In a narrow street in central Yangon, people push their way through a frenzied crowd to get a free plate food.
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A ceremony to mark international human rights day was held today at the house of a prominent activist in Kyi Myint Taing township, under the watch of officials.
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Leaders of the Union Solitary and Development Association (USDA) have been told by officials of the Rangoon Regional Command and Ministry of Home Affairs to be prepared for more pro-democracy uprisings, according to sources close to the USDA.
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To increase its stranglehold on Burma, the military junta is bent on snuffing out all opposition groups, particularly armed resistance ones, who are opposing its planned road map, an ethnic Karen armed rebel group said.
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The Burmese military government are destroying paddy fields and food stores in a dry season offensive against a Karen armed group and villagers living in Karen State and Pegu Division, according to Karen sources.
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A Buddhist monk from Rangoon’s Zathilaryama monastery, who took part in the September protests, fled from the manhunt launched by the Burmese military junta and arrived in Cox’s Bazaar, Bangladesh.
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Cox’s Bazaar , Bangladesh : The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has floated a tender on December 9 for Bangladeshi citizens to supply food-items to Burmese refugees, says our correspondent. (more…)

Chronically high inflation in military-ruled Burmahas soared to 35 per cent a year, the highest in Asia, while its economy is slowing because of the poor investment climate and business confidence, the International Monetary Fund has said in a new report.
In its annual evaluation of Burma’s energy-rich economy, the IMF called the Burmese economy’s medium-term outlook “poor”, forecasting slackening growth of 5.5 per cent this year, and 4 per cent next year. (more…)

A bilateral trade fair held on the border between Burma and China opened on Monday, attracting thousands of business and government participants, according to residents.
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The Myanmar Medical Association (MMA) will hold HIV/AIDS education fairs in Bago and Yangon next month to teach young people about the disease in interesting ways, said Dr Ne Win, the secretary of the association’s General Practitioners’ Society.
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Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today urged Myanmar’s authorities to step up their efforts towards democratization and the full respect of human rights, noting that the international community’s patience with the troubled South-East Asian nation is wearing thin.
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The House approved a bill Tuesday meant to stop Myanmar’s rubies and high- quality jade from entering the United States. The bill tightens already tough sanctions against a ruling military junta that killed peaceful pro-democracy protesters and Buddhist monks in September.
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A damning report on the Burmese regime’s crackdown on the September demonstrations, vigorously challenged by the junta, was being discussed by the newly-established UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on Tuesday.
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The UN Security Council Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict will soon recommend measures to protect children affected by armed conflicts in Burma and Burundi.
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A resolution has been moved in the US Congress to award Aung San Suu Kyi a Congressional Gold Medal-the highest US civilian award, which is bestowed only on the rarest of individuals, such as the Dalai Lama and Nelson Mandela.
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A five-member delegation of Burmese leaders-living in exile in Thailand-arrived Sunday on a two-week mission to the United States to lobby their cause, seek more support and resources to accelerate the pro-democracy movement inside Burma, and to counter the junta’s propaganda that only the military can keep the country united.
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US first lady Laura Bush on Monday called on Burma’s military junta to step aside if it cannot bring about a democratic transition.
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An opportunity will be wasted if the UN secretary-general does not visit the rogue state while in the area
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Far from the excitement surrounding Australia’s political changing of the guard in a vibrant democracy, a 62-year-old woman sits alone in her house, as she has for years. The telephone does not ring because calls are not allowed. The doorbell does not ring because most visitors are forbidden.
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International trade union and human rights organisations say international community must seize the opportunity now!
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