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Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s appeal to parliament to address the poverty in ethnic minority communities is a “significant departure” from traditional calls for reform, says a noted Burma expert.

Spc. Joshua Marengo, with the Louisiana Army National Guard's 3rd Platoon, 1022nd Engineer Company, attached to the South Dakota Army National Guard's 842nd Engineer Company, runs a 120M motor grader outside of Forward Operating Base Salerno, Afghanistan, June 16, 2012. After an enemy attack in early June at Salerno, members of the 842nd were requested to help dig a tank ditch around the base as an increased security and protection measure.

The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Dunja Mijatović, speaking at the opening of the 13th Central Asia Media Conference, Dushanbe, 29 November 2011. (OSCE)

A just-released independent, non-government report on North Korea concludes the transfer of power to Kim Jong Un is already complete. And, the report by the International Crisis Group predicts prospects for reform in the impoverished country are dim and the young leader could well be around for decades, with a growing nuclear arsenal.

Outreach worker registering a displaced Syrian family in Lebanon.

Army Sgt. Lewis Howard, a CH-47 Chinook crew chief assigned to the Mississippi National Guard's Company B, 1st Battalion, 111th Aviation Regiment, looks over cargo paperwork for a scheduled pick up of supplies at the next forward operating base in Afghanistan, July 20, 2012. Company B transitioned to Afghanistan from Iraq after military operations ended in Iraq.

Army Sgt. Lewis Howard, a CH-47 Chinook crew chief assigned to the Mississippi National Guard's Company B, 1st Battalion, 111th Aviation Regiment, looks over cargo paperwork for a scheduled pick up of supplies at the next forward operating base in Afghanistan, July 20, 2012. Company B transitioned to Afghanistan from Iraq after military operations ended in Iraq.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued complaints seeking civil penalties against three companies for alleged violations of the reporting and recordkeeping requirements under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).

Several violent attacks ripped through Iraq, killing at least 110 people and wounding more than 200 in the deadliest day of attacks this year.