On Friday in the Burmese capital of Naypyidaw, Aung San Suu Kyi held a meeting with President Thein Sein of the military-controlled quasi-civilian government, under the portrait of her martyred father U Aung San  (How his portrait all of a sudden adorns the walls of Presidential office is a story for another day). At that time, the regime was also holding a three-day national workshop on poverty reduction. (more…)

Washington, D.C. – There are around 12 million people worldwide who lack citizenship and basic rights in the country in which they live. This stateless status often keeps children from attending school and condemns families to poverty. And it can be particularly hard on women – a fact that I had reinforced to me on a recent trip to Malaysia. (more…)

In her latest weekly conversation with listeners, Aung San Suu Kyi says mutual respect among Burmese ethnic groups is key to national unity. (more…)

Naypyidaw – A UN rights envoy arrived in Myanmar on Sunday for the first time in more than a year for talks with senior government officials, amid signs the regime is seeking to engage its critics. (more…)

Burma’s pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi met President Thein Sein and other government officials over the weekend, but family members of more than 2,000 political prisoners remain in the dark over whether their loved ones will soon be freed. (more…)

Naypyitaw, Myanmar — Myanmar’s president says his government is trying to ease tensions between political factions and reach out for better relations with the country’s numerous ethnic groups. (more…)

Nay Pyi Taw – President U Thein Sein received Daw Aung San Suu Kyi at his office in the Presidential Residence at 4 p.m today. Frankly, President U Thein Sein explained measures of the government for national interests. The President and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi tried to find out potential common grounds to cooperate in the interests of the nation and the people putting aside different views.  – MNA

New Delhi – Because of a recent speech by Burma’s president inviting citizens living abroad to return home to help the country develop, refugees in Thailand and Malaysia are concerned that Thailand and Malaysia will change their refugee policies. (more…)

The China National Petroleum Company (CNPC) has held ceremony in the city of Mandalay last week to celebrate the commencement of welding on the Burmese section of the Shwe gas pipeline as locals continue to complain of land confiscations. (more…)

THE government said last week that if and when the national exchange rate is unified – and an exchange rate set – the Foreign Exchange Certificate (FEC) will be abandoned. (more…)

Rohingya asylum seekers in detention in the Indian Andaman islands have alleged shocking abuse at the hands of Thai authorities earlier this year, in a repeat of treatment that Rohingya asylum seekers were subjected to in 2009, and that Thai authorities claimed to have stopped. (more…)

Singapore – UNLIKE typical newlyweds, Mr Myint Zaw Htoo and Ms Ei Ei Mon will not be leaving for a honeymoon. Neither are they planning to have children or even to live together any time soon. (more…)

Kuala Lumpur – Akhbar and his family fled a perilous existence in Afghanistan for an uncertain life in Malaysia and now dream of a better future in Australia under a controversial refugee swap deal. (more…)

Myanmar politics continues to evolve, but doubts remain as to how far that will go. (more…)

The broad smile on her face translated as more than just an indication that she was pleased to be there. Moreover, the “VVIP” reception she received and the queue of powerful ministers, tycoons and economists that lined up to speak to her spoke volumes. (more…)

Instances of disagreement and discontent among second-tier generals in the Burmese army have surfaced increasingly in the past few months. In fact, ever since the Saffron Revolution of September 2007, the military top brass have courted two different approaches in tackling the country’s problems. Those with a more dovish or liberal attitude have supported dialogue while hardliners are invariably content to solve issues with force and violence. (more…)

Friday’s hour-long meeting between the leader of Burma’s outlawed pro-democracy movement, Aung San Suu Kyi, and the country’s new president, Thein Sein, is one of a number of signs the 50-year-old military regime is giving that it is ready to reform. (more…)

Ethnic people of Burma are having a hard time. Burma Army soldiers are targeting women in Kachin and Shan State for rape. Villagers are used as forced labour. Development projects mean forced relocation and slave labour. Half a million ethnic people are displaced in eastern Burma. Village schools have been burnt, healthcare is non-existent, farmlands are destroyed and more than two million Burmese have left to become economic migrants in Thailand. On top of all this, Thailand is now talking about closing the refugee camps and returning 144,000 people to an unsafe future back in Burma – landmines, little work and mass displacement. (more…)

Nay Pyi Daw – Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi met the country’s new civilian president for the first time on Friday, in the latest sign the regime is reaching out to its opponents. (more…)

Members of the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC), an alliance of ethnic armed groups, have rejected an offer from the Burmese government to enter into one-on-one ceasefire talks, insisting that negotiations must take place between the regime and the UNFC. (more…)