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Showing posts from April, 2011

Villagers Forced to Fund Embankment Construction

Mray Bon: Villagers in some cyclone-affected areas of Arakan State have been forced by local authorities to contribute money for reconstruction of embankments that were destroyed by Cyclone Giri last year, report villager sources. The photo for the story of Villagers Forced to Fund Embankment Construction One source said that the village authority has forced villagers to pay 3,000 kyat for each acre of paddy farm they own in the area. A villager from Taung Rin Village in Kyauk Pru Township said, "Village authorities have collected 3,000 kyat per acre of paddy farm from farmers to reconstruct embankments. We are facing difficulties at the moment with payment, which has been forcibly collected by local authorities." The government failed to provide a budget for the embankment reconstruction in cyclone-affected areas, and local authorities have turned to collecting money from farmers to fund the work. When Cyclone Giri struck the Arakan coast last year,

India and Burma to Hold Joint Naval Exercise

Dhaka: Two Indian naval ships will set out for Burma from the Bangladesh port of Chittagong today to take part in a joint naval exercise with Burma, said a report of an Indian official that was published in a Bangladesh newspaper. The report said that two Indian coastguard ships, the Vajra and Razia Sultan, will leave for Burma on Thursday morning after a joint exercise is completed with Bangladesh in the Bay of Bengal. The joint naval exercise with Bangladesh will be completed today, with the ships to leave for Burma afterwards. The two Indian ships came from Orissa State in India and arrived in Chittagong Port on Sunday to take part in a four-day naval exercise with Bangladesh. The naval ships will stay in Burma for four days. During that time, the ships will complete the joint exercise the same as they have done in Bangladesh, the report said. http://www.narinjara.com/details.asp?id=2938

Model Villager Trampled to Death by Wild Elephant in Arakan

By Tun Tun --------------- Maungdaw: A model villager in Arakan State has been trampled to death by a wild elephant that attached the man when he was on his way home from the jungle, village authorities said on Monday. 47-year-old U Hla Aung from Shwe Natala model village in southern Buthidaung Township died on 19 April at the scene where the elephant trampled him. "We rushed to him when he cried for help but we could not save him from the elephant. Before we reached him the elephant had already left. All his bones were broken and his body was trampled into pieces by the elephant," the village authority said. U Hla Aung is from Burma proper and came to the village along with his family in a government program to settle the model village. Wild elephants frequently attack and damage property and crops in northern Arakan State in areas where they are losing their natural habitat to the careless cutting of trees in the Mayu Range by government-backed timber c

Burma and Bangladesh to Collaborate in Military in Near Future

Dhaka: Burma and Bangladesh are expected to collaborate in the military sector in the near future after the two countries signaled their intent during Burmese air chief Lieutenant General Myat Hein's six-day visit to Bangladesh. Burma's Lt. General Myat Hein called on Bangladesh President Zillur Rahman yesterday, and during the meeting the Bangladesh president emphasized an exchange of military training by members of the armed forces between the two countries. President Zillur Rahman told Lt. General Myat Hein that Chief of Army Staff of Bangladesh General Abdul Mubeen is expected to visit Burma last month, saying, "We are interested to promote relations between the armed forces." According to an official report from Bangladesh, Lt. General Myat Hein also conveyed a message to the Bangladesh president that the newly elected government of Burma is keen to rapidly improve bilateral relations and mutual cooperation with Bangladesh. Lt. General

Arakanese MP Asks Permission for Public Meeting

Sittwe: An Arakanese lawmaker has reportedly written a letter to the chairman of the people's parliament asking permission to hold public conferences in his constituency after his recent attempt was barred by the local authority. "It is a responsibility for an MP to keep in touch with the people and to impart the situations of the people to the parliament," said U Phe Than, an MP from the Rakhine Nationalities Development Party who was elected in Mraybon Township in western Burma's Arakan State. He said he submitted a written appeal to the chairman of the people's parliament, U Shwe Mann, along with copies to the chief minister of the state, the election commission, and his party's chairman, on 22 April, requesting permission to hold public meetings in his constituency after he was stopped from doing so by the township administrator. "I had a plan to travel to the villages in my township to hold public meetings from 10 April, but the town

