Apart from areas where there are still fighting, incidents of killings and rapes by the Burma Army have “noticeably reduced” but beatings and forced labor have worsened in many peaceful places, reports Shan Human Rights Foundation (SHRF) in its November report. (more…)

The presidents of Burma and Vietnam have pledged to increase annual bilateral trade to US $500 million by 2015. (more…)

China remains committed to its investments in Burma, and in particular would like to see the Monywa copper mine project continue in “a spirit of mutual cooperation,” a Chinese embassy spokesperson told Mizzima. (more…)

For Aung San Suu Kyi the democracy activist, the 25-year struggle against Myanmar’s former army rulers was a largely black-and-white affair – a clear fight for freedom against one of the world’s most oppressive regimes. (more…)

A group of about 50 protesters caught my attention on the way to visit a friend in Yangon. They were holding posters, loudly shouting slogans in unison in front of a white three-floor building, the headquarters of a local mining company. The Myanmese translator told me that judging from their slogans, some operations by the mine blocked a local road, and thus irritated the local villagers. (more…)

Four years after the disaster, Andrew Buncombe visits the inaccessible Irrawaddy Delta, where people have yet to fully recover from Nargis’ impact (more…)

The Ministry of Home Affairs is calling on citizens to report instances of bribery and corruption and has promised to protect those who speak up. (more…)