US removes penalties against Burma's president The U.S. Treasury has removed Burma's president, Thein Sein, from a list of individuals who are barred from doing business or owning property in America. The announcement comes as Burma's opposition leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, is on a high-profile trip to the U.S. that is expected to include a private meeting Wednesday with President Barack Obama. The Obama administration wants to balance its praise for Suu Kyi with credit for Thein Sein, who's been key to Burma's democratic reforms. The speaker of Burma's lower house of parliament, Thura Shwe Mann, also was removed from the list. He was the third-ranking member in Burma's former ruling junta. Thein Sein was prime minister.