THE United States Senate foreign relations committee is working on two reports containing allegations by Myanmar migrants of extortion and threats of being turned over to human traffickers in southern Thailand if ransom demands were not met. (more…)

ONE DOES NOT have to be Nostradamus to predict that by next year the current Burmese junta leaders would be stronger and have a tighter grip over the country and its people, thanks to various efforts to break the current Burmese impasse. They all mean well, to rescue the Burmese people from the brutal and heartless regime, and in the past one year from the disastrous consequences brought by Cyclone Nargis. Somehow, their efforts have not produced the outcome they have in mind. (more…)

Extension of EU sanctions against the junta is a welcome move, but the offer of talks should stand if there is progress inside the country (more…)

“No news is good news.” For most, this means that a day without incident is a good day, indeed. But for journalists, it tends to mean that truly newsworthy stories are rarely “good news”: death, disease, disaster and downfall will always trump feel-good tales of triumph on the front page. (more…)

The Council adopted the following conclusions:

1. The Council reaffirms the European Union’s unwavering commitment to the people of Burma/Myanmar in achieving a peaceful transition to a legitimate civilian system of government, to fight poverty and to improve their social and economic conditions. The Council recognises that the political and socio-economic challenges facing the country can only be addressed through genuine dialogue with all stakeholders, including those from ethnic groups. The Council notes, however, that the authorities of Burma/Myanmar have still to take the steps necessary to make the planned 2010 elections a credible, transparent and inclusive process, based on international standards. It calls for the release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and all other political prisoners and detainees. (more…)

Satellite dishes that allow people to get international news and entertainment programs should be banned in Myanmar because foreign powers are using them to sow unrest and spread immorality, a state-run newspaper said Friday. (more…)

One of Burma’s most prominent political prisoners, the satirist Zarganar, is in failing health, according to his family. (more…)

A senior monk has expressed a desire for Mon political parties to participate in the elections to be held in Burma in 2010 so that the Mon community will have some representation in any future parliament. (more…)

A senior Wa official, who did not want his name divulged said the United Wa State Army (UWSA) is under pressure from Naypyidaw to respond to its demands to come under its wings. The group, however, has no reply for them until Naypyidaw answers its demands. (more…)

Fear of a bloody conflict has grown among the Mon public as the SPDC-sponsored general election draws near. After two clashes occurred during the traditional Songkran New Year, many civilians feel their eyes have been opened to the activities of a splinter group and the New Mon State Party (NMSP). (more…)

Myanmar will hold a monsoon- related biannual forum in the new capital of Nay Pyi Taw early next month, according to the Meteorology and Hydrology Department (MHD) Friday. (more…)

Thailand and Burma signed an agreement on Friday to combat human trafficking, especially of women and children — the first such pact between two countries, the official statement said. (more…)

Sources in Rangoon have confirmed that at least five people have died in an outbreak of diarrhea that hit Burma’s largest city just before the start of the Burmese New Year’s festival in mid-April. (more…)

EU foreign ministers are set on Monday to prolong sanctions against Myanmar, while expressing their readiness to ease them and hold high-level talks if there is “genuine progress”. (more…)

International experts on Burma’s human rights record are urging the Obama administration not to ease economic sanctions on the country’s military rulers as part of a policy review. They say the best way to promote democracy and human rights in Burma is to strengthen the sanctions and encourage other countries to increase pressure on the Burmese leadership. (more…)

South Korea has awarded its highest human rights award “Gwangju Prize for Human Rights” to Burma’s leading student activist Min Ko Naing, who is currently serving 65 years of imprisonment, for peacefully protesting in August 2007. (more…)

The ongoing abuses by the Burmese government against civilians is reaching a point whereby the junta could qualify for war crimes charges, said a former senior legal adviser to the International Criminal Court. (more…)

If Burma’s upcoming election in 2010 is free and fair, it can be predicted with certainty that the National League for Democracy (NLD) of Aung San Suu Kyi will win with no less than the 82 percent of the votes it secured in the 1990 poll. (more…)

The release of political prisoners is still the key to progress in Burma, Britain’s ambassador to the country, Mark Canning, told an audience during a panel discussion hosted by the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Thailand in Bangkok on Wednesday. (more…)

Local Weekly Journals in Rangoon said they have been prohibited from publishing follow-up news on a murder case that took place in Botahtaung Township of Rangoon in early April. (more…)