The Restoration Council/Shan State Army(RCSS/SSA) sent an official letter to the Myanmar government asking them for clear demarcations of military controlled areas in the region after repeated clashes since a ceasefire was inked in December 2, 2011.

Many people attended the 10th Ta’ang Literature Conference and  Shwe Phe Tea season festival in Mantung Township in northern Shan state.

Police in Myanmar's western Bago Region trying to prevent attacks on Muslim neighborhoods from spreading to other towns have started 24-hour patrols. They are also receiving regular updates to try to stop attacks before they occur.

The US Assistant Secretary for Conflict and Stabilization Operations Mr. Fredrick Barton attended a press conference in Loikaw for discussions on conflict resolution and landmine education during his first trip to Kayah state in Myanmar. Mr. Barton was accompanied by US Ambassador Derek Mitchell during the visit to the Kayah's state capital city. Both US politicians met with Kayah State Minister Khin Maung Oo for frank discussions about assistance for landmine victims, the peace process and other items related to development of the state.

The initial steps towards the first census in Myanmar in 3 decades will begin on March 30. The process starts with a mock census program that will be used to evaluate potential challenges that may arise during the actual census in 2014.

Late last year, Myanmar’s Ministry of Education (MOE) and chief of peace negotiator, Railway Minister U Aung Min, approved a reform that allowed for Mon language to be taught in government schools throughout the country.

After what was perceived by some peace process observers as a leap in the direction of reconciliation, future discourse between the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) and the Myanmar government is on now on hold. Senior KIO officials have expressed uncertainty in arranging the next round of peace talks to discuss measures to quell violence in Northern Kachin State and eastern Shan state.

The United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC) ethnic army groups met with the Myanmar government for political discussions in an official first time pre-negotiation meeting at The Holiday Inn Hotel in Chiang Mai, Thailand  today at 9 am.

In recognition of the 1947 Panglong conference, the Myanmar government played host to its various ethnic groups during the Union Day celebrations last Tuesday.

After years of being in the dark, Myanmar is on the verge of supplying power to several of its more rural areas, courtesy of an interest free loan from the World Bank. The loan, totaling 165 million USD, is part of an initiative to improve electricity distribution throughout the Southeast Asian nation.

After facing mounting pressure, both domestically and internationally to allow humanitarian aid to displaced Kachins and Shan affected by the ongoing conflict in northern Shan and Kachin states the Myanmar government has finally relented granting the UN and other international aid groups access to areas controlled by the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO).