Yangon: A serial car thief in Myanmar who stole 11 vehicles in six months was only after the fuel, which is severely rationed in the military-run former Burma, a police source said on Tuesday. (more…)

Two customs officials were sentenced to 21 years in jail and sent to the notorious Insein prison last week for corruption, according to a report.
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Myanmar has opened a new international express mail service to link the new capital of Nay Pyi Taw and the second largest city of Mandalay with the outside world, said the local-language Myanmar Times pre-published on Wednesday.
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The Burmese Army killed three Chairmen of Village Peace and Development Council (VPDC) of Matupi and Mindat Townships , Southern Chin state, Burma last February. They were accused of helping the Chin National Army (CNA). Two others are still missing.
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Letters urging that ceasefire groups be disarmed have been distributed by an unknown group in Shan State early this month, according to residents.
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Local Thai authorities routinely deny the Padaung or ‘long-necks’ who live in three villages in Mae Hong Son province in northern Thailand the right to resettle to third countries, according to a US-based activist group.
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The troops of DKBA, Democratic Karen Buddhist Army, have continued attacks on KNU posts with the backing of Burmese military.
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Ethnic Karen ceasefire groups backed by the Burmese Army are gearing up to launch a fresh offensive on their rival, the Karen National Union’s outposts, according to sources in KNU.
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Contracted foreign investment in Myanmar has hit 14.4 billion U.S. dollars since the country opened to such investment in late 1988, according to the latest figures released by the Ministry of National Planning and Economic Development.
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AIDS among Burmese workers in Aizawl, Indo-Myanmar border is on the rise. Although last year’s report of the Samaritan Society, following blood tests, did not reveal the exact number of HIV positive people among 700 Burmese workers, the counselor of the society Mr. Zaw Thun said that the ratio of infected HIV people was 1 in 100.
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Burmese refugees and migrant workers in Malaysia live in perpetual fear of being arrested and deported. Over 2,000 Burmese have been arrested by RELA, the peoples’ volunteer corps, which conducted widespread raids.
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Historians suggest that the annual water festival now about to be celebrated in many countries of Southeast Asia, including Burma, dates back more than 900 years and is believed to be rooted in Hinduism. It takes the form of New Year celebrations centering on the day of the full moon of the 11th month of the Buddhist year, and is observed in Thailand, Burma, Cambodia, Laos and Xishuangbanna, in China’s southern Yunnan region.
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