ASEAN to keep pushing Myanmar for democracy progress

Southeast Asian nations want to push Myanmar this year to build on its recent election and release of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi by including her in the political system, they said on Sunday.

The moves by Myanmar, a politically isolated state that has often been an international embarrassment the region, have given it a veneer of democracy but have not loosened its military rulers' firm grip on power. (Reuters)