Mangrove loss 'left Burma exposed'

Mangroves have been long considered as "bio-guards" for coastal settlements.

A study published in December 2005 said healthy mangrove forests helped save Sri Lankan villagers during the Asian tsunami disaster, which claimed the lives of more than 200,000 people.

Researchers from IUCN, formerly known as the World Conservation Union, compared the death toll from two villages in Sri Lanka that were hit by the devastating giant waves.

Ailing Myanmar prime minister dead at 59

[...]

The fourth-ranking member of the military junta, Soe Win was largely considered a figurehead, and his death was unlikely to cause a change in the regime's grip on power.

His death was reported as the junta continued its crackdown on democracy advocates that followed weeks of protests in the tightly controlled country.

He was nicknamed "the Butcher of Depayin" for his role in the 2003 attack on Suu Kyi and her followers in that northern town.

[...]

Burma: Thousands dead in massacre of the monks dumped in the jungle

Reports from exiles along the frontier confirmed that hundreds of monks had simply "disappeared" as 20,000 troops swarmed around Rangoon yesterday to prevent further demonstrations by religious groups and civilians.

Word reaching dissidents hiding out on the border suggested that as well as executions, some 2,000 monks are being held in the notorious Insein Prison or in university rooms which have been turned into cells.

There were reports that many were savagely beaten at a sports ground on the outskirts of Rangoon, where they were heard crying for help.

Others who had failed to escape disguised as civilians were locked in their bloodstained temples.

CHRONOLOGY-45 years of resistance and repression in Burma (myamar)

Nine Murdered in Burmese crackdown