YANGON (Reuters) - An urgent United Nations mission to bring Myanmar's ruling generals and their many foes to the peace table was shrouded in secrecy on Sunday with no word on progress from the country's new jungle capital.

Officials were unreachable in Naypyidaw, 240 miles to the north of Yangon, the centre of an uprising led by Buddhist monks that the junta has been squeezing the life out of by arresting or confining monks and barricading off the city centre.

There was no word even on who U.N. envoy Ibrahim Gambari met in Naypyidaw, which translates as "Abode of Kings", where the junta moved the government abruptly in 2005, apparently because astrologers had defined the auspicious hour for the shift.

The generals, directing moves to throttle the protests in Yangon and other cities from Naypyidaw, usually ignore outside pressure. Yet they bowed to the chorus of international concern that followed soldiers shooting down peaceful protesters last week to allow Gambari in at short notice.

The heavy-handed suppression of the protests had prompted criticism even from China, the closest the junta has to an ally, and rare condemnation from the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), of which Myanmar is a member.

Pressure was added by the departure of a Japanese envoy to Myanmar on Sunday on a mission to ensure a full investigation into the death of video journalist Kenji Nagai, 50.

Video of his death on Wednesday, when the generals began their crackdown on mass protests, appeared to show a soldier shooting him at point blank range as security forces began to clear central Yangon of protesters.

FEW ON STREETS

State-run media have declared the job done, proclaiming the restoration of peace and stability after security forces handled the protests "with care, using the least possible force".

At their height last Monday and Tuesday, the protests in central Yangon, formerly Rangoon, filled five city blocks.

The crackdown, in which soldiers shot into crowds, raided monasteries and hauled monks away in trucks, have reduced the mass demonstrations to bands of a few hundred people.

They taunt and curse security forces, who have sealed off the protest area around two main pagodas in the city centre, then vanish into alleys when charged.

Soldiers and police fire occasional warning shots, ensuring the city remains scared of a repeat of 1988, when the army put down an uprising, killing an estimated 3,000 people.

There is no sign now of the maroon-robed monks, the moral core of the deeply Buddhist nation, whose column stretched nearly a kilometer (more than half a mile) at the height of the protests against 45 years of military rule.

Those not arrested are penned in their monasteries by surrounding security forces.

The United States said the fact Gambari was going almost directly to Naypyidaw -- whisked out of Yangon as soon as he arrived from Singapore on Saturday -- was reason to worry about his mission. He was dispatched following an emergency U.N. Security Council meeting prompted by the bloody crackdown.

"We have concerns that Mr. Gambari was swiftly moved from Rangoon to the new capital in the interior, far from population centers," White House National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe said in a statement.

He urged the junta to allow Gambari wide access to people, including religious leaders and detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

GAMBARI TO MEET SUU KYI

Gambari was due to meet Suu Kyi, who has spent about 12 of the last 18 years in some form of detention, when he returned to Yangon.

The two met a year ago, the last time any senior foreign figure has seen the democracy icon, who has been confined to her lakeside Yangon villa without a telephone and requiring official permission, granted rarely, to receive visitors.

Since she was last detained in May 2003, some of her countrymen have been able to see her just once -- early in the monk-led protests when marchers were allowed through the barricades sealing off her street.

Suu Kyi, whose National League for Democracy won a landslide election victory in 1990 that the generals annulled, appeared at the gate of the house, riot police between her and the protesters.

There has been no explanation, and no repeat, of the incident.

However, in a sign any concessions to the protesters by the generals would be limited, state television is publicizing marches around the country condemning the Yangon protests and officials say there will be more during Gambari's visit.

Rural India on the rise: The media loves clichéd constructs, and has developed considerable enthusiasm for the notion that small towns are increasingly where the India story is. Last week was a gold mine for those willing to mobilise reporters to create a hype that coul d then be reported. There were two media events: the final selection of the third Indian Idol, and the final matches of the T20 World Cup. Neither would be an event without the media to carry it forward. And both yielded highly saleable small town success stories.

Ideal fit

The Indian Idol finalists fitted the script beautifully: both were from far flung parts of the country, one was of Nepali origin, and both were from small towns, Darjeeling and Shillong.

Indian Captain Mahendra Dhoni, left, cheers along with teammates as they display the Twenty20 World Cup trophy at their arrival at the Mumbai airport, Wednesday. Photo: AP

Mumbai, Sept. 26: The victorious Indian cricketers arrived here this morning to a tumultuous welcome following their triumph in the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup as hordes of crowd braved strong rain to greet them.

The rain could not dampen the spirits of thousands of fans, who waited for their heroes outside the CSI airport. Maharashtra Chief Minister, Vilasrao Deshmukh, Deputy Chief Minister, R R Patil, top brass of the Cricket Board, including president Sharad Pawar, Vice Presidents Lalit Modi and Rajeev Shukla, Secretary Niranjan Shah and chief selector Dilip Vengsarkar were present at the airport to receive the players.

It was the kind of welcome the Indian team had earlier received after Kapil Dev led the country to the 1983 ODI World Cup, and prior to that in 1971 when Ajit Wadekar's team had won the Test series in the West Indies.

Security arrangements had been beefed up at the airport, but the players, surrounded by policemen, had a tough time getting out and finally board the open bus.

India's 'Captain Cool' Mahendra Singh Dhoni was the first to come out, along with Administrative Manager, Sunil Dev.

Star batsman, Yuvraj Singh, looked little jaded but once he boarded the bus, the dashing Punjab player broke into a Bhangra and all other players looked quite relaxed.

The players, clad in white T-shirt, acknowledged the cheer of the roaring crowd and waved national flag.

Music troupes played the traditional Maharashtrian music outside the arrival lounge of the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport here, while many others waited with flags and showered flowers on the team.

The cricketers started for their 30-km journey to the Wankhede Stadium where they would be felicitated by the BCCI.

Even after the long flight back home, the team members were undeterred and were standing on the roof of the bus even as heavy rains continued to lash the city this morning.

The members were seen waving the tri-colour and dancing to loud music being played as the bus crawled on the airport's approach road on its way towards the Western Express Highway.

Motorcycle-borne traffic police personnel were escorting the motorcade which comprised the team bus and an open bus carrying journalists.

The 30-km-long motorcade will proceed along the Western Express Highway to Mahim, Shivaji Park, Prabhadevi, Mahalaxmi, Peddar Road and on to Marine Drive before terminating at the Wankhede Stadium.

Thousands of fans have assembled at the Wankhede Stadium where a makeshift stage has been erected at the lawns for the felicitation function which is to be attended by top BCCI and Maharashtra government officials.

All the former players from Mumbai have been invited by the organisers for the felicitation.

The 1983 World Cup winning team led by Kapil Dev was also felicitated at South Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium itself. Dev's team had made a lap of the stadium during the function over 24 years ago.

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