Permission given by the Burmese government to opposition figureheads to attend the annual Martyrs’ Day ceremony in Rangoon will prove to be beneficial for both sides of the political spectrum in Burma, Aung San Suu Kyi has said. (more…)

The defection of two senior officials from the Burmese embassy in Washington, DC earlier this month may have been linked to a high-profile visit to Burma by US Senator John McCain in June. (more…)

Chiang Mai – Seven Burmese soldiers including a captain in Infantry Unit No. 21 under the Northern Command have been captured by the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO). (more…)

The fresh and fierce fighting in Burma’s Kachin and Shan states is a signal that Burma is on the verge of a civil war that may ultimately involve a large percentage of the country’s ethnic armed groups. (more…)

Bangkok — Thai rescuers were hunting Wednesday for an army helicopter with nine people aboard that went missing during a mission to retrieve five bodies from a previous crash, a military spokesman said. (more…)

Cox’sbazar: Bangladesh stepped up checking on Burmese cross-border trading and passenger boats in a move to stop narcotic trafficking from Burma, according to the Burmese traders. (more…)

Private banks in Myanmar are set to issue bank cards as soon as the Central Bank approves the scheme. Although only the ATM (automatic teller machines) cards are to be issued in the first phase, arrangements are underway to provide services for credit cards, debit cards and smart carts, according to the sources in the banking industry. (more…)

Myanmar and Germany will cooperate in upgrading ports and airports of Myanmar aimed at raising freight handling capacity of the country, the local Pyi Myanmar News reported Tuesday. (more…)

Chennai: Against the backdrop of China’s increased assertiveness in East Asia, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Wednesday pitched for a bigger role for India and reminded New Delhi of “its duty” to speak out against rights violations in Myanmar. (more…)

Chiang Mai – Thailand currently has more than 1.45 million legal Burmese migrant workers, but an estimated 500,000 illegal Burmese workers did not register for work permits in the recent round that has just concluded, according to experts. (more…)

Legislative loopholes hinder Australia’s capacity to prosecute war criminals. (more…)

While doubts are now being levelled at recent claims made by a Burmese man that he executed 24 people whilst working as an undercover agent in Burma, his story nevertheless raises an interesting issue: anyone who has studied institutionalised abuse and the corruption of power in dictatorial states must have asked themselves whether, had they been born into such a society, they would end up on the ‘right’ side of the moral spectrum. While the hope is certainly there, a realist would answer that no guarantee can be given – our environment heavily influences our development as humans, and when that environment is debased, our perceptions of what is ‘good’ and what is ‘bad’ are distorted, even reversed, creating the potential for inhumane acts to be normalised. (more…)

Burma Rivers Network reveals that the China Power Investment Corporation is ignoring the advice of its own impact assessment in pushing ahead with construction of the 500-foot Myitsone Dam in northern Burma. (more…)

Since July 11, fierce fighting has begun in Shan State between Shan State Army-North (SSA-N) and government troops. The battle lines has moved closer to the headquarters of the Shan State Progressive Party (SSPP), the political wing of the SSA-N, and thousands of villagers have fled for safety. Mizzima reporter Kyaw Kha interviewed SSPP Central Committee member Major Sai Hla on the current situation. (more…)