A court trial continued in Nyaungdon Township, Irrawaddy Division, on Monday involving two men charged with possessing a video of a private wedding of the daughter of Burma’s paramount leader Snr-Gen Than Shwe.
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Despite signing a pact that pledges not to use forced labour, Myanmar’s military junta is continuing to compel villagers to clear land mines, a Myanmar trade union said.
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A woman from Chan Aye Tharzan township in Mandalay Division was kicked by a drunk policeman on April 1, according to the police and local residents.
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An offensive by Myanmar pro-junta forces against ethnic minority Karen separatist rebels drove about 250 Karen civilians to flee into neighboring Thailand, officials said Sunday.
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KNU Battalion 101 abandoned its headquarters Monday after three days of skirmishes with splinter rebel groups, which forced hundreds of villagers from Karen State in Burma to flee to Thailand, border sources said on Monday.
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Traders hope skirmishes between the Burmese junta and ethnic minorities will not result in the border being closed / CNS generals unhappy with the PM are said to be considering whether to approach Anand Panyarachun / Minister Paiboon is working very hard these days, trying to solve many social problems, the Bangkok Post reports.
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India has lost the match to China for getting natural gas from Myanmar. Despite India’s efforts at pampering the ruling junta with increased military aid, Yangon has chosen Beijing over New Delhi for selling the gas to come out of the two undersea fields where two Indian state-owned firms together hold 30% equity. (more…)

According to the Xinhua News Agency, the Myanmar State Peace and Development Council (SDPC) has passed a new law aimed at expanding private healthcare services. The new law lays down guidelines for the running of private clinics, private hospitals, nursing homes, mobile healthcare services and home maternity services. The law, published in the official New Light of Myanmar newspaper, also gives the government the authority to form a central body to determine private healthcare-service policy, which will be chaired by the Minister of Health. (more…)

North Korean Vice-Foreign Minister Kim Young-Il is scheduled to call on Burma later this month in order to conduct talks with Burmese officials regarding the normalization of relations between the two internationally ostracized countries.
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The Burmese regime has signed a memorandum of understanding with two Chinese firms to build a hydropower plant on the Salween River in northeastern Burma, according to newspaper reports.
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Myanmar’s military government has met with a top UN humanitarian official in their new administrative capital Naypyidaw to discuss cooperation with the world body, official media said Saturday.
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Chronic power shortages in Myanmar are leaving cities in the former Burma shrouded in almost permanent blackout, driving its citizens to despair and crippling an economy reeling from decades of military misrule.
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