On this edition of Newsline: AIDS vaccine cause for hope; Washington to engage Myanmar; and real-life superheroes helping the community and themselves.

 

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AIDS vaccine cause for hope
For the first time ever, an experimental vaccine for AIDS has come up at least partially effective in a clinical trial. In a trial in Thailand involving more than 16,000 volunteers, the vaccine was shown to be 30% effective at preventing infection. HIV expert Professor Frances Gotch says the trial will remotivate scientists after decades of poor results.
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Washington to engage Myanmar junta
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said that Washington will change its policy towards Burma in a bid to promote democracy there. Following a reappraisal since Barack Obama took office, the White House will now engage directly with the military junta in the country. Clinton cited the failure of sanctions to change the government's behaviour as the reason for the shift. Thomas Lansner, lecturer in International Affairs at Colombia University in New York, tells Newsline the change is significant, but results are far from guaranteed.
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Superheroes Anonymous
All across the United States ordinary people are getting in touch with their heroic side - and becoming real life superheroes. They take on original superhero personas, and roam the streets to help and improve their communities. It's all about taking responsibility for your self - and your community, says David 'Civatron' Civatrese, one of the key players in Superheroes Anonymous.
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top photo: US senator Jim Webb (L) during his meeting with Myanmar's junta chief General Than Shwe in the country's remote new capital of Naypyidaw, Myanmar on 15 August 2009. US Senator Jim Webb arrived in Myanmar's military capital Naypyitaw on 14 August 2009 on a mission to re-engage Washington with South-East Asia.