Yangon – Myanmar booth on display at the 6th China-ASEAN trade fair being held in Nanning, capital of Southwest China’ Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, highlights the Muse border town as a town of facilitating trade and cooperation in levying tariff, companies attending the trade fair said on Thursday. (more…)

Hua Hin, Thailand – Southeast Asian governments raised pressure on military-ruled Myanmar on Thursday to hold “free and fair” elections next year, and urged the junta to free pro-democracy advocate Aung San Suu Kyi. (more…)

Yangon – Myanmar Prime Minister General Thein Sein left Nay Pyi Taw Thursday to attend the 15th Summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and related meetings in Hua Hin, Thailand, official sources from the new capital said. (more…)

State President Nguyen Minh Triet has voiced support for the defence ministries of Vietnam and Myanmar to sign a military agreement as a step toward gearing up military cooperation. (more…)

Washington, D.C. — A Republican lawmaker on Wednesday lashed out at US human rights activists, accusing them of going soft on President Barack Obama to curry favor with his social circle. (more…)

Washington, D.C. – The United States has warned that its bid to engage Myanmar will be “slow and painful” as it prepares to send a rare mission to a country a top official said was more mysterious than North Korea. (more…)

In recent days civil society groups have convened in Thailand to thrash out their own version of the official regional summit, starting tomorrow, and plain to see was the frustration at the gulf between the two. (more…)

In a major development the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) has said it is willing to surrender its weapons, without the need to transform to Border Guard Force (BGF), if the junta respects and accepts the spirit of the Panglong Agreement. (more…)

Officers of the Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA) who serve the organization in Karen State have been ordered back to their home villages in order to organize on behalf of Burma’s military government for the upcoming 2010 elections. (more…)

New Delhi – As part of its fact-finding mission, European Union diplomats last week met the Chairman of Burma’s military junta-backed civilian outfit, the Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA). (more…)

Acute shortage of food is staring over 250 displaced Karen people from Pha Pun region, northern Karen State in the face, sources in the region said. (more…)

Bangkok — There has been a sharp decline in timber illegally imported into China from Myanmar, but smugglers are still supplying Chinese companies that export the wood to Europe, America and throughout the world, an environmental watchdog agency said Wednesday. (more…)

Dhaka – The government of Bangladesh on Wednesday rejected media reports of mounting tension with Myanmar over Yangon’s bid to erect barbed-wire fencing on the border between the two countries. (more…)

Yangon – Myanmar’s biggest business organization of the Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry and diplomats of Sri Lanka have recently met here to seek ways of boosting bilateral trade and investment. (more…)

Yangon – A total of 95 private companies in Myanmar have taken part in teak and hardwood cultivation since the government opened up the sector to private enterprises four years ago, sources with the forestry department said on Wednesday. (more…)

Japanese engineering and construction company Nippon Steel Corporation has come from behind to score a significant victory for the contract to build a big compression platform for the Yetagun wet gas field off Burma. (more…)

Washington, D.C. — The United States said Wednesday it would send a rare mission to Myanmar in the coming weeks as it pursues engagement with the reclusive regime. (more…)

Washington, D.C. — A delegation of pro-democracy leaders met US Sen. Jim Webb to present their views on the current situation in Burma and their perspective on the way forward, in particular with regard to sanctions and restoration of democracy in Burma. (more…)

Qantas Airways Ltd has indicated it will reject calls for its 49 per cent-held budget arm Jetstar Asia to cease flight services to Burma. (more…)

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) will hold another summit in Hua Hin, Thailand, on Oct. 23-25, and once again, Burma is expected to be high on the agenda. (more…)