17 June 2008 : Burma News Extra
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Myanmar farmers fret over post-storm rice harvest
International Labor Conference Seeks Urgent Measures to Address Crisis in Irrawady Delta
Two Chin teenaged girls raped in Burma: Rapists arrested
WHO says Myanmar health system 'back on its feet'
Shan migrant workers in Fang raided
Recent Burma News Digest : 08-06-17
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Myanmar farmers fret over post-storm rice harvest
AP
16 June 2008
Farmer Zaw Naing was puzzled as he stared at the brand new, unassembled tilling machine — equipment not seen in most of Myanmar's rice belt before the deadly cyclone.
Thousands of the tillers, donated by international and private aid donors, have been brought in to replace the water buffalo that once plowed the rice paddies but were killed by Cyclone Nargis on May 2-3.
The plan is for farmers in the devastated Irrawaddy delta to rebuild their livelihoods and begin producing the rice that feeds this impoverished country.
But time is running out.
The rice planting season should have started by early June, when farmers here typically plow their fields with water buffalo and prepare to plant new seeds for the October harvest. The delta produces most of Myanmar's rice, and without immediate help, food security will be seriously threatened, international experts have warned.
The Agriculture Ministry has said 13,600 power tillers are needed to replace more than 280,000 cattle that died in the storm.
Some farmers say they have been lucky enough to receive the new machines but need to reassemble them since the tillers were shipped in several pieces.
"We don't know how to put it together. We have to wait for a mechanic to come," Zaw Naing said on a recent afternoon in the delta village of Kyaung Gwin as he unwrapped the plastic cover of the Chinese-made machine's red engine. He watched as a neighbor tugged at the machine's parts and pulled its gear shifts.
Most farmers in the delta have not managed to get a mechanical tiller. But once they do, they face further challenges: farmers can't afford the diesel fuel to power the machines and don't know how to operate them.
"I don't know how to use this machine. We only used buffalo in the past," said Zaw Naing, who lost his home in the cyclone as well as the 10 water buffalo that plowed his fields.
He has been told by local authorities to share the tiller with five other farmers in his village, which is south of the town of Labutta in one of the hardest hit areas. The cyclone killed some 78,000 people and left 56,000 more missing.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture said in an assessment last week that the delta normally produces about 60 percent of Myanmar's rice and the outlook for this year's crop is "very uncertain" after the storm flooded paddy fields with sea water, damaged irrigation systems and destroyed seed supplies.
"Little to no actual progress has been made to restore or rehabilitate damaged lands and infrastructure," the report said. "Farmers are yet to be supplied with sufficient food, viable seed, tools, livestock or replacement mechanical tillers and fuel."
Myanmar's Agriculture Ministry says it is sending experts to train farmers and will send 140,000 baskets of salt-resistant rice seed — the equivalent of 2,900 tons — to the delta, a fraction of what is needed.
Once the world's top producer, Myanmar has seen rice exports drop from nearly 4 million tons to about 40,000 tons last year, after four decades of military rule and disastrous economic policies. Its exports are so small these days that few expect the cyclone will have any impact on world rice prices; the people of Myanmar consume most of the rice the country produces.
U.N. Undersecretary-General Noeleen Heyzer issued an urgent plea Friday for donations of 1 million gallons of diesel fuel to help farmers run the tillers.
Myanmar's agriculture minister, Maj. Gen. Htay Oo, told Heyzer that the fuel is needed to run some 5,000 tillers donated by Thailand, China and other countries. Private donors and aid agencies have contributed additional machines.
"The window of opportunity is very short," said Heyzer, the senior U.N. official in Asia. After the planting season ends in July, it will be too late, she said, warning of "disastrous consequences for food security in Myanmar."
The sense of urgency — and frustration — was shared by rice farmer Tin Yein, whose wife, five farm hands and eight buffalo were killed in the cyclone. He spent a whole day recently lined up with 200 other farmers in Labutta, where dozens of donated tillers were being stored in a government warehouse waiting to be distributed.
"I didn't get one today, but maybe I will get it tomorrow," said Tin Yein, sitting at a tea shop in town after a day of dealing with red tape. Farmers applying for the mechanical tillers must be accompanied by their village headmen, said Tin Yein, and his local official arrived too late to process the request that day.
