Six In The Morning

Suu Kyi's journey to global icon: a heart-breaking tale of personal sacrifice

　

By NBC News' Tazeen Ahmad
She was already an international symbol of the fight against oppression and a unique figurehead for democracy. But, Aung San Suu Kyi -- the woman who took on Myanmar's military rulers armed with little more than the strength of her convictions -- was this week elevated to even higher status. The end of Suu Kyi’s European tour has officially marked her arrival as a truly global political icon. But behind the smiles and oft-witnessed stoicism that define her public persona is a story of terrible personal loss, a heart-breaking tale of personal sacrifice: Two boys who grew up without their mother and a husband who died of cancer in her absence. It is part of the narrative that defines Suu Kyi, 67, and made her return to Europe after 24 years away even more poignant and moving.

Late for the revolution, Muslim Brotherhood take over Tahrir Square


Cairo Saturday 23 June 2012
Supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood came in their tens of thousands to Tahrir Square yesterday to tell the Egyptian army to return to their barracks and transfer power to a national government without further delay. And they were only 17 months late. Almost a year and a half ago, while the young of Egypt died for their revolution, the bearded gentlemen who run this brave, hitherto sub-clandestine organisation were face-to-face with Omar

Merkel plays down talk of new EU debt initiative
The Irish Times - Saturday, June 23, 2012

ARTHUR BEESLEY in Luxembourg
GERMAN CHANCELLOR Angela Merkel rejected a growing clamour to widen her response to Europe’s debt crisis as she and the leaders of France, Italy and Spain resolved to create a new tax on financial transactions in a limited number of EU countries. The move, which Ireland is likely to shun, came as Italian technocrat leader Mario Monti hosted talks in Rome yesterday with Dr Merkel, French president François Hollande and Spanish premier Mariano Rajoy.

Nigeria arrests Christmas bombing suspect
Nigerian troops have arrested a suspect in the country's Christmas Day bombings, as the US put three Boko Haram leaders on its global terror list.

AFP
Nigerian troops have arrested a suspect in the Christmas Day bombings that killed at least 44 people, as Washington put three Boko Haram leaders on its global terror list. In the northern State of Kaduna meanwhile, authorities said they would ease a 24-hour curfew imposed following clashes that have left scores dead since the weekend. The curfew would be eased on Friday and Sunday to allow worshippers to attend prayer services at mosques and churches, officials said.

US Marines eye Japan as a training yard
Japan

By Kosuke Takahashi
With the energies of Japanese politicians consumed by infighting, the United States Marine Corps (USMC) is pushing forward with plans to gain a stronger foothold in the Japanese archipelago. Taking advantage of the scheduled deployment of MV-22 Osprey transport aircraft to Okinawa, the USMC plans to conduct training flights over almost all of mainland Japan. With US Marines being forced to reduce their military footprint on Okinawa due to local opposition, America seems intent on making the rest of Japan its training yard.

Life inside Rio's slum city
Along the highway linking the luxury hotels of Copacabana and the conference halls of the Rio+20 summit, the darkened windows of the VIP limousines will not have offered a clear view of the crowded hillside known as Rocinha.

David Shukman
Pronounced "Hosinia", this dense mass of tiny dwellings perched beneath a series of grey cliffs holds the dubious title of being Brazil's largest favela - a tightly-knit community of 120,000. At the entrance to this slum city, as the police sirens and outriders cut a path through the swirling traffic for a president or prime minister, I wondered about the value of a summit document that makes eradicating poverty the top priority. The second paragraph of the 49 pages recording the summit's conclusions refers to poverty as "the greatest global challenge facing the world today".