Myanmar parliament agrees to review constitution

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) — Myanmar's parliament has agreed to set up a commission to review the 2008 pro-military constitution, a process that could eventually change the political landscape and allow opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi to take the presidency.

Lawmakers say the two houses of parliament agreed unanimously Wednesday to look at the charter, which many consider undemocratic, and consider whether to implement changes.

Suu Kyi's opposition National League for Democracy party has long said that the constitution is undemocratic because of provisions that allow the military to control a substantial percentage of parliamentary seats and disqualify Suu Kyi from running for the presidency.

However, lawmakers from the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party say they want to change provisions concerning state governments to allow ethnic minorities increased self-rule.

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E. African nation Djibouti holds parliament polls

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Voters in the tiny East African nation of Djibouti are casting ballots in the nation's parliamentary elections.

Friday's vote is notable because opposition political parties can win seats for the first time.

Djibouti — a nation of less than 1 million people — hosts the only permanent U.S. military base in Africa, Camp Lemonnier. The base hosts conventional forces but also special forces and aerial drones believed to be flown over Yemen and Somalia.

President Ismail Omar Guelleh won a third term in 2011 in a vote colored by an opposition boycott and a clampdown on dissent. Guelleh's critics lament changes he made to the constitution in 2010 that scrubbed a two-term limit from the nation's bylaws.

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Cuba parliament gathers, will select president

HAVANA (AP) — Cuba's parliament is reconvening with new membership and is expected to name Raul Castro to another five-year-term as president.

But all eyes are on whether younger politicians may be tapped for top leadership posts in a sign of who might emerge from the next generation of leadership as a possible successor.

Castro himself fueled speculation on Friday when he talked of possible retirement and suggested he has plans to resign at some point. It was not clear whether the 81-year-old leader was joking.

The 612 members of parliament will be sworn in on Sunday.

They will then pick a new National Assembly president for the first time in 20 years, as longtime parliament chief Ricardo Alarcon was not on the ballot this year.

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