Myanmar

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Burmese Junta Still Blocking Cyclone Aid

'Second disaster' looms if aid is not allowed in

(Newser) - Emergency supplies for some 1.5 million Burmese desperately in need of help are ready to be flown into the cyclone-stricken regions—but the military junta is still blocking delivery. Only two UN planes have been allowed to land in Burma. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon tried unsuccessfully to telephone Burma's...

UN, US Again Blast Burma's Reluctance With Help

Insular state disappoints would-be donors; 1.5M could be affected

(Newser) - Officials the world over are expressing dismay at Burma's apparent disinterest in swift international aid to victims of the devastating cyclone that has 1 million homeless and perhaps more than 100,000 dead, Reuters reports. The US ambassador to the UN said today he was “outraged by the slowness...

Cyclone Could Weaken Junta's Grip

Upcoming vote could challenge government

(Newser) - The devastation of cyclone Nargis could spur stronger opposition to Burma’s ruling junta, the Christian Science Monitor reports. “It could be quite catalytic, like the [2004] tsunami in Aceh,” says a regional aid director. The government, reluctant to allow outside aid, has struggled to cope with the...

First Major Aid Finally Reaches Cyclone Survivors

But some planes grounded as officials dicker with junta to get help to villagers

(Newser) - A single United Nations plane laden with relief supplies has finally landed in Burma's Irrawaddy Delta region—six days after a pulverizing cyclone killed an estimated 100,000 people, AP is reporting. Three other UN planes are expected to land later today, but flights operated jointly by the US and...

Disease, Hunger Now Threaten Cyclone Survivors

Tainted water, corpses pose grave danger

(Newser) - The Burmese lucky enough to survive a catastrophic cyclone now face the threat of death by disease and hunger. Dirty water and rotting corpses pose a grave danger of cholera and diarrhea, and the devastated infrastructure is making it nearly impossible to deliver food to people who were hungry even...

Bush to Junta: Let the US Help
 Bush to Junta: Let the US Help 
May 6, 2008 2:07 PM CDT

Bush to Junta: Let the US Help

President signs act awarding Congressional Gold Medal to Suu Kyi

(Newser) - President Bush today expressed “heartfelt sympathy” to the victims of the Myanmar cyclone and called on the ruling junta to allow the US to offer more help, the Voice of America reports. The government has accepted $250,000 of US aid but balked at letting US Navy rescue teams...

Cyclone Death Toll 22,000 and Climbing
 Cyclone Death Toll
  22,000 and Climbing 
updated
May 6, 2008 7:16 AM CDT

Cyclone Death Toll 22,000 and Climbing

Burmese junta allows international aid, delays vote in some parts

(Newser) - The cyclone that ripped through Burma has claimed at least 22,000 lives, the military junta said today, and more than 40,000 remain missing. The scope of the disaster forced military leaders to postpone a constitutional referendum—designed to cement their grip on power—in the worst-hit regions, the ...

First Lady Steps Up for Cyclone Relief

Bush blasts Burmese junta, presses nation to accept US aid

(Newser) - First Lady Laura Bush took a rare turn in the spotlight today and pressed Burma to let a US disaster response team into the country, CNN reports. In a press conference, she also slammed the junta for its "failure to meet its people's basic needs" after a cyclone killed...

Up to 10,000 Dead in Burma Cyclone
 Up to 10,000 Dead
 in Burma Cyclone 
Updated
May 5, 2008 1:24 PM CDT

Up to 10,000 Dead in Burma Cyclone

Toll continues to rise as relief officials gain access to hard-hit areas

(Newser) - As many as 10,000 might have died in the cyclone that struck Burma on Saturday, a government official told foreign diplomats today, and that number could rise yet higher as aid workers pick through the rubble. The death toll, originally estimated at 351, had already been raised to 4,...

Burma Cyclone Toll Leaps to 4,000

Another 3,000 missing, hundreds of thousands homeless

(Newser) - The death toll in yesterday's Burmese hurricane has skyrocketed to 4,000, CNN reports, up from initial estimates of 350. State-run media issued a revised estimate this morning, along with the government's emergency plea for help. Another 3,000 are thought to be missing. Major relief work has already begun,...