"Normally, planting season starts May 15. I'm already a month late," said the farmer, who has 70 acres of land. Each harvest produced about 30,000 baskets of rice, enough to feed his family and bring in some $9,000 a year in income.
Tin Yein wonders how he'll afford to use the mechanical tiller. He says he'll need to hire eight men and a boat to transport the machine to his village, about an hour away and accessible only by narrow waterways.
Each machine uses two gallons of diesel per acre and government rations restrict each person to five gallons of fuel every few days. Fuel is available on the black market but for twice the official price of $2.70 per gallon.
"I have no money for diesel because every day I struggle just to buy food," Tin Yein said "I'm not hopeful of planting before the rainy season is over."
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International Labor Conference Seeks Urgent Measures to Address Crisis in Irrawady Delta
Federation of Trade Unions – Burma
June 14, 2008
Delegates to the International Labor Conference (ILC) yesterday urged the International Labor Organization (ILO) to undertake urgent new measures to address the persistent and flagrant human rights violations committed by the Burmese military regime against the citizens of Burma.
In a statement released today, the ILC expressed its "deep horror" at the "regime depriving its own citizens of humanitarian assistance required for their very survival following cyclone Nargis in May 2008."
Noting the "tragic history of human and labour rights violations and, in particular, gross breaches of the Conventions on Freedom of Association (No. 87) and Forced Labour (No. 29) by the Government of Burma/Myanmar," the ILC requested that the Governing Body of the ILO approve three emergency measures for Burma. Under the requested measures, the ILO would:
1) Support new ILO programs in the Irrawady delta region;
2) Increase the financial and human resources provided to the ILO office in Burma; and
3) Convene an immediate meeting of ILO and ASEAN leaders to develop reconstruction programs for the Irrawady delta region and to ensure all reconstruction efforts are implemented in accordance with basic human rights and labor rights standards.
Reports from survivors living in the Irrawady delta region provide evidence that the military regime is using forced labor in reconstruction efforts, forcing survivors to work in order to receive humanitarian assistance.
For additional information, please contact:
Than Lwin
Tel: +66 (0) 865370951
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Two Chin teenaged girls raped in Burma: Rapists arrested
Khonumthung News
June 17, 2008.
June 17, 2008 - In an incident which reveals the debased nature of some people in authority in Burma, a Burmese Army major and a lawyer allegedly raped two teenaged girls in Thangtlang town in Chin state, northwest Burma on June 8.
On June 8, Major Soe Thaik Aung of the Light Infantry Battalion No (268) and lawyer U Myint Phone from the township court in Thangtlang town in Chin state raped Ngun Chin (13) and. Par Ku (14) both from Thangtlang town in lawyer Myint Phone's house at around 4 p.m. according to locals in Chin state.
After the girls were raped, they were locked up in U Myint Phone's house.
The father of one of the rape victims is a policeman. He filed a case in the police station in Thangtlang as soon as he learnt that his daughter had been raped and locked up in the lawyer's house.
Thangtlang police personnel rushed to the house of the lawyer and rescued the girls, a local from Thangtlang said.
A medical check up in Thangtlang hospital confirmed that the girls had been raped. U Myint Phone was arrested and is being detained in Thangtlang police station. Major Soe Thaik Aung is being detained in Hakha police station, according to a local.
One of the rape victims, who has not been identified, is hospitalized in Hakha because she was seriously injured after being sexually abused.
A political person in Hakha town on condition of anonymity told Khonumthung News that he had heard that a seriously injured girl has been hospitalized in Hakha town. – Khonumthung.
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WHO says Myanmar health system 'back on its feet'
AFP
25 minutes ago
The World Health Organisation said Tuesday that the health system in cyclone-battered Myanmar was "back on its feet," but warned that disease risks remained.
"I think we were able to provide a response that helped the health system back on its feet," said WHO health cluster coordinator Rudi Coninx, who has just spent several weeks in the country.
The WHO said it had played a key role in a comprehensive impact assessment conducted by the UN, the regional ASEAN grouping and Myanmar's military government.
The military junta faced heavy criticism for several weeks after Cyclone Nargis first struck in early May for not allowing international aid workers full access to the country.
But the situation has now improved and "we have our teams with international staff going now everywhere," Coninx told journalists.
