A proposal submitted to the People’s Parliament by Thingangyun township MP, Thein Nyunt, to reform the Prison’s act, has been rejected by the speaker of the house because the speaker said the Home Ministry was already drafting a revised Prisons Act. (more…)

Chiang Mai – Burma’s opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s first effort to publish an article in a Burmese journal has been censored, and she has withdrawn it from publication. The article was about her personal pilgrimage to Bagan, the ancient temple complex in central Burma. (more…)

New Delhi – After heavy flooding in Mandalay for more than a week, hundreds of flood victims are now living in monasteries and temporary camps and compounds in the city. (more…)

A union minister in a meeting with journalists on the 28 August, suggested that the government looks to maintain a fixed currency exchange rate at around 900-1000 Kyat for one US dollar. (more…)

“I feel sad when our fields have been changed into a lake for the purpose of breeding fish. Since that happened, I became a worker in another field,” said Aye Thein. The 64-year-old was forced to abandon his eight acres of land in 1999 after it was confiscated by the Myanmar Billion Group company in Audsu village of Nyaungdon Township, Irrawaddy Division. (more…)

Stigma and discrimination based on HIV status hampers the fight against AIDS in the region. (more…)

Change is said to be underway in Burma, as the country’s rulers appear to be relaxing their grip on the democratic opposition and taking a more conciliatory approach to their international critics. President Thein Sein has met pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi in Naypyidaw, and the UN human rights envoy to Burma, Tomás Ojea Quintana, recently concluded a rare visit to the country. Thein Sein has also reached out to exiles, urging them to return home, and Burma’s state-run media has stopped its ritual denunciation of the BBC, VOA and RFA. (more…)

Like others who are under the boots of an oppressive regime, the Burmese people are inspired by victory of arm struggle in Libya, where a longtime dictator has been forcibly removed from power. (more…)

The European Parliamentary Caucus on Burma calls upon the European Union to officially support a United Nations Commission of Inquiry into war crimes and crimes against humanity, and include its establishment in the United Nations General Assembly resolution on Burma. The Burma resolution is drafted by the EU. (more…)

The UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Burma says there is a contradiction between the promises of reform being made by the government and the reality of the situation. (more…)

Dr Maung Zarni is a visiting fellow at the London School of Economics (LSE) (more…)