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U.S. policymakers were urged Monday to pay close attention to the "growing relationship" -- including reported nuclear links -- between the Stalinist regime in North Korea and the military junta in Burma. Keith Luse, an Asia specialist aide to Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Ind.), said that the North Korea-Burma issue was a key area of concern to the Foreign Relations Committee chairman. "Is North Korea providing nuclear technology to the Burma military?" he asked during a panel discussion in Washington, hosted by the Heritage Foundation. In 2002, Yangon announced that Russia was helping it to build a 10-megawat nuclear reactor which...

YANGON, Myanmar - Myanmar's military regime has forced cyclone survivors to do menial labor in exchange for food and stepped up a campaign to evict displaced citizens from aid shelters, an international human rights group said Thursday. London-based Amnesty International also said authorities in several cyclone-hit areas continue to divert aid despite the junta's pledge to crack down on the problem weeks ago. "Unless human rights safeguards are observed, tens of thousands of people remain at risk," Amnesty said in a report released Thursday. "Respect for human rights must be at the center of the relief effort." More than a...

Myanmar cyclone: Burma's junta turns away US aid ships By Thomas Bell, South East Asia Correspondent Last Updated: 1:46PM BST 04/06/2008 Four American navy ships, laden with relief supplies, are steaming away from the Burmese coast because the military junta will not allow them to help starving cyclone victims. On board the boats were 22 urgently needed heavy-lift helicopters, amphibious vehicles and water purification equipment. The Burmese regime claimed that, far from wanting to help the 2.5 million survivors of last month’s cyclone, the US was in fact intent on stealing the country’s oil resources. "I am both saddened and...

A top U.S. military commander says American navy ships off Myanmar's coast will leave the area after failing to get the junta's permission to help with cyclone relief efforts. Adm. Timothy Keating says that he wants the USS Essex and accompanying vessels to resume their previously scheduled duties on Thursday. The ships were in the region for international exercises. Keating made them available to help with relief efforts for last month's cyclone and they were deployed near Myanmar in case they obtained permission to enter the country's waters. But Myanmar allowed only limited U.S. military aid flights to the country,...

U.S. Navy ships positioned off the coast of Myanmar will soon leave the area after the country's junta refused to give them permission to deliver aid to cyclone victims, a top U.S. commander said Wednesday. Adm. Timothy Keating, commander of U.S. Pacific Command, said the U.S. Navy aircraft carrier Essex and other ships will resume their previous operations Thursday.

Rangoon - The military junta began evicting destitute families from cyclone relief centres on Friday and rejected foreign food aid - because people can survive perfectly well by hunting "large, edible frogs." The New Light of Myanmar "newspaper", a government mouthpiece, also warned that foreign relief workers would snoop inside homes, and condemned donors for linking aid money to full access to the hardest-hit regions in the Irrawaddy Delta. The tirade came as the junta tightened its political grip on the country, extending democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi's house arrest and announcing that its new constitution has been enacted....

YANGON, Myanmar - Myanmar's military government is forcing cyclone victims out of refugee camps and "dumping" them near their devastated villages with virtually no aid supplies, U.N. and church officials said Friday. Eight camps set up by the junta for homeless victims in the Irrawaddy delta town of Bogalay were "totally empty" as the clear-out continued, said Teh Tai Ring of UNICEF, speaking at a meeting of U.N. and private aid agency workers discussing water and sanitation issues. "The government is moving people unannounced," he said, adding that authorities were "dumping people in the approximate location of the villages, basically...

MONTREAL - Canadian women are being asked to volunteer their undergarments in an international effort to shame Myanmar's ruling junta into giving citizens greater access to humanitarian aid and human rights. Organizers launched the Canadian edition of the Panties for Peace! campaign Tuesday with a call for women to send their underwear to the Myanmar embassy in Ottawa. The campaign plays off regional superstitions that contact with women's panties can sap a man's power. Activists claim the fear is shared by the leaders of the country's military regime. "If you don't believe me, you can bring this to the Yangon...

