The Burmese government has announced that the private newspapers are to be allowed for the first time in decades, it follows the abolition of direct government media censorship in August. Our Southeast Asia correspondent Jonathan Head reports.
In a country with a rich intellectual past where electronic entertainment is still very basic, there is a great deal of printed material for sale in Burma. There are around 180 weekly magazines now filled with disgraced comment on Burma's political changes, but daily newspapers are still a state monopoly, that would change, according to a statement from the Information Ministry. From Februray next year, any Burme citizen can apply to publish a daily paper in any language.
Washington says it deeply regrets Russia's passing over a controversial law which bans Americans from adopting Russian children. The State Department said it was a political motivated decision which would reduce adoption possibilities for orphans. The measure signed into a law via President Putin, is a part of Moscow's retaliation against the American legislation that impose sanctions on Russian officials accused of human rights violations.
World News from the BBC
Doctors treating an Indian woman who was gang raped in Dehli earlier this month say her vital signs are deteriorating. The doctors at a hospital in Singapore where she's been treated at the Indian government's expense said there were signs of severe organ failure. They say her families are by her side.