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Pope Francis on Saturday said he wept hearing the plight first-hand of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, adding that this meeting was a condition set for his trip to Myanmar and Bangladesh. The Rohingya meeting was a highly symbolic gesture of solidarity with the Muslim minority fleeing violence in Myanmar, and the pontiff told journalists on his plane flying back to Rome that the refugees cried as well. “I knew that I was going to meet the Rohingyas, but I did not know where and how; for me, it was one of the conditions of the trip,” he said. The usually...

YANGON, Oct. 15 (Xinhua) -- A small bomb explosion in Myanmar's Yangon, injured one foeigner at midnight, Local witnesses said on Tuesday. The blast occurred in the ninth floor of the Traders Hotel at about 11:30 midnight (local time) on Monday, witnesses added. Currently, many media reporters have arrived this hotel, but police have not provided further information. A small bomb explosion in Thakayta, Myanmar's Yangon, injured two children Sunday evening. Another minor one occurred with a roadside bus stop kiosk in Yangon's Insein township without casualties on last Saturday midnight.

NEW DELHI — Indian airports were on high alert Friday after intelligence services received information that Al Qaeda-linked militants were plotting to hijack a plane. Such an attack would be the first major terror strike against India since 10 militants rampaged through the city of Mumbai for three days in November 2008, killing 166 people. Aviation spokeswoman Moushumi Chakravarty said that the airports were placed on alert Thursday after the government received warnings from the intelligence agencies.(continued)

Excerpt - YANGON, Myanmar - A powerful cyclone killed more than 350 people and destroyed thousands of homes, state-run media said Sunday. Some dissident groups worried that the military junta running Myanmar would be reluctant to ask for international help. Tropical Cyclone Nargis hit at a delicate time for the junta, less than a week ahead of a crucial referendum on a new constitution. Should the junta be seen as failing disaster victims, voters who already blame the regime for ruining the economy and squashing democracy could take out their frustrations at the ballot box. Some in Yangon complained the...

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Rumours swirled in army-ruled Myanmar and neighbouring Thailand on Wednesday that junta strongman Senior General Than Shwe may have been removed, but Thailand's foreign minister said it was only speculation. Reports suggested Than Shwe, head of a military junta which has ruled the former Burma in various forms since 1992, had been ousted by number two General Maung Aye. A Thai intelligence official said he had heard the rumours, but nothing was confirmed. "We've heard Maung Aye has seized power from Than Shwe, citing allegations of corruption and his involvement in illegal trade of weapons," the...

The Associated Press - BANGKOK, Thailand - The Georgia-based rock band R.E.M. will broadcast a song dedicated to Myanmar's detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi into the military-ruled country via satellite television to mark her 60th birthday, a U.S.-based activist group said. The group will perform the unspecified song for the Nobel Peace Prize laureate at its June 19 concert in Dublin, Ireland, and air it inside Myanmar though an Oslo-based dissident television station, the U.S. Campaign for Burma said in a statement dated Wednesday. Myanmar was formerly known as Burma. The broadcast is part of a series...

In an unprecedented decision, four local officials have been found guilty of forcing villagers to work on a road-building project and were given prison sentences of up to 16 months, a United Nations official said Thursday. Western nations and human rights groups have accused Myanmar of widespread use of forced labor, especially for public works projects such as road building. "This is a very significant development because this is the first time anybody has ever been found guilty of imposing forced labor in Myanmar," said Richard Horsey, a liaison officer from the U.N. International Labor Organization. The ILO is seeking...