Not too many artists can boast an exhibition at the Seattle Center, especially not after spending four years in a bamboo hut.

But that is exactly what Saw Kennedy did, showing four of his drawings for an event on Friday to celebrate refugees, just two weeks after he arrived here from a Thai refugee camp.

Born in a small village in Myanmar, formerly Burma, Kennedy was forced to flee to Thailand to escape his country’s repressive military government. He is one of about 800 refugees to move from Myanmar to the Seattle area since 2006.

Claire Trageser (’09) reports for the Seattle P-I.

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Australia wants to resolve its deep differences with Japan over Tokyo’s whaling program through diplomacy, but will not back down if those efforts fail, Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said Wednesday.

Rudd, visiting Tokyo this week, told reporters his government would attempt to settle the clash over whaling at the next meeting of the International Whaling Commission June 23-27 in Santiago, Chile.

Howard Hsu (’09) reports from Tokyo for the Associated Press.

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Burma’s energy-hungry neighbors – China and Thailand – are pushing the military junta to embark on a huge dam project along the Salween, one of Southeast Asia’s last untamed rivers, which stretches 1,700 miles through China, eastern Burma and Thailand.

The $8 billion project would not only generate electricity but give the government justification to flood the heart of rebel territory of Karen, Shan and Karenni minorities fighting for independence in eastern Burma.

Nicholas Kusnetz (’09) reports from Thailand for the San Francisco Chronicle.

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