Suu Kyi's poll bid approved

An elections panel has affirmed Aung San Suu Kyi's candidacy for parliament in another step towards political openness in a country emerging from nearly half a century of iron-fisted military rule.

A victory in the by-election on 1 April would give Ms Suu Kyi, the veteran pro-democracy campaigner, a voice in parliament for the first time after she spent most of the past two decades under house arrest.

AP