Myanmar

A jailed U.S. citizen who was on hunger strike for more than a week in military-ruled Myanmar attended his trial Friday looking thin and weak, his lawyer said. Myanmar authorities accused Kyaw Zaw Lwin — also known as Nyi Nyi Aung — of entering Myanmar to stir up protests by Buddhist monks, who led pro-democracy demonstrations in Myanmar in 2007 that were brutally suppressed by the junta. Myanmar-born Kyaw Zaw Lwin was arrested on arrival at Yangon airport on Sept. 3 and was charged with... Read Full Story

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Seven people were killed and 11 injured when a bomb exploded in southeastern Myanmar, official media reported on Friday, blaming ethnic Karen separatists for the attack. The bomb went off late on Wednesday during New Year celebrations in Phapon, a town in Kayin State, which is predominantly Karen and is about 190 km (120 miles) northeast of Myanmar's biggest city, Yangon. "It is learnt that the time bomb was planted by KNU (Karen National Union) terrorist insurgent group... Read Full Story

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Hundreds of thousands of people are still living in makeshift homes 18 months after Cyclone Nargis tore into Myanmar's Irrawaddy delta, killing at least 140,000, the United Nations said Wednesday. International donors pledged a fresh $88 million for 17,800 new houses, 40 new schools and livelihood programs for 1 million people, but that won't be enough, the United Nations and the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations said. The money only covers 14 percent of... Read Full Story

At least 50 people are feared dead after a packed passenger ferry crashed into an oil barge in an area of Myanmar that was hit by a devastating cyclone last year, local officials said on Tuesday. The accident happened late Sunday when the wooden boat carrying nearly 180 passengers was travelling along the Ngawun river in the southern Irrawaddy Delta, the officials said. "The boat sank after colliding with an oil barge. We have recovered 34 bodies and there at least another 16 people missing... Read Full Story

The United States has protested to Myanmar's military government over the alleged mistreatment of an American citizen held on suspicion of inciting unrest, the US embassy in Yangon said Friday. Myanmar-born Kyaw Zaw Lwin, alias Nyi Nyi Aung, was detained on arrival at Yangon airport on September 3 but his arrest was only confirmed this week. Myanmar state media accused him on Thursday of plotting to stir up protests by Buddhist monks and of having links to groups behind a series of bombings... Read Full Story

Myanmar on Wednesday accused a Myanmar-born American who was secretly detained three weeks ago of seeking to incite political unrest. State television news said Kyaw Zaw Lwin confessed that he plotted with dissident groups outside the country, and accused him of being linked to several activists inside Myanmar who planned to set off bombs. It said authorities, acting on a tip-off, arrested Kyaw Zaw Lwin on Sept. 3 on his arrival at Yangon airport. Fellow activists reported his disappearance... Read Full Story

Australian budget airline Jetstar defended its flights into Myanmar on Monday after rights campaigners said the service was helping prop up the country's military regime. Jetstar defended its four weekly flights from Singapore to Yangon as a "positive for the people of Myanmar" and denied making payments to officials in the Southeast Asian country. Singapore-registered Jetstar Asia, a Jetstar affiliate, was one of eight companies named by Burma Campaign Australia -- which uses Myanmar's old... Read Full Story

China and other governments with lucrative business deals in Myanmar are ignoring massive corruption by its ruling military junta, a pro-democracy activist said Thursday. Ka Hsaw Wa said corruption has become the second worst problem in Myanmar after widespread human rights violations and afflicts all levels of its government. He spoke to The Associated Press in Manila, where he was named one of six recipients of the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay award, considered Asia's version of the Nobel... Read Full Story

BEIJING (Reuters) - Fresh fighting has erupted between Myanmar government forces and an armed ethnic group in the remote northeast, forcing an exodus of residents into neighboring China, state media said. Thousands of people crossed the border earlier this week from Kokang in Myanmar's Shan State after clashes broke out, which a U.S.-based rights group said followed the deployment of troops in the area. A news website run by Yunnan (www.yunnan.cn), the Chinese province bordering Myanmar... Read Full Story

As the U.N. helicopter skimmed above the Irrawaddy Delta, the world's top diplomat was haunted by the memory of a baby girl he encountered here a year ago. "She was only one day old," U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon mused aloud on a trip on Saturday to the area devastated by Cyclone Nargis in May 2008. He had seen the mother living in a tent with the girl, hours after her birth. He'd seen another girl, too, just 19 days old, sick and clinging to life, but lacking medical support. He'd... Read Full Story