Two Yaba Traffickers Arrested in Maungdaw

By Takaloo ------------- Maungdaw: Two men were arrested with large amounts of yaba by Nasaka border security forces on 22 April in Maungdaw, a border town in western Burma's Arakan State, reported a source close to Nasaka. The men were identified as U Nyi Chay from Ward No. 1, and U Ba Kyaw from Shwezar Ward in Maungdaw. "They were arrested by Nasaka on a tip that they were bringing yaba stimulants on their way to Shwezar Ward by motorbike. A total of 19,800 tablets were seized from them," said the source. The source added that the two traffickers are being detained by Nasaka at Kanyinchaung Outpost. According to an official source in Maungdaw, this was the largest seizure of yaba tablets this year in the western border area. Yaba tablets have been smuggled out to Bangladesh from Burma by drug traffickers in recent years through many border points, and it is suspected that the tablets seized by Nasaka were also on their way to Bangladesh, said

Burma Air Chief in Bangladesh for Six-Day Visit

Dhaka: Burma's air chief, Lieutenant General Myat Hein, is now in Bangladesh to discuss with his counterparts bilateral military issues between the two countries, according to an official report. "The Commander in Chief of the Myanmar Air Force, Lt. General Myat Hein, arrived in Dhaka on a six-day visit to Bangladesh on Saturday. He is leading a six-member delegation," said the report. On his arrival at the Dhaka airport he was received by Assistant Chief of Air Staff, Air Vice-Marshall Muhammad Enamul Bari. Burma's air chief called on some of Bangladesh's top military brass, including the Chief of Army Staff, Chief of Naval Staff, Chief of Air Staff, and the Principal Staff Officer of the Armed Forces Division, the report said. He will also call on the president and prime minister of Bangladesh today. "The Burmese air chief has plans to visit some military institutes and bases in Dhaka and other towns during his goodwill visit to Ban

Painting Exhibit for Giri Victims

By Saw Saw ---------------- Rangoon: A five-day painting exhibit will be held in Rangoon, the former capital of Burma, to fundraise for victims of Cyclone Giri in western Burma's Arakan State, report official sources. An affected area of cyclone Giri in Arakan "The exhibit, titled 'The Givers', will be held from 25 to 29 April. Our intention is to raise funds for the Giri victims," U Mrat Tun Aung, an exhibitor, said. In the exhibit, many paintings lined to Cyclone Giri by artists will be shown in a gallery of the culture ministry located on Ko Min Ko Chin Avenue in Bahan Township in Rangoon, the source said. "We have plans to exhibit some Giri related paintings. We hope the exhibition will help bring people's attention to the cyclone victims when they see the paintings," he said. In the exhibition, Arakanese as well as artists of other nationalities will show their work. "Everybody can visit the painting gallery from

Carbon emissions 'hidden' in imported goods revealed

By Roger Harrabin Environment analyst, BBC News Emissions data from major exporters like China can be unclear Continue reading the main story Related Stories Openness urged on UK's emissions What is the cost of nature? Carbon labels present taxing problem The extent of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions "hidden" in imported goods is growing, according to two studies. Official statistics do not include emissions created by making imported goods but researchers say they should. It comes as the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reports 26% of global emissions come from producing goods for trade. The Carbon Trust found such "embedded" CO2 could negate domestic carbon cuts planned in the UK up to 2025. 'Delusion' Researchers want all nations to publish their data on embedded emissions. Glen Peters of research group Cicero, lead authors of the PNAS report, told B

Sony to launch Android tablets

Sony released illustrations of the two devices but said the final designs could change Continue reading the main story Related Stories Blackberry and Motorola take on iPad Google eyes Apple in tablet war Apple beats off succession query Sony has announced that it plans to launch two tablet computers running Google's Android operating system. The devices, codenamed S1 and S2, will go on sale towards the end of the year. Android is currently the fastest growing mobile platform and is expected to claim a 38% market share by 2015. Sony's entry into the tablet market was much anticipated, but comes relatively late in the day compared to other manufacturers. Apple launched its first version of the industry-leading iPad in April 2010. Its iOS system is expected to remain dominant for several years to come, albeit with a diminished share of sales. Sony said that its first tablets would come in two form factors: one will have a conventional 9.4 inch touchscree

