Elephant honoured as Burma rebrands itself

Burma’s ruling junta staged a lavish welcoming ceremony for the country’s fifth white elephant captured in recent years as it arrived in the capital, state media reported today.

The festivities coincided with the unveiling of a new national flag and a new national name – going from Union of Burma to Republic of the Union of Burma - two weeks before an election that the government calls a major step in a transition to democracy but critics say is a sham.