Child labor has become widespread throughout the cyclone-ravaged Irrawaddy delta, according to sources in the region. (more…)

The pro-government organization – Union Solidarity and Development Association – in Burma’s western Chin state on Friday denied rumors that it will be changed into a political party to contest the ensuing 2010 general elections. (more…)

The chairman of Htantalan township Peace and Development Council in Chin state has been sacked after being accused of corruption by the local Union Solidarity and Development Association. (more…)

Myanmar official media Friday called on rural people to extensively extract bio-gas from animal waste to get sufficient electricity supply at low cost, replacing firewood. (more…)

Myanmar’s top junta leader has congratulated new US President Barack Obama on his inauguration, state media reported Friday in the first official reaction to him assuming office. (more…)

The bus rumbled to life, and Hsar Say took one last look at the only home he’d known for the past 20 years. The lime green rice paddies, the banana trees, the bamboo huts he shared with the other refugees – they were all part of his past. (more…)

The Thai government’s vow to crackdown on illegal migrants will not solve the country’s migrant problems, say human rights groups. (more…)

The ASEAN Cooperation Fund for Disaster Assistance received a US $ 50,000-donation from the Government of the Republic of the Philippines through the Philippine Embassy in Yangon, Myanmar on Thursday. (more…)

A senior official from Thailand’s foreign ministry is set to meet with ambassadors from neighbouring nations on Friday to discuss illegal immigration, a ministry spokesman told AFP. (more…)

Indonesia has denied requests by the United Nations refugee agency for access to 193 Myanmar boat people stranded in the westernmost province of Aceh, the foreign ministry said. (more…)

Thailand offered to host a conference concerning about Rohingya with its neighboring countries as soon as possible, Tharit Charungvat, spokesperson of Thailand Foreign Ministry said on Friday. (more…)

The special United Nations envoy tasked with promoting political reconciliation in Myanmar will visit the military-ruled country at the end of this month, a diplomat said. (more…)

The United Nation’s special envoy, Ibrahim Gambari will make another visit to Burma at the end of the month on what may be his final effort to broker talks between the military regime and the detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. (more…)

Even before the euphoria has died down, President Barack Obama moved almost with lighting speed on his first day in office to tackle the issue of Guantanamo Bay detention centre, which was seen as the right approach to restore the US’s lost moral posture. The prison in Cuba would be closed down within one year and the administration has suspended trials for suspects at Guantanamo for 120 days pending review. (more…)

Ceasefires that cannot be transformed into political settlements and a lasting peace are typical examples of protracted deadlocks. When neither party seems willing or able to resolve this situation, the deadlocks have the potential to trigger an escalation strategy in conflict. This is the point that the Burmese military and ceasefire ethnic groups have now reached. The question is what strategy options are available for both parties. (more…)