Myanmar

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Michelle Yeoh Blacklisted, Deported From Burma
 Burma Bans 
 Suu Kyi Actress 

Burma Bans Suu Kyi Actress

Starring role in The Lady earns Yeoh place on blacklist

(Newser) - Former Bond girl Michelle Yeoh, who plays pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi in an upcoming movie, has been booted out of Burma and told not to come back. The Malaysian-born actress, who met the activist after her release from house arrest late last year, was deported on the next...

Suu Kyi: In Arab Spring, Burma's Revolution

Previous BBC lecturers; Bertrand Russel, J. Robert Oppenheimer

(Newser) - Myanmar's pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi has delivered a prestigious annual BBC radio lecture, telling an international audience that her compatriots are envious of people in Tunisia and Egypt, where long-serving dictators have been toppled. On recordings smuggled out of Myanmar, also known as Burma, and broadcast today,...

At 66, Suu Kyi Celebrates 'Triumph of Spirit'

Aung San Suu Kyi celebrates birthday a semi-free woman, gives interview

(Newser) - Aung San Suu Kyi celebrated her 66th birthday as a relatively free woman today, reports the AP, the first time in nine years the Burma opposition leader hasn't been under house arrest. There was cake at her party's headquarters and a visit from her youngest son, but more...

US Halts Suspected Missiles En Route From North Korea to Burma
US Forces
North Korean Ship Home

US Forces North Korean Ship Home

It was believed to be carrying missile parts to Burma

(Newser) - After a standoff and slow-speed chase at sea, a North Korean ship suspected of carrying missile components to Burma turned around and went home. The US Navy intercepted the ship, which has been suspected of previous illegal shipments, on May 26 somewhere south of Shanghai. In an apparent attempt to...

Two 7.0-Magnitude Quakes Strike Burma

Caused buildings to sway in Bangkok

(Newser) - Two 7.0-magnitude earthquakes hit northeastern Burma less than a minute apart today, shaking the ground as far away as Bangkok, where buildings swayed. The quakes struck near the country's borders with Thailand and Laos, about 70 miles from the northern Thai city of Chiang Rai. The US Geological Survey...

Burma Opens First Parliament in 20 Years

Heavy security in the capital reported, with police manning roadblocks

(Newser) - Burma's first parliament in more than 20 years opened under tight security today, with armed police manning roadblocks on all routes leading to parliament and checking all buses carrying representatives for bombs. Delegates wore traditional attire, but were banned from carrying mobile phones, cameras, computers, and other electronic devices into...

Burma Working on Nuclear Weapon in Secret Jungle Site
Burma Working on Nuclear Weapon in Secret Jungle Site
wikileaks reveal

Burma Working on Nuclear Weapon in Secret Jungle Site

Witnesses say they've seen secret facility, missiles: WikiLeaks reveal

(Newser) - Burma may be building nuclear weapons, according to some of WikiLeaks’ State Department cables. A Burmese officer told US diplomats that he’d seen North Korean technicians helping to build “a concrete-reinforced underground facility,” where surface-to-air missiles were being assembled, the Guardian reports. Another witness said he’d...

Suu Kyi, Son Reunited After 10 Years

Kim Aris allowed to visit Burma to visit freed mom

(Newser) - Finally-free political activist Aung San Suu Kyi has been reunited with her younger son for the first time in a decade. Kim Aris, 33, greeted well-wishers after clearing immigration at Yangon's airport and removed his jacket to display tattoos of a fighting peacock, the emblem of his mother's...

Burma, Inc: Tycoons Rule as Junta's Puppets

Generals use elections, privatization to formalize oligarchs' power

(Newser) - Myanmar's ruling junta allowed the country's first elections in 20 years last week—so it could install a bunch of friendly oligarchs in the newly formed parliament, then give them first dibs in the government's firesale of state-owned entities. Unlike in China, privatization has not established an environment of open...

