Heavy fighting broke out between Myanmar’s troops and Kachin ethnic rebels on Sunday, underlining the failure of a government cease-fire that had been announced for the weekend. (more…)

President Thein Sein on Tuesday agreed to amend Burma’s constitutional tribunal law after an escalating standoff with the country’s parliament over the legality of the proposed changes, according to state media. (more…)

Authorities briefly stopped activists during their more than 800-mile trek from Rangoon to the battlefields in Kachin state after entering Pegu division on Tuesday morning. (more…)

A coalition of Burma’s armed ethnic groups said it wants to meet with Burmese government peace negotiators in a foreign country early next month in order to negotiate an end to the Kachin conflict. (more…)

The government has stepped in to aid farmers suffering income loss from a poor rainy-season harvest. The Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation announced on January 14 a 20 percent increase in loans for the coming summer crop. (more…)

Taungup: A mother from Taungup in Arakan State has written a complaint to the International Labour Organization (ILO) requesting help to return her underage son who has been conscripted into the army after having been missing for over a year. (more…)

Burma’s annual international mining conference, the 2nd Myanmar Mining Summit, opened on Tuesday at Rangoon’s Sedona Hotel. (more…)

Myanmar’s newly released tourism statistics for 2012 show dramatic increases in visitor numbers and revenue from inbound travel. (more…)

Teknaf, Bangladesh: Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) recovered a plastic bag with 5580 Yaba tablets worth around Tk 1,700,000 from the Naf river in Teknaf Upazila of Cox’s Bazar on January 19, according to an official  of BGB. (more…)

An investigation by the BBC has revealed that Thai officials have been selling boat people from Burma to human traffickers. (more…)

The Myanmar government will start issuing temporary passports to its illegal workers in Thailand next month. (more…)

Myanmar President U Thein Sein met with visiting Deputy Chief of General Staff of the Chinese People ‘s Liberation Army Qi Jianguo and his party here Saturday. (more…)

Thousands of Muslim Rohingya fleeing sectarian violence in Burma’s Rakhine state have taken to the sea, ending up in Thailand, Malaysia and elsewhere. There are calls for a regional response to the humanitarian situation. (more…)

The China National Petroleum Corp. said it expects to start moving oil and natural gas through pipelines to Myanmar as early as June. (more…)

India’s Defense Minister A.K. Antony is visiting Burma on January 21-22 to meet his Burmese counterparts and discuss bilateral defense cooperation and “capacity-building” measures for Burma’s armed forces, according to Indian media. (more…)

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has welcomed the Government of Myanmar’s recent announcement of a cease-fire in its northern state of Kachin and has been following the various reports from the ground on its implementation, the spokesperson for the world body’s chief said today. (more…)

The president of the International Committee for the Red Cross said that Myanmar’s government has agreed that Red Cross aid workers should be allowed to operate freely in conflict zones, but it remains unclear when any will actually be able to travel to Kachin State, where fighting continues between rebels and the country’s military. (more…)

An agreement has been reached between an Iranian parliamentary delegation and Burmese officials to set up a refugee camp in Rakhine State exclusively for thousands of Rohingya Muslims, Iran’s media reported this weekend, citing the country’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee Deputy Chairman Mansour Haqiqatpour. (more…)

While the Kachin conflict raged on this weekend, hundreds of representatives of the international community met with Burma’s President Thein Sein in Naypyidaw to sign an agreement that outlines how international donor aid will flow into Burma in coming years. (more…)

In the South, a human drama is unfolding, around the flight of thousands of Rohingya from Myanmar. The past week has seen a surge of people coming into Thailand. The government is concerned, the military is angry, security officials have been diverted from their jobs. Now the United Nations is involved, and authorities will attempt to split hairs over whether the victims of this tragedy are migrants or refugees. (more…)