Kyan-sit-thar: Burma Navy’s First Stealth Frigate

(This post is translation of news articles from the Myanmar Military Blog.)

Kyansitthar, recently reincarnated as the latest stealth frigate (F-12) of Burma Navy, was a Burmese general who became a famous Burmese king (1084-1112) after King Anawrahta (1044-1077) the founder of Pagan dynasty and the first Burmese empire.

Kyansitthar (F-12) is the second frigate designed and made in Burma at the Naval Dockyard in Rangoon after the first local-made frigate F-11 Aungzeya. But Kyamsitthar is a stealth frigate incorporating various stealth technologies in its superstructure, communication systems, and weapon systems.

Fall of Kharyarbon: The Last Hill Overlooking Laiza!

(Loose compilation of news articles from various pro-KIA and pro-Army sites.)

Dead KIA soldier on the Kharyarbon peak (24 Jan 2013).

The massive and brutal offensive against the high Kharyarbon peak by Burma Army began on midday January 24 as day-long shelling by the army’s 105 mm howitzer artillery guns positioned at the nearby Point-771 hilltop of Lajaryan Range which has fallen into Burmese hands just few weeks ago after a month-long fighting.

The Kharyarbon Peak is the highest position on the Kharyarbon Range overlooking the KIA’s last stronghold and headquarters Laiza on the Chinese border. Once Kharyarbon is captured KIA is basically trapped at Laiza and their only way out is into China.

Paris Club Cancels 6 Billion Dollars of Burma’s Debt

(The press release direct from the Paris Club the informal group of rich nations.)

THE PARIS CLUB AND THE REPUBLIC OF THE UNION OF MYANMAR AGREE ON A CANCELLATION OF USD 5,925 MILLION.

The representatives of Paris Club creditors and the representatives of the Government of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar met on 25 January 2013 and agreed on a comprehensive treatment of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar’s public external debt.

Thai Naval Ships Sail for Anti-Somali-pirate Mission

(Interesting old news article from The Bangkok Post Newspaper - September 2010.)

Two Thai navy ships with 351 sailors and 20 special warfare troops on board have set sail for the Gulf of Aden to take part in the hunt for pirates off the coast of Somalia. The mission marks the first time Thailand has sent forces overseas to protect its own interest.

The HTMS Pattani and HTMS Similan left yesterday with two helicopters lashed to the decks from Chuk Samet port at Chon Buri's Sattahip naval base to join a 28-country effort to police the shipping lanes off the Somali coast, which has become a piracy hotbed.

Israeli Agents Blew Up Iran’s Fordo Nuclear Facility?

(News Article direct from The Times of Israel on 25 June 2013.)

Iran's nuclear facilities targeted by Israel.

Israel’s Home Front Defense Minister Avi Dichter on Sunday welcomed a report that Iran’s Fordo nuclear facility had been rocked by a huge explosion.

The report was published Friday on the website wnd.com, under the sensational headline: “Sabotage! Key Iranian nuclear facility hit?” It claimed that a blast deep within Fordo last Monday “destroyed much of the installation and trapped about 240 personnel deep underground,” citing information from former intelligence officer Hamidreza Zakeri, who it said used to work with the Islamic regime’s Ministry of Intelligence and National Security.

Trans-Burma Oil & Gas Pipeline is Completed!

(Direct translation of News Article from The Myanmah Ahlin on 25 January 2013.)

Massive Burma-China pipeline carrying crude oil from the middle-east and natural gas from Burma will be completed in May and the oil and gas will start flowing in early June this year, according to Gao Jianguo the head of the Trans-Burma Pipeline Project under China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC).

Burma side of the pipeline has already been completed and the China side will be completed at the end of this month. The actual flow tests are planned at the end of February and by the end of May this year the pipeline will be ready for the distribution of crude oil and natural gas. The pipeline is the joint project between MPGE (Myanmar Petroleum and Gas Enterprise) and CNPC.

The pipeline carrying crude oil from the middle-east connects the Burmese port town of Kyaukphyu in the Arrakan and the Chinese city of Kuming in the Yunan of China. The total length of the pipeline is 771 km and the flow capacity is 22 million metric-tons of crude oil a year.

Burmese Prostitutes of Maesot across Myawaddy (2)

(This post is translation of news article from the Myanmar Express Group.)

A busy street in Mae Sot (2012).

This was what Ko Aung who works at a Guest House in Maesot bitterly said of the poor families of Burmese prostitutes working in Maesot.

“Times are so bad we Burmese do not know what is good or bad no more. We don’t know what is a good character or a bad character.

We have to call for a Burmese girl if the guest wants one. And there she comes by a motorbike. All three together on the bike. Father, mother, and a child. Child is just over one. Father drives the bike. Mother is the prostitute. While mother is in the room with the guest the father and the child wait outside. Father giving bottled-milk to his child. When her business is over they all go back home on the bike, unbelievable!

I’ve seen mother and daughter working together in the same brothel here in Maesot. If I tell what is going on with our Burmese in this town, people wouldn’t believe me, unbelievable!”

London’s Tower Hamlets Turned into Islamic Hellhole?

(Andrew Gilligan’s Article from The Telegraph Newspaper on 12 June 2011.)

Four Muslim thugs of Tower Hamlets and their victim.

Police 'covered up' violent campaign to turn London area 'Islamic'. Police have been accused of “covering up” a campaign of abuse, threats and violence aimed at “Islamicising” an area of London.

Victims say that officers in the borough of Tower Hamlets have ignored or downplayed outbreaks of hate crime, and suppressed evidence implicating Muslims in them, because they fear being accused of racism.

The claims come as four Tower Hamlets Muslims were jailed for at least 19 years for attacking a local white teacher who gave religious studies lessons to Muslim girls.

Islamists Raid Algerian Gas Plant and Take 100 Hostages

(This post is news article direct from the CNN site.)

(CNN) -- Islamists attacked a gas field in eastern Algeria, killing two people and seizing hostages, including Westerners, Algeria's interior minister said Wednesday. The incident may be linked to France's military support for the government of nearby Mali, according to reports from the region.

The Westerners, accompanied by Algerian security forces, were en route to In Amenas Airport when they were attacked early in the morning by a group of no more than 20 people, the official, Diho Weld Qabliyeh, told Algerian state television.

The security forces returned fire, and the attackers withdrew to the base of the petroleum operation, some 3 kilometers away, he said. Upon arrival at the base, he continued, the attackers "took in a number of Westerners and Algerians -- some people told us they were nine, some people told us 12."