mark mackinnon Beijing From Thursday's Globe and Mail Published Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2011 6:26AM EST Last updated Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2011 5:49PM EST Saying she hopes to support a movement for change, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived Wednesday in Myanmar on a landmark visit that will see her meet leaders of the current military-backed pariah government, as well as opposition icon Aung San Suu Kyi. Though the trip marks the first visit by a U.S. secretary of state since John Foster Dulles in 1955, the fanfare upon Ms. Clintons arrival was minimal. She was greeted at the airport in Naypyidaw by a deputy foreign minister and two large signs welcoming the capitals next visitor, the Prime Minister of fellow international outcast Belarus. More related to this story Clinton to visit Myanmar as Suu Kyis party rejoins politics Obama tells Asia, U.S. here to stay Myanmar could free more political prisoners A year ago, the United States led a chorus dismissing the first electi...

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has arrived in Burma on the first top-level US visit for half a century, seeking to encourage a 'movement for change' in the military-dominated nation. Clinton and her entourage flew into a little-used airport in Naypyidaw, the remote city where Burma's generals abruptly moved their capital in 2005, in a stark test of US efforts to engage the strategic but long-isolated country. Burma has surprised observers with a series of reformist moves in the past year including releasing opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest and nominally ending decades of military rule. President Barack Obama spoke of 'flickers' of hope when he personally announced Clinton's trip during a recent visit to Asia. But his administration has sought to keep expectations low, mindful of other false dawns in a country where the generals have ruled with an iron fist since 1962. During a stop in South Korea, Clinton said the United States and other ...

Matthew Lee Naypyitaw, Myanmar The Associated Press Published Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2011 6:26AM EST Last updated Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2011 9:03AM EST Making a diplomatically risky trip to the long-isolated Southeast Asian nation of Myanmar, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said she wanted to see for herself whether new civilian leaders are truly ready to throw off 50 years of military dictatorship a test that includes rare face-to-face meetings with former members of the junta whose brutal rule made a poor pariah state of one of the region's most resource-rich nations. More related to this story Clinton to visit Myanmar as Suu Kyis party rejoins politics Obama tells Asia, U.S. here to stay Myanmar could free more political prisoners During her visit, Ms. Clinton will also encourage Myanmar, also known as Burma, to sever military and nuclear ties with North Korea. Ms. Clinton arrived Wednesday in the capital of Naypyidaw on the first trip by a U.S. secretary of state to...

Some in Myanmar unaware of Clinton visit Secretary of State Hillary Clinton begins a two-day visit to Myanmar Wednesday Obama administration encouraged by "flickers of progress" in the country Trip part of "parallel engagement" talks with regime and activist Aung San Suu Kyi Clinton will meet with Nobel Peace Prize winner Suu Kyi during the visit Busan, South Korea (CNN) -- You could call this the "show me" trip: the first visit by a secretary of state in more than a half-century to the nation one U.S. official recently referred to as that "mythical and tragic country" of Myanmar. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrives in the county Wednesday to start a two-day visit. The United States still refers to the country as Burma, citing displeasure over how the name was changed when the results of democratic elections were thrown out by the military junta more than 25 years ago. Ruled by that junta since 1962, Myanmar is now under a new president, ...

Aung San Suu Kyi greets supporters in Bago, north of Rangoon. Photo: AFP Signs of reform have prompted Hillary Clinton to make a historic visit to the poorest nation in south-east Asia, writes Lindsay Murdoch. Aung San Suu Kyi stood before almost a million people outside Rangoon's gold-encrusted Shwedagon pagoda and declared her support for a multi-party democracy, defying the military dictators who had turned Burma into an impoverished pariah state over three decades of brutal misrule. It was August 26, 1988, and Suu Kyi was a delicate, pale 43-year-old mother of two who had been living comfortably with her British academic husband in Oxford. But the daughter of Aung San, the hero of Burma's independence in 1948, told the crowd she could not remain indifferent amid the political upheaval in her homeland. ''This national crisis could in fact be called the second struggle for national independence,'' she said to the assembled crowd that roared its approval. Adver...

