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´óÏó´«Ã½ Burmese marks 70 years on air with a roadshow in Mae Sot, Thailand – home to tens of thousands of Burmese economic and political migrants.

As part of special events and programming today, on the eve of the anniversary, in the border town between Burma and Thailand, ´óÏó´«Ã½ Burmese has launched its new monthly newsletter tailored for Mae Sot-based Burmese expats.

The first newsletter opens up with a message from ´óÏó´«Ã½ Global News Director, Peter Horrocks, who praises the role of ´óÏó´«Ã½ Burmese broadcasts in keeping Burmese people informed.

´óÏó´«Ã½ Burmese launched on 2 September 1940 and has since reported all key events in Burma. According to surveys, the service has a weekly audience of 8.4 million listeners in Burma, reaching 22.9 per cent of the country's population.

Independent surveys also show that ´óÏó´«Ã½ Burmese has established itself as the most trusted international broadcaster in Burma.

In his message opening up the first issue of the ´óÏó´«Ã½ Burmese Newsletter, Peter Horrocks highlights the fact that ´óÏó´«Ã½ Burmese broadcasts have helped to keep the Burmese people informed – and empowered.

He says: "Long before the advent of the internet, the service has been a connecting and coordinating link between Burmese people and the rest of the region and the world.

"I hope very much that this newsletter will serve as an excellent medium to further reinforce those links, extending the outreach of ´óÏó´«Ã½ Burmese among its audiences and helping to create even closer ties with them."

The ´óÏó´«Ã½ Burmese special from Mae Sot includes a live interactive programme with Burmese schoolchildren there and other audience participation events.

Head of ´óÏó´«Ã½ Burmese, Tin Htar Swe, comments: "This is our first ever roadshow in Thailand, and it's going to be an exciting opportunity for us to engage with our audiences directly, listen to them and report their issues and their lives to the Burmese-speakers, wherever they are.

"We are also thrilled to be launching our brand-new newsletter during this roadshow – it's another way for us to connect with our audiences in this region."

´óÏó´«Ã½ Burmese broadcasts for half an hour in the morning and 45 minutes in the evening. The programmes are presented from the London and Bangkok studios of the ´óÏó´«Ã½.

The radio programming is broadcast on shortwave and on PAS10 and Palapa satellite television channels and streamed online via the website bbcburmese.com.

Notes to Editors

The ´óÏó´«Ã½ attracts a global audience of 241 million people to its international news services including ´óÏó´«Ã½ World Service and the ´óÏó´«Ã½ World News television channel.

´óÏó´«Ã½ World Service is an international multimedia broadcaster delivering 32 language and regional services. It uses multiple platforms to reach its weekly audience of 180 million globally, including shortwave, AM, FM, digital satellite and cable channels.

Its news sites, which received 4.7 million weekly visitors in September 2009, include audio and video content and offer opportunities to join the global debate. It has around 2,000 partner radio stations which take ´óÏó´«Ã½ content, and numerous partnerships supplying content to mobile phones and other wireless handheld devices.

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