Iran 'uncovers Stars espionage virus'

Details of the Stars virus were posted on the website of Iran's civil defence organisation Continue reading the main story Related Stories US and Israel blamed for Stuxnet Attack on Iran 'shows power of cyber-war' Officials in Iran say they have found a computer virus designed to target the country's government institutions. The malicious software - dubbed Stars - was capable of inflicting minor damage, according to the head of Iran's civil defence organisation. If the reports are accurate, it would be the second major attack in a year. The recently discovered Stuxnet worm is thought to have been created to take control of equipment used in Iran's nuclear programme. It would take some time to establish Stars' intended purpose, said Gholam Reza Jalali, military head of the Iranian Passive Defence Organisation. "The Stars virus has been presented to the laboratory but is still being investigated," he said. "No defini

PlayStation outage caused by hacking attack

An error message like this one greeted users trying to log-in to the PlayStation Network Continue reading the main story Related Stories Sony and Hotz settle hacking case Sony gets PS3 hack case details Sony has confirmed that a hacking attack was to blame for its PlayStation Network being taken offline. The company said that it had taken the PSN down voluntarily while it investigated an "external intrusion". The system is still unavailable five days after the hack was discovered. Users trying to connect have been met with error messages stating that the network is "undergoing maintenance" or is "suspended". The PlayStation Network is used by owners of PS3 and PlayStation Portable machines to download games, films and music, as well as to play online with friends. According to Sony, it has more than 70m accounts registered worldwide. In a blog post , the company thanked users for their patience and assured them that it was work

Al-Qaeda 'Afghan number two' Abdul Ghani killed - Nato

Nato says more than 100 al-Qaeda members are still in Afghanistan Continue reading the main story Taliban Conflict Facing the Taliban Can Afghan forces step up? Make-or-break year ahead Who are the Taliban? International forces in Afghanistan say they have killed their number two insurgent target in the country - senior al-Qaeda leader Abdul Ghani. The Saudi citizen died in an air strike almost two weeks ago in Kunar province, near Pakistan, Nato-led forces said. Abdul Ghani, also known as Abu Hafs al-Najdi, ran training camps and planned attacks on tribal leaders and foreigners, the Nato statement said. Nato estimates some 100 al-Qaeda members still operate in Afghanistan. The alliance says it has killed more than 25 al-Qaeda leaders and fighters in the past month. There is no independent confirmation of the claim. Abdul Ghani has been blamed for a number of high-profile attacks - including the death of Malik Zarin, a tribal leader

Volcanic ash air shutdown the 'right' decision

By Paul Rincon Science reporter, BBC News The eruption shut down European airspace in April 2010 Continue reading the main story Related Stories Was the flight ban necessary? 'No tolerance' rule for volcanic ash Why Iceland volcano has grounded UK flights Concerns about aircraft safety during the eruption of an Icelandic volcano in 2010 were well founded, according to a new scientific study. Ash particles from the early part of the eruption were especially sharp and abrasive, posing a possible threat to aircraft flying through the cloud. In addition, these particles were so small they could have melted quickly inside jet engines, potentially causing them to fail mid-flight. The work is published in PNAS journal . The outpour of ash from Eyjafjallajokull caused the largest closure of European airspace since World War II, with losses estimated at between 1.5bn and 2.5bn euros. Some 10 million travellers

