thai industrial estate experts are surveying four Burmese towns on or near the Thai border with a view to selecting one as a new industrial center to provide enough local employment to stem the tide of mostly illegal Burmese labor migrants to Thailand. The plan to set up an industrial zone is being undertaken by the Thai government’s Thai Industrial Estate Authority, backed by Thai investors.
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Published October 26
Burmese High Court, on 25 October, unceremoniously rejected applications for appeal of detained Burmese military intelligence service (MIS) agents, led by their chief and former prime minister Gen Khin Nyunt.
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A dozen young journalists between 12 and 17 years of age will be taking to newsrooms across Rangoon after receiving journalism training from Burma ‘s UNICEF office.
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Leading representatives of Burma’s opposition National League for Democracy have discussed at a rare meeting in Rangoon how best to engage the regime in dialogue.
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Confirmation from Russia’s atomic agency Minatom this month that talks had resumed with the Burmese military over the development of a nuclear research reactor in the central of the country sent a shockwave through the international community.
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Burma’s main opposition party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), is contriving to open up a new communication channel with the ruling military junta, State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) so that political dialogues between the two sides could start as soon as possible.
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October 25: When at sixteen, he left his village somewhere in Karenni State and began living in a refugee camp along the Thai-Burma border in 1993, Beh Reh had never seen a journalist before.
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Exiled Burmese prime minister Sein Win says it is time for Canada to
“support the democratic cause” by acting on a motion to “condemn more forcefully” the actions of his country’s military regime for human rights violations.
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