Pope issues new warning against fake news

Yahoo – AFP, May 18, 2019

Pope Francis is seen through the rain-covered window of his vehicle as he leaves
at the end of his weekly general audience at St Peter's Square at the Vatican on
May 15, 2019. (AFP Photo/Vincenzo PINTO)

Vatican City (AFP) - Pope Francis on Saturday urged journalists to desist from publishing fake news, saying it could cause harm, and instead "take time to understand" issues before reporting on them.

Receiving foreign journalists in the Vatican, the pontiff also urged journalists to remain "humble" saying humility "prevents the rotten flow of disinformation and offers the good bread of truth."

Pope Francis said humility was of great importance as it implies consciousness "that through an article, a tweet, a live broadcast either televised or on radio can do good, but also if one is not attentive and scrupulous, harm."

He also said journalists must be very careful of their choice of words in an era of "hostile language" proliferating everywhere, especially on social media.

"Everyone knows how the search for truth is difficult and demands humility," he said.

He also asked the press to speak of "wars forgotten by society.

"Who still talks of the Rohingyas?" he said. "Who still speaks of the Yazidis? They are forgotten and they continue to suffer."

About 740,000 Muslim minority Rohingya have fled Myanmar for Bangladesh since a brutal military crackdown began in August 2017.

Thousands of refugees attempt to flee the Bangladeshi camps each year in pursuit of better opportunities in countries such as Malaysia and Thailand.

They frequently spend their life savings to embark on dangerous boat journeys they believe will improve their lives, but many fall prey to international human trafficking gangs.

The Yazidi community once numbered around 500,000 members in the mountainous Sinjar region of northwest Iraq, but it was ravaged by the Islamic State's 2014 sweep into the area.

Jihadists killed Yazidi men, forced boys to join their ranks as fighters and abducted and imprisoned thousands of Yazidi women as sex slaves.

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FAKE NEWS ! – (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll)

ICC says can rule on Rohingya deportations from Myanmar

Yahoo – AFP, 6 September 2018

Some 700,000 people from the stateless Rohingya Muslim minority have fled 

Myanmar's northern Rakhine state into neighbouring Bangladesh since August last 

year to escape a bloody military crackdown Tens of thousands of Rohingya refugees 

staged angry protests for "justice" on August 25 on the first anniversary of a 

Myanmar military crackdown that sparked a mass exodus to camps in Bangladesh

The International Criminal Court said Thursday it had jurisdiction to probe the forced exodus of Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar as a possible crime against humanity.

The ICC's "pre-trial chamber... decided by majority the court may exercise jurisdiction over the alleged deportations of the Rohingya people from Myanmar to Bangladesh," the Hague-based tribunal said in a statement.

The Myanmar government on Thursday declined to comment on the announcement when contacted by AFP.

Some 700,000 people from the stateless Muslim minority have fled Myanmar's northern Rakhine state into neighbouring Bangladesh since August last year to escape a bloody military crackdown.

The violence has left a trail of torched villages in its wake, amid allegations of murder and rape at the hands of troops and vigilantes.

In an unprecedented move in April, the ICC's chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda asked judges at the world's only permanent war crimes court to rule whether she can investigate the deportations as a crime against humanity.

It is a legally complicated request, as Myanmar is not a signatory and member of the Rome Statute which underpins the ICC.

Bangladesh,however, is a signatory and Bensouda argued that should give her office jurisdiction to investigate the plight of the Rohingya.

She likened deportation to "a cross-border shooting", arguing the crime "is not completed until the bullet (fired in one state) strikes and kills the victim (standing in another state)".

UN chief urges Myanmar to halt attacks on Rohingya

Yahoo – AFP, September 13, 2017

Rohingya Muslim refugees disembark from a boat on the Bangladeshi side of
Naf river on September 12, 2017 (AFP Photo/MUNIR UZ ZAMAN)

UN chief Antonio Guterres acknowledged Wednesday that Rohingya Muslims were being ethnically cleansed in Myanmar as he called for a halt to a military campaign in Rakhine state.

Speaking ahead of a Security Council meeting to discuss the worsening humanitarian crisis there, Guterres described reports of security forces attacking civilians in Rakhine as "disturbing" and "completely unacceptable."

"I call on the Myanmar authorities to suspend military action, end the violence, uphold the rule of law and recognize the right of return of all those who had to leave the country," the secretary general said in a press conference.