Bangkok - The United Nations will send nearly a quarter of a million condoms into cyclone-hit Myanmar to help needy survivors with no access to contraceptives, a UN official says. So far, the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) said it had sent 72 800 condoms to survivors struggling to maintain their family planning after the storm hit in early May. A total of 218 400 condoms would be delivered, UNFPA aid advisor Chaiyos Kunanusont said. "We don't want regular use of contraception disrupted. An emergency usually damages the health system, so people don't have access to condoms and contraceptives," said Chaiyos.

YANGON, Myanmar — Myanmar shunned a U.S. proposal for naval ships to deliver aid to cyclone victims today, according to state-run media, dimming hopes that the vessels could provide a major boost to relief efforts. The New Light of Myanmar, a mouthpiece for Myanmar's ruling junta, said that such assistance "comes with strings attached," citing fears that Washington wants to overthrow the country's government and seize its oil. The United States, as well as France and Great Britain, have naval vessels loaded with humanitarian supplies off the Myanmar coast, and had been waiting for a green light to deliver them....

SINGAPORE, May 20 (Reuters) - The World Bank is not in a position to provide any financial aid to cyclone-stricken Myanmar because the country has not been servicing its World Bank debt since 1998, a bank official said on Tuesday. "The World Bank is not in a position to assist Myanmar at this time," World Bank Managing Director Juan Jose Daboub told reporters, adding that it was the bank's policy not to provide funds to countries that have fallen behind on debt repayments.

Myanmar cyclone: Burma junta may be prosecuted over aid block By Philip Sherwell in New York Last Updated: 6:17PM BST 17/05/2008 Burma's ruling generals could be threatened with prosecution for crimes against humanity as a last resort to pressure them to allow an international relief operation to reach desperate cyclone survivors. A boy looks out onto his devastated village near Yangon, Burma "The strategy is to raise the bar for the consequences of not allowing humanitarian intervention by introducing the threat of prosecution for crimes against humanity," said a senior US health expert involved in the discussions. "The goal is...

Caritas Internationalis emergency response efforts are underway in Myanmar's Ayeyarwady division and Yangon districts, two of the areas hardest hit by Cyclone Nargis, for an estimated 40,000 people who will receive vital relief, including food, shelter, water, medical care and psychological support. Catholic Relief Services is supporting Caritas Internationalis and partners on the ground after one of the worst cyclones to hit the region in decades struck this delta region on May 2. To date, 1,000 people have received food, and another 16,000 people are expected to receive relief supplies in the coming days. More than 100 local volunteers have...

All, Mission To The World, the PCA's international ministry, has issued an appeal for funds to aid in the relief of Myanmar cyclone victims. I know that most of us have heard stories about countries and large relief agencies having their hands tied, but God will provide a way for His church to break through manmade barriers. _________________________________________________________________ Horrifying and harrowing stories are emerging in the aftermath of the catastrophic tropical cyclone that devastated much of already poverty-striken Myanmar. Reuters News is reporting as many as one million people left homeless. No one really knows how high the death toll...

Myanmar cyclone death toll will hit 200,000, say British By Graeme Jenkins in Rangoon Last Updated: 12:05AM BST 16/05/2008 British officials have said that the number of dead and missing after the Burmese cyclone is expected to rise to more than 200,000. There are more calls for the secret military regime in Burma to allow aid workers into the country, following the deadly cyclone. The Foreign Office said British officials were working on the basis that 217,000 people had died or were unaccounted for. The figure, which a spokesman said was based on new United Nations estimates, is approaching the...

Myanmar cyclone: 130,000 may have died as second storm gathers By Graeme Jenkins in Rangoon Last Updated: 11:07PM BST 14/05/2008 The Red Cross said that almost 130,000 people may have perished in the Burmese cyclone disaster, as a second deadly storm gathered off the Burmese coast. There are more calls for the secret military regime in Burma to allow aid workers into the country, following the deadly cyclone. The organisation said that the toll may be 127,990, almost 30,000 higher than the figure estimated by the US embassy in Rangoon. A further 2.51 million people have been left battling to...

