YANGON, Myanmar — Myanmar said Monday that a long-awaited election law was complete, paving the way for the country’s first elections in two decades, a major step toward what the junta bills as its route toward democratic rule. (more…)

Yangon, Myanmar — A Cameroon football player who sought refuge at the French Embassy in Myanmar’s main city has been sentenced to nine years in prison on charges of forging U.S. currency, a newspaper said Monday. (more…)

A rights group has called on Thailand to investigate the use of lethal force by Thai soldiers against Burmese migrants, allegedly resulting in the deaths of three children. (more…)

Yangon, Myanmar — Myanmar’s military government has quietly begun the largest sell-off of state assets in the country’s history, including more than 100 government buildings, port facilities and a large stake in the national airline, diplomats and businessmen here say. (more…)

In the latest escalation of labor tensions in Burma, around 4,000 factory workers at an industrial estate  on the outskirts of Rangoon staged a sit-in on Saturday to demand better pay, according to sources in the area. (more…)

Burma’s official media reported Saturday that troops confiscated grenades and other weapons from a border hide-out used by suspected drug traffickers, after an earlier gunbattle killed 13 policemen and members of their patrol. (more…)

Rangoon – Burma has put in a bid to host the South-East Asian Games (SEA Games) of 2013 at the military’s new capital of Naypyitaw, media reports said Monday. (more…)

United Nation – U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Monday he sent a letter to Myanmar’s junta chief to voice concern about the credibility of this year’s nationwide election, the country’s first in 20 years. (more…)

Washington — When Aye Chan attends the Academy Awards in Los Angeles on Sunday, it will be for his role as a director – not of a movie but of the exiled Burmese news agency that is the subject of one of this year’s Best Documentary nominees. (more…)

Australian women should never settle for anything less than full equality and equal pay for equal work. (more…)

On the occasion of Monday’s International Women’s Day, it’s perhaps timely to ask whether any of Burma’s governments has ever respected the right of women to participate in the country’s affairs, especially in politics and governments. The answer is “no.”   (more…)

Saskatoon, Canada – The 3rd Burma Forum Canada was successfully held from March 6 to 7, 2010 in Saskatoon, Canada. More than 50 Burmese organizational representatives including ethnic nationalities across Canada and representatives from National Coalition Government of Union of Burma (NCGUB), the Burmese government in exile, Ethnic Nationalities Council (ENC) and Euro-Burma Office (EBO) participated. A wide range of Burma-related issues such as international polices towards Burma, analysis on 2010 elections and possible scenarios, and the role of ethnic nationalities in the political process in Burma were discussed. The Forum participants unanimously agreed to announce the following: (more…)

US assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, Kurt Campbell, has spearheaded the US government’s shift towards engagement with the Burmese regime, and is one of only a handful of foreign diplomats to have met with Aung San Suu Kyi since 2003. (more…)

Ha Noi – ASEAN will accelerate aid delivery to Myanmar’s Cyclone-Nargis affected population and hand over the coordination structure for post-Nargis recovery efforts to the Government of Myanmar as it prepares to complete its humanitarian operations in the country in July 2010. The decision was made at the 7th Meeting of the ASEAN Humanitarian Task Force (AHTF) held in Ha Noi today. (more…)