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton embarks on a historic visit to Burma this week that aims not only to pry open the closed nation but to shake up the battle for global influence right on China's doorstep. Clinton on Wednesday will become the top US official to visit the nation in more than 50 years as she tests the waters after dramatic - but tentative - reforms by the military-backed government. Clinton is expected to meet both President Thein Sein and democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi. She has said she will press for greater progress on human rights and democracy, without offering any let-up in biting US sanctions. The United States has been careful not to raise expectations for a breakthrough. But Clinton's visit carries unmistakable symbolism as it seeks to advance US priorities in one of the countries most closely aligned with China. Burma's 'strategic importance to the United States is closely connected to concerns about rising Chinese influence,' said John ...

One of the activities held during the two-day visit to Manila this month of US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton was a forum with student leaders, campus journalists, bloggers and selected media guests at the National Museum last Nov. 16, 2011. The forum was moderated by GMA News anchor Vicky Morales and GMA News Online editor-in-chief Howie Severino, with questions from the floor facilitated by GMA program host Ramon Bautista. It was aired live on GMA News TV and livestreamed on GMA News Online. The forum covered a wide range of topics that included the European debt crisis, the Spratlys, US immigration policy, human trafficking, Philippine economic growth, social media, Mrs. Clintons political future, and her views about work-life balance. VICKY: What are the upsides and downsides of being a woman in a male-dominated place like the State Department, having to deal with the problems of Libya, Afghanistan, and you know, really macho stuff? HILLARY CLINTON: First, I just want t...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will test Myanmar 's tentative democratic reforms this week in a high-stakes visit that could mark the resource-rich Asian nation's return to the world stage after more than 50 years of political isolation. Clinton's trip to Myanmar follows a decision by U.S. President Barack Obama this month to open the door to expanded ties, saying he saw "flickers of progress" in a country until recently seen as a reclusive dictatorship firmly aligned with its powerful northern neighbor, China . Clinton will be the first U.S. secretary of state to visit Myanmar -- also known as Burma -- since the military seized power in 1962, and diplomats are looking at her access and the tone of her reception as they assess the changes under way. She will meet twice with pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi , who spent 15 of the last 21 years in detention after leading a mass popular uprising that was crushed by the army. The visi...

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton embarks on a historic visit to Burma this week that aims not only to pry open the closed nation but to shake up the battle for global influence right on China's doorstep. Clinton on Wednesday will become the top US official to visit the nation in more than 50 years as she tests the waters after dramatic - but tentative - reforms by the military-backed government. Clinton is expected to meet both President Thein Sein and democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi. She has said she will press for greater progress on human rights and democracy, without offering any let-up in biting US sanctions. The United States has been careful not to raise expectations for a breakthrough. But Clinton's visit carries unmistakable symbolism as it seeks to advance US priorities in one of the countries most closely aligned with China. Burma's 'strategic importance to the United States is closely connected to concerns about rising Chinese influence,' said John ...

November 28, 2011 Audio for this story from Morning Edition will be available at approx. 9:00 a.m. ET Enlarge Paul J. Richards / AFP/Getty Images Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's visit to Asia this week will include stops in Myanmar and South Korea. Paul J. Richards / AFP/Getty Images Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's visit to Asia this week will include stops in Myanmar and South Korea. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton sets off for Asia Monday, and part of her trip will see her as the first U.S. secretary of state to visit Myanmar formerly known as Burma. Secretary Clinton says she's going to Myanmar to test the waters to see how committed the country's new leader is to reforms. She'll also meet with Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, who is rejoining the political process in the country and who has been guiding U.S. policy, according to activist Aung Din. "She has been in touch with U.S. authorities all the time," Din says. "U.S. p...

November 27, 2011, 5:45 AM EST Obama Touts Health-Care Law Before Donors While Mum With Voters U.S. House Thwarts Balanced-Budget Amendment to Constitution Obama-Roberts Legacies to Be Shaped by Court Health-Care Ruling Obamas Health-Care Law Gets Review By U.S. Supreme Court Deficit Panels Failure Targets Defense While Sparing Medicaid By Kristin Jensen Nov. 23 (Bloomberg) -- The idea of President Barack Obama stepping aside to let Hillary Clinton run for the White House, as posed by two pollsters this week, is ridiculous, said Neera Tanden, a former aide to both politicians. It was fascinating that the right uses Hillary against Obama, said Tanden, who served as her policy director during the 2008 campaign for the Democratic nomination and has worked in the administrations of both Bill Clinton and Obama. It was actually just the presidents political enemies using Hillary as a battering ram against him, Tanden, who now runs the Democratic Party-aligned Center for American Progress, sa...

