British PM to scope Myanmar reform credentials during visit

(Reuters) - British Prime Minister David Cameron will push for more reforms during a landmark visit to Myanmar on Friday, the first by a major Western leader in 50 years as countries jockey for business and influence in the long-isolated state. Cameron will meet opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who in 2010 emerged from 15 years of house arrest to go on to score a stunning April 1 by-election victory, and President Thein Sein, whose reforms in military-dominated Myanmar have startled those who for decades viewed the country as a pariah state. ...

Grass dismisses Israeli travel ban

Guenter Grass says Israel's decision to bar him from visiting the country because of his poem criticizing the Jewish state reminds him of similar steps that dictatorial governments have taken against him.