Obama, Netanyahu set to confront divisions over Iran

By Matt Spetalnick and Jeffrey Heller, WASHINGTON/JERUSALEM | Fri Mar 2, 2012 1:34am EST...

(Reuters) - Just days before what could be the most consequential meeting of U.S. and Israeli leaders in years, aides to President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are scrambling to bridge stark differences over what Washington fears could be an Israeli attack on Iran's nuclear sites.

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Western sanctions tighten squeeze on Iran oil exports

By Timothy Gardner,  WASHINGTON | Thu Mar 1, 2012 5:56pm EST ...

(Reuters) - Western trade sanctions against Iran are strangling its oil exports even before they go into effect, a U.S. advisory body has found, amid warnings that any shortages will only push up crude prices and strain a weak global economy.

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Chinese official takes "leave" in blow to ambitious Bo Xilai

Analysis & Opinion ...

By Chris Buckley and Sui-Lee Wee, BEIJING | Wed Feb 8, 2012 3:57am EST ...

(Reuters) - The ambitious Communist Party chief of Chongqing in southwest China, Bo Xilai, was hit by a political storm on Wednesday after his deputy and long-time ally took "leave" amid rumors of infighting and even an attempted flight by the deputy to a U.S. consulate.

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Change the way the world measures trade flows

• Published: 2/03/2012 at 02:41 AM    ...

Bangkokpost - The global economy has undergone two major changes in the past 20 years. Those changes are going to continue and, in all likelihood, speed up over the coming decade.

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Critical time for ethnic minorities in Burma

Nirmal Ghosh, The Straits Times, Publication Date : 01-03-2012

Burma's armed ethnic groups are divided in the face of the government's new conciliatory approach to ending 60 years of conflict.

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ADB Preparing First Myanmar Projects in 25 Years as Thein Opens

By Karl Lester M. Yap - Mar 1, 2012 9:16 AM GMT+0700      ....

The Asian Development Bank is preparing to fund projects in Myanmar after 25 years, joining other multilateral agencies and governments entering the nation as the former military dictatorship accelerates reforms.

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Nobel laureate Suu Kyi says sanctions help nudge Myanmar toward democracy

AP, By The Canadian Press, March 1, 2012 ......

 

OTTAWA LAKE, Mich. - Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi says tough Canadian sanctions are helping her native Myanmar on its hard road to democracy.

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Canadian sanctions working in Burma, Suu Kyi says

'Canada has helped us greatly' in movement towards democracy, Nobel laureate says

The Canadian Pres, Posted: Feb 29, 2012 11:21 AM ET....

Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi says tough sanctions against her native Myanmar are helping the pro-democracy efforts there. Suu Kyi, seen at an election campaign rally in a village in Myanmar Sunday, spoke to CBC's Evan Solomon over an internet link with Carleton University Wednesday. (Altaf Qadri/Associated Press)

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Suu Kyi: Sanctions help nudge Burma toward democracy

The Associated Press, Wednesday Feb. 29, 2012 12:49 PM ET     ....

OTTAWA — Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi says tough Canadian sanctions are helping her native Burma on its hard road to democracy.

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International tourists set sights on Burma

By Hana R. Alberts, msnbc.com contributor      ......

Empty beach chairs are seen in the early morning on Feb. 15 on Ngapali beach in Burma. Tourism in Burma, also known as Myanmar, is increasing as the government opens up its doors to the rest of the world.

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Myanmar's Suu Kyi says reforms could be reversed

* Suu Kyi says some are "too optimistic" about situation * Says army must be behind democratisation process

By David Ljunggren, Wed Feb 29, 2012 12:34pm EST     ...
OTTAWA, Feb 29 (Reuters) - Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi said on Wednesday it was too early to declare democratic reforms brought in after five decades of military rule were irreversible and played down talk of accepting a cabinet seat.

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Aung San Suu Kyi: Reforms not irreversible

Priyanka Boghani, February 29, 2012 16:40    ...


Globalpost - Burma’s opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi expressed cautious optimism about the reforms implemented by the military-backed government, saying it was too early to call them irreversible, according to Reuters.

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Burma poll may be last EU sanctions hurdle

Radio Australia News, March 1st, 2012 ...

PHOTO: Burma's opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy will contest 48 by-elections in April. [Reuters]

Ministers from the European Union say free and fair elections in Burma in April could be the last hurdle to the lifting of European sanctions.

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Thailand Moves Into Burma's Energy Market

By John Daly | Wed, 29 February 2012 23:48       ...

Just when it seems that China has bought every energy asset on the planet, along comes Thailand’s PTT Exploration and Production Plc (PTTEP) to contest Beijing’s presence in one of Southeast Asia’s “final frontiers” – Burma, or, as its rulers prefer, Myanmar.

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The lords of democracy

• Published: 29/02/2012 at 02:57 AM      .....

Bangkokpost - Thailand is now most of the way through the first term of the Obama administration, and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has introduced and implemented the concept of "smart power" in relation to US foreign policy, which attempts to strategically combine elements from both "hard power" and "soft power" approaches.

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