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Saturday congratulated Morocco on its parliamentary election but cautioned that the task of building a democracy would require more "hard work." Morocco's moderate Islamist party, the Justice and Development Party ( PJD ), won a parliamentary election for the first time, according to preliminary results. The interior ministry was expected to release final results on Sunday. "I congratulate the Moroccan people on the successful completion of Friday's parliamentary elections where millions of Moroccans went to the polls to elect their new political leaders," Clinton said in a statement. "Now, working with King Mohammed VI , the new parliament and civil society can implement the amended constitution as a step toward fulfilling the aspirations and rights of all Moroccans," she said. According to a new constitution overwhelmingly approved in a July referendum, Mohammed VI must now pick the prime minister fr...

previous next Hillary Clinton to address internet freedom conference Thursday 24 November 2011 US secretary of state Hillary Clinton will address an international conference on internet freedom in The Hague on December 9, the foreign affairs ministry said on Thursday. The aim of the conference, which is being organised by the ministry, is to create an international coalition to strengthen and protect freedom on the internet. Ministers from Sweden, Canada, Estonia, Kenya and Tunisia have already signed up, as have human rights organisations and internet companies such as Google, Facebook and Twitter, according to a ministry statement. DutchNews.nl Get the DutchNews.nl newsletter in your mailbox: Click here to subscribe Print-version | News archives Leave a comment

November 25, 2011, 8:17 AM EST China Denies Impeding Asian Maritime Trade as Wen Meets Obama Obama, Gillard Say U.S. Marines to Be Deployed in Australia Obama Finds Better Business Ties With Boeing in Asia Pacific Obama Says Budget Constraints Wont Cut U.S. Pacific Plans Myanmar Reaches Out to Ethnic Groups Before Clinton Visit By Margaret Talev and Daniel Ten Kate (Updates with Clinton quotes starting in sixth paragraph.) Nov. 18 (Bloomberg) -- President Barack Obama offered a vote of confidence in Myanmars political opening, dispatching Hillary Clinton next month on the first visit by a U.S. secretary of state to the country in more than 50 years. Speaking at a summit of Asian leaders in Bali, Indonesia, Obama said Myanmars political reforms mean the country can forge a new relationship with the U.S. He also said more needs to be done on human rights issues. Myanmar President Thein Sein has released political prisoners, legalized unions and stopped censoring media outlets like the BB...

previous next Hillary Clinton to address internet freedom conference Thursday 24 November 2011 US secretary of state Hillary Clinton will address an international conference on internet freedom in The Hague on December 9, the foreign affairs ministry said on Thursday. The aim of the conference, which is being organised by the ministry, is to create an international coalition to strengthen and protect freedom on the internet. Ministers from Sweden, Canada, Estonia, Kenya and Tunisia have already signed up, as have human rights organisations and internet companies such as Google, Facebook and Twitter, according to a ministry statement. DutchNews.nl Get the DutchNews.nl newsletter in your mailbox: Click here to subscribe Print-version | News archives Leave a comment

November 25, 2011, 8:17 AM EST China Denies Impeding Asian Maritime Trade as Wen Meets Obama Obama, Gillard Say U.S. Marines to Be Deployed in Australia Obama Finds Better Business Ties With Boeing in Asia Pacific Obama Says Budget Constraints Wont Cut U.S. Pacific Plans Myanmar Reaches Out to Ethnic Groups Before Clinton Visit By Margaret Talev and Daniel Ten Kate (Updates with Clinton quotes starting in sixth paragraph.) Nov. 18 (Bloomberg) -- President Barack Obama offered a vote of confidence in Myanmars political opening, dispatching Hillary Clinton next month on the first visit by a U.S. secretary of state to the country in more than 50 years. Speaking at a summit of Asian leaders in Bali, Indonesia, Obama said Myanmars political reforms mean the country can forge a new relationship with the U.S. He also said more needs to be done on human rights issues. Myanmar President Thein Sein has released political prisoners, legalized unions and stopped censoring media outlets like the BB...