According to a map produced by the US Geological Survey, National Earthquake Information Center, Burma’s new military and administrative center in Pyinmana is right on top of what is known as the Sagaing fault system.
(more…)

Apart from astrological calculations and American invasion, there are more down-to-earth reasons why Burma’s autocratic rulers have chosen Pyinmana as the new power center, according to civilian officials in Tachilek, opposite Thailand’s Maesai.
(more…)

Published November 25, 2005

The Burmese authorities must not extend the house arrest of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi beyond the expiry of the current detention order this Sunday, Amnesty International said today.
(more…)

Published November 26, 2005

Much speculation has been generated by outsiders on the shift of Myanmar’s (Burma) capital from Rangoon to Pyinmana. It has been attributed to soothsayers, a fear of US invasion, general paranoia, an atavistic return to the Burmese monarchy and plain stupidity.
(more…)

Myanmar’s opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi was probably the least surprised when the military government told her yesterday she would remain under house arrest for at least another year. She has, after all, been confined to her Yangon home since May 30, 2003, and spent more than 10 of the past 16 years either there or in prison.
(more…)

The UN’s special envoy for Myanmar, Razali Ismail, said Monday the world body was disappointed with Myanmar after it extended pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s house arrest by six months.
(more…)

Published November 24, 2005

One significant though insufficiently noticed aspect of U.S. President George W. Bush’s weeklong visit to Asia was his consistent effort to focus attention on Myanmar, and to pressure Asian allies, notably Japan, to be more forthright in their criticisms of the military junta’s shortcomings.
(more…)

November 27, 2005

Suspects arrested with raw opium are seen here at a police station in Laiza, the headquarters of the Kachin Independence Organisation, in May this year.
(more…)

Published November 26, 2005

The Bangladeshi army destroyed three Arakanese guerrillas camps in a special operation on the Bangladesh-Burma border on November 24, said several newspaper’s reports yesterday.
(more…)

Published November 23, 2005

Burmese civil servants who were transferred from Rangoon to the new capital at Kyappyay region near Pyinmana in central Burma, have been surrounded with barbed wires and guarded by armed soldiers, it has emerged.
(more…)

Published November 24, 2005

His is a narrative of profound grief. He lost his 26-year-old sister and three nephews in last December’s tsunami. This tragedy, ironically, entitles Maung Newe Win to an invitation to official events being planned to mark the disaster.
(more…)

Published November 25, 2005

New military intelligence agents who recently arrived at the new capital at Pyinmana in central Burma, summoned and interrogated local National League for Democracy (NLD) members and leaders on 24 November.
(more…)

Published November 25, 2005

Rangoon’s police force today confirmed it will dramatically increase its presence on the streets of Burma’s capital to combat rising crime.
(more…)

The extension of Aung San Suu Kyi’s house arrest leaves her party rudderless as the junta tries to transform the country’s politics with a new constitution and a new administrative capital, analysts said Monday.
(more…)

Burma’s National League for Democracy released a statement today criticizing the ruling military government for further extending the house arrest of party leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
(more…)

A major fire broke out at Badar and Tan Lane near Myanmar Information and Communication Technology (MICT) Park in Rangoon Hlaing Township, at about noon local time, and it is reported to be still raging on and has not died down.
(more…)

November 26, 2005: Much speculation has been generated by outsiders on the shift of Myanmar’s (Burma) capital from  Rangoon to Pyinmana. It has been attributed to soothsayers, a fear of US invasion, general paranoia, an  atavistic return to the Burmese monarchy and plain stupidity. (more…)

US President, George W. Bush, as leader of a democratic superpower, pressed his Asian counterparts on Burma during his tour of the region last week. He pointed out the Burmese junta’s failure to pass democratic reforms.
(more…)

Delegates from the ASEAN countries held a brainstorming session in Singapore Wednesday that focused on fighting drug abuse by helping each other.
(more…)

The Mae Sot Thai Labour Rights Protection Office awarded compensation today to a Burmese migrant worker injured on the job who has complained the amount he was given was dismal.
(more…)