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Showing posts from December, 2011

North Korea hails Kim Jong-un as leader

BBC Many thousands of North Koreans took part in Thursday's choreographed memorial Continue reading the main story Kim Jong-il dead Memorial in pictures Uniting N Korea in grief Mystical cult of personality Genuine tears? North Korea has hailed late leader Kim Jong-il's son, Kim Jong-un, as "supreme leader of the party, state and army".  Mr Kim took centre stage at a memorial service in Pyongyang's main square a day after his father's funeral. Kim Yong-nam, formally the number two leader, told a million-strong crowd their sorrow would be turned into strength "1,000 times greater under the leadership of comrade Kim Jong-un". State TV showed Kim Jong-un surrounded by top government and army officials. The memorial event appeared to be the Kim dynasty's unofficial handover of power, says the BBC's Lucy W

Rangoon warehouse blast kills 17

By AFP Published: 29 December 2011   A large pre-dawn explosion at a warehouse in Burma’s biggest city Rangoon on Thursday killed at least 17 people and injured dozens but was not caused by a bomb, an official said. “It was not a bomb explosion,” the official said, though the cause of the blast, which sparked a large fire that destroyed many nearby storage places and homes, was still unknown. At least 17 people, including four firefighters, had died, while 79 people were injured, including around 30 firemen, another government official told AFP. Residents in several areas of the city were woken by the blast around 2:00 am local time (1930 GMT), which appeared to have hit a medical warehouse in the eastern township of Mingalar Taung Nyunt, witnesses told AFP. Firefighters battled for hours to douse the flames and finally succeeded in extinguishing the massive fire at around 6:45am, leaving behind a scene of utter devastation. The second government official said

At Least 17 Dead in Massive Rangoon Blast

Irrawaddy Rescue workers search for bodies from a large explosion and fire in Rangoon on Dec 29. (Photo: Getty Images) The death toll from a series of blasts and a massive fire that hit an industrial estate on the outskirts of Rangoon early Thursday morning has been put at 17, as investigators continue their efforts to determine the cause of the disaster. Twelve men and five women were reported dead after an initial blast that occurred at around 2 am Thursday in Rangoon's Mingala Taung Nyunt Township triggered further explosions and ignited a blaze that engulfed at least 16 warehouses and destroyed 226 neighboring houses. More than 91 people who were injured have been hospitalized at Rangoon Hospital, according to officials. The death toll is expected to rise.   Slide Show ( View ) A Rangoon central fire department official said that the first explosion occurred at a warehouse for electrical goods, setting off subsequent blasts at oth

Explosion kills up to 23 people in Rangoon

Mizzima News –  Up to 23 people died and more than 70 people were injured in a huge explosion in a state-owned chemical storage warehouse in Mingalar Taungnyunt Township in Rangoon early Thursday morning.   Rescue workers search through the debris after the explosion at the Mettamon warehouses in Sat San Complex on Thursday, December 29, 2011. Photo: Mizzima The explosion and fire damaged nearly 100 structures in the area, including many residential homes and commercial buildings, authorities said. Five firefighters were among the dead. The number of dead and injured could continue to rise, authorities said. Several smaller explosions followed the first blast, around 2 a.m., and a fire quickly spread through a neighborhood filled with wooden structures.  Six warehouse out of 23, which are reportedly the Commerce Ministry's property, were destroyed. One warehouse was said to contain enamel and chemicals, including ammonia and sulfuric acid, which is believed t

Top wars in 2012

Mizzima News – Burma is No. 10 on a list of wars in 2012, according to the International Crisis Groups (ICC ), an NGO that seeks to prevent and resolve deadly conflicts. Louise Arbour, the group’s president, said in a statement the list reflects the ranking of wars at risk of deteriorating further in 2012. Arbour said Burma’s civil war in ethnic border areas had a chance to show improvement in 2012. The ICC statement on Burma said: The government's pledges on reform are being fulfilled: the military has moved out of front-line politics; top opposition figure Aung San Suu Kyi was released, is engaging with the government at top levels, and is set to run in elections. “Many other political prisoners were also released, and there are livelier debates in Parliament that are even broadcast on TV,” said the statement. “There is a major opportunity for this long-suffering country to continue in a positive direction in 2012. The ICC said, “The outside world, parti

Large explosion shakes Rangoon

( Mizzima ) – A huge early morning explosion and fire shook Rangoon on Thursday morning, killing up to 17 people and injuring up to 80 persons, police said. The cause of the blast was not clear. Several smaller explosions followed the first blast, around 2 a.m., and a fire quickly spread through a neighborhood with many wooden structures. Three of the dead were believed to be firemen who died while fighting the initial explosion and fire, according to police. Police told Reuters news agency that the explosion occurred in a compound of warehouses, located in Sat San Ward in Mingalar Taungnyunt. The warehouses contained unidentified chemicals and material connected to the construction industry and salt production, according to the BBC. Fire engines from throughout Rangoon rushed to the scene, witnesses said.

