Burma’s opposition party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), said it would continue to support targeted sanctions against the country’s ruling regime while the party is reviewing other trade sanctions, according to a senior party official. (more…)

New Delhi – The Ministry of Industry (1) forcibly evicted families from a three-storey apartment block at 33rd Street in Kyauktada Township in Rangoon on Tuesday, according to area residents. (more…)

The 1000-plus MPs preparing for the first session of parliament on 31 January have been carefully instructed in what to wear, and what not to bring. (more…)

A young reporter arrested following the Rangoon bombings in April last year and sentenced to eight years in prison is being tortured on a daily basis, a prison source claims. (more…)

Bangkok – What one of the world’s most repressive dictatorships could not silence, the global recession and shifting donor policies finally did. The Irrawaddy, considered the most influential English-language magazine covering events in military-ruled Burma, indefinitely suspended publication of its print edition this month because of financial difficulties. “It is a sad and painful decision, but we must be realistic,” Aung Zaw, the founder and editor, tells TIME. He vowed to press ahead with the magazine’s growing website, but added that it has been a struggle to increase revenues from online publishing. (more…)

Mae Sot—During the three-hour bus journey from Mae Sot to Umpiem refugee camp there are at least five checkpoints. For Myat Thint this is a problem. He tried to avoid eye contact with the police as they circled the taxis demanding papers. (more…)

Chinese firm awarded contract to rebuild Stilwell Road, fallen into disrepair since its completion in 1945. (more…)

Bangkok – Foreign ministers from the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) say economic sanctions against Burma should be lifted now that the military has held national elections and released opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi from detention. But rights groups say lifting sanctions may be premature.   (more…)

Few were expecting any surprises from the ASEAN Ministerial Retreat in Lombok over the weekend. So when news emerged that the 10-member group was urging an easing of sanctions against Myanmar, we found it rather shocking, if not altogether disturbing. (more…)

The release of Aung San Suu Kyi and the holding of an election in November 2010 constitute new reasons to consider lifting international sanctions against Burma, according to opponents of the sanctions policy, who argue that these recent moves show that the ruling military regime is now more open and the country is taking small steps towards democracy. (more…)

The Southeast Asian organisation has finally found the will to reflect on Myanmar. The call on the part of ASEAN foreign ministers to lift sanctions against Yangon must have come after serious deliberations. (more…)

Many observers, including myself, were shocked when Kim Aris received a visa to enter Burma and visit his mother, the famous leader Aung San Suu Kyi. The regime let him into the country on November 23, 2010, ten days after Mrs. Suu Kyi had been released from house arrest. A day later, I was shocked again: anyone could watch the historic reunion on YouTube. Amazingly, some of the videos were made and posted independently by Burmese people. (more…)

Political leaders much talked about in their own time are, with a few notable exceptions, largely forgotten by history. (more…)