A massive fire destroyed most of the Kandawgyi Palace in the early hours of Thursday morning, with at least one death reported at one of Rangoon’s most iconic hotels.

With Pope Francis due to visit Burma and Bangladesh next month, a Christian leader from the latter has said he is expecting the Catholic pontiff to urge leaders of the two countries, and the world, to view both Buddhists and Muslims simply as human beings.

“Putting the burden of all these decades-old problems on the shoulders of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is synonymous to blaming the concept of democracy itself."

A judge has sentenced a Rangoon resident to eight days in jail for public disorder after he entered a residential neighborhood and threatened to kill all Muslims in the vicinity.

The corruption trial for a handful of Karen State government and Ministry of Home Affairs officials continued with a fourth hearing on Monday, at which the presiding magistrate ruled against one of the defendants’ bail application.

Aung Ko Htwe told Radio Free Asia he deserted his post in Shan State alongside some fellow servicemen in 2007.