Observers in Burma reacted with skepticism on Thursday to a statement by the country’s military government saying a North Korean ship that took shelter from a storm near Rangoon carried no suspicious cargo. (more…)

Burma’s Ministry of Home Affairs on Wednesday instructed social organizations prohibited last week from renewing their registrations to submit a letter of appeal if they wished to extend their registration, according to one Rangoon-based social group. (more…)

Two Burmese journalists working for the Japanese television news agency Nippon News Network (NNN) were released early last night after two nights and three days in detention. (more…)

Five villages that were home to more than 540 internally displaced Karen civilians have been fired on and burnt to the ground by the Burmese military. (more…)

May 23, Mae Sot: A rare spate of protests in Myanmar means the junta is very unlikely to release democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi when her latest year of house arrest expires this weekend, former political prisoners say. (more…)

U.S. Ambassador-designate to Indonesia Cameron Hume promised in front of the U.S. Senate on Tuesday to win Indonesia’s support for key U.S. foreign policy goals, including on the Iranian nuclear row, Middle East conflicts and Myanmar problems. (more…)

Criticism of the Burmese government move to Naypyidaw, which appeared on a Chinese embassy website, has been abruptly removed, informed sources in Rangoon told The Irrawaddy on Thursday. (more…)

Beijing: Liu Yunshan, head of the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, met here Thursday with Minister of Culture of Myanmar Major-General Kyi Aung. (more…)

May 23, Washington: U.S. first lady Laura Bush joined female senators on Wednesday as they launched a fresh campaign to pressure the military junta in Myanmar to release democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. (more…)

World powers suck up to the junta

The paranoia, secrecy and all-round villainy of the generals who run Myanmar (Burma) provide fertile ground for conspiracy theorists. (more…)

Burma Army troops have reportedly shot dead a deaf man, raped and murdered a woman, taken thousands of villagers for forced labour and displaced thousands more people in their continuing offensive against Karen civilians. (more…)