World Focus on Burma (3 Feb 08)

1. Stallone says ‘Rambo’ banned in Myanmar
   Brandon Sun,  Canada -
   Stallone also said two of the film’s actors, who are from the country formerly known as Burma, told him that family members have been arrested. …
2. Rambo gets Burmese officials’ attention
   CBC.ca,  Canada -

   

   Sylvester Stallone, 61, plays a Vietnam vet who storms into Burma to tackle its ruling junta in the latest Rambo instalment. (Associated Press)

   Police in Burma, also known as Myanmar, have given hawkers strict orders not to sell pirated copies of the flick, a resident of Rangoon has reported, …
3. INTERVIEW-Stallone challenges Myanmar junta, eyes “Rambo 5″
   Reuters -
   By Michael Winfrey LONDON, Feb 2 (Reuters) – Not satisfied with slugging it out with Myanmar’s military government on celluloid in his latest “Rambo” film, …
4. Museum Raids
   LA Canyon News, CA -
   The affidavits also state, the Markells sold the agent illegally imported antiquities from Burma, arranged for the agent to donate the items to a museum for …
5. The Shwegyin Religious World: Continuity, Rupture, and Political …
   UCLA Asia Institute, CA -
   … the University of Chicago in 2004, with a dissertation titled, “An Ethic of Continuity: Shwegyin Monks and the Sasana in Contemporary Burma/Myanmar. …

World Focus on Burma (29 Jan 08)

1. Myanmar junta charges leading protesters
   Reuters UK, UK -
   

   The 10, most of whom were leaders of a 1988 student-led uprising suppressed bloodily by the army, are accused of violating the former Burma’s Printing and …

2. European Union’s special envoy for Myanmar seeks Asian cooperation
   Earthtimes, UK -
   Bangkok – The European Union’s special envoy for Myanmar on Tuesday stressed the need for close cooperation with Asian governments in speeding up a solution …
3. ASEAN rights execs meet on framework of regional body
   Inquirer.net, Philippines -
   Rights groups have cautiously welcomed the move, but stressed that time was running out to reverse abuses in rogue state Myanmar, which continues to detain …
4. Federal probe of stolen art goes national
   Los Angeles Times, CA -
   “Passion for Form: Selections of Southeast Asian Art from the MacLean Collection” contains 53 of his best objects from Myanmar (formerly Burma), Thailand, …
5. Stallone: Time right for another ‘Rambo’
   Detroit Free Press, United States -
   “Rambo,” the fourth in the series that began in 1982, takes place in present-day, war-torn Burma (called Myanmar by its current government), …
6. EU envoy calls for release of Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi
   AFP -
   

   

   BANGKOK (AFP) — The EU’s special envoy for Myanmar on Tuesday urged the country’s military regime to free democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi as he kicked off …

7. Myanmar migrants fear worst from new Thai government
   Swissinfo, Switzerland -
   So, hopefully, the TRT-influenced PPP will take migration issues into account,” said Myint Wai of the Thai Action Committee for Democracy in Burma.
8. Sylvester Stallone is set to make a fifth ‘Rambo’ movie
   The Cheers, Estonia -
   The film, which Stallone directs and stars in, sees Rambo taking a group of mercenaries into war torn Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, in search of missing …
9. Irrawaddy Dam Construction Begins, Human Rights Abuses Begin
   The Irrawaddy News Magazine, Thailand -
   The Burmese state-run newspaper, The New Light of Myanmar, reported in May 2007 that seven hydropower projects on the Irrawaddy River had been designed to …
10. Myanmar Times CEO Supports Regime’s “Road Map”
    The Irrawaddy News Magazine, Thailand -
    By Wai Moe Burma’s English language weekly newspaper, The Myanmar Times, threw its support unequivocally behind the regime’s seven-point “road map” in a …
11. EU urges new govt to promote democracy in Burma
    Nation Multimedia, Thailand -
    “The EU wants to cooperate with Thailand’s government to promote a positive solution in Burma,” said Piero Fassino, EU Special Envoy to Burma. …
12. EU wants Thai help to pro¬mote democracy in Burma
    Nation Multimedia, Thailand -
    “The EU wants to cooperate with Thailand’s government to promote a positive solution in Burma,” said Piero Fassino, EU Special Envoy to Burma. …
13. Blogger detained amid increased surveillance of Internet; more …
    Southeast Asian Press Alliance, Thailand -
    On 21 January, Mizzima reported that Blogger.com, the most popular blog provider to users inside Burma, has been completely blocked after Myanmar Post and …
14. Myanmar frees four Indians
    | IMPHAL: Myanmar authorities have released four Indian nationals who were arrested six months ago for entering the neighbouring country without valid documents, official sources said on Monday. | They were han…
15. Man of War
    | Rambo is back – bigger and bloodier. | By Peter Suderman | You can learn everything you need to know about from the title. It’s short, simple, and blunt. There are no Roman numerals, no colons, no hokey subti..

World Focus on Burma (28 Jan 08)

1. Barack Obama’s Rambo Foreign Policy
   National Ledger, AZ -
   

   Burma, also known as Myanmar, has become one of several proposed high-profile targets for those advocating military intervention in other countries’ civil …

2. US, UK, France press Myanmar to restore democracy
   Inquirer.net, Philippines -
   “We have repeatedly made clear that the situation in Burma cannot continue, and that we remain committed to helping the people of Burma,” they added. …
3. Refugees victimized by vandals
   Waterbury Republican American, CT - Jan 27, 2008
   WATERBURY — When Toe Toe Po and his family moved from Myanmar, formerly Burma, to the city last summer, they were relieved to escape the terror and …
4. Search by Movie Title
   WTOP, DC - Jan 27, 2008
   On the nearby Thai-Burma (Myanmar) border, the world’s longest-running civil war, the Burmese-Karen conflict, rages into its 60th year. …
5. Worst national security administration ever: Opium edition
   BTC News -
   Between 1990 and 2000, Afghanistan never accounted for more than about 40% of the world’s opium-producing acreage; Myanmar (formerly Burma) was the biggest …
6. ‘Meet The Spartans’ Conquers Box Office
   Access Hollywood -
   Benz talks about how difficult it was shooting in the jungles of Burma, receiving death threats, and why she felt it was important to shoot this movie in …
7. EU envoy commences latest Burmese initiative
   Mizzima.com, India -
   Slovenian Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel assured Fassino that, “During Slovenia’s Presidency, the Burma/Myanmar issue will be permanently on the agenda. …
8. Gambari to revisit New Delhi to garner support for Burma
   Mizzima.com, India -
   New Delhi – United Nations Special Envoy to Burma, Ibrahim Gambari, is scheduled to arrive in New Delhi on Tuesday in a continuation of his efforts to …
9. Sylvester Stallone explains why he brought back Rambo
   PopMatters, IL -
   “Rambo,” the fourth in the series that began in 1982, takes place in present-day, war-torn Burma (which is called Myanmar by its current government), …
10. The lasting legacy of Suharto
    BBC News If Suharto had the kind of pumped-up ego we usually associate with powerful politicians, he never le…