The poem appeared in a Burmese celebrity gossip magazine. The Burmese authorities have arrested a well known poet, who published a love poem with a hidden message criticising the country’s military leader. Poet Saw Wai’s work – titled February the Fourteenth – was published in a Rangoon magazine, The Love Journal. (more…)

After witnessing the plight of survivors of a devastating fire in Hlaing Township, Rangoon, in November 2005, Aung Myo Thu decided to dedicate his life to helping people in need. (more…)

Taxi drivers in Rangoon are complaining that an official order to fix meters to their vehicles will cut deeply into their already meager earnings. (more…)

Farmlands in Taung-ngu and Pha-pon disctricts in Karen state have been destroyed by government troops as road construction and army camp expansion work begins in the area, locals said. (more…)

A seventeen-year-old Burmese girl, who escaped from human traffickers in the Thai border town of Mae Sot, said she had been sold to the traffickers by her mother. (more…)

Chinese trucks have been prohibited from making overnight stops on the Sino-Burma border trade entry point in Muse by the Burmese military junta. The order was issued by the Muse Peace and Development Council (PDC) on January 15. (more…)

Hundreds of children aged under five die from preventable diseases each day in military-ruled Burma, UN officials said. (more…)

A hospital run by the Burmese military government has stopped providing free medical services to HIV/AIDS sufferers, according to a person living with HIV/AIDS who was directly affected by the decision. (more…)

International Lesbians and Gays Association Asia (ILGA-ASIA) will march the first pride parade on 26 January 2008, the first time in history, a press release by ILGA-Asia stated. The parade is part of the 3rd International Lesbian and Gay Association (ILGA) Asia Regional Conference where more than 150 gay rights activists will gather from 24-28 January at the BP Chiang Mai City Hotel. (more…)

The latest round of diplomatic sparring between China and the United States over how best to deal with Burma has once again ended with little substantive agreement in approach. (more…)

Forty-six years of brutal and incompetent military rule have all but destroyed Burma’s education system. A proud culture of learning and literature has been replaced, critics say, with a ‘socialist’ education system which aims to churn out obedient, unthinking citizens, loyal to the ruling junta. (more…)

Three Burmese men were executed by the sword in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday after a housewife was tied up and threatened with a knife during a robbery at her home, the interior ministry said. (more…)

If Burmese people are ready for change in Burma, then we must question whether the exiled Burmese media is ready for change. The answer, I believe, should be a resounding “Yes!” (more…)