Salem-News.com Myanmar articles

Burma`s Best-Known Comedian Detained After Aiding Cyclone Victims

Zargana is known throughout Burma as an irreverent comedian, but he also works as a producer, director, writer, and actor.

(BANGKOK) - Burmese authorities have detained the country’s best-known comedian, a frequent critic of the junta and recently a major player in private efforts to aid victims of Cyclone Nargis, his family has told Radio Free Asia (RFA).

Maung Thura, whose stage name is Zargana, was taken away late Wednesday after he returned from the devastated Irrawaddy delta region, where he was trying to bring relief aid to survivors of the devastating May 2nd-3rd cyclone.

Extension of House Arrest for Myanmar`s Democratic Leader Rests Poorly with UN

Top UN officials call for the release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi after Myanmar extends her house arrest.

(SALEM, Ore.) - The madness in Myanmar continues. Hope of seeing a change in the ruling military junta of this Asian nation have vanished, with the decision by the Government of Myanmar to extend the house arrest of pro-democracy leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.

As the war rages in oil rich Iraq, the peace crushing government of Myanmar, has been allowed by the world community to keep its pro-democracy leader under house arrest, and continue its position as one of if not the single most abusive military regimes in the world with a history of murder and false imprisonment of its own citizens.

UN Secretary-General Visits Cyclone-Ravaged Myanmar

Tomorrow, Mr. Ban is scheduled to meet with Myanmar’s leader Senior General Than Shwe.

(YANGON, Myanmar) - Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has now seen the devastation in Myanmar left by Cyclone Nargis, which has killed tens of thousands of people and uprooted the lives of 2.4 million others since it struck the country earlier this month.

He visited the makeshift Kyondah relief camp where many women and small children who have lost their homes and family members have taken shelter.

Top UN Official Visits Cyclone Ravaged Myanmar

The UN has deployed 100 satellite terminals to facilitate in-country coordination of the humanitarian effort.

(PYAPON, Myanmar) - The United Nations’ top relief official John Holmes has travelled to the Irrawaddy delta, the area in Myanmar hardest hit by Cyclone Nargis, which struck early this month and has affected up to 2.4 million people.

As the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs travels within Myanmar, UN agencies report that they are making progress in reaching victims of the cyclone, but that the operation still needs to be ramped up.

UN`s Humanitarian Chief Will Head to Myanmar

UN agencies have mounted a major effort to ferry in relief supplies.

(GENEVA) - The United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has said he is planning to send the organization’s highest ranking aid official to Myanmar, to boost efforts to tackle the crisis caused by Cyclone Nargis which swept through the country at the beginning of the month.

Mr. Ban said there was “a sense of great urgency,” and that much more needed to be done in Myanmar. “The first few days, even a few more hours, will be crucially important in reaching these needy people with the necessary relief items and humanitarian goods,” he said.

Myanmar Faces New Catastrophe Without More Food Access

The official death toll reported by Myanmar’s Government has reached almost 32,000, with over 34,000 others missing.

(GENEVA) - Unless more access to Myanmar is granted to allow aid to flow more quickly to victims of this month’s deadly cyclone, a second catastrophe could result, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warned today.

Despite some progress, efforts to help the 1.5 million people affected by Cyclone Nargis must be enhanced, a spokesperson for OCHA told reporters in Geneva.

UN Increases Food Aid for Cyclone-Stricken Myanmar

Cyclone Nargis washed away the homes of an estimated 1 million people.

(GENEVA) - The UN World Food Programme today said its food aid has reached more than 27,000 people in the areas of the Irrawaddy delta hit hardest by Cyclone Nargis, which left a path of death and destruction after striking Myanmar last week.

In an encouraging development, 28 tons of high-energy biscuits which arrived in Yangon on Friday are enough to feed 95,000 with first rations.

Disaster in Burma Drives Rice Prices Even Higher (VIDEO)

It is still unclear how much of Burma's production will be affected. The five hardest-hit Burmese states account for 65 percent of the country's rice output.

(RANGOON, Myanmar) - Damage from Cyclone Nargis may spread beyond Burma in the form of higher food costs throughout Asia and the rest of the world, experts say.

World rice prices, which have nearly tripled since the start of the year, could be pushed up further as aid agencies scramble for emergency supplies to replace Burma's lost crops.

Mercy Corps` Top European Official Heads to Myanmar

Agency mobilizes team to assess needs and begin on-the-ground response, humanitarian access remains challenging.

(PORTLAND, Ore.) - The global relief and development agency Mercy Corps is sending its top European official to Myanmar, and hopes to have several other members of an emergency-response team in the country in the coming week. Mervyn Lee, executive director of Mercy Corps Europe, is expected to arrive early next week.

Once on the ground, Mercy Corps staff will work with partner agencies to help assess needs and explore opportunities to ease suffering in the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis.

Help Could be En Route to Burma

UN appeals for $187 million to aid Myanmar cyclone victims.

(GENEVA) - The United Nations today appealed for $187 million to help provide humanitarian relief to some 1.5 million people severely affected by the recent cyclone in Myanmar for the next six months.

Launching the Flash Appeal in New York on behalf of 10 UN agencies and 9 non-governmental organizations, the UN’s top relief official emphasized that “the extent of the humanitarian catastrophe is enormous.”