Out in the small Italian town of Gemona, as in many places around the world, the arrest of Oscar Pistorius on murder charges was hard to believe.

Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Saturday called for her once-banned party to unify amid concerns that internal squabbles could undermine its push for power at historic polls in 2015.

Myanmar state media on Sunday confirmed an initial ceasefire deal had been reached with one of the country's major ethnic guerrilla groups.

Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi vowed on Sunday to inject new blood into her party and urged members to rise above petty differences as they elect new leadership for the first time in the 25-year history of the National League for Democracy.

Myanmar's Foreign Minister says the weekend by-elections contested by pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi in his Southeast Asian nation were "free and fair."

Aung San Suu Kyi's party won Myanmar's by-elections in a landslide, the country's Election Commission said on Monday, a victory she hoped would mark the start of a new era after a historic vote that could prompt the West to ease sanctions.

Myanmar is making "real changes" towards reforms but much more needs to be done, including the release of detained political prisoners, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said.

Myanmar has dissolved its Press Scrutiny and Registration Division, a follow-up move after domestic media publication control was totally liberalized in August 2012, the official media reported on Friday.

Beijing has urged Myanmar to protect the rights of Chinese companies after the government halted construction of a USD 3.6 billion China-backed mega dam following public opposition to the project.

A shallow 6.6-magnitude earthquake struck Myanmar on Sunday, the US Geological Survey said.