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Latest ERI Cyclone Nargis Update
GJC President Janet Benshoof gives speech on Burma at Google headquarters
Recent Burma News (26 June 2008 )

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Latest ERI Cyclone Nargis Update
Written by EarthRights International
Monday, 23 June 2008

Despite the large amount of aid being given to the Burmese government, not all cyclone victims are receiving it. The junta has specifically discriminated against the Karen ethnic group by not only withholding aid but also by displacing them due to an ongoing military campaign. In general, the junta has required victims to work, to join the military, or to vote in order to receive aid. Furthermore, there is a significant portion of the aid that has simply disappeared into the pockets of the Burmese military and their associates.

http://www.earthrights.org/related/cyclone_nargis_delayed_aid_hampering_relief_efforts.html

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GJC President Janet Benshoof gives speech on Burma at Google headquarters
May 2008

http://www.globaljusticecenter.net/news-events/news/2008/JB-google-talk.html

Global Justice Center
http://www.globaljusticecenter.net/

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Recent Burma News (26 June 2008 )

Clooney, Pitt launch Myanmar ad campaign
Today, June 26, 2008, 3 hours ago
Jakarta - Agence France-Presse Hollywood stars, George Clooney and Brad Pitt, joined forces with Asian political figures Tuesday for an advertising campaign calling on the region to resist Myanmar’s j...

Myanmar to strive for realizing poppy-free target by 2014
Today, June 26, 2008, 5 hours ago
Myanmar Police Chief Brigadier-General Khin Yi told the press in Nay Pyi Taw on Thursday that the country will strive for the realization of its target to become poppy-free nation by 2014. Khin Yi mad...

Burma Cyclone Survivors Proved Tough
Today, June 26, 2008, 5 hours ago
Dire warnings that cyclone survivors in Burma might fall prey to disease and starvation failed to take into account the survival instincts of those affected, aid agencies and disaster experts say.The ...

Burmese Journalists Banned from Asean Press Conference
Today, June 26, 2008, 5 hours ago
More than 20 Burmese journalists were banned from a press conference organized by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) in Rangoon on Tuesday. Rangoon-based journalists told

Resettlement of Burmese Refugees from Thailand Tops 30,000
Today, June 26, 2008, 12 hours ago
The United Nations says more than 30,000 Burmese refugees living in Thailand have been sent to third countries in what it calls the world’s largest resettlement operation.The U.N. High Commissioner ...

Divers Find only Bodies in Capsized Philippines Ferry
Today, June 26, 2008, 12 hours ago
Still hoping for a miracle, divers wriggled into an upside-down ferry Tuesday but found only bodies three days after the vessel capsized during a powerful typhoon with more than 850 people aboard, off...

Reporter arrested for covering cyclone news - Nem Davies
Today, June 26, 2008, 12 hours ago
A woman journalist covering Cyclone Nargis victims asking for aid from international NGOs in Rangoon has been detained by for over two weeks, according to her publication.

Poet remanded to custody for jeering at junta supremo - Phanida
Today, June 26, 2008, 12 hours ago
Famous poet Ko Saw Wai, who had jeered at ageing SPDC Chairman Snr. Gen.Than Shwe calling him ‘power crazy’ was remanded for the third time by the Bahan Township court yesterday.

Ten million malaria patients in Myanmar
Today, June 26, 2008, 12 hours ago
According to the World Health Organisation, malaria and AIDS are the two most devastating global health problems of our time. Together they cause more than four million deaths a year. They are both di...

Myanmar retires top military officers, reshuffles 150 staff
Today, June 26, 2008, 12 hours ago
A number of military members were also promoted in the first major reshuffle this year, said one military official who did not give his name since he was not authorized to speak to the media. “.. .

Farmers left in debt after land seizures
Today, June 26, 2008, 12 hours ago
The township agricultural department recently supplied the farmers with the equipment and seeds before the farmers were told their lands would be seized, according to one local farmer. ‘Now we have a...

