EDIT Breaking news, Thurs 7:30 pm:
Burmese security forces on Thursday shot and killed a Japanese photographer and a German also believed to be a journalist.
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Burma is world's most corrupt country, says report
source: Guardian Unlimited
Burma was today ranked with Somalia as the world's most corrupt country, according to a report that coincides with the biggest challenge to military rule for two decades.
As the Burmese junta faces mass protests led by thousands of monks, the report from Transparency International, the anti-corruption group, reinforced Burma's pariah status.
The 2007 corruption perceptions index scores countries on a scale from zero to 10, with zero indicating high levels of perceived corruption and 10 indicating low levels of perceived corruption. Somalia and Burma share the lowest score of 1.4.
Transparency International said a strong correlation between corruption and poverty continued to be evident. Some 40% of those scoring below three, indicating that corruption is perceived as rampant, are classified by the World Bank as low-income countries.
Endowed with abundant natural resources and fertile land, Burma should be one of Asia's most prosperous countries. But years of government mismanagement have placed it among the 20 poorest countries in the world, according to UN estimates.
Burma has a per capita income of $200 (£100), 10 times less than its neighbour Thailand. Some 90% of the population live on $1 a day, and recent increases in fuel prices have hit hard.
Experts said the government blundered by raising fuel prices overnight last month without first publicly explaining the increase or considering a phased-in price rise as other Asian countries have done.
A similar mistake sparked the 1988 protests, which the junta suppressed by killing thousands of demonstrators. Those protests followed a government move to increase the price of rice and cancel certain currency notes, leaving many with worthless money.
The government, which holds a monopoly on fuel sales and subsidises them, raised the price of fuel from 1,500 kyats (58p) per imperial gallon of diesel.
Natural gas has also increased by as much as 500%. The prices of commodities such as eggs, cooking oil and poultry have increased by an average of 35%.
Experts say the price rises show the government either does not care or is out of touch with the condition of ordinary Burmese, especially given the leadership's penchant for opulence.
The junta used up much-needed funds in building the country's new capital deep in the jungle. Money is also needed to maintain one of the world's largest armies.
Burmese have to take dramatic measures to survive. Many must walk miles to work to avoid paying higher bus fares, while others are selling furniture and other household goods.
Afghanistan, Sudan and Iraq are also at the bottom of Transparency International's corruption index.
"Countries torn apart by conflict pay a huge toll in their capacity to govern," said Huguette Labelle, chair of Transparency International. "With public institutions crippled or non-existent, mercenary individuals help themselves to public resources and corruption thrives."