Word: stormings
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...from a resource-rich country, which upon independence from the British 60 years ago was hailed as a model for modern Asia, into an economic disaster zone. Burma now boasts one of the world's worst health systems, a worrisome situation as diseases fester in the wake of the 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...
...severely curtailed movements by foreign aid workers, forcing organizations like the French arm of Doctors Without Borders to abandon the country. When the 2004 tsunami swept over Burma, the generals refused any outside help. This time, though, the military announced it would welcome foreign aid. Three days after the storm, a trickle of donated food started reaching victims near Rangoon, although scores of other aid workers were still grounded in neighboring Thailand as the Burmese embassy considered processing their visas. Meanwhile, U.S. navy ships were idling in nearby Thai waters, seeking permission to enter Burmese waters and help with...
...burgundy-robed demonstrators. The official government death toll was 31, although international observers believe the actual figure was far higher. For months after the massacre, soldiers patrolled the streets, flushing out suspected dissidents and crushing small protests against the upcoming constitutional referendum. But shortly after last weekend's storm, the troops appeared to have gone AWOL. One foreign NGO worker who was in Rangoon recalls seeing just one military truck on the streets in the hours after the cyclone. The vehicle drove up to a downed tree blocking the road, paused and then left. The following day, the foreigner...
...that fear of infiltration is key to understanding the normalcy pursued by Burma's generals. Even as the Burmese people struggle to survive in the wake of the storm, the government is insisting on going ahead with a referendum on a draft constitution the leaders claim would open the door for democratic elections in 2010, but which most view as a rigged effort to prop up support for their rule. The deaths of tens of thousands of people, in other words, should not impede efforts to codify the primacy of the generals. At a time when Burma's rice growing...
...additional increases could push tens of thousands of shantytown dwellers from chronic malnutrition to starvation. Outside Rangoon, the fate of millions remains largely unknown, since roads are blocked and telephone lines are down in a region that serves as Burma's rice bowl. In a frightening glimpse of the storm's destructive power, the country's state media reported that in the delta town of Bogalay alone, 10,000 people had been killed. Infrastructure has been heavily damaged, with some aid workers reporting it could be months before the electrical grid in affected areas is restored...