Rousing welcome for Myanmar's Suu Kyi in Nepal

Myanmar's opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi (centre) gestures on her arrival at Tribhuvan International airport in Kathmandu on Friday. -AFP

KATHMANDU: Hundreds of supporters thronged Kathmandu's airport Friday to welcome Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi as she visited Nepal for the first time since a stint as a schoolteacher four decades ago.

Suu Kyi, 68, was released from years of house arrest in 2010, and a quasi-civilian government led by former general Thein Sein has since pushed reforms that have ended sanctions and overturned Myanmar's status as a global pariah.