More than 30,000 Myanmar refugees resettled
Today, June 26, 2008, 12 hours ago
More than 30,000 Myanmar refugees living in camps in Thailand have been sent to third countries in what the United Nations said Wednesday had become the world’s largest refugee resettlement oper...

Thai energy firm signs major gas deal with Myanmar, says official
Today, June 26, 2008, 12 hours ago
The agreement “to develop the M9 block in the Gulf of Martaban “was signed by PTT Exploration and Production (PTTEP) with Myanmar’s junta in the country’s remote capital Nayp...

India provides Myanmar with US$84 million in loans and credit
Today, June 26, 2008, 12 hours ago
India agreed to provide Myanmar with US$84 million in loans and credits to build power transmission lines and an aluminum plant, state media said Wednesday.

China offers rare praise for Myanmar’s drug fight - Ben Blanchard
Today, June 26, 2008, 12 hours ago
China praised Myanmar’s efforts to fight drugs on Wednesday, lauding the actions of a military government often criticized in the United States and Europe for not doing enough to tackle the prob...

USAID assistance helped WFP helicopters to carry on relief operation
Today, June 26, 2008, 12 hours ago
New Delhi - The UN World Food Programme has said airlifting aid supplies to Burma’s cyclone victims continues with an aid of USD 3 million given by the US Agency for International Development (USAID...

Pitt, Clooney and Damon push for Cyclone Aid - Sara Hammel
Today, June 26, 2008, 12 hours ago
They’re known for their love of pranks and practical jokes, but good friends Brad Pitt, George Clooney and Matt Damon have come together for something far more serious.

Assessment confirms cyclone survivors face acute shortage of food, water
Today, June 26, 2008, 12 hours ago
New Delhi - The United Nations today said that more than half the survivors of Cyclone Nargis in Burma’s Irrawaddy Delta and Rangoon Division are still starving without any food assistance. Only ...

RM2 Million in medical aid sent to Myanmar
Today, June 26, 2008, 12 hours ago
Nargis, which struck on May 3, killed about 78,000 people in the Asean member country. The aid was sent via two Hercules C130 airplanes owned by the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF), from its base in...

Six Myanmar athletes to compete in Beijing Olympics
Today, June 26, 2008, 12 hours ago
Six Myanmar athletes will compete in four sports in the upcoming 2008 Beijing Olympic Games in China in August, local media reported Wednesday. The six athletes “four men and two women”.. .

No more aid through Junta: US House - Lalit K Jha
Today, June 26, 2008, 12 hours ago
In amendments to the Supplemental Appropriations Act 2008, the US House of Representatives has passed a bill that says US agencies should seek to avoid passing humanitarian relief through the military...

Preliminary findings of post-Nargis joint assessment confirm need for continued relief assistance
Today, June 26, 2008, 12 hours ago
Preliminary findings based on 50% of the data from the Village Tract Assessment (VTA) component of Post-Nargis Joint Assessment (PONJA) indicate that more immediate, life-saving relief needs remain to...

63rd Birthday of Aung San Suu Kyi - Celebrating yet another Birthday Alone
Today, June 26, 2008, 12 hours ago
The ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Myanmar Caucus (AIPMC) extends its birthday wishes to Myanmar’s pro-democracy leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi as she celebrates her 63rd birthday on June 19th 2008.Nobel Peac...

Burmese journalists continue to be arrested, foreign journalists still unwelcome
Today, June 26, 2008, 19 hours ago
MONTREAL, June 25 /CNW Telbec/ - Reporters Without Borders and the Burma Media Association are outraged by a wave of arrests of Burmese journalists, some just for helping the victims of Cyclone Narg...

Burma blocks telecoms help
Today, June 26, 2008, 20 hours ago
Two teams of foreign aid workers dedicated to delivering emergency telecoms in disaster areas have been forced to leave cyclone-hit Burma. The members of Telecoms Sans Frontieres (TSF) left the count...

Pitt and Clooney heavy Burmese junta
Yesterday, June 25, 2008, 7:13:33 PM
HOLLYWOOD stars George Clooney and Brad Pitt have joined forces with Asian political figures in an advertising campaign calling on the region to push Burma’s junta to allow in more cyclone aid. A fu...

