Two Myanmar families who came to Japan from Thailand last year under a U.N.-sponsored settlement program have refused to work on a farm in Chiba Prefecture due to the conditions, according to a …

United Nations — Military-dominated Myanmar says its recent democratic reforms are irreversible and has promised a prisoner amnesty in the near …

This was the first time that the Burmese government allowed the public commemoration of the 2007 protests and mourning of the junta's victims, and this new relaxation on certain types of …

United Nations (UN) Special Representative on human rights in Myanmar, Tomas Ojea Qintana was allowed in for a five-day visit and got access to top leaders in Naypyidaw. He also met Suu Kyi. Most …

Known globally for headlines about brutal military crackdowns on protestors, incarceration of over 2,000 political prisoners, rampant corruption, ethnic war, press censorship, and shady dealings …

Our discussion took place only six months after the establishment of a new government, and follows a series of high-level bilateral visits to the country. We recognize the significance of recent …

free download — a sing-rap mixtape/album that deserves a full review, and will get one soon. "Burma" is the single off "Swimsuits," a glossy, moody-sounding tune with …

Mizzima ) - A military member of the Burmese Parliament on Wednesday put forward two proposal that the word "Myanmar" should be restricted and not used in certain contexts. One proposal, …

Answer: Four topics were discussed in the AIPA. I attended the committee meeting related to organization. They did not ask about Burma. At the opening ceremony, AIPA read out a statement and the …

This is IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.

Yemen
is the poorest Arab nation. Poverty can help breed extremism — al-Qaida is a
growing concern for the Yemenis. But the government also faces an armed
rebellion in the north and a separatist movement in the south.

<!– IMAGE –>In Sanaa, fears of an al-Qaida attack led to temporary
closures this week of the American, British and French embassies. Yemeni officials
say they have increased protection of foreign interests in the capital. They
have also sent thousands of troops to Arhab and other areas to battle the local
al-Qaida group.

Yemen also plays a part in the case of Umar
Farouk Abdulmutallab. He is the man accused of trying to bomb an American plane
with explosives in his underwear.

A
Yemeni deputy prime minister said Thursday that the twenty-three year old
Nigerian met last year in Yemen with Anwar al-Awlaki. The American-born Muslim clergyman
is accused of supporting al-Qaida.

But
the deputy prime minister said al-Qaida first recruited the young man in
Britain when he was a student in London. The official also warned against
foreign military intervention in Yemen, saying that could strengthen al-Qaida.

Britain is organizing an international
conference later this month to discuss the security problems. And the United
States is expected to nearly double its seventy million dollars in security
assistance to Yemen.

Earlier
this week, President Obama said no additional prisoners from Guantanamo Bay
will be released to Yemen. The president wanted to close the American prison in
Cuba this month. But the recent developments seem to have only made the issue
more difficult.

The failed attack on the plane happened December
twenty-fifth, Christmas Day. Almost three hundred people were on the flight
from Amsterdam. It was preparing to land in Detroit, Michigan. Passengers and
crew restrained the man and put out the fire caused by a mixture of explosives.

<!– IMAGE –>He could face life in prison. He appeared
in federal court in Detroit for the first time Friday. He did not answer the
charges himself but his lawyers entered a plea of not guilty. Some people say
the case should have been handled in the military justice system. 

On
Thursday President Obama blamed the incident on what he called a “systemic
failure across organizations and agencies.” “Rather than a failure to
collect or share intelligence,” he said, “this was a failure to
connect and understand the intelligence that we already had.”

He
is ordering steps to improve airport security and the handling of intelligence
information. But he admitted there is no perfect solution. “As we develop
new screening technologies and procedures,” he said, “our adversaries
will seek new ways to evade them.”

Last
week, the Central Intelligence Agency suffered a setback in its efforts against
al-Qaida. A suicide bombing at a C.I.A. base in Afghanistan killed seven
Americans and a Jordanian intelligence officer. The bomber was identified as a
Jordanian doctor who was supposed to be informing on the terrorist group.And
that's IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English, written by Brianna Blake. I'm Steve
Ember.