The WHO said that in the first week of June, it recorded some 685 cases of acute respiratory infections, 117 cases of bloody diarrhoea, 542 cases of acute diarrhoea, 337 cases of trauma or injuries, five cases of malaria and three of suspected dengue fever.
Dengue fever remains a particular concern and the WHO along with the Myanmar government and other health partners has drawn up a 766,000 dollar (494,272 euro) action plan for the next four months targeting around 8.5 million people.
The first priority of the plan is to target 2.5 million people living in 11 townships in Yangon division with the highest dengue case reporting rates.
Thereafter the plan will focus on 1.9 million people in Ayeyawaddy division, and then 3.9 million people in all other Yangon partnerships.
Dengue is endemic in Myanmar, and around half of all cases occur in the Yangon and Ayeyawaddy regions.
"We identified a considerable increase in the risk of transmission of dengue due to population movement and displacement in urban areas" following the cyclone, said WHO expert Michael Nathan.
The WHO's action plan will seek to both cut the number of mosquitoes -- who transmit the disease -- through environmental management and insecticide, and strengthen disease surveillance and case management.
More than 133,000 people were killed or are missing after the cyclone struck six weeks ago. Many were washed out to sea as a tidal surge wiped out their villages.
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Shan migrant workers in Fang raided
By Hseng Khio Fah
No.13-6/2008 : 18 June 2008 : Human Rights
Newly settled houses of Shan migrant workers in Chiangmai's Fang district were raided by the Thai authorities yesterday morning and 19 people have been detained at the Fang police station until now.
At 7:30, officials from Royal Forest Department, Immigration Police, Border Patrol Police and local Thai troops raided the community which is settled in a lychee plantation, near Wiangwai village, Mornpin village tract, and arrested both those holding red-edged green ID cards issued to alien highlanders and those without any ID.
Around 50 people were taken to the monastery of Mornpin for interrogation.
The authorities asked, “Where did you get permission to seek asylum? Why did you come here? What are you doing here?
Those holding labour registration documents were released and the rest were taken to the Fang police station.
Until now, there has been no information from the authorities whether those 19 people will be released or not.
According to a villager, the authorities are still raiding nearby Banlan village today.
The reason for the raid was not disclosed, although according to some official sources, the land in which the Shans had settled was owned by a local drug trafficker who was recently arrested.
It was the second time of this year that the Thai authorities raided Shan migrant workers. The first time was on 3 April when a community of foreign highlanders in Sor Por Kor 4-01 land at Moo 18, Inthakhin Subdistrict, Mae Tang District, Chiang Mai was raided and 60 people were arrested.
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Recent Burma News Digest : 08-06-17
Emergency Shelter in Burma Needs Still Great
Yesterday, June 17, 2008, 10:56:13 PM
Six weeks after Cyclone Nargis battered Burma's Irrawaddy Delta, scores of survivors are still without adequate protective emergency shelter and exposed to the heavy monsoon rains, adding to their...
WHO says Burma health system
Yesterday, June 17, 2008, 10:43:39 PM
The World Health Organisation (WHO) says that the health system in cyclone-battered Burma is "back on its feet," but warned that disease risks remained. "I think we were able to provide a response th...
Malaysian Court Allows Anwar to Challenge His Dismissal as Deputy PM
Yesterday, June 17, 2008, 8:12:09 PM
Malaysia's highest court has allowed opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim to challenge his 1998 dismissal as a deputy prime minister, a surprise decision that his lawyer described Tuesday as "very sign...
Food Theft by Homeless Children Increases
Yesterday, June 17, 2008, 4:51:38 PM
Increasing numbers of Burmese children, some as young as 10 years old, are stealing food to offset starvation, say Rangoon residents.Rangoon residents say the theft of food and other goods has increas...
Disease on the Rise in Laputta
Yesterday, June 17, 2008, 4:51:29 PM
Due to the spread of diarrhea and other infectious diseases, dozens of cyclone victims in Laputta Township are seeking medical treatment in local clinics every day, according to doctors active in the ...
Government Policies Blamed for Rising Food Prices
Yesterday, June 17, 2008, 4:51:22 PM
Government policies are partly to blame for the rising food prices, business leaders said Monday amid warnings that the global food and fuel crisis could lead to social unrest and protectionism. The t...
