Four students who were arrested in connection with the September demonstrations are to be charged with six offences which could result in over twelve years in prison. (more…)

The Burmese oppositions’ prospects of dialogue with the military government remain unlikely in the near future while the junta pushes ahead with its seven-step “Roadmap.” However, astrologists say 2008 will bring change to Burma. (more…)

The Burmese military government has ordered a ban on Buddhist dhamma talks and seminars in Rangoon, according to monks in the former capital. (more…)

While 15-year-old San Lin Aung stood waiting for a train home at Pyinmana railroad station, an army sergeant approached him and asked to see his ID. (more…)

Rangoon’s mayor, Brig-Gen Aung Thein Lin has announced a cutback in the number of restaurant and tea shop licenses to be issued in 2008, reportedly because he believes people waste too much time and money in them. (more…)

Burmese artists are facing greater difficulties in staging art exhibitions due to excessive bureaucracy, according to various artists in Rangoon. (more…)

The colourful Ahnyeint (variety dance) video compact disc (VCD) which captures the performance of four comedians which mock and ridicule the regime’s weak points and appalling governance, is popular among Rangoon residents and is being widely circulated. (more…)

Burma’s leading rock band Iron Cross is all set to perform in what is to be one of the biggest festivals marking the 60th anniversary of the formation of Kachin State slated for next month in Myit Kyi Na, an organizer of the festival said. (more…)

As the New Year approaches, Burma’s economy has undergone a year of skyrocketing commodity prices, touching a 50 percent inflation rate and putting even more stress on average citizens. (more…)

China’s Burma Trade Soars with ‘Cooperative Ties’ (more…)

An international corruption watchdog is calling for a complete ban on the purchase of gemstones from Myanmar. (more…)

Akyab, Arakan State: Higher authorities in Arakan State have banned people from buying rice to stock up for 2008. Farmers cannot sell rice to the public either, according to an order issued in December 2007. (more…)

The government keeps most of the country’s mineral wealth from its citizens. Children toil alongside prospectors for bits of gold and jade, and resentment gleams dully below the surface. (more…)

Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) should have celebrated a triumphant 2007 for at least two reasons: it turned 40 this year, and it signed a legally-binding charter that will define its existence going forward (more…)

The political conflict in Burma has long been noted for its intractability. It is intractable not because it is irresolvable, but because it is resisting resolution. Of course, conflict in itself does not resist anything-people do. And the people of Burma know very well who the culprit is. (more…)

The plight of poor Burmese working in our country has been underscored by numerous reports in the local and foreign media. It makes sensational headlines, but that is all there is to it. (more…)

Recently the world’s attention has again been captured by Burma’s plight with another withered olive branch held out by its dictatorial regime. (more…)

Some months ago, Le Monde reported that a man in Russia had been jailed for an “excessive sense of justice.” Nikolay Skatchkov, the French newspaper said, had protested against the brutal treatment of demonstrators during 2006. Recalling Soviet days, police in Omsk sent him for six months of psychiatric treatment. (more…)

The US Senate passed the Block Burmese JADE (Junta’s Anti-Democratic Efforts) Act of 2007 [HR 3890 materials] Wednesday, a bill that would impose new economic sanctions and travel restrictions on leaders from Myanmar [JURIST news archive]. The bill is intended to push the military government to restore democratic rule. US Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE), one of the sponsors of the Senate version of the sanctions bill, praised the passage of the legislation [press release], which he described: (more…)

The generals who run Burma don’t like it when the joke’s on them, but political satire and humor are alive in military-ruled Burma. (more…)