Burmese security forces fire into Rakhine mob

Wednesday, 31 October 2012 12:08 Mizzima News    One Rakhine man was shot dead and two were wounded by Burmese security forces on Tuesday as several thousand Rakhine natives moved toward a Muslim village, Radio Free Asia (RFA) reported on Tuesday.The shooting at Kyauknimaw village in Ramree Township came as the UN and Asean issued warnings that Burma’s sectarian violence poses grave...

Readmore...

Burmese officials struggle for control in Rakhine State

Wednesday, 31 October 2012 12:19 Mizzima NewsBurmese officials on Tuesday said thousands of security officers are trying to restore order in western Rakhine State, in the midst of escalating clashes between Rakhine Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims. A section of Rakhine State in western Burma where widespread clashes have occurred. A spokesman for Rakhine State, Win Myaing, told the Voice of America...

Readmore...

Burma tells Asean Rakhine State unrest is ‘internal matter’

Wednesday, 31 October 2012 12:39 Mizzima NewsAsean Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan told the media on Tuesday that he tried to create a consensus within the regional grouping to address the unrest in Burma’s Rakhine State but the effort failed, after Burma declined to give its consent. Surin Pitsuwan in Kuala Lumpur Photo: gmomf.org In Kuala Lampur, Surin said Asean’s lack of consensus to address...

Readmore...

Calls for int’l observers in Rakhine State increase

Wednesday, 31 October 2012 12:50 Mizzima News Rights activists have called for international monitors to safeguard the lives of thousands of Muslim Rohingya in Burma’s western Rakhine State following this week’s deadly sectarian violence.“We are begging international observers to come and witness what is actually happening – to stop the violence and attacks on innocent civilians,” Mohammad Nawsim,...

Readmore...

Overcrowded boat capsizes with Burmese passengers

Wednesday, 31 October 2012 12:59 Mizzima NewsA motorboat with 137 people believed to be from Burma on board has capsized in the Bay of Bengal near Shah Porir Island in Teknaf close to Bangladesh's southeastern border with Burma, Xinhua news agency reported on Tuesday. Bangladeshi Border Guard personnel keep watch at a wharf in Taknaf in June 2012, following violent clashes in neighbouring Burma....

Readmore...

Kachin woman still missing after one year

Wednesday, 31 October 2012 13:25 Mizzima NewsMore than one year on, Sumlut Roi Ja, an ethnic Kachin woman whose husband said she was abducted by the Burmese Army, is still missing, Burma Campaign UK (BCUK) noted in a press statement on Tuesday. Sumlut Roi Ja, who has been missing for one year, was last seen in the custody of Burmese army soldiers. Photo: Mizzima Sumlut Roi Ja, 28, who was arrested...

Readmore...

Myanmar Air expands its fleet

Wednesday, 31 October 2012 13:41 Mizzima NewsMyanmar Airways International (MAI) has received a leased Airbus A320-200 to expand its fleet of aircraft, in a lease arrangement with International Lease Finance Corporation (ILFC), a wholly owned subsidiary of American International Group, Inc. It is the first commercial jet aircraft of its type to be provided on an operating lease to an airline in Burma...

Readmore...

Dunford to step down at TBBC

Wednesday, 31 October 2012 14:14 Mizzima NewsJack Dunford, the long-time executive director of the Thailand-Burma Border Consortium, is stepping down effective next year. Sally Thompson and Jack Dunford Photo: TBBC Sally Thompson has been named the new executive director, effective Jan. 1 2013.The announcement was made on Oct. 17 by Alistair Gee, the chairperson of the TBBC board.“We all congratulate...

Readmore...

Burma ready to push rice production higher

Tuesday, 30 October 2012 13:12 Mizzima News Burma is looking at turning its rice-growing sector into a major source of income over the next five years, with plans to double rice production, according to officials. Burmese farmers collect paddy seedlings from flooded fields to replant in Irrawaddy Division outside of Rangoon. Photo: AFP For decades, prior to the suffocating grip of a series...

Readmore...

Burma’s gov’t must honour protection of human rights

Tuesday, 30 October 2012 13:03 Mizzima News The sectarian violence in Burma’s Rakhine State has brought much-deserved international attention to the long-neglected situation of Burma’s Rohingya community, Refugees International said in a report released on Tuesday. The fact that it is taking place during a period of dramatic change in the country’s governmental structure offers a chance to finally...

Readmore...

As death toll rises, UN calls on Bangladesh to open border

Tuesday, 30 October 2012 12:34 Mizzima News    The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has called on Bangladesh to open its borders to Rohingyas fleeing sectarian violence in Burma. This picture taken on Oct. 12, 2012, shows a Muslim Rohingya man standing next to the ruins of his burned house on the edge of the Aung Mingalar quarter, which has been turned into a ghetto since...

Readmore...

Rakhine State ‘humanitarian community’ target of threats: UN

Tuesday, 30 October 2012 12:49 Mizzima NewsAlthough the figures are likely to increase, as of  Sunday 28,000 people have been displaced and up to 86 people killed, according to the latest reports from Rakhine State. Map of conflict areas in Rakhine State. More than 4,600 houses and several religious buildings have been destroyed in the unrest, said a report released on Sunday by United...

Readmore...

Photo News - October 2012

Gold miners at the Moehti Moemi gold mine in Yamethin Township stage a protest against the National Prosperity Public Company Limited in front of its office in Rangoon on Monday, Oct 29, 2012. The placards say “Please take legal action against forced labour of National Prosperity Public Company Limited” and “No one must be above the law.” Photo: Hein Htet Employees of the Moehti Moemi...

Readmore...