MYANMAR

The leading opposition party urged the ruling military junta to free political detainees, echoing a call by the U.N.'s envoy, who termed reports of new arrests "extremely disturbing."

More arrests, interrogations and acts of intimidation "run counter to the spirit of mutual engagement between the United Nations and Myanmar," U.N. envoy Ibrahim Gambari said in Bangkok, Thailand.

"These actions must stop at once," he said after meeting with Thailand's foreign minister. He is touring six nations to seek Asia's help in resolving the crisis in Myanmar, also known as Burma.

MEXICO

Writer accused of cannibalism

A Mexican writer who practiced witchcraft and was working on a book called "Cannibal Instincts" fried and ate parts of his ex-girlfriend after strangling her, government prosecutors said.

Police who burst into Jose Luis Calva's apartment last week found a plate of fried human flesh on a dining table set with cutlery. They found more flesh in the refrigerator.

Prosecutors suspect he strangled and mutilated two other women in the last two years.

HONDURAS

10 prisoners kill guard in jailbreak

Ten prisoners shot their way out of a Honduran jail, killing an unarmed guard and carjacking at least two visitors in the parking lot, officials said.

One of the escapees, a 24-year-old awaiting trial on homicide charges, was shot and killed near the prison. Another, a 26-year-old robbery suspect, was recaptured late Sunday, said a spokesman for Honduras' Public Safety Department.

Officials were still searching for the other eight escapees from the Yoro penitentiary on Honduras' Caribbean coast.

ARGENTINA

Huge dinosaur skeleton found

The skeleton of what is believed to be a new dinosaur species, a 105-foot plant-eater that is among the largest dinosaurs ever found, has been uncovered in Argentina, scientists said.

Scientists from Argentina and Brazil said the Patagonian dinosaur appears to represent a previously unknown species of titanosaur because of the unique structure of its neck.

From Times Wire Reports