CNN) -- Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi gave her Nobel speech in Norway on Saturday, more than two decades after she won the peace prize.
Her presence in Oslo, Norway, on a historic first trip to Europe after years of house arrest, signals the progress toward reform in Myanmar, also known as Burma, over the past year.
Suu Kyi was unable to accept the Nobel when it was awarded in 1991 because she was under house arrest in Myanmar. Her husband and two sons accepted it then on her behalf, paying tribute to her sacrifice.
Greeted by heartfelt applause from those gathered in Oslo City Hall, Suu Kyi spoke of what peace meant to her and also of her country's fragile progress toward democratic reform.
"Over the past year there have been signs that the endeavors of those who believe in democracy and human rights are beginning to bear fruit in Burma. There have been changes in a positive direction; steps towards democratization have been taken," she said.
"If I advocate cautious optimism it is not because I do not have faith in the future but because I do not want to encourage blind faith."
Speaking as a former prisoner of conscience, she appealed for the "earliest, unconditional release" of all prisoners of conscience still held in Myanmar.
Of her own work for democracy, she said it had never occurred to her that it might one day lead to any award or hon
Left leader calls for 40k a month income cap
Published: 16 Jun 12 16:01 CET
The new leader of Germany's socialist Left party has called for a 100 percent tax on any income above €40,000 a month, because beyond that point, "there's no additional life enjoyment anyway."
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"If there is any additional income beyond that, then it just goes into influencing political decisions through bribery – or destructive financial speculation," she said.
Kipping, who became the Left party's new leader in early June, along with trade unionist Bernd Riexinger, said she got the new policy idea from her French counterpart Jean-Luc Mélenchon.
As part of his campaign, the French far-left's presidential candidate had demanded a 100 percent tax on any income above €360,000 year. "He had a lot of success with the idea," said Kipping.
Her suggestion is less radical than that, in that it would only affect incomes of above €480,000 a year.
The Left party's 2009 election manifesto included a 53 percent top income tax rate, for any incomes above €65,000 a year.
Kipping would also introduce a basic income for all German citizens of €1,050 a month – a controversial idea even within her own party. Her co-leader Riexinger is reportedly against the measure.
The Local/DPA/bk