Surprise, surprise. The first relief planes which flew into Burma, or Myanmar, as its military junta, much cared for by our Department of Foreign Affairs, calls that godforsaken place, were American military planes carrying precious bottled water, food, medicines and mosquito nets, all paid for by American taxpayers and given willingly with no strings attached. As is well known, Burma has been ruled by a brutal and murderous military junta since 1988, and is now suffering not only the yoke of collectivist brutality but also the fierce lash of nature, which renders puny all of man’s works. Aren’t they irritating,...

Another powerful storm headed toward Myanmar's cyclone-devastated delta, where so little aid has reached that the U.N. warned on Wednesday of a "second wave of deaths" among an estimated 2 million survivors. The U.S. military's Joint Typhoon Warning Center said there is a good chance that "a significant tropical cyclone" will form within the next 24 hours and head across the Irrawaddy delta area. The area was pulverized by Cyclone Nargis on May 3, leaving at least 34,273 dead and 27,838 missing, according to the government. The U.N. says the death toll could exceed 100,000. An estimated 2 million survivors...

Again today, the New York Times demonstrates that the MSM isn't opposed to America's invasion of foreign countries. There's really only one precondition: the national security interests of the United States must not be at stake. Thus it is that the NYT op-ed page today runs Aid at the Point of a Gun by Robert D. Kaplan, a national correspondent for The Atlantic and a fellow at the Center for a New American Security. The gist is that while it could bring ongoing obligations, the armed invasion of Myanmar for purposes of bringing aid to the cyclone victims is justifiable...

Many cyclone victims are getting spoiled food from Myanmar's junta instead of the high-quality supplies being delivered by foreign governments and charities, victims and aid workers said Tuesday. A longtime foreign resident of Myanmar's biggest city, Yangon, told The Associated Press in Bangkok by telephone that angry government officials have complained to him about the military misappropriating aid. He said the officials told him that quantities of the high-energy biscuits rushed in on the World Food Program's first flights were sent to a military warehouse. They were exchanged by what the officials said were "tasteless and low-quality" biscuits produced by...

YANGON, Myanmar - The United States delivered its first relief supplies to Myanmar on Monday, as the U.N. urged the reclusive nation to open its doors to foreign experts who can help up to 2 million cyclone victims facing disease and starvation. Snip Britain's opposition leader called for air-dropping aid if Myanmar's military government remains adamant. Snip The U.S. military C-130 cargo plane, packed with 14 tons of supplies, flew out of the Thai air force base of Utapao and landed in Yangon, capping prolonged negotiations to persuade Myanmar's military government to accept U.S. help. Snip Though international assistance has...

A sermon preached by the Rt Revd Dr Alan Smith, Bishop of Shrewsbury at a confirmation at Christ Church, Shelton and Oxon on 11th May 2008 As Delivered Scripture: Acts 2 1 - 21 There are inevitably two focuses to our worship today. Gathered here are the candidates for confirmation with families and friends. It’s a joyful occasion as we come to celebrate with them this stage in their spiritual life. But we’d be kidding ourselves if we don’t face the fact that the other factor behind our worship today is the plight of those people in Myanmar (the place...

Item: The McCain campaign's handpicked RNC convention czar, Doug Goodyear, resigns after Newsweek reports that his firm, the DCI Group, was working to make the government of Myanmar look good. “Today I offered the convention my resignation so as not to become a distraction in this campaign. I continue to strongly support John McCain for president, and wish him the best of luck in this campaign.”

WASHINGTON -- As Myanmar's aid crisis deepens, the Bush administration is facing criticism that its denunciations of the military regime may have contributed to its resistance to allowing foreign aid workers to enter the storm-ravaged country.

PR executive Doug Goodyear voluntarily steps down after past ties to Burma are revealed.

