Contents: Letter from LNDO; Blasting the Mekong - The navigation scheme is making trade easier - but for whom? Sold down the river - one Lahu girl?s story; Lord of Burma?s Mekong - A profile of the shadowy drug kingpin who controls the eastern reaches of Shan State; Sop Lwe � the next Mong La? Drug lord Lin Ming Xian stakes Sop Lwe as his next casino resort - with uncertain consequences for the local population; Road Construction in Shan State: A Lucrative Way to Turn Illegal Drug Profits into Legal Revenues; Eastern Shan State Erupts Again - Movements by the SSA-S prompt increased persecution of civilians by the regime; New bridge planned across the Mekong - Big changes come to Keng Larb as a new bridge linking Burma and Laos is considered; No Place Left for the Spirits of the Yellow Leaves - Intensive logging leaves few options for the Mabri people; Living in a War Zone; 20 Lack of Education � Is Development Really Coming?