Word: grips
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...worried enough to let Suu Kyi go free. Another 18 months of house arrest is enough time to prevent her from meddling in a 2010 election that the military hopes will legitimize its grip on power; it's also enough time to dream up more excuses to detain her, as the junta has done for nearly 14 of the past 20 years. A British diplomat who attended the trial described her demeanor in court as "calm, dignified [and] upright, exuding quiet authority but no hint of bitterness towards the prosecution." She retreats into isolation once again, leaving one question unanswered...
...Webb's visit occurred at a moment when the Obama administration has been making noise about a possible shift in the U.S. position on Burma. During President George W. Bush's tenure, Washington strengthened economic sanctions against the Burmese regime, which has maintained an iron grip over the country since 1962, and ruled out any talk of engagement. But earlier this year Secretary of State Hillary Clinton acknowledged that such trade barriers weren't having an effect on the junta's behavior. (Shortly after the Suu Kyi verdict, the European Union announced the tightening of its own sanctions against...
...have been reported. Still, officials in Beijing, criticized for their handling of previous viruses such as the outbreak of SARS in 2002 and 2003, are taking no chances. Chinese crews wearing masks and medical suits now walk through all international airplanes upon arrival, testing passengers' temperatures with pistol-grip thermometers. When one student from St. Mary's School in Medford, Ore., tested positive on a trip to China in mid-July, 65 fellow pupils and seven chaperones were isolated in a Beijing hotel...
...generals calculated the likely domestic and global response to its continued persecution of the world's most famous political prisoner. The junta's idea of lenience - an 18-month sentence - is long enough to keep Suu Kyi in custody during a 2010 election which will formalize the military's grip on power, but shorter than the maximum sentence of five years in the notorious Insein Prison. "The generals are trying to manage the anger of both the international community and the people of Burma," says Win Min, a Burma analyst at Payap University in Chiang Mai in neighboring Thailand...
...Indeed, under the cover afforded by the agreement, Mehsud was once touted by a Pakistani army official as a "good Taliban." He used that goodwill to tighten his grip on Waziristan quickly, converting the rugged region into a haven where militant groups could freely operate camps and training facilities. The assassination of Bhutto and subsequent attacks attributed to Mehsud turned him into a prime target of the Pakistani government. In June 2009, key roads were choked as Pakistani military aircraft began strafing targets from the air. CIA-operated drones also went to work, attacking sites associated with Mehsud. On Wednesday...