Giri rebuild gains pace but livelihoods underfunded

February 2011, Minbya Township – For casual labourer and father of two, U Maung Soe Tun, the arrival of Cyclone Giri on 22 October appeared to destroy his dream of owning his own house. “Before Cyclone Giri, we lived in a very small hut and life was so hard. As a casual labourer I could only ever earn K1,500 a day, which wasn’t even enough to buy food all of the time and we lived hand-to-mouth,” he said. “But I always dreamed of building my own house.” “On the way, I saw many buildings and trees had been flattened – even the biggest ones. I thought to myself that if those couldn’t resist the storm, then there was no chance that our little hut could possibly have escaped. “When I finally arrived, I found that it had been destroyed and nothing was left, which made me very upset,” he said. A few days later, aid organisations such as United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), World Food Programme and Artsen Zonder Grenzen (AZG – Médecins Sans Frontières, Holland) came to the

Arakan State Government Prepares to Auction Rivers and Offshore Plots for Fishing

Sittwe: The newly formed Arakan State government is preparing to auction off rivers and offshore plots for fishing for the 2011 - 2012 fiscal year, against the will of the Arakanese people, said community leaders. A young-boy fishing on a river of Arakan The fishery department of Arakan State has just announced a call for tenders in order to auction off the fishing plots in rivers and coastal waters. U San Tun Kyaw, a fishing boat owner from Sittwe, said, "The authority will hold the auction in Sittwe on 29 April, 2011 for rivers and offshore plots, and now the authority has delivered a notice of a call for tender among the public. All rivers, creeks, and offshore plots will be tendered by authorities on the day." In Arakan State, the government authority has been auctioning all rivers, creeks, and offshore plots to businessmen for fishing every year since 1988. In that time, ordinary Arakanese people have been deprived of fishing waters. "Befo

Burmese Musician Dies at Water Festival in Bangladesh

Cox’sbazar: : An Arakanese musician from Burma died unexpectedly during a performance in a village of Cox's Bazar District in Bangladesh at an Arakanese new year festival, said a colleague. The well-known musician, 43-year-old Aung Kyaw Zan from Sittwe in Burma's Arakan State, died at Azino Co Village in Cox's Bazar District on 15 April, 2011. "He died at 4:45 pm when he was playing the keyboard in a performance along with other musicians. He died suddenly just two minutes after he collapsed unconscious on the floor of the concert stage," his colleague said. Aung Kyaw Zan most likely died from his diabetes, which he had been suffering from for a long time, the source added. His body was moved to Cox's Bazar hospital from the village for an autopsy because he was a foreigner who came to Bangladesh on a seven-day visa through the Maungdaw - Teknaf border point. He was buried in the Cox's Bazar Rakhine graveyard on 16 April after the

Verdict on Maritime Boundary by Year-End

Dhaka: The maritime boundary dispute between Burma and Bangladesh is likely to end this year as the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) will deliver its verdict on the case by the end of this year. Bangladesh authorities announced the news to Dhaka-based paper The Independent. Additional Foreign Secretary Khurshed Alam said, "Bangladesh and Burma will complete filing their pleadings to ITLOS by July and oral hearings will be held in September or October." The Bangladesh government accepted the jurisdiction of ITLOS in December 2009 to settle the maritime boundary dispute with Burma. "We expect the verdict by the end of this year," Secretary Khurshed Alam said. Meanwhile, Burmese authorities have been collecting the background history of the Bangladesh-owned island of St. Martin, called "Coconut Island" by the Burmese, that is located at the mouth of the Naff River. A rural teacher from Alaythan Kyaw Village in southe

Burma Envoy Participates in Dhaka's Traditional Rakhine Water Festival

Dhaka: Newly appointed Burmese ambassador to Bangladesh, U Min Lwin, participated in the Rakhine ( Arakanese) water festival held in Dhaka along with his wife on 14 April, 2011, report community sources. An Arakanese community leader said that Ambassador U Min Lwin, along with his wife and staff, joined the water festival that was held in a Chakmar monastery in the Mipur area of Dhaka. "Burmese ambassador U Min Lwin was entertained by an Arakanese troupe with traditional dance in pandal. He seemed to be happy when he saw the performance and water play in pandal between boys and girls," he said. The traditional Rakhine water festival has been celebrated by the Dhaka branch of the Rakhine Buddhist Welfare Association since 2009, and this year being the third festival held. This is the first festival a Burmese ambassador has participated in. "It is the first time the Burmese ambassador participated in the Rakhine water festival. We all are happy abo