"People have just one set of clothes; some are even wearing jute bags. There is not enough drinking water. There are no sanitation facilities whatsoever. Many people have wounds that are not being attended. The estimated number of people in these 26 camps is 100,000." Sheri Villarosa, the senior US diplomat in Burma, said she feared the death toll could reach 100,000. But despite the obvious suffering, massive devastation and pressing need for urgent action, the Burmese authorities were continuing to insist yesterday that everything was under control. On the front page of the New Light of Myanmar – a...

NEW YORK (AP) - A CNN reporter who left Myanmar on Friday was chased by authorities as he reported on the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis but escaped primarily because of the incompetence of the people after him. Dan Rivers hid under a blanket at one police checkpoint and casually covered up his name on a passport to avoid detection another time. He may ultimately have gotten out of the country due to a stewardess' impatience. "I was amazed at the lengths they apparently went just to catch me," Rivers told The Associated Press by telephone from Thailand on Saturday. Rivers'...

With United States warships and air force planes at the ready, and over 1 million of Myanmar's citizens left bedraggled, homeless and susceptible to water-borne diseases by Cyclone Nagris, the natural disaster presents an opportunity in crisis for the US. A unilateral - and potentially United Nations-approved - US military intervention in the name of humanitarianism could easily turn the tide against the impoverished country's unpopular military leaders, and simultaneously rehabilitate the legacy of lame-duck US President George W Bush's controversial pre-emptive military policies. Myanmar's ruling junta has responded woefully to the cyclone disaster, costing more human lives than would...

I smell a rat. Look at this picture, the signs are printed and in English. Notice the machine gun in the right hand, bottom corner. The picture in it's original context can be found here: Aid Shipments to Myanmar to Resume; More Rain on the Way

YANGON, Myanmar (CNN) -- Authorities in cyclone-ravaged Myanmar have seized United Nations aid intended for victims of the disaster, a move that "shuts down" future flights from the organization, according to a U.N. World Food Program official. A child sleeps on the floor as cyclone-affected families shelter in a school in western Yangon. 1 of 3more photos » The organization, which insists on distributing its own relief supplies, said the seizure of two aircraft-loads of food, medcine and equipment, has already hit out at Myanmar's refusal to all access to foreign eis workers. "This is another example of them actively...

Help for the survivors of Cyclone Nargis is on the way from Water Missions International (WMI). WMI is preparing 44 water purification systems for immediate deployment to aid survivors of last Saturday's deadly cyclone in Myanmar. The 44 Living Water(TM) Treatment Systems (LWTS(TM)) have been requested from other organizations around the United States who are working to get relief to the people of Myanmar. World Vision has requested 20 water systems, Operation Blessing has requested up to 12, and Samaritan's Purse has asked for 12 water systems to be ready for transport this Friday, May 9. According to a media...

YANGON, Myanmar - A U.S. diplomat said Wednesday that it's possible the death toll from the Myanmar cyclone could top 100,000. Aid continued to trickle into the military-ruled Myanmar for the estimated one million survivors of Cyclone Nargis on Wednesday. With the inundated Irrawaddy delta virtually cut off and frustration growing among aid agencies and governments to deliver supplies, France suggested invoking a U.N. "responsibility to protect" clause without waiting for military approval. French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner told reporters on Wednesday the idea was being discussed at the United Nations. The storm is Asia's most devastating cyclone since a...

Al Gore has once again displayed the timing and class that enabled him to help elect George W. Bush President back in 2000. As the dead lie unburied and decaying in Myanmar, after a cyclone hit the country with the impact of Lucifer’s Hammer, the government worries more about its sovereignty than it does its people. Al Gore, like the Fiddling Emperor Nero, worries far more about his showmanship and his pet issue than he does the fact that at least 40,000 people lie dead in the wake of a cataclysmic natural disaster. Al Gore ironically released his latest counterfactual,...

