Knowing he was terminally ill, Mr Aris had applied for a visa to pay a farewell visit to his wife in Myanmar, his first in three years.

ECONOMIST: Shame in Myanmar | The

These have been on hold since Beijing halted them in 1995 in a fit of pique when Mr Lee was allowed to pay a private visit to the United States.

ECONOMIST: Taiwan

There's something that happened this week that also says a lot about where this administration is right now, and that is that we saw Condoleezza Rice and Donald Rumsfeld have a surprise--pay a surprise visit to Baghdad.

NPR: Roundtable: Rice, Rumsfeld in Iraq, 'United 93'