Chinese Floods Make More Than 1 Million Homeless
Yesterday, June 17, 2008, 4:51:06 PM
Weeks of rain pushed rivers over their banks in southern China, displacing more than 1.27 million people and forcing many to huddle on rooftops as the region braced for more downpours. The floods kill...
China Trails US in
Yesterday, June 17, 2008, 4:50:58 PM
Despite a surging economy and growing geopolitical clout, China ranks far below the United States in the opinion of Asian countries, a survey showed on Tuesday.The poll measuring perceptions of soft p...
Mekong Floods Arrive Early, but Vietnam
Yesterday, June 17, 2008, 4:50:55 PM
Seasonal flooding has started about a month earlier than usual in Vietnam's Mekong Delta rice basket, but should not affect an important harvest, state forecasters and a rice trader said.Floodwate. ..
Myanmar to hold Olympic Committee Chairman Cup weightlifting tournament
Yesterday, June 17, 2008, 4:31:58 PM
Olympic Committee Chairman's Cup weightlifting tournament will be held here this weekend aimed at emerging potential weightlifters for the country, according to the Myanmar Weightlifting Federation (M...
Myanmar farmers fret over post-storm rice harvest
Yesterday, June 17, 2008, 10:02:31 AM
KYUNG GWIN, Myanmar (AP) -- Farmer Zaw Naing was puzzled as he stared at the brand new, unassembled tilling machine - equipment not seen in most of Myanmar's rice belt before the deadly cyclone.
Student activists helping Nargis victims arrested – Solomon
Yesterday, June 17, 2008, 7:34:16 AM
Three senior members, one man and three women- Myet Thu, Yin Yin Wai and Tin Tin Cho who were into cyclone relief efforts and aid distribution were arrested while they were sitting in a teashop in May...
Actor Kyaw Thu hospitalised
Yesterday, June 17, 2008, 7:34:15 AM
Ko Kyaw Thu (48), leader of the Free Funeral Service charity group and a leading Burmese actor, has been hospitalised at "Panhlaing" private hospital since the 14th of this month, after co...
Police arrest Myanmar activist who ferried aid to cyclone survivors
Yesterday, June 17, 2008, 7:34:13 AM
Police detained a prominent activist who was distributing aid to cyclone survivors in Myanmar, colleagues said Sunday, the latest critic of the military junta's handling of the disaster to be ro...
In cyclone-hit Myanmar, rain drenches children in roofless school
Yesterday, June 17, 2008, 7:34:12 AM
Teacher Hlang Thein gently admonishes a group of primary school children to carefully repeat the alphabet after her so they can wrap up the lesson before the heavy rains drench them again.
Cyclone dead wash ashore on distant Myanmar beach: official
Yesterday, June 17, 2008, 7:34:11 AM
About 300 bloated and decaying corpses, apparently victims of Cyclone Nargis, washed up on a beach in eastern Myanmar more than one month after the storm, a local official said Saturday.
Saffron Soldiers – Patricia Evangilista
Yesterday, June 17, 2008, 7:34:10 AM
The monks who have been driven out of Burma after the September 2007 revolution are not backing down just yet. He wears a red robe and has a white scar behind his left ear. He is the oldest here - ol...
Myanmar foreign trade registers new high in 2007-08
Yesterday, June 17, 2008, 7:34:09 AM
Myanmar's total foreign trade volume in the 2007-08 fiscal year which ended in March stood 8.851 billion U.S. dollars, a new high against 2006-07's 8.1 billion U.S. dollars, the State Cust...
UN plans Myanmar anti-dengue operation
Yesterday, June 17, 2008, 7:34:07 AM
The United Nations plans to launch a massive anti-dengue campaign this week in cyclone-hit areas of Myanmar where mosquitoes that carry the disease have become a major concern, an official said Monday...
Disease on the rise in Laputta – Saw Yan Naing
Yesterday, June 17, 2008, 7:34:05 AM
Aye Kyu, a Burmese doctor working in Laputta, told The Irrawaddy on Monday that about 100 patients - most suffering from diarrhea - gather at nine local clinics to receive medicine or medical treatmen...
Burma arrests 245 drug traffickers
Yesterday, June 17, 2008, 7:34:04 AM
Authorities in Burma arrested 245 drug traffickers in May, state media said, as the world's second-largest opium producer sought to show it was cracking down on narcotics.
