BREAKING NEWS

Myanmar opposition claims by-election win for Suu Kyi

YANGON - Pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi won a seat in parliament on Sunday, her party said, after a historic by-election that is testing Myanmar's nascent reform credentials and could convince the West to end sanctions.
Her National League for Democracy (NLD) party announced to loud cheers at its headquarters that the Nobel Peace Prize laureate had won in Kawhmu, south of the commercial capital Yangon, paving the way for her first role in government after a two decade struggle against dictatorship.
"Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has won," an NLD official announced, referring to Suu Kyi by her honorific title. Myanmar's Election Commission had yet to confirm any results from the by-elections for 45 legislative seats.
The United States and European Union have hinted that some sanctions - imposed over the past two decades in response to human rights abuses - may be lifted if the election is free and fair, unleashing a wave of investment in the impoverished but resource-rich country bordering rising powers India and China.