Cyclone Savages Burma; at Least 351 Dead
 Cyclone Savages Burma;
 at Least 351 Dead 
Updated
May 4, 2008 7:28 AM CDT

Cyclone Savages Burma; at Least 351 Dead

Winds reach 120 mph, destroying thousands of buildings

(Newser) - A tropical cyclone has wreaked havoc in Burma, killing at least 351 and destroying tens of thousands of buildings, the BBC reports. Cyclone Nargis brought 120 mph winds to the country, knocking down 75% of buildings in one town and cutting off power, water, and phone lines in the largest...

Thailand Plans OPEC-Style 'Rice Cartel'

PM wants to control market with neighbors, including Burma

(Newser) - The prime minister of Thailand is exploring the idea of setting up a rice price-fixing cartel with four other governments in southeast Asia, including the military dictatorship of Burma. The Bangkok Post reports that Samak Sundaravej wants to establish an OPEC-style collective of producers that will influence the market for...

Myanmar Activist Wins Congressional Gold Medal

Aung Suu Kyi tapped for top civilian award

(Newser) - The Senate has voted overwhelmingly to award the Congressional Gold Medal to Myanmar democracy champion Aung San Suu Kyi, reports Reuters. Politicians praised her courage, and said the award was a gesture of solidarity with the oppressed Burmese people. The Nobel Peace Prize laureate remains under house arrest in Rangoon,...

54 Burmese Migrant Workers Suffocate in Border Crossing

They screamed an hour before driver halted

(Newser) - Police yesterday discovered the bodies of 54 Burmese migrant workers who suffocated in a truck heading across the border to Thailand. Workers crammed in the 7-by-20-foot space, almost all women, say when they finally managed to alert the driver, he fled. Each worker paid $314 to be smuggled into Thailand,...

Burmese Rebel Leader Assassinated in Thailand

Suspicion falls on military junta, allies

(Newser) - One of Myanmar's top rebel leaders was shot dead in his home in Thailand today, Reuters reports. Mahn Sha Lar Phan was the secretary-general of the Karen National Unit, the largest rebel group in the former Burma. His son, another senior leader, immediately blamed the attack on a splinter group...

Burma Pledges Free Elections in 2010

Opposition leaders dismiss move as 'public relations spin'

(Newser) - The military junta in Burma said today the nation will have multiparty, democratic elections in 2010, Reuters reports. Opposition leaders greeted the decision with a heavy dose of skepticism and charged that even if the vote goes through, the military will not release its grip on power. The regime has...

Burmese Junta Downplays Protest Death Toll: Report

Government 'lying,' rights group says

(Newser) - The quashing of pro-democracy demonstrations in September was significantly bloodier than the Burmese junta claims, says a Human Rights Watch report released today. Although the government acknowledges only 10 deaths during the suppression of the protests, 20 killings have been verified by eyewitnesses in Yangon alone, and the rights group...

Burma Frees Thousands in Nod to United Nations

Amnesty frees over 8,500, though uncertain if they include protesters

(Newser) - Burma's military junta has freed 8,585 prisoners but it's not clear if any of those arrested in September's crackdown are among them, AP reports. Burmese state media said the amnesty was to mark progress on drafting a new constitution, and a gesture to the United Nations. Similar amnesties in...

UN Visitor Not Keeping Burma From Arrests

US official calls junta's progress 'demonstrably inadequate'

(Newser) - Burma's military junta has continued to detain protesters even as a UN human-rights investigator visits to probe September's crushed uprising, the Guardian reports. Three men distributing pro-democracy leaflets in a Rangoon market were arrested today; a leading female activist was detained yesterday as she posted fliers near the investigator's hotel—...

UN Inspector Vows to Tally Burma's Dead

Demands 'full cooperation' from junta or 'I'll go out'

(Newser) - A UN inspector landed in Burma today to tally the junta's detained and dead protesters, the AP reports. And he vowed to leave if officials don't give him "full cooperation." So far, Paulo Sergio Pinheiro has met with officials and visited a town where the junta targeted monks...

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