Snr-Gen Than Shwe will remain the most powerful man in Burma even after he hands over his position of commander-in-chief of the armed forces to his successor, thanks to the creation of a new military council that is in effect the latest incarnation of the junta that has ruled the country for the past two decades.

(more…)

A Burma court refused bail Thursday for an Australian newspaper boss who is standing trial in a high-profile case that some have suggested stems from a business dispute. (more…)

Chiang Mai  – A new daily newspaper, called Myawaddy, likely to be another of the junta’s mouthpieces, will be launched on March 27, which marks the 66th Armed Forces Day in Burma. It will be the third state-run newspaper in Burma. (more…)

It was on Saturday, March 12, the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) based in Waingmaw Township in Kachin State forced Burmese Army troops out of its territory, said sources from both sides.  Eighteen Burmese soldiers, who entered the area of the  KIA’s Ngwa Lay post, in Lahpai Village, on the Stilwell Road, also Ledo Road between Sadung-Kambaiti, finally retreated  from the area after they were warned again and again by the KIA troops, quoting a local resident Kachin News Group (KNG) said. (more…)

Black market petrol prices in Yangon have risen by about 25 percent over the past month, sending prices outside the country’s economic capital soaring. (more…)

A proposal for Burma to develop a board of experienced medical professionals to improve the country’s woeful healthcare system has been rejected by parliament.

(more…)

Opium poppy cultivation in Myanmar has doubled over the past three years after a long period of decline. This is according to Meng Sutie, the director of the Yunnan Public Security Bureau, who was quoted last week in an article in China Daily’s English-language edition about drug trafficking between Myanmar and China. (more…)

Travellers could soon be able surf in Bali, shop in Singapore and eat spicy street food in Thailand before crossing into Cambodia and cruising the Mekong in Vietnam — all on a single tourist visa.

(more…)

The United Nations in Burma revealed a new strategic framework during the monthly meeting of the Humanitarian Partnership Group, prioritizing four key areas to be implemented in the period 2012-15, according to a press statement released by the Office of the UN Resident/ Humanitarian Coordinator in Myanmar [Burma]. (more…)

Yangon – As demonstrators from Tunis to Cairo to Tripoli wonder if their revolutions will succeed, Myanmar remains an unfortunate poster child for what happens when revolutions go wrong. With a population equal in size to the United Kingdom, and a per capita income of less than US$2 per day, Myanmar has suffered under military rule since 1962.

(more…)

Dr Josef Silverstein, Professor Emeritus at Rutgers University in New Jersey, has kept a firm eye on Burma for much of his 50-year academic career, spending a period as lecturer at the University of Mandalay. His publication record began in 1956 with an essay on the Burmese election of that year, which appeared in the Far Eastern Survey. He has published more than 50 scholarly articles and numerous essays in various newspapers and journals on issues related to Burma. Here he reflects on what changes, if any, have occured since Burma’s new parliament first sat, and whether ethnic minorities can begin to play bnigger role in Burma’s political future. (more…)

RANGOON—Since he was very young, inspired by one of his father’s science books, Thiha Aung always wanted to be a psychologist. During high school he obtained the highest marks which allowed him to enter a university of his choice. At the time though, his father lost his government job and Thiha Aung had to attend “distant learning” university instead. (more…)