The United Nations secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, said Wednesday that his special envoy to Myanmar had delivered a “strong message” to the country’s leaders about the harsh crackdown on recent protests, but he also said he could not call the trip a “success.” (Source: New York Times)

``The U.S. believes it is time for General Than Shwe and the junta to step aside and to make way for a unified Burma governed by legitimate leaders,'' she said in a statement to the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations yesterday, referring to the Southeast Asian nation by its former name. (Source: Bloomberg.com)

Charles Petrie, the most senior official for the United Nations in the country, said a 38-year-old woman, her husband and two relatives were detained by security personnel at 4 a.m. He said he was not releasing their names to avoid jeopardizing their return. (Source: New York Times)