Students celebrate 1988 Burma protests with spray-paint campaign
Student activists at universities in Rangoon and Mandalay are literally painting the town red in a campaign to draw public attention to the 20th anniversary this Friday of the bloody crackdown on the country's biggest post-independence uprising, in August 1988 writes Edward Loxton for The First Post.… [continued]
Foreign governments act to recover missing aid millions
Parliamentarians from several countries, including Britain, are reported to be planning a joint initiative to demand reimbursement by Burma's ruling junta of tens of millions of dollars creamed off cyclone relief funds, writes Edward Loxton for The First Post. The UN, under intense questioning, has… [continued]
Burmese junta pockets millions in foreign aid currency scam
Burma’s generals are reportedly pocketing tens of millions of dollars of foreign aid intended for cyclone victims by manipulating the rate at which the money is exchanged into local currency, writes Edward Loxton for The First Post. The Burmese junta insists that US dollars and other hard currency entering… [continued]
Student ‘warriors’ group claims responsibility for bombings
Burmese military intelligence officers have stepped up security in Rangoon and other cities following the reappearance of a shadowy rebel movement, the Vigorous Burmese Student Warriors, writes Edward Loxton for The First Post. After keeping the authorities guessing about the identity of bombers who… [continued]
Outrage at Suu Kyi ‘flogging’ suggestion
A Burmese government-approved newspaper commentary saying opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi deserved to be "flogged" has sparked outrage among her supporters, inside and outside the country, writes Edward Loxton for The First Post. The commentary, carried by several official newspapers, including the regime mouthpiece, the New Light… [continued]
Fishing industry hampered by reports of fish feeding on corpses
United Nations observers who have visited the Irrawaddy delta say the fishing and farming sectors in what was once one of Asia's richest 'rice bowls' will probably take years to recover from the effects of Cyclone Nargis, writes Edward Loxton for The First Post. "The lack of a rapid government… [continued]
Zarganar arrested again after helping cyclone victims
Burmese authorities have again arrested the country's most popular comedian, Zarganar (right), and seized cash that he and other human rights activists had raised for victims of last month's cyclone, writes Edward Loxton for The First Post. Local government officials, supported by special branch police, raided… [continued]
Wealthy tycoon profits as families suffer
Thousands of Burmese cyclone survivors are being forcibly evicted from refugee camps and told to return to their devastated villages and reconstruct their homes and lives, writes Edward Loxton
for The First Post. Tented camps are being dismantled around the helpless families - including the showpiece camp visited by… [continued]
Sanctions hit Burmese junta’s meal ticket 
Shocking email sent by Burmese tycoon's son
Suu Kyi house arrest extended
The Burmese junta today extended indefinitely the five-year detention order under which the pro-democracy leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, is held at her home in Rangoon. The current order was due to expire this week, writes Edward Loxton for The First Post. The news emerged after plainclothes… [continued]
Burma bans top journalists in a further show of defiance
Burma barred entry on Sunday to author and journalist Bertil Lintner, who had been invited to accompany a Swedish government delegation on a visit to Rangoon and the Burmese capital, Naypyidaw, writes Edward Loxton for The First Post. Lintner, correspondent for the Swedish daily… [continued]
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