Myanmar: U.N. visit

YANGON — The U.N. secretary-general said he planned to lobby Myanmar's junta chief directly today for the release of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, acknowledging that his high-profile mission will be "very difficult."

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon arrived in Myanmar for meetings with leaders on the same day that Suu Kyi's widely criticized trial resumes. The U.N. chief's visit magnifies the international spotlight on the trial, which has been delayed for a month but is expected to wrap up quickly after a final defense witness takes the stand Friday.

If Ban is allowed to meet with Suu Kyi, he will be the first U.N. secretary-general to do so since her first period of detention started in 1989.

France: Crash survivor back

LE BOURGET — A severely bruised young girl believed to be the only survivor of an Indian Ocean plane crash flew back Thursday to Paris, where she was embraced gently by her father, who tried to lift her spirits with a joke.

Bahia Bakari, 14, returned to France from the Comoros Islands on a French government plane. The Falcon-900 jet with medical facilities left the archipelago nation, a former French colony, and arrived at Le Bourget airport just north of Paris.

Yemenia Flight 626 crashed Tuesday morning off Comoros amid heavy winds. The other 152 people on the plane, including her mother, are presumed dead.

England: Police dogs die

LONDON — Two British police dogs died after being left in a car during a heat wave, police said Thursday.

The German shepherds were left in a car Tuesday afternoon in the parking lot of police headquarters in Nottingham, about 140 miles north of London. Temperatures topped 84 degrees that day.

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals said it was investigating the incident under animal welfare legislation. The maximum penalty for causing unnecessary distress to an animal is six months' imprisonment or a $33,000 fine, or both.

Mexico: Swine flu meeting

CANCUN — Swine flu is running wild in the Southern Hemisphere and is spreading rapidly through Europe, with Britain projected to reach 100,000 daily cases by the end of August. The virus is even showing signs of rebounding in Mexico.

World Health Organization Director-General Dr. Margaret Chan and health ministers from around the globe huddled Thursday in Cancun for a two-day summit to design strategies for battling the pandemic. Nations attending include the United States, Canada, China, Britain and Brazil.

Honduras: Diplomatic try