Friday, March 18th, 2011


Since Sunday, the ceasefire Shan State Army (SSA), better known as the SSA North (to differentiate it from the non-ceasefire SSA, commonly known as the SSA South) that had been under siege since last month, was attacked by an estimated 2,000 strong Burma Army units. (more…)

In an attempt to thaw the tension between them, National League for Democracy (NLD) leader Aung San Suu Kyi met with members of the party’s breakaway faction, the National Democratic Force (NDF), on Thursday despite the fact that their differing political standpoints were openly exposed in a recent meeting with European diplomats. (more…)

Burmese junta supremo Snr-Gen Than Shwe appeared in photographs in the state-run media on Friday alongside six leading officials in the military hierarchy, all of whom are expected by observers to remain with the State Supreme Council in the near future. (more…)

Begum Fatema was five years old when she and her family left her home in Arakan State and fled to Bangladesh 15 years ago because of brutal treatment by the Burmese Military.

(more…)

Residents of the Burmese border town of Myawaddy began fleeing the area on Thursday amid reports that a breakaway faction of the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), a former cease-fire armed group, is preparing to launch an offensive against Burmese troops based in the town.

(more…)

New Delhi– A 200 percent price rise has hit the Rangoon salt market as a result of unseasonably heavy rains that have damaged salt producing fields. (more…)

The Burmese junta has offered $US100,000 in assistance to victims of the devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan as state media declares the country free of radiation. (more…)

Chiang Mai – UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is still considering the appointment of a full-time replacement for the UN’s special envoy to Burma, his spokesperson said in New York on Thursday. The role is currently held on an interim basis by Ban’s chief of staff, the former Indian diplomat Vijay Nambiar, who took over the role more than a year ago. (more…)

Now that Burma’s new Parliament has been formed and we’ve all had a chance to witness the workings of this new legislative body in action, most Burmese are now thoroughly convinced that the country’s military supremo, Snr-Gen Than Shwe, has indeed handed over power—from his right hand to his left hand. (more…)

News Analysis – Twenty armed groups are now operating in Shan State, 53 years after the Shan started an armed resistance movement against the Burmese regime. (more…)