Paula Bronstein / Getty Images

A models gets her make-up done backstage before a fashion show in Yangon, Myanmar, on Dec. 8, 2011.

Paula Bronstein / Getty Images

Jessica, 21, left, is nervous as she waits with other models for the signal to go on the catwalk during a fashion show featuring OPT jeans.

See more images from Myanmar on PhotoBlog.

Soe Than Win / AFP - Getty Images

Family members of prisoners wait for their release outside the Insein central prison in Yangon, Myanmar, on October 12, as the authorities began releasing 6,359 prisoners as part of an amnesty.

Soe Zeya Tun / Reuters

A released prisoner hugs his crying mother in front of Insein Prison in Yangon on October 12.

Democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, center, gives a speech to family members of political prisoners as Tin Oo, left, vice chairman of the National League for Democracy Party (NLD) and Win Tin, right, senior member of the NLD, attend a ceremony in Yangon on October 12. October 12 is the full moon day of Thidingyut (end of Buddhist Lent), a day when people traditionally pay homage to their elders.

Reuters reports from YANGON, Myanmar:

"I'm really thankful for the release of political prisoners," Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, herself freed from 15 years of house arrest last year, told supporters.

A senior prison official told Reuters a total of about 300 dissidents were freed on Wednesday.

After weeks of rare overtures, including a loosening of some media controls and more dialogue with Suu Kyi, the number was less than many had expected, raising questions over how soon and how fast the former British colony, also known as Burma, is willing to open up.

"It is disappointing," said Benjamin Zawacki, Amnesty International's Myanmar researcher based in Bangkok. "We had reason to expect, given the rather fast and qualitative steps that have taken place over the past several months, that today's release would be more substantial numerically than these preliminary reports are telling us." Read the full report.

Earlier on PhotoBlog:

• Myanmar eases iron-fisted rule, begins releasing political prisoners

Nyein Chan Naing / EPA

Women prisoners react as they are released from the notorious Insein prison in Yangon, Myanmar, on October 12. Myanmar's state media said the government was going to release 6,359 prisoners 'for the sake of the nation,' with some prisoners of conscience expected to be among those amnestied.

Khin Maung Win / AP

Male prisoners walk out of Insein Prison in Yangon on Oct. 12. The releases began around the country Wednesday morning after President Thein Sein issued an amnesty for 6,359 prisoners a day earlier.

Nyein Chan Naing / EPA

A man welcomes his friend, just released from the notorious Insein prison in Yangon on Oct. 12.

Reuters reports from YANGON, Myanmar:

Myanmar freed at least 300 political prisoners including several prominent dissidents on Wednesday, leaving as many as 2,000 behind bars, as one of the world's most reclusive states begins to open up after half a century of iron-fisted rule.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, speaking to Reuters before a general amnesty for 6,359 prisoners including political detainees, said she was encouraged by "promising signals" of reform but that it was too early to announce steps Washington might take in response.

The United States, Europe and Australia have said freeing Myanmar's estimated 2,100 political prisoners is essential to even considering lifting sanctions that have crippled the pariah state and, over years, driven it closer to China. Continue reading.

Soe Than Win / AFP - Getty Images

Democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi poses for a photograph during her visit to Mt. Popa in Kyauk Padaung Township, near Mandalay, Myanmar, on July 6. Suu Kyi attracted a large crowd as she continued her visit to an ancient temple city in central Myanmar, proving her enduring popularity after years of house arrest.

Shortly after her release from house arrest last year, pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi was asked if she would like to see more foreigners traveling to Myanmar. Large group tourism was not something she would encourage, she said, but "individuals coming in to see, to study the situation in the country might be a good idea," she told the AP.

This week Suu Kyi is on a vacation of her own, traveling upcountry with her son. It is her first trip out of Yangon since 2003, when her motorcade was attacked by supporters of the military junta that controls Myanmar and 70 of her followers were killed.

"I am very happy. This is my first vacation with my son in twenty years," Suu Kyi told reporters after praying at one of Bagan's temples on Tuesday. "I never have enough sleep at home but now I want to sleep all the time. I have time to rest."

Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) were careful to describe her trip as a private pilgrimage which would not involve political rallies or high-profile public events.

Soe Zeya Tun / Reuters

Aung San Suu Kyi and her son Kim Aris visit the Mount Popa Botanical Garden and Museum on July 6.

AP reports: Myanmar is releasing more than 14,600 prisoners under a clemency program that will include very few political prisoners.

Nyein Chan Naing / EPA

Female prisoners listen to the briefing of U Zaw Win, director general of the prison department, at the central Insein prison in Yangon, Myanmar on 17 May.

Prison Department Director General Zaw Win said most of the convicts, including 2,166 women, were being freed Tuesday from jails around the country.

The limited nature of the program — commuting death sentences to life imprisonment and cutting one year from convicts' prison terms — has drawn criticism from many who had expected more generous terms, similar to broader amnesties that have been announced in the past.

Nyein Chan Naing / EPA

Prisoners line up in front of the main gate of Insein central prison as security officers stand guard, in Yangon on 17 May.

Most of the country's political prisoners, both from the pro-democracy movement and from out-of-favor factions in the government, are serving long prison terms that will keep them locked up.

"My hopes are shattered. I thought my husband would be released in a general amnesty," said Moe Moe, 33, the wife of a former military intelligence officer sentenced in 2005 to 15 years in prison, after the measure was announced Monday night.

Asked how many political prisoners were among those to be released, Zaw Win repeated the government's position that the country has no political detainees. Continue reading.

