Myanmar (Burma)

President Obama is in Myanmar — the first visit by a U.S. president to the country also known as Burma. The president's plan to stop there is controversial because of the continued ethnic violence in North West Myanmar. Critics say Burma's transition to democracy is far from complete.

Myat Thu's restaurant on the Thai side of the border with Myanmar specializes in Burmese salads. Thu has been cautiously watching Myanmar's political change, hoping to go home one day.

President Obama is in Thailand as part of a trip to Asia that will include a regional summit and the first ever visit by a sitting U.S. president to Myanmar, also known as Burma. The president's visit is seen as a sign of his commitment to focus American foreign policy on the region, but fighting in Gaza is pulling away attention. Host Rachel Martin speaks with NPR's Scott Horsley.

Some argue the first visit by a sitting U.S. president to the country also known as Burma is too much reward for not enough political reform. But analysts say the trip could be a success if it focuses on the work still to be done.

Southeast Asia is a hot spot for drug-resistant malaria. In the past few years, parasites in two regions have become less responsive to the last, best drug we have against malaria. Researchers report that this new type of drug resistance may be spreading to Vietnam and central Myanmar.

At health clinics along the Thai-Myanmar border, malaria is getting tougher to treat as resistance to medication grows. Doctors say it may be time to focus on eradicating malaria before the drugs lose potency.

Myanmar President Thein Sein mentioned activist Aung San Suu Kyi during his speech at the U.N., believed to be the first time a Myanmar leader has done so. He laid out the country's democratic transformation so far, and addressed the sensitive subject of ethnic unrest in the Southeast Asian nation.

Burmese democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi has been honored and celebrated on her first visit to the U.S. in 40 years. In various speeches, she's talked about learning to compromise with former military men in Myanmar's parliament who kept her under house arrest for years.

Until recently, few people in Myanmar had cars because only the ruling elite could afford imported vehicles. But a new policy that lets ordinary Burmese buy imported cars, too, has rusting jalopies slowly disappearing from city streets. The car policy is emblematic of the country's rapid and chaotic reforms.

Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi says the Nobel Peace Prize she won while under house arrest 21 years ago helped to shatter her sense of isolation and ensured that the world would demand democracy in her military-controlled homeland.