Asked if he agreed the Rohingya population was being ethnically cleansed, he replied: "When one-third of the Rohingya population has got to flee the country, can you find a better word to describe it?"

The crackdown by Myanmar's army, which followed attacks by Rohingya militants late last month, has prompted around 380,000 to flee across the border into neighboring Bangladesh.

Guterres called for authorities "to assure the delivery of vital humanitarian aid" in Rakhine state, with thousands of Rohingya still crossing the border every day.

The 1.1-million strong Rohingya have suffered years of discrimination in Myanmar, where they are denied citizenship even though many have longstanding roots in the country.

But Guterres said that the Myanmar government should either grant the Rohingya nationality or legal status that would allow them to live a normal life.

- UN meets behind closed doors -

Myanmar's leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been widely condemned for a lack of moral leadership and compassion in the face of the crisis, denting the Nobel peace laureate's reputation.

However Suu Kyi, Myanmar's first civilian leader in decades, has no control over the powerful military, which ran the country for 50 years before elections in 2015.

The Security Council met behind closed doors at the request of Britain and Sweden to try to agree on a response to the crisis, but diplomats said they expected China and Russia to resist calls for a strong statement.

"We need to see an end to the violence. We need to see immediate and widespread access to humanitarian aid and relief for the people of Burma and the people of Rakhine," British Deputy UN Ambassador Jonathan Allen told reporters ahead of the meeting, referring to Myanmar by its name under British colonial rule.

Swedish Ambassador Olof Skoog said he hoped for a "unified outcome" and "clear messages about what needs to happen now."

That message should be that "the military campaign that we have seen is stopped and that there is full respect for human rights and international humanitarian law," said Skoog.

Related Article:

UN warns of 'ethnic cleansing' of Myanmar's Muslims

Suu Kyi's party wins historic Myanmar polls

Yaho – AFP, Aidan Jones, Hla-Hla Htay, 13 Nov 2015

Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi is barred from the presidency 

by a the constitution but has vowed to govern from "above the president" 

(AFP Photo/Ye Aung Thu)

Aung San Suu Kyi's party secured a landslide election victory in Myanmar on Friday, propelling the pro-democracy movement to power after a 25-year struggle against authoritarian rule.

It promises a new dawn for a country asphyxiated by half a century of army rule that battered the economy and repressed its people.

In a reflection of rapid changes that have swept the country, confirmation of the win came five years to the day since Suu Kyi was released from house arrest by the military.

A giant graffiti depiction of Myanmar's 

opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi outside

 the headquarters of the National League

 for Democracy party (NLD) in Yangon

(AFP Photo/Ye Aung Thu)

She has now led her National League for Democracy party to a massive popular mandate with more than 80 percent of seats going to the movement.

The NLD on Friday sailed through the two-thirds majority it needs to rule, claiming 364 parliamentary seats with a number of results yet to be declared.

The election has won praise from observers for its smooth, peaceful passing, in a country where violence and repression has normally met democratic milestones.

"We have been ready to form a new government for many years," party spokesman Nyan Win told AFP, greeting the result.

Suu Kyi, 70, has not spoken to the party faithful since Monday.

In Yangon there were no immediate signs of celebration after the party figurehead urged restraint from supporters, aware of the threat of a backlash in a country where the army's writ remains large.

Under Myanmar's complex political system, the NLD will also have to wait until March next year for the transfer of power.

That gap has left some party loyalists nervous at the potential for political chicanery by an army establishment that wields substantial power, despite its chastening at the polls.

But the comfortable majority gives Suu Kyi's party control of the lower and upper houses, allowing it to elect the president and form the government.

Long wait

Suu Kyi, 70, is barred from the presidency by a junta-scripted constitution, which also guarantees the army a 25-percent bloc of seats.

She has already vowed to govern from "above the president" saying she will circumnavigate the charter ban by backing a proxy to run for the top office.

Myanmar's President Thein Sein (R) leaves after casting his vote in Naypyidaw

on November 8, 2015 (AFP Photo/Str)

The win represents a huge stride in Suu Kyi's decades-long journey from political prisoner, held under house arrest for 15 years by the former junta, to the heart of power.

Many NLD supporters have waited 25 years for their vote to count.

"I'm so happy... Daw Aung San Suu Kyi will do more for us than the current government," said 66-year-old street vendor Moe Thu.