Myanmar: It's feared that the death toll from Cyclone Nargis will hit 50,000. This is a tragedy that did not have to happen. A more-competent, less-venal government would have limited the damage.Burma, as the nation of 47.8 million is known in official Washington, is bedeviled by a junta that has isolated this small Southeast Asian country for decades. Though rich in resources and once prosperous, the nation is wracked by indigence, with a third of the people living below the poverty line. On some level, the catastrophe hit Burma long before the storm struck on Saturday. Beyond the capital of...

WASHINGTON — President Bush called on Myanmar's military junta on Tuesday to allow the United States to provide disaster assistance after a devastating cyclone.The United States has made an initial aid contribution but we want to do a lot more," Bush said in the Oval Office. "We're prepared to move U.S. Navy assets to help find those who have lost their lives, to help find the missing, to help stabilize the situation. But in order to do so, the military junta must allow our disaster assessment teams into the country." The death toll from Tropical Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar, also...

Using tragedy to advance an agenda has been a strategy for many global warming activists, and it was just a matter of time before someone found a way to tie the recent Myanmar cyclone to global warming. Former Vice President Al Gore in an interview on NPR’s May 6 “Fresh Air” broadcast did just that. He was interviewed by “Fresh Air” host Terry Gross about the release of his book, “The Assault on Reason,” in paperback. “And as we’re talking today, Terry, the death count in Myanmar from the cyclone that hit there yesterday has been rising from 15,000 to...

Myanmar cyclone death toll soars past 22,000: state radio 48 minutes ago YANGON, Myanmar - The cyclone death toll soared above 22,000 on Tuesday and more than 41,000 others were missing as foreign countries mobilized to rush in aid after the country's deadliest storm on record, state radio reported. Up to 1 million people may be homeless after Cyclone Nargis hit the Southeast Asian nation, also known as Burma, early Saturday. Some villages have been almost totally eradicated and vast rice-growing areas are wiped out, the World Food Program said. Images from state television showed large trees and electricity poles...

Foreign aid workers in Burma have concluded that as many as 50,000 people died in Saturday’s cyclone, and two to three million are homeless, in a disaster whose scale invites comparison with the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.

via translation - ALERT - New record of hurricane Nargis Official: more than 15,000 dead RANGOUN - The Burmese authorities have revised upwards the death toll of the devastating cyclone that Nargis was Tuesday to more than 15,000 dead, including about 10,000 in the town of Bogalay (south-west), reported the official media.

Excerpt - YANGON, Myanmar - A powerful cyclone killed more than 350 people and destroyed thousands of homes, state-run media said Sunday. Some dissident groups worried that the military junta running Myanmar would be reluctant to ask for international help. Tropical Cyclone Nargis hit at a delicate time for the junta, less than a week ahead of a crucial referendum on a new constitution. Should the junta be seen as failing disaster victims, voters who already blame the regime for ruining the economy and squashing democracy could take out their frustrations at the ballot box. Some in Yangon complained the...

Cyclone death toll nears 4,000 in Myanmar, state radio says 11 minutes ago YANGON, Myanmar (AP) — Almost 4,000 people were killed and nearly 3,000 others are unaccounted for in a single town after a devastating cyclone in Myanmar, a state radio station said Monday. Tropical Cyclone Nargis hit the Southeast Asian country, also known as Burma, early Saturday with winds of up to 120 mph. The cyclone blew roofs off hospitals and schools and cut electricity in Myanmar's largest city, Yangon. The government had previously put the death toll countrywide at 351 before increasing it Monday to 3,939. The...

Dear God: If you can't stop Mark Morford, please teach him to use the internet Wed Apr 30, 2008 at 02:20:20 PM by Benjamin Wachs I try not to call Chron columnist Mark Morford out on his stylistic problem as a writer, because who has that kind of time? But as a fellow journalist I feel that research – knowing at least a little about what we’re writing about – is the very least we owe the public. The very, very least. So a few months ago I called him out on the sheer ignorance of his attacks against Christianity....

