AP - Getting to see one of the world's most reclusive military strongmen requires a VIP flight, armed escorts and soldiers pointing the way — not to mention a disaster of epic proportions.

AP - Rain grounded helicopters and added urgency to attempts on Thursday to drain an earthquake-created lake that was threatening to flood disaster victims in central China.

AP - Myanmar's military rulers have approved visas for dozens of international relief workers and were allowing more foreigners into areas devastated by a cyclone that left millions in need of aid, the United Nations said Thursday.

AP - A passenger truck ran off the road in a remote mountainous region of Afghanistan on Wednesday, killing 15 people and wounding 56, an official said. Four bomb attacks around the country killed one Afghan and one NATO soldier.

AFP - Experienced French coach Henri Stambouli was charged with guiding Togo to the 2010 World Cup finals and the African Nations Cup finals the same year when he signed a two year contract on Wednesday.

AP - The party of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi denounced the extension of her house arrest and said Wednesday it would launch an appeal, while foreign donors said aid for cyclone victims in the military-ruled nation will continue.

AP - Rebuilding China's devastated earthquake zone will be a long and arduous process, the government warned Wednesday in a signal to millions of survivors living in tents that there will be no quick return to normalcy from their upturned lives.

AP - Nepal's lawmakers abolished the monarchy and declared the country a republic Wednesday, ending 239 years of royal rule in the Himalayan nation.

AP - Israel's powerful defense minister on Wednesday called on Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to step down amid a burgeoning corruption scandal and threatened to bring down the government if the Israeli leader does not comply.

AFP - Pope Benedict XVI will meet Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist and Hindu leaders during his visit to Australia in July, organisers said Wednesday.

AP - The leader of Taiwan's new ruling party met Chinese President Hu Jintao on Wednesday in a symbolic closing of the ranks between the rivals.