The detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has rejected food delivered to her home amid speculation that she is on a hunger strike to protest the government’s refusal to hold talks on democratic reforms. (more…)

Burma’s main opposition party – the National League for Democracy – on Monday lambasted the United Nations special envoy Ibrahim Gambari for praising the activities of the ‘Tripartite Core Group’ saying the diplomat failed to see beyond the junta’s projection of the situation in Burma. (more…)

Burmese military junta authorities arrested over 30 people in Sittwe and subjected them to interrogations and severe torture after two riot police personnel were killed by local youths during an altercation, said one among the arrested. (more…)

A planned demonstration by monks in the Arakan state capital Sittwe was disrupted by local authorities, according to Arakan National League for Democracy joint secretary U Than Hlaing. (more…)

The World Food Programme and the United Nations Development Programme have been working on a programme in Chin state to help victims of the food crisis. (more…)

Three Padaung were detained at a police station in Mae Hong Son on Sunday charged with involvement in the trafficking of eight other Padaung persons, a spokesperson for a Karenni anti-human trafficking group in Mae Hong Son told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday. (more…)

A decision by Burma’s military regime to allow consumers to buy up to 50 gallons of gasoline using Foreign Exchange Certificates (FECs) has dramatically boosted the value of the quasi-currency, according to business sources in Rangoon. (more…)

The Myanmar Airways International, one of the few international airlines in Burma will hire a Fokker-100 aircraft from AirBagan, another airline, for its Bangkok-Kuala Lumpur flights. (more…)

Over 200 more military trucks have arrived in the town of Ruili on the China-Burma border, the latest consignment of the 3500 trucks to be sent to the Burmese junta by the Chinese government. (more…)

Burmese opposition politicians and some political observers and commentators have strongly rejected Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej’s description of  Aung San Suu Kyi as a “political tool” of the West. (more…)

Current UN operations in Burma, despite varied outcomes, are worth solid support from the people of Burma whose needs are such any assistance, big or small, is a blessing, according to Brussels-based Burma activist Harn Yawnghwe. (more…)

Nyo Ohn Myint still remembers the moment, 20 years ago, when the legend of Aung San Suu Kyi began. He was there when she gave a stirring speech and became the symbol of hope for a country under the oppressive grip of military rule since 1962. (more…)

While the United Nations heaps praise on Myanmar’s ruling junta for its collaborative spirit in dealing with the Cyclone Nargis disaster, the military regime has made it clear that cooperation stops when it comes to UN attempts to mediate a political breakthrough in the country. (more…)

While there have been no tangible political improvements 20 years after the 8888 uprising, the thinking and ideas of the people have changed and there has been open and outspoken criticism of the government. (more…)

The Open Society Institute (OSI) announces a new fellowship to support journalists, activists, scholars, policy experts and others to work on projects that inspire public debate and shape policy. (more…)