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Burma
Myanmar Struck by Earthquake; 5 Facts About the Former Burma
By Mara Gay - AOL NewsThe impoverished Southeast Asian country of Myanmar, known as Burma under British rule, is somewhat off the beaten path in terms of American news consumption and rarely makes headlines. So when it was struck by a powerful earthquake today, AOL News thought it would take a moment to offer up a quick list of key facts about the resource-rich but harshly ruled nation. It was struck by a 6.8-magnitude earthquake today. There were no reports of deaths or major destruction in the country, but in Myanmar, where a repressive government restricts virtually every source of news, accurate information ...
Obama Scores Human-Rights Victory With Libya Response -- but Can It Last?
By Alex Wagner - Politics DailyMoving at lightning speed over the weekend, President Obama and members of his administration tackled the crisis in Libya with both finesse and brute force, dispelling criticism that they've been slow to respond with a series of moves that showed America had taken a definitive -- and aggressive -- position in the emergency. But to those in the global community looking to Libya as a potential model for international action on human rights and crimes against humanity, the reality is perhaps far muddier. Related Stories U.S. Military Readies Libya Options -- With ...
Myanmar's Strongman Appears on TV in Women's Clothing
By Matthew Hall - AOL NewsSo you think Libya leader Col. Moammar Gadhafi is nuts? You might also want to try Myanmar's repressive head of state, Senior Gen. Than Shwe. For a recent televised ceremony, the 78-year-old boss of Asia's most authoritarian regime ditched his army dress uniform in favor of, more simply, a woman's skirt. Than Shwe appeared at a national holiday event last month wearing a woman's sarong -- or acheik -- and got the country talking. That is, as much as people can talk in an oppressed society. Khin Maung Win, AP Myanmar's top leader, Senior Gen. Than Shwe, right, greets guests ...
After Egypt and Libya, What's Next for Those Still Under Dictatorships?
By Alex Wagner - Politics DailyAs it stands, 2011 will be remembered as the year that a handful of harsh dictatorships around the world fell -- or at least teetered on the edge of collapse -- driven by largely peaceful public protest. President Obama, in his remarks on the situation in Libya this week, eloquently summed up the moment as he recalled a plea from one Libyan protester: "We just want to be able to live like human beings." Obama repeated the line for poetic emphasis, and though this device is something he deploys from time to time -- and despite the fact that the situation itself was quite familiar, with ...
Egypt Revolt Becomes Global Case Study
By not in system - AOL NewsCAIRO - It seems naive to hope the fallout from cataclysmic events in the Middle East and North Africa can spill beyond the region and stir distant, repressed populations with no cultural or historical affinity. Yet successful uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia have captivated dissidents and activists around the world who have campaigned in vain for radical change, in some cases for decades. This week, South Korean activists even hoisted helium balloons into the air and watched them drift into North Korea with a message attached: discard your leaders, just as the Egyptians did. "The Egyptian ...
Digitally Enhanced: Burmese Girl With 12 Fingers, 14 Toes Grasps for Guinness Record
By not in system - AOL NewsA mother in Myanmar says her baby girl's 12 fingers and 14 toes have been no disadvantage -- her grip may even be stronger than normal -- and now she's grasping for a Guinness record. Phyo Min Min Soe, 26, knew her girl Le Yati Min had a little something extra since nearly the moment she was born. "I asked the nurses whether my kid was born complete with hands and legs," said her mother. "They replied that the baby even has more than she needs." ...
Aung San Suu Kyi, Finally Free -- but What of Democracy for Burma?
By Alex Wagner - Politics DailyFor those of us who've managed to get to Rangoon, Burma, and make the pilgrimage to the house on University Avenue where the freedom fighter Aung San Suu Kyi has been held under house arrest for the past seven years, Saturday was a big day. The house, shrouded by overgrown foliage, possessed of little besides the legendary Nobel Peace Prize laureate, her broken piano and a collection of books, was never easy to see from the street: Armed guards were stationed outside the tall iron gates that kept passers-by from entering the premises (at least from the front). During times of political or ...
Reports: Myanmar to Release Nobel Laureate
By Lauren Frayer - AOL News
(Nov. 12) -- Reports are coming out of Myanmar that the country's military rulers have signed an order to allow Aung San Suu Kyi to go free. The Nobel Peace Prize laureate has been under house arrest in her home country for 15 out of the past 21 years. The daughter of modern Burma's founder, Suu Kyi, 65, has become a symbol of the country's struggle against military dictatorship. In 1990 elections, her National League for Democracy party won a majority in both the parliament and in the popular vote, but Suu Kyi was already behind bars and remained there, unable to take up the post of prime ...
Obama Recalls Childhood in Indonesia, Highlights Outreach to Muslim World
By Alex Wagner - Politics DailyFinally -- after several canceled attempts and despite a pesky volcano -- President Obama on Wednesday returned to his boyhood home of Jakarta, Indonesia. In a speech peppered with Javanese and laced with personal anecdotes, Obama declared to an estimated audience of 6,000 that, "Indonesia is a part of me," and emphasized the promotion of development, democracy and religious tolerance in the region. Recalling his boyhood spent in Jakarta from 1967 to 1971 (Mr. Obama was between the ages of 6 and 10), the president evoked a simple, idyllic childhood: "I learned to love Indonesia while flying ...
Myanmar Holds Rare Election, but Change Seems Unlikely
By not in system - AOL NewsYANGON, Myanmar (Nov. 7) -- Myanmar's secretive military-ruled government gave no sign Monday of when results from the country's first election in two decades would be released, though it's almost certain power will remain in the hands of the junta and its political proxies. What's unclear is whether the vote marks a small step toward democratic rule. While most observers have rejected the poll as a sham engineered to solidify military control, even some critics say having a parliament for the first time in 22 years could provide an opening for eventual change. There was little doubt that ...
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