Libya conflict: France eyes new UN resolution

Click to play The BBC's Orla Guerin reports from a crowded Misrata hospital Continue reading the main story Libya Crisis Letter on Libya: Full text Layers of reality in Tripoli Libya crisis mapped Where is al-Qaeda? The French defence minister has suggested a new UN Security Council resolution may be needed for Nato allies to achieve their goals in Libya. Gerard Longuet was speaking after a joint letter by the US, UK and French leaders said there could be no peace while Col Muammar Gaddafi was in power. The current UN resolution

Full blast Songkran, Human wave brings festival to a head

Bangkok Post News Tens of thousands of Songkran revellers in Khon Kaen are expected to break their own record today as they round off the three-day water festival with a gigantic human wave. HerRoyalHighnessPrincessMaha Chakri Sirindhorn performs a ramwong dance during Songkran celebrations at the Lao embassy in Thailand yesterday. PATTANAPONGHIRUNARD Last year's event, which took place on Khao Neaw Road, drew 42,652 participants. This year, the event organiser has sectioned off 800m of road, up from 650m, to ensure it can accommodate bigger crowds. Revellers have been warming up for today's main event. On Wednesday, 23,104 people joined in a human wave for the first day of Songkran. In Bangkok on Wednesday, Thailand landed an official Guinness World Record when 3,477 revellers gathered in front of CentralWorld and took part in the largest ever water pistol fight. Agirl in Thai traditional costume brings out her water pistol in a Songkran celebration in front o

Two-Thirds of Giri Families in Arakan Still Homeless

Mray Bon: Two-thirds of the families that were victims of Cyclone Giri in Arakan State are still waiting for proper accommodation, despite that the rainy season will be starting next month in Burma, report several sources. Most of the families who are still homeless are in Mray Bon Township, the area most affected by the cyclone that hit the Arakan coast last year. A social worker from Mray Bon said, "The problem is serious for the cyclone victims in our area, but there is no organization to help overcome the problem. Meanwhile, there are problems taking place between the affected families and local NGOs who are constructing homes for victims." Some NGOs have been constructing homes for families in Mray Bon Township, but many have refuse to move into the homes due to their weak construction. "The cyclone victims want homes that can withstand a normal storm, but most of the homes constructed by the NGOs are not strong enough to resist a normal stor

19 Arrested Muslims Moved to Buthidaung Prison

Maungdaw: 19 Muslim men who were arrested on suspicion of having links to the Taliban were moved to Buthidaung prison on Friday from the Maungdaw police station for security reasons, reported police and local sources. The authority shifted them to Buthidaung on Friday after the court fixed the next hearing date in their case for 22 April. A local resident close to the police told Narinjara over the phone, "I was told by police that the 19 arrested Muslim men were shifted to Buthidaung prison from Maungdaw for security reasons after they were produced before a judge in the Maungdaw District court. The authorities do not want to lock them up at the Maungdaw police station for a long time with no trial." From 13 to 17 April is the official new year holiday in Burma and authorities will bring them before the court after the holiday. "The authority is concerned over security in Maungdaw during the new year holiday. So the authority shifted them to Buthidaung

Two Soldiers AWOL from Burma Army Shot Dead

Maungdaw: Two Burmese soldiers who absconded from the army with their weapons on the western Burmese border near Bangladesh were shot and killed after being captured by the army, reported a source close to the army. The soldiers were identified as Corporal Maung Win and Private Maung Phyu from Infantry Battalion 233 based in Buthidaung in western Burma's Arakan State. "They fled, taking their weapons, from their posts on the frontline in the early morning on 2 April. Their forces hunted them after getting information on their motives. Private Maung Phyu was caught in the evening on the same day at Tamannthar Village, and Corporal Maung Win was caught the next morning at a farm hut near Raenauk Ngarther Village in northern Maungdaw Township. Both of them were executed as traitors after being captured by their force," said the source. The source added that the two men were shot and killed at the scene where they were captured by Captain Aung Naing H

