Word: diplomatic
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...Burma's junta has only five helicopters at its disposal, says a Western diplomat in Rangoon. Today, I saw only three helicopters; or perhaps I saw only one helicopter three times. There were a few cars belonging to foreign aid agencies such as MSF and UNICEF, but these were ferrying experts here to assess the situation, not to provide relief...
...cyclone victims sheltering in a school in northern Rangoon so that it can be used as a polling station, claims a Western aid agency. Meanwhile, foreign embassies have received formal invitations to observe the proceedings, "probably to distract us from the lack of a relief effort," observes the Western diplomat...
...storm. Medical experts warn that filthy water, poor sanitation and lack of shelter could prove almost as deadly as the cyclone itself. And estimates of how many people were killed by the storm and an accompanying tidal surge could spiral far higher. On May 7, the senior U.S. diplomat in Burma, Shari Villarosa, said the death toll could exceed 100,000, nearly five times the junta's estimate at the time...
...security and judicial tasks by a 2,200-man mission under the auspices of the European Union. But Russia's refusal to recognize Kosovo's independence has thrown that plan into doubt. U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has yet to make a decision about pulling out, and European diplomats now concede that the E.U.-led mission is in jeopardy. As a result, they say, Kosovo could face an interregnum with no properly functioning state institutions. "Serbia is going to use this period to provoke the West politically and in security terms," says a veteran Western diplomat. "It's going...
...about tightened requirements for renewing visas. Beijing's nightlife has been targeted as well. In April, police raided bars in the Sanlitun entertainment district, arresting 20 people - including eight foreigners - mostly on drug charges. The authorities said the raids were part of a standard antidrug campaign. A senior Western diplomat in Beijing reckoned, however, that the Sanlitun operation was more "political than criminal." He noted that the targeted bars were well known as expat hangouts; perhaps, said the diplomat, the intention was to send a message that foreigners in the city are on watch...