Myanmar

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Myanmar Junta Claims Win on Constitution

Anti-government groups enraged by timing of announcement

(Newser) - Burmese voters overwhelmingly approved a constitution legitimizing military rule, the junta announced to widespread skepticism today. The vote held Saturday did not include two cyclone-ravaged areas where aid to victims is still largely being blocked by the government, but state media said those votes couldn't change the outcome. Turnout elsewhere...

Cyclone's Toll Worsens
 Cyclone's Toll Worsens 
May 14, 2008 8:04 PM CDT

Cyclone's Toll Worsens

UN says 2.5M people have been 'severely affected' by the storm

(Newser) - The UN today nearly doubled its estimate of the number of people "severely affected" by the cyclone in Burma to up to 2.5 million and said they were in dire need of immediate aid, Reuters reports. The frustrated UN chief urged the creation of a "high-level pledging...

Thailand, UN Seek Aid Route as New Burma Storm Builds

Latest tropical storm likely to become a cylcone

(Newser) - Thailand and the United Nations are working to open a land route from northern Thailand into Burma to get desperately needed help to cyclone survivors, reports the Wall Street Journal. The frantic efforts to deliver aid quickly have been stepped up as the UN's weather center is warning that another...

Junta Hinders Cyclone Coverage

Foreign journalists must hide to do their jobs

(Newser) - Journalists trying to cover the cyclone’s devastation in Burma find themselves obstructed and under surveillance by the military junta, the AP reports. The majority of foreign journalists, like aid workers, have simply been denied entry. Those inside must disguise themselves as tourists, watch out for government phone taps, and...

Rain Lashes Cyclone Survivors, UN Lashes Junta

UN chief 'immensely frustrated' by Burmese junta's lack of swift action

(Newser) - Two more American relief planes were scheduled to take off for Burma today, but the nation's military junta came in for another UN pounding for refusing to allow more desperately needed supplies to cyclone-stricken regions. "We are at a critical point. Unless more aid gets into the country very...

As US, Burma Talk, Volunteers Say Junta Is Selling Aid

American troops stand ready to help relief

(Newser) - A US admiral met with Burma's military command today in continued attempts to persuade the government to allow US servicemen into the country to assist in relief efforts, the Washington Post reports. Meanwhile, a Burmese volunteer operating his own supply effort tells the Daily Telegraph that government officials are commandeering...

US Aid Plane Lands in Burma
 US Aid Plane Lands in Burma 
Updated
May 12, 2008 12:03 PM CDT

US Aid Plane Lands in Burma

Official death toll at 32K; observers say it could be triple that

(Newser) - After days of negotiating, a US aid flight landed today in Rangoon, the BBC reports. It’s the latest sign Burma’s military junta might be relaxing its restrictions on foreign aid—a French charity’s plane also touched down—but relief workers still aren’t allowed in to distribute...

US Aid Finally Winging to Cyclone Survivors

But relief effort remains minimal with a million at risk

(Newser) - The first US aircraft laden with relief supplies for Burmese cyclone survivors was finally allowed to take off from Vietman today, Reuters reports. Desperately needed international aid has largely been blocked by Burma's military junta. American officials hope the flight, carrying water, blankets, and mosquito nets, will be the first...

Analysts Urge Washington to Invade Burma

Others advise against forcing aid on devastated country

(Newser) - Analysts and aid workers appalled by Burma’s attitude to foreign aid are urging Washington to invade, Time reports. One observer has called for the US to airlift food regardless of the junta’s restrictions; a retired general wants China to pacify Burma about US aid, or Thailand to paint...

Burma Votes Amid Cyclone Chaos

Junta ignores calls to delay vote and focus on helping cyclone victims

(Newser) - Burma plowed ahead with a referendum on its constitution today despite cyclone devastation that has left much of the country in ruins, AFP reports. The junta has postponed the vote for two weeks in the worst-hit areas, including the capital and the Irrawaddy delta, where hundreds of thousands have been...

