The Irrawaddy
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Today's Newsletter
Monks to be Evicted at Start of Buddhist Retreat
By LAWI WENG
Monks have been ordered to leave three monasteries near the Shwedagon Pagoda before the start of Buddhist Lent.
Pro-election Think Tank Feels the Pressure
By WAI MOE
Burma's election will attract an estimated 77 percent turnout, according to the Burmese "think tank" Myanmar Egress.
Asean Ministers Issue Mild Statement on Burma
By SIMON ROUGHNEEN
Asean foreign ministers reportedly laid into their Burmese counterpart Nyan Win in a private session in Hanoi, signaling the bloc's frustration and embarrassment at the junta's election plans.
Burmese Women Targeted by Human Traffickers
By MOE YAN
Sex workers are being targeted for trafficking to China by young men posing as lovers.
Journal Closed Following Article on Constitution
By KO HTWE
Burma's notorious censorship board, the Press Scrutiny and Registration Division, has closed "The Voice Weekly" in Rangoon for two weeks.
Regional
China Surpasses US as World's Top Energy Consumer
By JENNY BARCHFIELD / AP WRITER
China is now king of the world in energy consumption, surpassing the US years ahead of forecasts in a milestone that left the Asian giant immediately rejecting its new crown.
Opinion
CONTRIBUTOR
Stifling Democracy in Burma, the Junta way
By BIDHAYAK DAS
The military government's desperate attempt to stifle the emergence of a potential ethnic political force - the Kachin State Progressive Party (KSPP) - will go down in history as another example of brutal suppression of the basic tenets of democracy in Burma.