The Kachin Independence Army (KIA) is ready to stop fighting, but first it wants guarantees that any ceasefire proposal offered on behalf of the government will be respected by Burmese military commanders, according to officials from the group’s political wing. (more…)

Chiang Mai – The speaker of Burma’s Lower House of Parliament, Thura Shwe Mahn, will meet with MPs from the Rangoon Region Legislative Assembly on Friday. The purpose of the meeting was not announced. (more…)

Burmese refugees living in camps along the Thai border say they have been receiving less food and housing material since the EU reduced border aid earlier this year, triggering concerns about the extent to which already difficult conditions in the camps will be exacerbated. (more…)

Dhaka – The stateless Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh are subjected to systematic and severe violations of human rights. The Rohingya are among many stateless populations throughout the world – people who have no nationality. (more…)

Bangkok – Global production of opium fell 38 percent in 2010 as plant disease hit crops in top producer Afghanistan, but output in second-largest producer Myanmar jumped after a big increase in land under cultivation, the United Nations said on Thursday. (more…)

Kangar — Two children were among 21 Myanmar nationals detained by the Anti-Smuggling Unit (ASU) at a sugarcane plantation in Chuping here on Wednesday night. (more…)

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — A company’s multimillion-dollar lawsuit against a rights lawyer who complained about how it treated migrant workers in Malaysia could scare activists across the country into silence, an international rights group warned Thursday. (more…)

Chiang Mai – The United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday unanimously agreed to reappoint Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to a second five-year term, even as his office has yet to make serious inroads toward solving Burma’s ills. (more…)

A high-ranking delegation from the European Union wrapped up a fact-finding mission to Burma on Wednesday saying that the new government’s promises of reform must be matched by actions. (more…)

The recent armed conflict between the Kachin Independent Organization (KIO) and the Burmese army is predictable– it has been a long time in the making. (more…)