A referendum approving a new military-backed constitution for Myanmar has “washed away” the victory claimed by Aung San Suu Kyi’s opposition party in 1990 elections, state media said Tuesday. (more…)

Burma’s ruling junta has announced that the ‘emergency relief period is over’ and it is now focusing on reconstruction work, even as the international community and domestic aid workers are escalating their efforts to supply aid to cyclone victims. (more…)

Victims of Cyclone Nargis are growing impatient not only with the slow pace of aid into the devastated Irrawaddy delta, but also with the authorities’ failure to curb corruption in the handling of relief supplies. (more…)

Burmese medical relief workers in the cyclone-devastated Irrawaddy delta region report that restrictions applied by local government authorities and soaring prices for supplies are preventing them from helping all those who urgently need aid. (more…)

A one-month memorial commemorating the victims of Cyclone Nargis was held by the Human Rights Defenders and Promoters network in Irrawaddy’s Bassein and Bogalay townships yesterday. (more…)

Most schools reopened Monday in and around Yangon, despite the concerns of some teachers, parents and international aid groups about safety risks to students from damage caused by Tropical Cyclone Nargis. (more…)

Shan, Karen and Karenni groups have appealed to the international community to urgently grant much-needed funding for food provision to over 140,000 refugees living along the Burma-Thailand border. (more…)

More companies now have business links with Burma’s ruling military junta, according to pressure group Burma Campaign UK. (more…)

Myanmar’s biggest industrial zone of Hlaingtharya in Yangon, which was seriously destroyed in a recent severe cyclone storm, has almost resumed operation with 95 percent of the 800 factories going into production, the local weekly Pyi Myanmar reported Tuesday. (more…)

Southeast Asia’s main bloc can impose sanctions on members that flout its charter even though there is no formal provision for penalties, Malaysia’s leader said Tuesday. (more…)

Global financial institutes—-the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank, which had stopped providing loans to the Burmese regime for almost two decades, have said they would provide assistance for an assessment of the reconstruction needs of the country after Cyclone Nargis lashed Burma. (more…)

The Thai government shut down a donation center for cyclone victims in Burma on Monday due to ongoing anti-government protests, while Burmese refugees in Thailand face a shortage in funding. (more…)

Indonesia is preparing a plan to help the Burmese junta move toward democracy based on the Indonesian experience, The Australian newspaper reported on Monday. (more…)

The United Nations reports only about half of the 2.4 million survivors of Burma’s devastating Cyclone Nargis have received assistance. But, it says that aid is generally spotty and not enough. Lisa Schlein reports for VOA from Geneva. (more…)

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates accused the military leaders of Burma of “criminal neglect” on Sunday for their reluctance to accept international aid after Cyclone Nargis. Reports on the comments by the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Guardian, and Reuters all mentioned the “junta” without actually naming its members. Who is in the Burmese military junta, anyway? (more…)

US Pentagon chief Robert Gates was wrong to accuse Burma’s military rulers of being deaf and dumb of not allowing US warships with aid to Burma’s delta region. (more…)