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First up in today's international coverage takes us to the southeast Asian country of Myanmar. It's also known as Burma.
It was taken over by its military in a coup on February 1st and since then there've been violent confrontations between the military and the civilians who've been protesting the takeover. An advocacy group based in neighboring Thailand says more than 550 people have died in Myanmar's violence and that thousands of others have been detained by the military.
It blames the demonstrators for causing violence and anarchy in Myanmar. But witnesses say troops have used teargas, rubber bullets and deadly force against the protesters and it's blocked all wireless internet services operating in Myanmar which observers say is an attempt to control the information that gets out.
The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency says Burma's military has been heavily involved in the nation's politics since it was founded. It took over in a coup in 1962 and ran the country for five decades afterward. Last November, Myanmar's civilian government won a significant victory in national elections but the military did not accept the results.
It said the votes were fraudulent and since its coup in February it's arrested and accused civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi of committing several crimes which her lawyers say are made up. The military did give CNN permission to enter the country. It's the first international media organization allowed to work there.
Troops have been escorting the CNN journalists, monitoring their movements and those who speak to them.