Buoyed by her party's sweep of the polls, Suu Kyi has called for "national reconciliation talks" with President Thein Sein and army chief Min Aung Hlaing.

Both men have congratulated the NLD on its election performance and have vowed to abide by the result as well as help a peaceful transition of power.

The lower house speaker Shwe Mann has also been invited to talks but his political stock appears low after losing his seat and falling out with many senior figures from the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party.

The USDP, which is made up of former military cadres, has been mauled at the election.

Yet the president, a former general who swapped his uniform for civilian clothes to lead the government in 2011, has won praise for steering the reforms that culminated in Sunday's peaceful poll.

Vendors sell t-shirts depicting Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi to 

party supporters outside the headquarters of the National League for Democracy

party (NLD) in Yangon on November 13, 2015 (AFP Photo/Ye Aung Thu)

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon congratulated Suu Kyi for her election win, but also hailed the "courage and vision" of Thein Sein for "leadership in the reform process".

Those reforms have seen many political prisoners released, the restoration of basic freedoms and the economy resuscitated after years of madcap junta planning.

The international community has welcomed the election, with US President Barack Obama calling both Suu Kyi and the president to offer his congratulations.

Obama has spent great efforts on helping Myanmar's transition from authoritarian rule to an emergent democracy, visiting the country twice in the last four years.

Yet the country's military is not about to disappear. It retains major influence with its parliamentary bloc, which effectively assures a veto over constitutional change.

It also has key ministerial posts reserved under the charter.

Many NLD supporters remain deeply suspicious of the army and its political allies, who are notorious for dirty tricks and crackdowns that have left hundreds dead and thousands jailed.

Dates in the life of #AungSanSuuKyi pic.twitter.com/IgaMtQfzNw

— Agence France-Presse (@AFP) November 13, 2015

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Myanmar election officials: Aung San Suu Kyi's NLD party wins parliamentary majority

Burma's Thein Sein 'would accept Suu Kyi as president'  (Sep 29, 2012)

Burma leader Thein Sein pays tribute to Aung San Suu Kyi (Sep  27, 2012)

Obama opens door to new U.S. ties with Myanmar (Nov 18, 2011)

President Barack Obama announces that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton

will travel to Myanmar, on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit in Nusa Dua, 

Bali, November 18, 2011. (Credit: Reuters/Jason Reed)

Myanmar's opposition party heads for landslide victory

Results from Myanmar's historic election are not final, but opposition leaders are convinced of success. The NLD wants to oust representatives from the former ruling junta party.

Deutsche Welle, 9 Nov 2015

Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) has said that the opposition party was on track to win more than 70 percent of seats around the country, and up to 80 percent of the vote.

In the first official results, the election commission (UEC) said the NLD won all 12 of the seats in the area around former capital and Myanmar's main city of Yangon, a stronghold of the opposition party.

The commission also announced that the party had won all 20 seats in Yangon's regional parliament, and confirmed that 25 seats had gone to the NLD in the lower house - 18 in Yangon and five in the country's second city Mandalay, both areas where the party is expected to sweep the vote.

The NLD has also won all 38 seats in Ayeyarwaddy state, all but one of the 40 in Bago, and 11 out of 19 lower house seats and all 10 upper house seats in Mon state. The trend was expected to continue in the remaining 10 states, although official results from there have not yet been announced.

As the NLD declared a decisive victory, hundreds of people gathered outside the opposition party's headquarters in Yangon, where images of Suu Kyi were being shown on large screens.

"She's the people's leader who the whole world knows," the crowds sang in support of Suu Kyi outside of the party's headquarters. "Write your own history in your hearts for our future so the dictatorship will end. Go, go, go away dictatorship," the crowd continued. A sign held by one of the demonstrators read "We're tired of the military, mother Suu will bring change... It starts tonight." Many supporters were cheering and singing even before any formal results were published, hoping that Myanmar would finally be freed from the hold of its military, which ruled the country for a half-century until 2011 and has continued to be highly influential ever since.

Meanwhile, the ruling Union Solidarity Development Party (USDP), made up former junta members, appeared increasingly beleaguered, taking just two lower house seats so far.

At the same time, the NLD also won 87 of the 90 seats in the Yangon state legislature, as elections for regional parliaments were held simultaneously.