Khin Maung Win / AP

Prisoners walk out of Insein Prison after they were released as the new government cut one year from their prison terms under a "general amnesty" on May 17.

Pongmanat Tasiri / EPA

Thais dressed in Lanna (northern) traditional costumes douse each other with water to celebrate Songkran in Chiang Mai province, northern Thailand on April 12.

During the annual Songkran water festival, large groups of people splash water and throw powder at each other's faces as a symbolic sign of cleansing and washing away the sins from the old year. The festival marks the traditional New Year in countries such as Myanmar, Thailand, Laos and Cambodia.

Rungroj Yongrit / EPA

A Thai boy uses a water pistol to splash water on a foreign tourist to celebrate Songkran, also known as water festival in Bangkok, Thailand, 12 April 2011. The three-day Songkran festival is celebrated in Thai traditional as New Year's day with spraying water and putting powder on each others faces as a symbolic sign of cleansing and washing away the sins from the old year.

The authorities in Myanmar warned last week that revelers wearing "decadent" clothing to the festivities could face up to a month in prison, but that was not enough to put off at least one Burmese punk, below. 

Nyein Chan Naing / EPA

A teenager dressed as a punk takes part in the water festival at the Bogyoke Aung San Market Yangon, Myanmar on April 12.

I see almost 10,000 pictures a day, and many document some form of suffering. Some of that suffering is incidental as people try to survive, some happens in chaotic situations, and some is intentional. But in all of it, I've never seen an image of such a deliberate infliction of misery.

What's particularly effective about this picture is the baby elephant's flinch. She knows it's going to hurt - you can see her shying away from the blow, which is the point: to cause enough pain to break her will.

To learn how you can affect the situation, read on for a Q&A with photojournalist Brent Lewin, who won a Science/Natural History Award of Excellence for this image at the Pictures of the Year competition.

Brent Lewin / Redux Pictures

A baby elephant braces for a hit during a training session in a Karen village in Burma. The training session is coined the 'crush' as its goal is to break the elephant's spirit. Wild elephants are typically tied up and beaten for 3 days straight and left to starve. Burmese Karen mahouts near the Thai border operate a clandestine and illegal trade network smuggling elephants into Thailand to be sold to mahouts for the Thai tourism industry. Officials estimate that 1 Burmese elephant is smuggled into Thailand every week.

Q: What led you to this story, and how did you manage to make this picture? What were any difficulties you experienced?

A: I've been working on documenting the plight of the Asian elephant and their caregivers in Thailand since 2007. It started out with following mahouts and elephants that would beg on the street in Bangkok but as the story began revealing itself it started to become clear that the business that surrounds elephants is responsible for a lot of the problems. With elephant numbers on the decline for a long time in Thailand, the supply of elephants has been coming from smugglers across the border in Burma.

I went to Burma specifically to try and photograph elephants being trained. I had a contact there from an organization in Thailand but it turned out to be a bust. We drove for hours on a motorbike through a dirt path in the jungle only to find out that training had finished a few days before. I started asking around and a local did some research and found out about a young elephant that was set to be trained. We set off on another path in the jungle and showed up and managed to sweet talk our way in. The young elephant's mother was tied up near the training device and became really uncomfortable when she saw what was about to happen. I've never heard an elephant scream like that before, it felt like the ground shook and she actually broke off her chain and charged at mahouts and myself. The mahouts eventually scared the mother into submission and tied her up again and then started training her baby. The baby elephant was terrified and started crying. The biggest difficulty I experienced was not being able to put a stop to it. There was a point when the elephant just resigned to what was happening and stood still, the life in her eyes disappeared. It was a look that was haunting.

Q: How common is this practice?

A: It's a very traditional technique and quite common but it can vary in terms of the level of violence. It's not all black and white either, some progressive camps use positive reinforcement instead of beatings. There was a time when foreigners could watch elephant training in Thailand but some negative images came out and it's almost impossible as a foreigner to see this now.

Q: Are there organizations in the region working to prevent this treatment of elephants?

A:There are some good organizations working to protect elephants in Thailand. Elephant Nature Park and Elephant Conservation Network are doing really good work.

Q: How can tourists visiting Thailand either be part of the problem or part of the solution?

A: Though they are rare, supporting progressive elephant tourism companies that have an interest in conservation is a good place to start. Try to avoid supporting tourism that uses elephants to perform circus tricks. These outfits almost always chain their elephants up all day separated from one another. If you see an elephant being abused speak out and tell the owner. I'm confident in the coming years elephant tourism will change in Thailand and offer an alternative model to the one in place now.

Q: What has been the response to this image?

A: Disbelief and horror.

Reuters moved these striking photos shot today on the Day of Ashoura, an ancient Muslim religious observance. Ashoura-related images have been moving all week, and I found this set interesting seeing the women's reaction to men walking on fire.

Soe Zeya Tun / Reuters

A Shiite Muslim walks on fire at a ceremony during the Ashoura festival at a mosque in central Yangon on Wednesday, Dec. 16. Ashoura, the most important day in the Shiite calendar, commemorates the death of Imam Hussein, grandson of the Prophet Mohammad, in the 7th century battle of Kerbala.

Soe Zeya Tun / Reuters

A Shiite Muslim boy walks on fire at a ceremony during the Ashoura festival at a mosque in central Yangon on Wednesday.

Soe Zeya Tun / Reuters

Shiite Muslim women react as they look at Shiite Muslim men walking on fire at a ceremony during the Ashoura festival at a mosque in central Yangon on Wednesday.