Burmese generals deserve to be flogged: US Congressman – Lalit K Jha
Yesterday, June 17, 2008, 7:34:03 AM
It is the Burmese generals, who have indulged in gross violations of human rights against its own citizens and prevented the establishment of democracy in the country, that need to be flogged and not ...
International celebrations for Daw Suu’s birthday – Yee May Aung and Htet Aung Kyaw
Yesterday, June 17, 2008, 7:34:02 AM
Events are being held across the globe to celebrate the 63rd birthday of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and acknowledge her contribution towards the struggle for democracy in Burma.
Twilight of the idle regime – Saw Htun
Yesterday, June 17, 2008, 7:34:00 AM
In the final years of the Ne Win regime, two incidents occurred which I can still remember very distinctly. One was a storm warning that put everyone in the small-town base where we lived on alert. Wh...
Burma - Journalist in detention in Rangoon amid clampdown on cyclone coverage
Yesterday, June 17, 2008, 4:07:11 AM
(SEAPA/IFEX) - Burmese authorities have arrested a journalist in Magway, and are holding him in Rangoon in what observers say is part of a continuing effort to stifle news and information coming out o...
In Myanmar, Thousands Still Lack Aid
Yesterday, June 17, 2008, 3:45:40 AM
June 16, 2008 - It's been more than a month since a cyclone ravaged Myanmar, but hundreds of thousands of people there are still without aid. Alex Cohen talks to David Mathieson of the Human Ri...
UN tackles dengue threat
Yesterday, June 17, 2008, 3:12:28 AM
A family in the Irrawaddy delta, where aid workers are concerned about mosquitos carrying dengue fever that breed in pools of standing water. Photograph: AP The UN is to launch a massive programme t...
Blogger Nay Phone Latt being reinvestigated
Yesterday, June 17, 2008, 12:37:05 AM
Chiang Mai - The Burmese military junta authorities are reinvestigating blogger Ko Nay Phone Latt who has been in custody for about five months. He was interrogated twice without being produced i...
Emergency shelter needs still great, say aid workers
Monday, June 16, 2008, 11:54:50 PM
BANGKOK, 16 June 2008 (IRIN) - Six weeks after Cyclone Nargis battered Myanmar's Ayeyarwady Delta, scores of survivors are still without adequate protective emergency shelter and exposed to the heavy ...
UN to begin spraying larvicide to fight dengue in Myanmar
Monday, June 16, 2008, 11:53:56 PM
The United Nations plans to begin a massive anti-dengue campaign this week in cyclone-hit areas of Myanmar where mosquitoes that carry the disease have become a major concern, an official said Monday....
ADB Says Inflation Threatens Asia
Monday, June 16, 2008, 9:11:49 PM
Asia's growth is threatened by spiraling inflation from higher food and fuel costs, an Asian Development Bank executive warned Sunday, and called on governments to tighten monetary policies to dea...
Torrential rain in Rangoon, floods in Mawlamyine
Monday, June 16, 2008, 9:11:28 PM
Torrential rain since dawn on Sunday has inundated some areas in Rangoon. A special announcement made by the Meteorology department said torrential rains would continue for 72 hours. There would be...
Olympic Day Run 2008 billiards competition to be held in Myanmar
Monday, June 16, 2008, 8:42:36 PM
Olympic Day Run 2008 Billiards competition will be held here this week to promote the billiards sport in the country, according to the Myanmar Billiards and Snooker Federation (MBSF) on Monday. Only m...
Some missing family members reunified after cyclone storm in Myanmar
Monday, June 16, 2008, 8:34:43 PM
Some 30 families got reunified with their missing members after they were found survived through the assistance of the Myanmar Red Cross, local news journal Flower News reported Monday. The Myanmar Re...
Foreign Doctors Leave Cyclone-hit Burma
Monday, June 16, 2008, 5:54:34 PM
Foreign doctors have started leaving cyclone-hit Burma as the junta has closed down many relief camps in the affected areas, a senior Thai health ministry official said on Friday.The military governme...
Obstacles Force Donors to Abandon the Delta
Monday, June 16, 2008, 5:54:28 PM
The abbot is not alone in his concern about the declining number of private donors. Other shelters for displaced storm victims are also facing an increasingly precarious situation, now that the flow o...