Singapore: Singapore Says It Will Investigate Alleged North Korea Rocket Exports To Myanmar News 2008-04-04 10:33 SINGAPORE: The Singapore government said Thursday (3 Apr) it will look into allegations that a Singapore company was involved in the exports of rocket launchers by North Korea to Myanmar, following a media report. Japan's national broadcaster NHK reported Wednesday (2 Apr) that North Korea started full-scale exports of rocket launchers to Myanmar through a trading company based in Singapore. The report, however, did not identify the Singapore-based company, or give any other details. Singapore's Foreign Affairs Ministry said it took such allegations seriously...

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The United States on Wednesday condemned Myanmar for new arrests of political activists, which it said contributes to a "climate of fear and repression" ahead of a referendum on the constitution. "We condemn the Burmese (Myanmar) regime's continued arrests and attacks on peaceful political activists," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said in a statement. "These blatant human rights abuses contribute to the climate of fear and repression in Burma as the regime prepares to conduct a referendum on its draft constitution," he added. He said the military junta over the weekend arrested five Muslim community leaders in...

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The US dropped China from its list of the world's worst human rights violaters, but added Syria, Uzbekistan and Sudan to the alleged offenders in an annual report released Tuesday. The State Department's 2007 Human Rights Report showed China, which has raised hopes it will improve human rights by hosting the 2008 Olympics, had parted company with countries like North Korea, Myanmar and Iran.

LOS ANGELES - Sylvester Stallone says his latest "Rambo" film and its tag line are inspiring real-life opponents of Myanmar's military rulers. "Either live for something, die for nothing — it's your choice," the 61-year-old actor-director said Saturday in a phone call from Paris, where he is promoting the movie, the fourth in a series. "Students have now used this film as a rallying point and are using the quote, thinking maybe the American military will intervene and save them," he said. "Rambo" has the disaffected Vietnam vet John Rambo trying to find missionaries captured by Myanmar soldiers, who are...

Still in Control Pervez Musharraf was calm, confident and—despite a flurry of rumors—not about to announce his resignation. Instead, the Pakistani president's "concession" to his troubled nation was an announcement that he would allow Britain's Scotland Yard to help local law enforcement agencies with their investigation into last week's assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto. Speaking in a nationally televised address two hours after Pakistan's election commission announced the postponement of the ballot to Feb. 18, six weeks later than had been scheduled, Musharraf was notably deferential in his remarks about Bhutto, often invoking her "martyrdom" and extolling...

Burma's ruling generals have rejected a UN plan for three-way talks involving detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, according to state media. Minister Kyaw Hsan told UN envoy Ibrahim Gambari that Burma would not accept interference in its sovereignty. Mr Gambari arrived in Burma on Saturday for his second visit since protests in September were brutally suppressed. BBC UN correspondent Laura Trevelyan says diplomats privately admit omens for Mr Gambari's mission are not good. Publicly, UN officials are saying they cannot confirm the junta's decision to reject the talks proposal, according to our correspondent. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon...

Pro-Democracy Leader Aung San Suu Kyi Rallies Set Worldwide October 24, 2007 Einnor Mendoza - AHN News Writer Yangon, Burma (AHN) - A massive rally worldwide will be launched with Burma's detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi as its centerpiece and other political prisoners in the country. Rallies will be held in 12 cities worldwide to protest the Burma's military junta's house 12-year detention of Suu Kyi. Demonstrations will be set up in Chinese embassies, following reports that Beijing would play a key role in freeing Suu Kyi, BBC News reported. The pro-Suu Kyi rallies will be conducted in...

Demonstrations are planned in 12 cities worldwide against Burma's continuing detention of democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners. Protests will be staged at Chinese embassies, as campaigners say Beijing holds the key to Ms Suu Kyi's release. The Nobel Peace Prize winner has been held by the junta, mostly under house arrest, for exactly 12 years. Australia is the latest country to impose sanctions on Burma's generals, amid global condemnation of their rule. Australian officials said the financial sanctions would target 418 individuals, including top military figures and cabinet ministers. Pressure has been growing on the...