Burma Drops New Operating Guidelines
Yesterday, June 25, 2008, 7:12:23 PM
The United Nations agencies and international nongovernmental organizations will return to the old operating guidelines in effect before Burma issued new regulations on June 10, in agreement with the ...

Thais, Cambodians Dispute Temple Site
Yesterday, June 25, 2008, 7:12:20 PM
Preah Vihear temple was built in dedication to the Hindu god Shiva and was constructed between the 9th and the 12th centuries. The territory on which the temple lies has been the subject of conflict b...

Thai Stocks and Baht under Pressure amid Political Uncertainty
Yesterday, June 25, 2008, 7:12:10 PM
Thailand’s stock market, Southeast Asia’s worst performer over the past month, is expected to fall further as anti-government protests revive doubts about the country’s stability, with fir...

Crises Loom as Rural Migration to Asian Cities Grows
Yesterday, June 25, 2008, 7:12:08 PM
Asian countries need help to build cities that can cope with the region’s “unprecedented” urban expansion of more than 100,000 people a day over the next two decades, the Asian Development Bank sa...

Tropical Storm Fengshen Pounds Hong Kong after Battering Philippines
Yesterday, June 25, 2008, 7:12:06 PM
Tropical storm Fengshen brought more heavy rains and strong winds to Hong Kong on Wednesday, shutting down the city’s financial markets, schools and courts. Fengshen, which battered the Philippine.. .

Cyclone Nargis in Burma, quake in China
Yesterday, June 25, 2008, 7:12:01 PM
A sharper contrast is hardly imaginable. In the aftermath of natural disasters in Burma and China, the fleeting images of the relief effort in the two countries is the difference between night and day...

Brad, George launch Burma ad campaign
Yesterday, June 25, 2008, 7:00:51 PM
Brad Pitt and George Clooney Photo: AFP June 25, 2008 Jakarta - Hollywood stars George Clooney and Brad Pitt joined forces with Asian political figures on Tuesday in an advertising campaign calling ...

84,500 died in cyclone
Yesterday, June 25, 2008, 7:56:40 AM
Myanmar said Tuesday that 84,500 people perished in last month’s cyclone, up from the last official announcement that 77,700 had died in the devastating storm.Meanwhile, a representative from the

Burma cyclone: 84,500 deaths
Yesterday, June 25, 2008, 7:39:44 AM
Meanwhile, a representative from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the regional bloc that includes Burma, said a recent assessment tour found the needs of the storm’s survivors were be...

Myanmar launches 11-day gems auction: report
Yesterday, June 25, 2008, 7:39:43 AM
Military-run Myanmar on Tuesday launched an 11-day auction of precious gems in Yangon, state media said, as the country struggles to recover from last month’s devastating cyclone.

Human smuggling crackdown hits Kawthaung - Saw Yan Naing
Yesterday, June 25, 2008, 7:39:42 AM
About 200 Burmese job seekers in Kawthaung, a border town in southern Burma, were arrested in the past five days following a human smuggling crackdown by local authorities.

Status of Zarganar and Zaw Thet Htway unknown
Yesterday, June 25, 2008, 7:39:41 AM
The whereabouts of detained prominent comedian and social activist Zarganar and sports writer Zaw Thet Htway are still unknown, according to their relatives.

Labourers forced to work on seized cyclone lands - Naw Say Phaw
Yesterday, June 25, 2008, 7:39:40 AM
Government authorities have forced unemployed people across Burma to work for low pay cultivating farmlands seized from cyclone victims in the Irrawaddy delta, according to locals.

Rohingya youth jailed for 5.5 years for crossing Burma-Bangladesh border
Yesterday, June 25, 2008, 7:39:39 AM
A Rohingya yoyth was sentenced to five and-a-half years in prison by a Maungdaw court on June 13, on the orders of Burma’s border security force, on allegation of crossing the Burma-Bangladesh b...

