Yangon - A United Nations rapporteur arrived in Yangon Sunday to discuss human-rights concerns, diplomatic officials said.

Bangkok - Human Rights Watch on Tuesday praised legislation passed by the US Congress that would bar US gem dealers and jewelry retailers from importing rubies and jade from Myanmar, a country notorious for its human and labour rights abuses.

"The international trade in Burmese gems helps finance repression and puts millions into the pockets of Burma's abusive rulers," said Arvind Ganesan, director of the New York-based rights group's business and human rights programme.

US President George W Bush was expected on Tuesday to sign the legislation to tighten an existing ban on the trade in gems from Myanmar, also known as Burma.

New York - The government in Myanmar has made "quite a lot of progress" in post-Cyclone Nargis reconstruction efforts since the disaster struck in May, the top UN humanitarian affairs official said Monday.

John Holmes returned to New York following a three-day visit to Myanmar, saying he saw a return to normalcy in areas affected by the devastating cyclone, which left more than 140,000 dead and missing people. Some 2.5 million people still need assistance to cope with the disaster's aftermath.

Holmes said there was no room for complacency because of the magnitude of the destruction.

Yangon - United Nations humanitarian chief John Holmes acknowledged Thursday that the international community's relief effort for the victims of Cyclome Nargis in Myanmar was losing millions of dollars to the regime's foreign exchange controls.

Yangon - Myanmar relief operations for victims of Cyclone Nargis have made progress since mid-May but much still needs to be done, especially in remote parts of the Irrawaddy Delta, a senior United Nations official announced Wednesday.

"Significant progress has been made since I was last here," said UN humanitarian chief John Holmes, who last visited Myanmar in May 18 when international aid and aid workers were still facing enormous hurdles to reach more than 2 million victims of the cyclone that smashed into Myanmar's central coast on May 2-3.

Yangon  - Investments in Myanmar's energy sector last year amounted to 474 million dollars or 90 per cent of the total foreign direct investment in the country which is the target of economic sanctions, media reports said Tuesday.