[World Affairs Overview]

Myanmar poverty risks stoking unrest - ADB

THAILAND: High rates of poverty among Myanmar’s ethnic groups could foment unrest and undercut the reform process in the formerly army-ruled nation, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said Sunday.

Unemployment and low agricultural productivity have left much of the country in penury with the ADB classing nearly three-quarters of people in Chin, roughly half in Rakhine, both states in the west of the country, and a third in eastern Shan state as poor.

AFP

Granny swimmer fails to reach Florida

US: 49-year-old British-Australian grand mother Penny Palfrey, who was trying to swim across the Florida Straits, was pulled out of the water, her team announced early Sunday. “Penny Palfrey had to be pulled out of the water, after swimming for more than 40 hours,” the team’s tweet said without offering any explanation.

AFP

Australia brings in contentious carbon tax

AUSTRALIA: Australia Sunday introduced a controversial carbon tax in a bid to tackle climate change, with Prime Minister Julia Gillard hailing the move amid opposition warnings it will stifle industry.

The tax on corporate pollution, which led to demonstrations across the vast nation when it was announced, will force about 350 major polluters to pay Aus$23 (US$23.5) for every tonne of carbon emissions they produce.

AFP

‘Mexican vote fraud is being cooked up’

MEXICO CITY: It didn’t matter how many time officials told voters that Sunday's presidential vote would be honest, most Mexicans were convinced that a fraud was being cooked up.

“There is going to be fraud because that's our system of government,” said David, who spoke as if he were explaining how gravity works. He's hardly alone: 71 percent of voters believe that voter fraud is possible, according to a survey out Friday by the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM).

AFP