Yangon – A rare white elephant has been captured in the jungles of northwestern Myanmar, a mostly Buddhist country where the animals are considered good omens, state media reported Tuesday. (more…)

Burmese media has been given minimum space for election related news recently, but starting next month the space will likely be further restricted by new censorship rules.
(more…)

Mae Sot—The Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), a proxy militia of the Burmese regime, has seen profits rise at its unofficial “immigration checkpoint” following Thailand’s recent crackdown on illegal migrant workers, according to a source close to the DKBA. (more…)

A police outpost stationed on the Sino-Burma border was said to have been attacked yesterday by Chinese villagers, according to local sources. (more…)

Teknaf, Bangladesh: Refugees have narrated how in the face of torture and harassment of Rohingyas by the army and Nasaka of Burma, left their homes for Bangladesh. “We don’t want to be refugees forever, and will go back to our homeland when the situation is favourable,” said a refugee leader from Kutupalong camp.   (more…)

Kyaukpru: Pressure from the Chinese is forcing Burmese military authorities to beef up security for oil and gas pipeline projects on Madae Island in Arakan State, said a police officer. (more…)

Following a visit by a South Korean delegation to Myanmar between 9 and 12 June the South Korean government announced that it has reached an agreement with Myanmar Oil & Gas Enterprise (MOGE) to jointly exploit two gas blocks–B-2, located onshore northern Myanmar, and A-7, located offshore the Arakan coast in the Bay of Bengal. Following the agreement it is believed that MOGE will allow South Korean firms to operate in the block. According to IHS Global Exploration and Production Service (GEPS), the B-2 block has a total area of 19,066 sq. km and is jointly operated by MOGE and Russia’s Silver Wave Energy. The last known activity was in March, when Silver Wave spudded the Shwe Pinle 3 exploration well. Block A-7 has a size of 8,224 sq. km in water depths of up to 2,000 metres in the Rakhine Basin. The block contains one dry well drilled in 1976, although it is believed to have significant potential for hydrocarbons. (more…)

Like many overseas students, Zin Mon Aye hoped to parlay her accounting degree into permanent residency. But her days in Australia were numbered once officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade learned she was on campus at the University of Western Sydney. (more…)

A senior UN official on Monday urged Burma and Colombia to allow the UN to negotiate directly with rebel groups or guerrillas to secure the demobilisation of child soldiers.
(more…)

For more than 50 years, the ethnic resistance groups struggling against the Burmese military government have failed to achieve success. To identify the reasons for this failure we need to evaluate our weak points. (more…)

The Burmese people have had tough luck with elections. No elections they have had so far has been free, fair and inclusive. The elections, even in the so-called ‘‘constitutional era (1948-1962),’’ were little short of ‘‘procedural democracy’’ for two reasons—the civil war had disenfranchised much of the population and the Anti-Fascist People’s Freedom League (AFPFL) government had admittedly abused its power to win all the elections. (more…)

Bangkok – Myanmar’s military government issued pro-forma denials after al-Jazeera aired an investigative report by the Oslo-based Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) alleging that Myanmar is attempting to develop nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles. But as the international community weighs the evidence, the regime could soon face United Nations-imposed sanctions for its military dealings with North Korea. (more…)

The Burmese politicians, who were eager to run in the incoming elections hoping a political space, were in for a big shock when they saw the ‘Election Commission’s Directive No.2/2010 dated 21 June, 2010′ in the state’s daily papers. The analysts view the junta’s poll process as “Entanglements’ for there will be more and more complicated regulations before the unknown election date. (more…)