Bangkok — Thai authorities on Monday sought to unravel the mystery of the ultimate destination of a plane that landed in Bangkok with a huge cache of weapons from North Korea, exported in defiance of a U.N. embargo on arms from the communist state. (more…)

The Mekong media have strongly urged one of its partners, China media to report more stories about the circumstances of the upstream region of the Mekong River at a four- day long Mekong Media Forum held in Chiangmai, Thailand from 9-12 December. (more…)

From New York to Utah, refugees who can’t find a job, don’t have enough food or feel abandoned by caseworkers look for help — in Thailand. (more…)

Yangon – Myanmar’s junta this year paved the way for their unique vision of “discipline-flourishing democracy” by making sure that the country’s chief opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi was safely under detention, if not silenced. (more…)

Washington — A US citizen jailed in military-run Myanmar has gone on a hunger strike and is in deteriorating health, his overseas lawyer said Friday. (more…)

Two farmers involved in a land dispute in Burma which was taken up by the International Labour Organisation were yesterday given seven-year prison sentences. (more…)

Calcutta – Separatist rebels from north-east India, facing considerable heat in Bangladesh, are desperate to find a new sanctuary in the neighbourhood, officials say. (more…)

Handing over the chairmanship of BIMSTEC to Myanmar, India Friday said the seven-nation organisation is ‘a bridge’ linking South and Southeast Asia with India’s northeastern states and underlined the need for greater regional economic integration. (more…)

Aung-San-Suu-Kyi-300President Mohamed Nasheed has reiterated his call for the release of Burma’s Opposition Leader Aung San Suu Kyi. (more…)

Chiang Mai, Thailand – A promised election in military-ruled Burma next year will be held in a vastly different media culture compared to the last general election in 1990, Burmese journalists said at a regional media forum currently underway in this northern Thai city. (more…)

New Delhi – With several United Nations special envoys failing to facilitate a process of democratic change in Burma, the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon should now consider handling the matter personally instead of appointing or re-appointing envoys to represent him, a campaign group said. (more…)

Its brutal regime keeps this fascinating country isolated from the rest of the world. But does staying away help? (more…)

Washington – Today, the Government of Burma canceled American Nyi Nyi Aung’s trial date for unexplained “health reasons” and continues to deny the U.S. (more…)

Burma continues to be one of the world’s largest prisons for journalists, according to a media watchdog that warns of a global increase in the jailing of freelance media workers. (more…)

Gearing up for the junta declared 2010 elections in Burma, an ethnic Kachin political party has opened 10 branch offices in main cities in Kachin State, said party sources. (more…)

Yangon – Minister for Information Brig-Gen Kyaw Hsan met trainees of Journalism Course No. 3/2009 conducted by Myanmar Writers and Journalists Association at its hall on the second floor of Sarpay Beikman Building on Merchant Street, here, yesterday. (more…)

Burma’s 2010 elections will prolong poverty and violence against women and should not be supported by the international community, an exiled Burmese women’s rights group said. (more…)

Oslo — President Barack Obama says lasting peace requires human rights and economic opportunity for individuals, and sanctions against regimes that violate international rules. (more…)

New Delhi – On International Human Rights Day, 442 Members of Parliament from 29 countries on Thursday urged the United Nations Security Council to set up a commission of inquiry to investigate the Burmese military junta’s ‘Crimes against Humanity’. (more…)

As a tribute to freedom fighter Aung San Suu Kyi, an empty chair is kept open at each meeting of The Elders, a group of global leaders founded by Nelson Mandela to support peace and dialogue. Aung San Suu Kyi’s campaign for democracy in Burma led to her arrest by its military government, which has kept her detained for 14 of the past 20 years. She is the world’s only imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize recipient. (more…)