Top of the Morning: Obama to Visit Myanmar; Swaziland On Track to Eradicate Malaria

Top stories from DAWNS Digest.

President Obama to Visit Myanmar

This is a very big deal in terms of the long march toward greater political freedom in Myanmar, but hopefully he will bring up the plight of the stateless Royingya. “The White House announced the trip on Thursday, and advance security teams have been preparing for weeks as part of Mr. Obama’s planned trip to Southeast Asia for a scheduled international economic summit meeting in Cambodia, where he would be the first American president to visit. The trip, to begin next week, is expected to include a stopover in Thailand…Mr. Obama will meet with the leader of the opposition, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, as well as the Burmese leadership, including Mr. Thein Sein, according to news reports in Myanmar. Mr. Obama met with Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi during her visit to the United States in September.” (NYT http://nyti.ms/YU0OGd)

Swaziland on Track to Be Malaria Free

Some good news to end the week. “A new Roll Back Malaria report, entitled “Focus on Swaziland” documents the successes of malaria control efforts in the Kingdom of Swaziland and points to the key factors that enabled them. Swaziland is well on track to become malaria-free over the next few years. If the country reaches its ambitious goals, it will become the first mainland sub-Saharan African nation to have eliminated malaria.” (Roll Back Malaria http://bit.ly/TcCn2x)