Burma’s year is off to a grim start, thanks to the country’s ruling junta. (more…)

Delhi should be more clever about using its own values and role as a regional leader to press for political reform. (more…)

Burma Campaign UK sources have confirmed that Burmese army soldiers brutally killed a farmer in his local church in Kachin State.  However, there has been no proper investigation and no one has been arrested for the murder. Instead, the family members of the victim have been offered around £300 for the murder. (more…)

The New York Open Center announces a contemporary art exhibition focusing on the talent and creative motivations of the Burmese diaspora.  In a show organized and curated by the artists themselves, “Contemporary Burmese Art: Ideas and Ideals” will explore the modern landscape in which Burmese diaspora artists find themselves today.  The artwork, and their creators, will bridge the gap between tradition and creativity, between one homeland and another.  A roster of sixteen Burmese artists from across the United States have come together to jump-start a dialogue on creativity, censorship, tradition, modernity, “stranger-hood,” identity, and the irreverent boundary-shattering power of art.   (more…)

Yangon, Myanmar — Detained Myanmar pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Friday held her first meeting this year with the Cabinet official responsible for contact with her, as her party makes preparations for possible participation in elections. (more…)

Yangon – Myanmar’s main opposition party has injected some youth into its aging leadership, although the new recruits are all in their 60s and the ailing 92-year-old chairman keeps the top job. (more…)

Another woman will join the Burmese opposition party’s central committee after a major and unprecedented expansion was yesterday put into motion. (more…)

The majority of Burma’s electoral laws have been completed and will be rounded off in a matter of months, the Thai foreign minister reported after a meeting with his Burmese counterpart. (more…)

Nay Pyi Taw — The State Peace and Development Council has appointed Col Soe Aung of the Ministry of Defence as Director-General of Relief and Resettlement Department under the Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement on probation from the date he assumes charge of his duties. — MNA (more…)

Nearly 60,000 Burmese migrant workers in Thailand, whose migrant registration cards are due to expire on Jan 20, will be deported if they do not get work permits within the next few days or the Thai government quickly changes its policy to allow them to stay, according to leading right groups in Thailand.
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A zone commander-level meeting between Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) and Myanmar’s border guard Nasaka was held at Chakdhala frontier under Naikhyongchhari upazila of Bandarban district yesterday on the issue of erecting fence along border.Earlier, BDR lodged a protest with Nasaka for erecting fence adjacent to zero point along border ignoring the international boundary laws, BDR sources said.Combat of cross-border smuggling, continued intrusion of Rohingyas and maintenance of peace border also figured at the meeting.Nasaka handed over Azizul Haque and Noor Mohammad, two Bangladesh nationals to BDR. (more…)

Tokyo – Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada and his Thai counterpart Kasit Piromya agreed Friday that an ”open and fair” general election in Myanmar is important for the further development of Southeast Asian nations, according to the Japanese Foreign Ministry. (more…)

To try to remedy the country’s ill-managed agricultural economy, Burma’s leading outspoken economist unveiled a few economic reform proposals recently during a rare economic forum held in cooperation with UN-ESCAP in December. (more…)

During the recent meeting (8th and 9th January) in Dhaka, the delegations from Bangladesh and Myanmar have been able to agree on the method of delimitation of sea boundary. It is a very positive outcome. It is not only a big step forward to achieving a successful outcome but also demonstrates the determination of both countries to resolve the issue bilaterally. (more…)

Myanmar’s National League for Democracy (NLD) opposition party on Thursday announced an expansion of its central executive committee, weeks after Aung San Suu Kyi called for reforms.       (more…)

Several ethnic leaders elected in Burma’s 1990 election reaffirmed this week that they will not participate in the planned election this year without a review of the 2008 Constitutional and the release of all political prisoners—two major demands they have been pressing for since early last year. (more…)

Chiang Mai – News of the shooting in Pyi district, western Pegu division, Burma on Sunday evening has been denied by a military source from Naypyitaw, however, acknowledged that the situation was tense between infantry battalions under the command of Light Infantry Division 66 (LID 66) and Military Affairs Security (MAS). (more…)

The Burmese military junta is forcibly recruiting people from East Burma to form a people’s militia in Northeast Shan State, the area where the 4th brigade of the Kachin Independence Army is located, said a local source. (more…)

Officials of the Burmese junta reportedly raised the issues of illegal arms smuggling and anti-junta activities along the Sino-Burmese border at a border committee meeting with their Chinese counterparts, military sources said. (more…)

Danang, Vietnam (Reuters) – Myanmar will likely hold its long-awaited election in the second half of this year because the ruling junta is still crafting the legal framework for the vote, Thailand’s foreign minister said on Thursday. (more…)