Verdict on Maritime Boundary by Year-End

Dhaka: The maritime boundary dispute between Burma and Bangladesh is likely to end this year as the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) will deliver its verdict on the case by the end of this year. Bangladesh authorities announced the news to Dhaka-based paper The Independent. Additional Foreign Secretary Khurshed Alam said, "Bangladesh and Burma will complete filing their pleadings to ITLOS by July and oral hearings will be held in September or October." The Bangladesh government accepted the jurisdiction of ITLOS in December 2009 to settle the maritime boundary dispute with Burma. "We expect the verdict by the end of this year," Secretary Khurshed Alam said. Meanwhile, Burmese authorities have been collecting the background history of the Bangladesh-owned island of St. Martin, called "Coconut Island" by the Burmese, that is located at the mouth of the Naff River. A rural teacher from Alaythan Kyaw Village in southe

Ruined Notes Hamper Local Trade in Arakan

Sittwe: The authority has not distributed new currency notes to the public through any banks in Arakan State, leading to problems for people in every corner of the state, who are forced to use ruin notes for buying and selling goods, report local residents. A shopkeeper from Sittwe said, "Sometimes we cannot sell goods to buyers because we have no notes in our shop. Even though we do have some currency, the notes are ruined and impossible to give to buyers. We went to the bank to exchange them for new notes, but we are never able to get new notes from the banks." Throughout Arakan State, people are using the ruined notes despite that some are so damaged people can no longer remember the value amount of the note. A resident from Maungdaw said, "It is a big issue for all people in our state. Everybody faces the problem when they go to the market to buy something. I saw several quarrels between buyers and sellers for the issue of rare notes whenever I

Traditional Rakhine Thingyan Celebrated Around Asia

Dhaka: The traditional Rakhine Thingyan water festival has been celebrated by Arakanese communities throughout Asia with water play to mark the new year of the Rakhine era. Rakhine water festival in Singapore On 10 April, the first new year festival was celebrated by the Arakanese community in Singapore. Both Arakanese and Burmese participated in the occasion. A youth who led the water festival in Singapore said, "The event of the water festival in Singapore was a first. We celebrated the festival in order to preserve and look after our traditions. We get unity among our people by celebrating the water festival in Singapore. That is our goal in celebrating the water festival in Singapore." On 12 April, a water festival was celebrated by Arakanese students in Chittagong, the second largest city in Bangladesh. Many young people participated in the water festival and news of the celebration was picked up by many local Bengali newspapers. The Arakanese t

Net giants challenge French data law

The French government wants access to a range of data stored by Google, eBay and others Continue reading the main story Related Stories Fine for Google over Street View Europe 'not ready' for cookie law Canada approves Facebook changes Google and Facebook are among a group of net heavyweights taking the French government to court this week. The legal challenge has been brought by The French Association of Internet Community Services (ASIC) and relates to government plans to keep web users' personal data for a year. The case will be heard by the State Council, France's highest judicial body. More than 20 firms are involved, including eBay and Dailymotion. The law obliges a range of e-commerce sites, video and music services and webmail providers to keep a host of data on customers. This includes users' full names, postal addresses, telephone numbers and passwords. The data must be handed over to the authorities if demanded. Police, the fr

Inside the criminal world of Ghana's e-mail scam gangs

Editor's note: The staff at CNN.com has been intrigued by the journalism of Vice, an independent media company and Web site based in Brooklyn, New York. Motherboard.tv is Vice's site devoted to the overlap between culture and technology. The reports, which are being produced solely by Vice, reflect a very transparent approach to journalism, where viewers are taken along on every step of the reporting process. We believe this unique approach is worthy of sharing with our CNN.com readers. Brooklyn, New York (Motherboard.tv) -- Ghana is doing extremely well by African standards. Of course "by African standards" means there are dirt roads leading past the brand-new, gold-columned presidential palace, and it seems 1 percent of the country is blowing their country's GDP at bars with $50 cover charges while the other 99 is selling bags of water at stop lights. They have huge mineral reserves and lots of foreign money invested in their extraction, all of which ends up