World 'Knew' About Cyclone, Expert Says

Burma says it warned citizens 5 days before landfall

(Newser) - Burma says it warned its people of Cyclone Nargis 5 days before landfall, when it learned of the storm over news wires—but one expert believes Burma's media outlets were too primitive to spread the message. With Burma's death toll as high as 100,000, Newsweek talked to a global...

UN Resumes Food Aid to Burma
 UN Resumes Food Aid to Burma 
UPDATED
May 9, 2008 10:59 AM CDT

UN Resumes Food Aid to Burma

Agency bristles at junta's intervention

(Newser) - The UN World Food Program reversed its decision to cut off food shipments to cyclone-stricken Burma, Reuters reports. The WFP had stopped the flow of aid this morning after the junta confiscated a two-plane food shipment. Nonetheless, "discussions continue with the government of Myanmar on the distribution of the...

Irate UN Cuts Burma Off After Junta Seizes Aid

No reason given after goods confiscated

(Newser) - An enraged UN has shut off all further cyclone aid to Burma after its military junta seized two planes carrying a massive food shipment, CNN reports. “This is another example of them actively getting in the way of relief getting to the victims,” said the UN's Asia World...

Burmese Junta Still Blocking Cyclone Aid

'Second disaster' looms if aid is not allowed in

(Newser) - Emergency supplies for some 1.5 million Burmese desperately in need of help are ready to be flown into the cyclone-stricken regions—but the military junta is still blocking delivery. Only two UN planes have been allowed to land in Burma. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon tried unsuccessfully to telephone Burma's...

UN, US Again Blast Burma's Reluctance With Help

Insular state disappoints would-be donors; 1.5M could be affected

(Newser) - Officials the world over are expressing dismay at Burma's apparent disinterest in swift international aid to victims of the devastating cyclone that has 1 million homeless and perhaps more than 100,000 dead, Reuters reports. The US ambassador to the UN said today he was “outraged by the slowness...

Cyclone Could Weaken Junta's Grip

Upcoming vote could challenge government

(Newser) - The devastation of cyclone Nargis could spur stronger opposition to Burma’s ruling junta, the Christian Science Monitor reports. “It could be quite catalytic, like the [2004] tsunami in Aceh,” says a regional aid director. The government, reluctant to allow outside aid, has struggled to cope with the...

First Major Aid Finally Reaches Cyclone Survivors

But some planes grounded as officials dicker with junta to get help to villagers

(Newser) - A single United Nations plane laden with relief supplies has finally landed in Burma's Irrawaddy Delta region—six days after a pulverizing cyclone killed an estimated 100,000 people, AP is reporting. Three other UN planes are expected to land later today, but flights operated jointly by the US and...

Disease, Hunger Now Threaten Cyclone Survivors

Tainted water, corpses pose grave danger

(Newser) - The Burmese lucky enough to survive a catastrophic cyclone now face the threat of death by disease and hunger. Dirty water and rotting corpses pose a grave danger of cholera and diarrhea, and the devastated infrastructure is making it nearly impossible to deliver food to people who were hungry even...

Bush to Junta: Let the US Help
 Bush to Junta: Let the US Help 
May 6, 2008 2:07 PM CDT

Bush to Junta: Let the US Help

President signs act awarding Congressional Gold Medal to Suu Kyi

(Newser) - President Bush today expressed “heartfelt sympathy” to the victims of the Myanmar cyclone and called on the ruling junta to allow the US to offer more help, the Voice of America reports. The government has accepted $250,000 of US aid but balked at letting US Navy rescue teams...

Cyclone Death Toll 22,000 and Climbing
 Cyclone Death Toll
  22,000 and Climbing 
updated
May 6, 2008 7:16 AM CDT

Cyclone Death Toll 22,000 and Climbing

Burmese junta allows international aid, delays vote in some parts

(Newser) - The cyclone that ripped through Burma has claimed at least 22,000 lives, the military junta said today, and more than 40,000 remain missing. The scope of the disaster forced military leaders to postpone a constitutional referendum—designed to cement their grip on power—in the worst-hit regions, the ...

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