Why do the young Buddhist monks disrobe after they finish University?

Why do the young Buddhist monks disrobe after they finish University? Ven. Suriya B.A (Final Year) MCU, Chiang Mai Campus, Thailand I am now a senior student of MCU, studying at international English program with many monk friends from Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Thailand and Myanmar (Burma). Having studied almost four years, I have gained valuable various experiences which are very hard to get in Myanmar. The reason is that none of us are from indifferent cultural monastic life such as different wearing robes, different monastic training or education system and so. Three generations have already finished before my Burmese eyes.  I see many of my seniors have disrobed after they finished University. It always makes me the question of why. I am from west of Myanmar. Buddhist monks in Myanmar are hardly used to disrobing except monks who were given more pressures by military brutal authorities of Myanmar. Perhaps due to cultural gap, let talk about this later on.  After two mon

The repression of the August 8-12 1988 (8-8-88) uprising in Burma/Myanmar

A. Context Since the military coup of March 2, 1962, the Burmese armed forces (Tatmadaw) had been holding power in Burma. Under the leadership of General Ne Win (1910-2002) who established a socialist and autarchic military regime, Burma isolated itself from the outside world for almost three decades (1962-1988). But after 25 years of a “Burmese way to socialism”, the country was classified as one of the world’s Least Developed Countries by the United Nations and was on the verge of a socio-economic collapse. When the military government announced a complete demonetization of small bank notes in September 1987, spotted protests broke out in Rangoon. Students unable to pay their university fees (Burma’s economy being mainly a cash one) organized the first demonstrations against the military government since the mid-1970s when student protests were last crushed by the Army and anti-riot police forces between 1974 and 1976. Universities and colleges were thus closed for two

Floods, heat, migration: How extreme weather will transform cities

CNN By George Webster , for CNN December 23, 2011 -- Updated 1542 GMT (2342 HKT) Brooklyn Bridge stands shrouded in heavy rain and dark clouds as Hurricane Irene reaches the New York City area on August 28, 2011. According to Jan Corfee-Morlot, senior climate change analyst for the OECD, many developed coastal cities around the world face a "severe risk" of floods in the coming years. HIDE CAPTION Coastal city calamities << < 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 > >> STORY HIGHLIGHTS Tropical storm in Philippines comes just after report on climate change predicts floods Climate change refugees are catalyst to urbanization, stretching city capacity Climate scientists predict how effects of climate change will impact city Floods, droughts, and "urban heat islands" among common characteristics (CNN) -- When Tropical Storm Washi ripped through the southern Philippine city of Cagayan de Oro last w

North Korea: Kim Jong-un hailed 'supreme commander'

BBC   The move puts Mr Kim at the head of North Korea's vast armed forces Continue reading the main story Kim Jong-il dead Did US intelligence fail? Genuine tears? What next? Tough challenges New North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has been hailed by state media as "supreme commander" of the country's powerful armed forces for the first time.  The ruling party newspaper Rodong Shinmun also called on Kim Jong-un to lead North Korea to "eternal victory". State media had been calling Mr Kim "the great successor" after the death of his father Kim Jong-il on Monday. Mr Kim has little political experience and experts believe senior officials are guiding the transition. "We declare from our hearts ... we will complete the task of songun (military-first) revolution under comrade Kim Jong-un", the paper said in an editorial. The "

Japanese public chooses 'kizuna' as kanji of 2011

BBC   The chief priest of Kyoto's Kiyomizu temple displays his calligraphy of "kizuna", meaning "bond" Continue reading the main story Related Stories Kong is China's character of 2011 Japan declares Fukushima stable Powerful earthquake rattles Japan The Japanese word "kizuna", meaning bonds or connections between people, has been chosen as Japan's kanji of 2011. The kanji, or Chinese pictorial script, for "kizuna" emerged top of a public poll for the character that best summed up the year. For Japan, 2011 was dominated by the earthquake and tsunami in March. The disasters led to unprecedented numbers of Japanese helping one another. After the tsunami smashed into Japan's north-east coast on 11 March, killing thousands and engulfing entire communities, people's stoicism and their determination to pull together won international praise. In April the then prime minister Naoto Kan thanked the wo