Suu Kyi waves to the crowd after delivering a speech from the balcony of the
NLD headquarters in Yangon

Openly contested elections

More than 90 different parties participated in the elections, but it has been the battle between the NLD and the USDP that has drawn the most attention. The latter is made up of members of the former ruling junta, which stepped down in 2011 to make way for a civilian-run government.

"This election has given the people an opportunity to voice their will, and the groundswell of people's support provides some sense of solace for the people who have suffered and made sacrifices for the past 30 years," said Ko Ko Gyi, a former student leader and one of thousands of people imprisoned during the military's rule.

The United States called Myanmar's general elections "a victory for the Burmese people."

In the country's first openly competed elections after 25 years, three-quarters of the seats are being contested, with the remaining quarter reserved for the military. Regardless, the race was a momentous occasion for the 30 million people eligible to vote, many of whom were participating in an election for the first time.

The run-up to the election did draw some criticism, most notably for the decision to allow half a million members of the country's Muslim minority to take part in the voting. An EU team led by European Parliament Vice President Alexander Graf Lambsdorff, which has been monitoring the elections, is expected to determine the fairness of the voting system.

dr/kms (AP, AFP, Reuters)

Related Articles:

Burma's Thein Sein 'would accept Suu Kyi as president'  (Sep 29, 2012)

Burma leader Thein Sein pays tribute to Aung San Suu Kyi (Sep  27, 2012)

Obama opens door to new U.S. ties with Myanmar (Nov 18, 2011)

President Barack Obama announces that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton

will travel to Myanmar, on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit in Nusa Dua,

Bali, November 18, 2011. (Credit: Reuters/Jason Reed)

Chinese president: flexing military muscles does not reflect strength

English.news.cn, Fu Peng, 2014-06-28

Chinese President Xi Jinping delivers a keynote speech at a conference marking the
60th anniversary of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence in the Great Hall
of the People in Beijing, capital of China, June 28, 2014.(Xinhua/Li Xueren)

BEIJING, June 28 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Saturday called on countries to uphold common security, saying flexing military muscles only reveals the lack of moral ground or vision rather than reflecting one's strength.

Xi made the remarks in a keynote speech at a commemoration marking the 60th anniversary of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence at the Great Hall of the People in downtown Beijing.

Stressing that security should be universal, Xi said all countries have the right to participate in international and regional security affairs on an equal footing and shoulder the shared responsibility to maintain security both internationally and in various regions.

"We should champion common, comprehensive, cooperative, and sustainable security, and respect and ensure every country's security," Xi told a 700-strong audience.

"It is unacceptable to have security just for one country or some countries while leaving the rest insecure, and still less should one be allowed to seek the so-called 'absolute security' of itself at the expense of others' security," he said.

He called on countries to step up cooperation at the global and regional level and jointly counter non-traditional security threats which are on the increase, fight against terrorism of all forms and remove the breeding ground of terrorism.

Disputes and differences between countries should be resolved through dialogue, consultation and peaceful means, Xi said, adding that countries should increase mutual trust, and settle disputes and promote security through dialogue.

"Willful threat or use of force should be rejected," said Xi. "Flexing military muscles only reveals the lack of moral ground or vision rather than reflecting one's strength."

He said security can be solid and enduring only if its is based on moral high ground and vision.

"We should work for a new architecture of Asia-Pacific security cooperation that is open, transparent and equality-based, and bring all countries together in a common endeavor to maintain peace and security in both our region and the world," Xi said.

Myanmar President U Thein Sein and Indian Vice President Mohammad Hamid Ansari participated in the commemoration and delivered speeches.

Also present at the commemoration were Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, top legislator Zhang Dejiang and top political advisor Yu Zhengsheng.

In 1954, leaders of China, India and Myanmar initiated the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, which stand for mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, mutual non-aggression, non-interference in each other's internal affairs, equality and mutual benefit, and peaceful coexistence.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, Myanmar President U Thein Sein and Indian Vice

President Mohammad Hamid Ansari together with delegates from China, India and

 Myanmar attending a conference marking the 60th anniversary of the Five Principles

 of Peaceful Coexistence pose for a group picture during their meeting in Beijing,

capital of China, June 28, 2014. Xi delivered a keynote speech at the conference at

the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. (Xinhua/Li Xueren)

