Taifreedom

Burma's ruling junta will likely hold its long-awaited election in October and announce electoral and party laws in April, according to a report by a leading Japanese newspaper on Thursday.

A retired policeman has been arrested in Pegu for allegedly trying to pass off fake 5,000-kyat notes at the city's central market, in the second reported case of counterfeiting since the new denomination was introduced late last year.

A former military officer and a foreign affairs official were sentenced to death and another foreign affairs official was sentenced to long-term imprisonment on Thursday in a special court of the Rangoon Northern District held in Insein Prison, according to Insein prison sources.

A senator from the Australian Greens party has called on an Australian company to stop selling high-frequency radio sets to Burma's military junta, saying they are being used by the regime in its operations against ethnic minorities.

This year the Burmese Army is editing the ‘JingHpaw Mungdaw Nsen’ newspaper published annually in ethnic Kachin language.

Perth-based Barrett Communications Company said today that they had sold advanced radio sets with model number Barrett 2050 to Burma.

Burma's military government chief, Snr-Gen Than Shwe, marked the 62nd anniversary of the country's independence from Britain in the capital Naypyidaw on Monday morning with a statement promising an election this year, but offered no date or timetable for a democratic process.