United Nations officials say special envoy Tomas Quintana spoke with political prisoners at Burma’s notorious Insein Prison on Wednesday, ahead of what he described as a “very productive” meeting with pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. (more…)

Yangon — Myanmar’s democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi said Wednesday she believes the country’s army-backed president wants “real positive change” amid warmer relations between the regime and its most famous critic. (more…)

A group of lawyers who had their licenses revoked under the previous military government for being politically active are preparing to hold a press conference tomorrow to explain a legal challenge they are planning to regain the licenses. (more…)

Naypyidaw — A trusted disciple of Snr-Gen Than Shwe, the former dictator who is still believed to wield ultimate power over Burma’s new government, has reportedly been appointed to lead the country’s powerful military intelligence unit. (more…)

New Delhi – Eight political parties that contested in the 1990 general election have sent a letter citing four demands to UN special rapporteur for human rights in Burma Tomas Ojea Quintana. (more…)

Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – Because of a grammatical error in Burmese in a headline that said, “President Aung San Suu Kyi meets,” the Press Scrutiny and Registration Division (PSRD) has issued a warning to True News (aka) the Thitsar Journal, said a PSRD official.  The error appeared on the publication’s cover. (more…)

High gold prices have prompted many Burmese migrant workers in Thailand to sell gold they brought with them from their home country, hoping for a handsome profit, but the gold shops here say the Burmese gold is of low purity. (more…)

The Malaysia United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is accused of betraying refugees by conspiring with Putrajaya Immigration Office to take their fingerprints and send them back to their own countries, it has been claimed. (more…)

International investors are lining up to get into Burma, but the political situation there must improve before any legitimacy can be conferred. (more…)

Foreign Secretary of Bangladesh Mijarul Quayes will be paying a visit to Myanmar to meet his counterpart on August 24 for two days to discuss bilateral and regional issues. The last meeting at the foreign secretary level took place in Dhaka on December 28, 2009. The trip is welcomed. (more…)

Discussions relating to the release of political prisoners and the Burmese army’s human rights abuses in ethnic areas will be prioritized at an upcoming meeting between a UN human rights envoy and the opposition party, National League for Democracy (NLD), said party spokesman Nyan Win. (more…)

Burma’s ethnic armed groups say they are worried that recent moves by the country’s government to reach out to pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and exiled Burmese dissidents could put ethnic conflicts on the back burner and create divisions between mainstream political players and long-marginalized minorities. (more…)

Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi at the National League for Democracy’s (NLD) executive meeting yesterday spoke positively of the beginning of a co-operation process with the government. (more…)

A Vehicle convey carrying the Karen State Minister, Major General Zaw Min and Director of the People’s Militias and Border Forces Directorate Major General Maung Maung Ohn were ambushed on their way back from a Border Guard Force (BGF) one year anniversary celebration in Myawaddy township on 20 August. (more…)

Bangkok – UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon welcomed talks between Myanmar’s president and democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, calling on both sides to build on the tentative improvement in relations. (more…)

New Delhi – The dollar price fell to a record low of 680 kyat on Monday on the foreign currency exchange market, further hurting Burma’s export industry. (more…)

Chiang Mai – In reply to an MP’s question in the Burmese Lower House of Parliament, Health Minister Dr. Pe Thet Khin said that his department received a very small health budget––about 43 percent of its essential needs. (more…)

Many people from neighbouring countries, who believe that work in Thailand is the ticket to a better life, pay to be smuggled here, oblivious to the risks of human trafficking. (more…)

Washington—United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and a top US lawmaker welcomed last week’s meeting between Burma’s pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and President Thein Sein and expressed hope that it would pave the way towards a real representative democracy in the country. (more…)

London – Rejected by the countries they call home and denied the most basic of rights, stateless people live in a shadowy limbo — in the words of one such person, like being “between the earth and the sky”. (more…)