Suu Kyi: 'I Have So Much to Tell You'

Myanmar's pro-democracy leader picks right up where she left off

(Newser) - “We haven’t seen each other for so long, I have so much to tell you,” Aung San Suu Kyi told a jubilant crowd of thousands celebrating her release last night. The Nobel laureate emerged from seven years of house arrest with such a rapport with her supporters...

Junta Frees Suu Kyi
 Junta Frees Suu Kyi 

Junta Frees Suu Kyi

Release order read to democracy leader as house arrest expires

(Newser) - Myanmar's military government today freed its archrival, democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, after her latest term of detention expired. Several thousand jubilant supporters streamed to her residence. A smiling Suu Kyi, wearing a traditional jacket, appeared at the gate of her compound as the crowd chanted, cheered and sang...

Suu Kyi Told She 'Could Go This Day'

Pro-democracy leader set for freedom in coming days

(Newser) - Rumors are swirling that Aung San Suu Kyi will be released today, according to the AP , but the Guardian reports that she will spend another night under house arrest. She was told she "could go this day," says the co-founder of her National League for Democracy party, but...

Detention Expiring, but Suu Kyi May Reject Freedom

Lawyer: 'The Lady' won't accept freedom with strings attached

(Newser) - Aung Suu Kyi's latest term of detention expires on Saturday, but the Burmese pro-democracy leader's lawyer says she won't accept freedom if it is as much of a sham as the country's recent election. Authorities have always tried to attach conditions to her freedom in the past, the Independent reports....

Fighting Breaks Out After Myanmar Election

Thousands flee as militia battles government troops

(Newser) - Some 10,000 people fled across the border from Myanmar into Thailand today to escape fighting between government troops and a splinter of the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army rebel group. At least three people have been killed and 10 others wounded in the battle, which broke out in the eastern...

Obama Bashes Rigged Myanmar Election

Critics say vote a transparent charade

(Newser) - Vote counting has barely begun in Myanmar after the country's first election in 20 years, but critics say the outcome is a foregone conclusion. Reports have been flying of foul play, the Wall Street Journal reports. President Obama criticized the elections as "fundamentally flawed" and urged the junta to...

Freedom Next Week for Suu Kyi? Doubtful
 Freedom Next Week 
 for Suu Kyi? Doubtful 
analysis

Freedom Next Week for Suu Kyi? Doubtful

Junta seems nervous even after rigging election

(Newser) - Myanmar has begun voting in its first election in 20 years and—spoiler alert—the junta-backed party is going to win. The ruling regime has rigged the rules to make sure of that, writes Independent correspondent Peter Popham. The real question is whether the regime will release Aung San Suu...

Myanmar Unveils New Flag
 Myanmar Unveils New Flag 

Myanmar Unveils New Flag

Government says it's part of transition to democracy

(Newser) - Military-ruled Myanmar unveiled a new national flag today, just two weeks before an election that the government calls a major step in a transition to democracy but critics say is a sham. The 2008 constitution pushed through by the military called for fresh national symbols, including a new flag whose...

Rare White Elephant Found in Burma

Creature hailed as sign of good luck

(Newser) - Villagers in western Myanmar have found a rare white elephant, a traditional symbol of good fortune in a region that badly needs it. The villagers spotted the animal in a herd of five elephants and contacted the Ministry of Forestry, which captured it, Reuters reports. White elephants—which are actually...

Burma's Suu Kyi Turns 65 in Confinement

Supporters mark yet another birthday under house arrest

(Newser) - Myanmar democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi marked her 65th birthday today locked in her dilapidated lakeside compound as calls for her freedom erupted around the world. President Obama and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon demanded Suu Kyi's release in statements echoed at rallies and prayer vigils across the globe. Supporters...

Burma Working on Nuclear Weapons: Report

But it'll be years before they know how to make a bomb

(Newser) - Burma has been secretly acquiring the materials it needs to build a nuclear weapon, though the country currently lacks the technological expertise to do so, according to a new report. Based on documents and photos smuggled out of the country by an army defector, the study concludes with “high...

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