Bangkok— Myanmar’s military government allowed Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader of the country’s beleaguered democracy movement, to hold a rare meeting with foreign diplomats on Friday as part of what appears to be early but tentative signs of a détente between the junta and Western governments. (more…)

Yangon – Aung San Suu Kyi’s opposition party is hoping the pro-democracy leader will soon meet with Myanmar’s junta chief after signs of a resumed dialogue between the two sides, a spokesman said Friday. (more…)

More than half of funds allocated to Burma in 2007 by a United Nations body went unmonitored, according to an internal audit report now being presented to a UN budgetary panel. (more…)

The Chairman of Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS), the political arm of the Shan State Army (SSA) ‘South’ Colonel Yawd Serk said the current ruling military junta, the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), cannot be called the Government of the Union of Burma because the 1947 union constitution ratified by all nationalities had already been overthrown. (more…)

Released after being incarcerated for 16 days in Burma’s notorious Aung Thapyay interrogation center in Rangoon last month, Toe Aung decided to leave the country, fearing he would be rearrested. (more…)

Burmese authorities are cracking down on illegal businesses in Rangoon such as brothels, massage parlors and karaoke clubs, following the ouster of the former Rangoon Division police chief over alleged corruption and misuse of power. (more…)

Washington, D.C. — A senior Myanmar official, likely the prime minister, will be at President Barack Obama’s talks next month with Southeast Asian nations, US officials said, after earlier suggesting leaders from the military state would not attend. (more…)

Burma’s redrafted 2008 constitution provides impunity for human rights abuses and should not be the bedrock for elections next year, a damning report has claimed. (more…)

Saskatoon, Canada — Nay Myo Hein and his common-law wife couldn’t sleep Friday night. The Saskatoon man was scheduled for deportation to his native Myanmar, also known as Burma, this week. (more…)

Earlier this morning, I had the honour of being the first British ambassador to have a meeting with Aung San Suu Kyi since April 2003. The venue was the government state guest house in Rangoon. (more…)

The Obama administration recently announced the results of its long-awaited Burma policy review. On the face of it the outcome is sound. The United States will maintain existing sanctions on Burma’s brutal regime, while attempting a dialogue with the generals. The combination of engagement plus pressure is precisely the package long advocated by Burma’s democracy movement and its jailed leader, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. Whether team Obama has the conviction and fortitude for successful negotiations is an open question. (more…)

Burma’s Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi is not a saint; she is more than a saint. (more…)