Indian Standard Time – 7:30 p.m – Tha Ohn Computer University bars 84 students from exams 84 students were barred from appearing for their examinations by the Tha Ohn Computer University in Mandalay. The ostensible reason is that they did not have the mandatory 75 percent attendance. However, most of the 84 were earlier accused of assembling people to demonstrate. The students will lose an academic year.
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Soldiers in army-ruled Myanmar fired warning shots on  Wednesday to halt a protest march of 500 Buddhist monks, the first time troops have been called in against a rare two-week outbreak of dissent, a resident said.
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Defiant pro-democracy supporters staged a new protest Wednesday against Myanmar’s military government, despite a crackdown on dissent that has drawn sharp condemnation from US President George W. Bush.
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Bogalay National League for Democracy chairman U Aung Khin Bo was arrested this morning after staging a protest against high fuel and commodity prices with 14 other party members.
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In an ostensible move to broker peace with the Kachin Independence Organization, the Burmese military junta had summoned the Kachin peace mediator to Naypyitaw for discussions on the KIO’s 19-point proposal submitted at the recently concluded National Convention. (more…)

Akyab: All commanders of battalions under the Western Command have been recently ordered to listen to foreign-based Burmese broadcasting services, after a spate of protests against the increase in fuel prices broke out in Burma, said a senior army clerk in Buthidaung. (more…)

Leaflets demanding that U.S. and British diplomats stop their “blatant support” of pro-democracy protests in Myanmar were left in front of those countries’ embassies Wednesday, saying they should cease their interference or be driven out.
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A woman has been arrested at Myanmar’s famed Shwedagon pagoda for holding a prayer vigil to urge the military government to free democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, activists said Wednesday.
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The Burmese government has begun a census survey and household registration, issuing national identity cards in the “brown zones” controlled by ethnic ceasefire groups, according to local sources.
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Myanmar will introduce journalism degree course for the first time in the near future to encourage the country’s young generation to systematically master the skill of journalism in line with the developing media sector, local media reported Wednesday.
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In what appears to be an act of vendetta, 84 students were barred from appearing for their examinations by the Tha Ohn Computer University in Mandalay. The ostensible reason is that they did not have the mandatory 75 percent attendance. However, most of the 84 were earlier accused of assembling people to demonstrate. The students will lose an academic year.
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Desperate to post a victory in the ensuing general elections and legitimize
military rule in Burma the junta has subtly begun to choose people as its
candidates who are well-known and respected by local people.
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Myanmar has introduced an e-payment system on acquiring import license since the beginning of this month to replace payment in cash for the purpose, the local 7-Day News reported Wednesday.
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Eleven Burmese nationals were arrested by Malaysian authorities on Tuesday in Butterworth after anti-smuggling officers inspected a vessel they said was loading subsidized diesel fuel to be taken to Burma, where fuel prices have skyrocketed in recent weeks.
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Thailand’s biggest utility company vowed Wednesday to press ahead with its one-billion-dollar dam project in eastern Myanmar, despite an attack by ethnic rebels that killed a worker last weekend.
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The Golden Triangle may be almost opium free in the UN Office on Drugs and Crimes (UNODC’s), view, but areas along the Thai-Burma border appear to have no inkling of it, says a report that recently reached S.H.A.N.
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US President George W. Bush accused Myanmar’s military rulers Wednesday of “tyrannical” behaviour in cracking down on street protests, in his strongest comments yet since rallies rocked the regime.
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Burma’s National Convention to draft a new constitution was a “total sham” and any political process without the participation of the National League of Democracy and Aung San Suu Kyi is “not legitimate,” a US State Department spokesman said on Tuesday.
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The spate of protests across Burma by disgruntled people, sore over the near unprecedented rise in petroleum prices, has found extensive support from several groups of Burmese people in exile.  The latter have appealed to the international community to reach out and help people in the beleaguered country.
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First lady Laura Bush waded into international diplomacy on Wednesday by calling for the United Nations to step up pressure on Myanmar over human rights with a resolution, and said she hoped China would join in.
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