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"Recalibration of Free Choice"–  Mar 3, 2012 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Caroll) - (Subjects: (Old) Souls, Midpoint on 21-12-2012, Shift of Human Consciousness, Black & White vs. Color, 1 - Spirituality (Religions) shifting, Loose a Pope “soon”, 2 - Humans will change react to drama, 3 - Civilizations/Population on Earth,  4 - Alternate energy sources (Geothermal, Tidal (Paddle wheels), Wind), 5 – Financials Institutes/concepts will change (Integrity – Ethical) , 6 - News/Media/TV to change, 7 – Big Pharmaceutical company will collapse “soon”, (Keep people sick), (Integrity – Ethical)  8 – Wars will be over on Earth, Global Unity, … etc.) - (Text version)

“…  8 - The End of War

The last one is the best. For thousands of years on this planet, Human Beings have warred with each other. If you take a look at the reasons they warred with each other, you will quickly see there aren't any good ones - land, resources, greed. Those are not reasons. That is a description of old energy. Those are not reasons. Reasons would be perhaps defense against an aggressor. But what if there is no longer the consciousness of the aggressor?

When I appeared in my partner's life more than 20 years ago, I said to him privately that the first messages we're going to give will be unbelievable. There would be laughter. We told him that Human nature and consciousness itself would change, and that the seeds of peace would be planted and there would come a time where there is no more war. Indeed, the laughter was great because humans look at history and they see patterns based on an absolute energy called Human Nature. "Impossible! There always has to be war. There always has been. Therefore, there always will be." This is you, in a box, in a black and white potential, where you can only see the black and white of what is and the black and white of what has been. You have no idea the shades of color that are there in your consciousness and the beauty of the love of God.

North Korea is on the edge of change, as we told you it might be. What did this require? The death of the old energy, and I want you to watch this take place. The advisors of the young leader are going to do their best to pull him back into an old energy. This free choice of his will be far different than his father, for he sees some color. Watch for these things. They'll take longer than you want, but it is the beginning of the beginning.

You'll see a fresh unification of South America sooner than not, for what is going to take place potentially this year in Venezuela. You'll see Iran changing. We have no clock. These are the potentials. These can change with free choice. These are not prophecies. This is a reality shift, dear ones, so number eight becomes the propensity not to war again. This is what Humans are going to want. This is what governments are going to want. There is a wisdom factor that will begin to happen on the planet that is grander than what you think is possible. For when you look at government, what do you think about? You see dysfunction, and there is an axiom that says the more people that try to do something together, the worse it gets. It all settles to the lowest common denominator. I'm telling you even those things are going to become old energy concepts. Instead, you're going to watch wisdom become the top potential.

I have no clock. I cannot tell you when. I can just tell you it is in the works, and there will be the seeds of it for you to observe soon - right now, in every single of the eight categories I showed you.

There are those who will say, "Well, Kryon, you're doing a lot more predictions than you used to." I want to tell you what's going on, dear one. I am not predicting anything. I am just telling you what's already there in the potential soup of your reality. That's what Humans are doing on this planet, and for those who believe this communication, you should breathe a sigh of relief and say, "It's about time." ….”

Norway fund blacklists Israeli firms with settlement ties

Voice of Russia – AFP, 30 January 2014

Photo: tsweden/flickr.com

Norway's huge sovereign wealth fund, the world's largest, blacklisted two Israeli companies involved in construction of settlements in East Jerusalem, the country's finance ministry said Thursday.

The ban on investing in the firms revived a three-year prohibition on them that the Government Pension Fund of Norway had dropped in August last year.

The companies are Africa Israel Investments, an Israeli real estate developer, and its construction subsidiary Danya Cerbus.

The ministry cited the company's alleged "contribution to serious violations of individual rights in war or conflict through the construction of settlements in East Jerusalem," a territory where Israel's claims are not recognised by the international community.

Norway's sovereign wealth fund is fed by the country's oil surplus. It is worth an estimated $818 billion according to the SWF Institute, a body that tracks such funds.

As well as resuming the Israeli firm blacklisting, Norway suspended a restriction on the fund buying bonds issued in Myanmar, leaving only North Korea, Iran and Syria on the list of countries ineligible for investment.

Voice of Russia, AFP

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The OPCW: trying to rid the world of chemical weapons

Google – AFP, 10 Sep 2013

UN inspectors arrive at the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons,

in The Hague, on August 31, 2013 (ANP/AFP/File, Guus Schoonewille)

THE HAGUE — The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), based in The Hague, is at the forefront of international efforts to destroy existing chemical weapons and to prevent the manufacture of new ones.