Motorcycles selling like hot cakes on Sino-Burma border - Myo Gyi
Yesterday, June 25, 2008, 7:39:39 AM
There has been a 300 per cent rise in the sale of motorcycles in Jie Gao on the Chinese border town due to a possible decision by the junta to issue licenses to all two wheelers without license in Bur...

Daewoo to sell all Burma gas to China
Yesterday, June 25, 2008, 7:39:38 AM
Daewoo International said Monday it has signed a memorandum of understanding with the China National Petroleum Corporation to sell all the natural gas it extracts from Burma to CNPC.

Tripartite core group completes joint assessment on cyclone impact on Myanmar
Yesterday, June 25, 2008, 7:39:37 AM
A tripartite core group involving the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Myanmar and the United Nations claimed on Tuesday that its post-Nargis joint assessment teams have successfully co...

Sein Win seeks talks with China, India - Lalit K Jha
Yesterday, June 25, 2008, 7:39:36 AM
The Burmese prime minister in exile, Dr Sein Win, wants to visit leaders in India and China to seek their help in resolving the current political impasse in Burma.

DFID objects to Save the Children
Yesterday, June 25, 2008, 7:39:36 AM
New Delhi - An unseemly row has surfaced over distribution of aid to Burma’s cyclone victims, with the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID) voicing its objection ab...

Japanese protest killing of journalist in Myanmar
Yesterday, June 25, 2008, 7:39:35 AM
PROTESTERS against the killing of a Japanese journalist in Yangon last year on Tuesday submitted a petition signed by 40,000 people to the Myanmar embassy here calling for the return of his video came...

Donations for Chinese earthquake far surpass Burma assistance
Yesterday, June 25, 2008, 7:39:35 AM
Canadians have flooded the Red Cross with donations for Chinese earthquake relief, giving nearly $15 million more to that disaster relief fund than to survivors of the Burmese cyclone.

DFID objects to Save the Children’s aid distribution mode - Solomon
Yesterday, June 25, 2008, 7:39:34 AM
An unseemly row has surfaced over distribution of aid to Burma’s cyclone victims, with the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID) voicing its objection about an a...

The Bush doctrine is relevant again - Bret Stephens
Yesterday, June 25, 2008, 7:39:33 AM
Here’s another prediction: Mr. Tsvangirai’s Nobel will have about as much effect on the bloody course of Zimbabwe’s politics as Aung San Suu Kyi’s has had on Burma’s. Eff...

Myanmar Cyclone Toll Rises to 138,000 Dead, Missing
Yesterday, June 25, 2008, 4:56:11 AM
MYANMAR: June 25, 2008 YANGON - More than 138,000 are dead or missing from the devastating cyclone that struck Myanmar last month, the government said on Tuesday, according to an Asian diplomat. ...

Burma - South Korean journalist deported, her photographs confiscated, following visit to opposition party office
Yesterday, June 25, 2008, 2:04:18 AM
(Mizzima/ SEAPA/IFEX) - A South Korean journalist was deported from Burma by the ruling military junta on 22 June 2008 for visiting the office of the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD). Ms...

India, Burma sign investmnt pacts
Yesterday, June 25, 2008, 1:57:40 AM
New Delhi - In yet another chapter of a boost in bilateral relationship and bonhomie, India and Burma have signed several bilateral agreements during the visit of Jairam Ramesh, India’s Minister of St...

Myanmar’s New Capital Isolates Junta
Yesterday, June 25, 2008, 1:09:36 AM
NAYPYIDAW, Myanmar : The bamboo forests and sugar cane fields that once covered the gently sloping hills here have been replaced by hulking government buildings, roads so long and straight they...

Official death toll now at 84,537 in Myanmar cyclone; 53,837 unaccounted for
Yesterday, June 25, 2008, 12:47:06 AM
YANGON, Myanmar - The official death toll in last month’s cyclone in Myanmar was raised to more than 84,500 on Tuesday, almost 7,000 higher than previous estimates in the horrific storm that drew inte...

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