Reuters: Myanmar Prime Minister dies 15 October

The country's state-run newspapers ran an announcement declaring three days of official mourning for the 59-year-old general, thought to have been suffering from leukaemia when he died on Friday.

The latest demonstrations come as Myanmar prepares to hold a state funeral for its Prime Minister Soe Win, believed to have died from leukaemia on Friday.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon toured Myanmar's disaster area on Thursday and met with Foreign Minister Nyan Win, on the first day of a visit aimed at pushing through a full emergency relief effort after Cyclone Nargis.

Ross Shimmon begins his adventure travels in Myanmar at the ancient Shewedagon temples of Yangon. He then travels by long-tail boat through the shanty fishing villages of Inle Lake to attend the annual Buddhist water festival parade. Next, it’s a hot air balloon ride over the Land of 1,000 Golden Pagodas in Bagan on the shores of the magnificent Irrawaddy River. Finally. Ross meets an extraordinary young peasant girl who guides him through the small thatched homes to see how she lives in rural Myanmar. It’s a touching and humorous exchange.

Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki vowed on Thursday to pursue a crackdown on Shiite gunmen despite mounting casualties, as Iraqi troops battled militias in the cities of Basra and Kut. In Baghdad, followers of the Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr staged noisy protests. Images and soundbites from AFPTV.

Pakistanis hope that the new Prime Minister will bring democracy and stability to the country.

Benazir Bhutto was prime minister of Pakistan twice and became the first female leader of a Muslim nation in 1988, following the mysterious death of military dictator Mohammad Zia-ul-Haq.

Ending eight years of self exile, Benazir Bhutto returned to Pakistan with hopes of ending the military regime, and to steer the country towards democracy.

Thaksin was forced from office during a bloodless coup in 2006. But weekend elections saw the party he backs emerge as front runners to form a coalition government. Thaksin has vowed to clear himself of corruption charges brought by military-appointed investigators.