Asean Must Deliver on Human Rights Body
Monday, June 16, 2008, 5:54:19 PM
As the Association of the Southeast Asian Nations, or Asean, moves forward with its newly created charter, many human rights groups and observers are carefully watching the formation of the regional g...
Millions Flee South China Flooding
Monday, June 16, 2008, 5:53:56 PM
Massive flooding across a broad stretch of southern China has killed at least 57 people and forced 1.27 million others from their homes, state media reported on Monday. People were forced to flee thei...
Negative Bond Returns Trouble Asia Investors
Monday, June 16, 2008, 5:53:53 PM
As risk appetite for equities and property wanes, investors are willing to endure negative real returns for bonds from China, Singapore and Hong Kong because their economies are seen better equipped t...
Malaysian Palm Oil Company Helps Ease Rice Shortage
Monday, June 16, 2008, 5:53:50 PM
Malaysia's Sime Darby, the world's largest palm oil company, will venture into rice cultivation in the wake of concerns about a shortage of the grain, an official said on Monday. Company chair...
Another aid volunteer arrested in Burma
Monday, June 16, 2008, 5:49:05 PM
A popular sports writer who helped deliver aid to victims of the cyclone in Burma has been arrested, the second aid volunteer detained in two weeks, his wife said today. Zaw Thet Htwe, 42, was arrest...
Junta shuts down pro-opposition monastery
Monday, June 16, 2008, 11:37:46 AM
The township chairman and security forces arrived at the Sasana Theikpan monastery compound of Chauk Htut Gyi pagoda, Bahan Township on Friday morning and told monks they would close the monastery unt...
Editor aiding cyclone victims arrested by Junta - Wai Sann
Monday, June 16, 2008, 11:37:45 AM
The Burmese military junta continues to harass and detain people and despite odds have gone out of their way to help victims of Cyclone Nargis. In its latest instance of intolerance it arrested a jour...
Myanmar’s gas exports to Thailand earn 2.7 billion dollars in 2007
Monday, June 16, 2008, 11:37:44 AM
Yangon - Myanmar, which faces economic sanctions in the West because of its poor human rights record, earned 2.7 billion dollars from natural gas exports to Thailand last year, media reports disclosed...
Walk the line - Myanmar opposition group backs constitution
Monday, June 16, 2008, 11:37:43 AM
'Something is better than nothing,' says Tu Ja, the third ranking member of Myanmar's Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO), when asked why the group is supporting the Myanmar government's controvers.. .
UN says Myanmar farmers need fuel for planting
Monday, June 16, 2008, 4:29:52 AM
YANGON, Myanmar (AP) - Myanmar urgently needs diesel fuel to run the rice-tilling machines that are replacing water buffalo killed by Cyclone Nargis in the Irrawaddy delta, a senior U.N. official said...
Myanmar Landslide Kills 12 Ruby Miners
Monday, June 16, 2008, 4:29:51 AM
MYANMAR: June 16, 2008 YANGON - Torrential rains caused a landslide that killed 12 miners in Mogok, military-ruled Myanmar's "Valley of Rubies" gem zone, a source with relatives living in the area s...
Pittsford photographer, Brow Diva studio team up to aid Myanmar
Monday, June 16, 2008, 4:29:43 AM
Chris Kogut, an award-winning photographer, and Deanna Netti Cahill, founder of Brow Diva studio in Rochester, started fundraising efforts for victims of tropical cyclone Nargis this month.Kogut, of P...
Myanmar state media stresses preventive measures against floods
Monday, June 16, 2008, 4:29:40 AM
Myanmar state media urged the people in the country Sunday to take preventive measures against floods caused by torrential rains as it has entered the rainy season. The people should exercise a consta...
Rights urged for Myanmar migrants
Monday, June 16, 2008, 4:29:36 AM
Human rights groups say they make up around 75 per cent of foreign workers in Thailand, and that number is expected to rise in the wake of Cyclone Nargis.
Rain-triggered landslides kill in Myanmar
Monday, June 16, 2008, 4:29:35 AM
YANGON, Myanmar: At least 11 people died in central Myanmar when their homes collapsed from landslides caused by heavy rain, state media reported yesterday. The deaths occurred Wednesday and ...
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