The organisation, which could play a key role if Syria hands over its suspected chemical weapons to international supervision under a Russian plan, supervises the application of The Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) which is aimed at ridding the world of such arms.

Syrian American protesters urge Congress

 to support President Obama in striking

 Syria, September 9, 2013 in 

Washington (Getty Images/AFP/File,

Win Mcnamee)

Syria, one of only five countries not to have signed the global treaty, said on Tuesday it had accepted the Russian proposal, as France kept up the pressure with a UN resolution threatening force if the regime failed to comply.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime is accused of using the arms in an August 21 attack that killed hundreds of people on the outskirts of Damascus.

Chemical weapons were first used in combat in World War I, and also in 1988 against civilians in Halabja, Iraq.

Signing of the Convention began in 1993 in Paris and it took effect on April 29, 1997.

The Convention was the result of almost 20 years of negotiations within the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, and initially aimed to eliminate all chemical weapons by 2007.

A precursor was the 1925 Geneva Protocol, which banned the use of chemical weapons following widespread use in World War I, but not their development under a "no first use" notion.

The OPCW currently has 189 so-called States Parties, including nearly all industrialised nations and more than 98 percent of the world population.

Israel and Myanmar have signed the Convention but not ratified it, while Angola, Egypt, North Korea, South Sudan and Syria have done neither.

The CWC has four main provisions, the destruction of all chemical weapons under strict verification, monitoring of the chemical industry to prevent development, helping protect nations against chemical threats and boosting global cooperation to strengthen implementation.

A United Nations arms expert collects

 samples on August 29, 2013, as they

 inspect the site where rockets in

Ghouta (AFP/File, Ammar al-Arbini)

"It is the first multilateral treaty to ban an entire category of weapons of mass destruction and to provide for the international verification of the destruction of these weapons," according to the OPCW.

It contains no specific punitive measures for countries that use chemical weapons however.

The document says only that the OPCW can "in cases of particular gravity, bring the issue, including relevant information and conclusions, to the attention of the United Nations General Assembly and the United Nations Security Council."

Between 1997 and 2013 the OPCW carried out 5,167 inspections on the territory of 86 signatory countries, including 2,720 inspections of chemical weapons sites, according to the organisation's website.

Some 81 percent of world stocks of declared chemical agents have been destroyed under supervision, it says.

Burma leader Thein Sein pays tribute to Aung San Suu Kyi

BBC News, 27 September 2012

Burma's Transition 

• Suu Kyi: 'My regrets'
• Ex-general rides wave of change
• Ethnic strife remains
• What now?

The Burmese president said

Burma's President Thein Sein has paid tribute to opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi in his address to the UN General Assembly in New York.

He also said radical democratic reforms in his country were irreversible.

Thein Sein referred to Aung San Suu Kyi for the first time as a Nobel laureate, and congratulated her on the honours she recently received in the US.

Ms Suu Kyi was under house arrest for 15 years under the previous military government in which he served.

Earlier this month, the Nobel laureate - who is also currently in the US - received a top honour, the Congressional Gold Medal, and called for sanctions to be eased.

"As a Myanmar citizen, I would like to congratulate her for the honours she has received in this country in recognition of her efforts for democracy," the Burmese president said.

In his speech, also scheduled for broadcast inside Burma, he told the UN that Burma had left behind its system of authoritarian government. But, he said, the democratic transformation would be a complex and delicate task that required patience.

Burma's civilian-led government has undertaken a series of reforms since the end of outright military rule last year.

Thein Sein also said the government placed a high priority on ending armed conflicts with its ethnic minorities through peace talks and confidence-building measures.

But he revealed no new initiative on the recent serious unrest in Rakhine state - involving Buddhists and mainly Rohingya Muslims - which is currently the subject of a national commission of inquiry, correspondents say.

Earlier, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the US would ease its import ban on goods from Burma.

Mrs Clinton said the step came in recognition of Burma's continued progress towards reform and in response to requests from both the government and opposition there.

Thein Sein said he was grateful for the decision - which is the latest in a series of such moves since the process of reform in Burma got under way.

The US lifted sanctions against Burma's president shortly before his visit to the US and relaxed its financial restrictions after by-elections were held earlier in the year.

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