Former Singapore prime minister Goh Chok Tong visited Myanmar, officials said, amid international pressure on the military regime to halt its trial of democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi. (more…)

A committee on International Labor Standards has called on Burma’s military government to both amend existing legislation and address shortcomings in a new Constitution due to take effect next year in order to ensure the cessation of forced labor in the country. (more…)

The National League for Democracy (NLD) is faced with a new threat with the ruling junta having warned and restricted it from issuing statements, an executive member of the party said on Monday. (more…)

The Burmese junta has clamped down on the rising numbers of unlicensed radio owners in a move that media experts see as restriction on the freedom of media and access to pro-democracy broadcasts. (more…)

About 3,000 ethnic Karen villagers have reportedly fled from Burma into Thailand in recent days because of a new Burmese military offensive. (more…)

Another Burmese ceasefire group has rejected a government order to reassign its troops as border guards. (more…)

Sri Lankan President Mahindra Rajapakse will pay a three day visit to Burma in the near future to boost bilateral ties between the two countries, government sources said. (more…)

A forestry-related senior officials’ meeting of the Association of the Southeast Asian Nation (ASEAN) will be held in new capital of Nay Pyi Taw later this month, sources with the Forestry Department said yesterday. (more…)

Indonesia’s foreign minister on Monday expressed frustration with Myanmar’s lack of human rights and democracy but said the U.S. approach of harsh sanctions causes hardship among the country’s people. (more…)

In a functioning democracy facing a general election, Aung San Suu Kyi would be president-in-waiting of a country yearning for her leadership. A fair and free election would give her the leadership mandate she and her party won in 1990, only to have it annulled by a regime determined to hold on to power. (more…)

Thanks to support from China and Russia, Burma’s military regime has escaped harsh criticism at the U.N. Security Council. But this diplomatic deal could come under pressure following the release of a report commissioned by leading international jurists, accusing the regime of committing “war crimes.” (more…)

In the face of a wave of condemnation, Burma’s military leaders are bending over backwards to project an impression of openness. They have now allowed Aung San Suu Kyi’s defence team to appeal the decision of the trial judges to disallow three of the four witnesses her team had wanted to put on the stand. (more…)

A mishmash of disparate anti-government groups has not been able to persuade foreign powers to push for Aung San Suu Kyi’s freedom. (more…)