Ruling party chief sacked

Ouster follows disputes over military's role in national government

Myanmar's powerful ruling party chief, U Shwe Mann, has been ousted from his post, party members said on Thursday, apparently after he lost a power struggle with President U Thein Sein three months before a general election.

The struggle between the two old rivals became public in a dramatic way late on Wednesday evening, when security forces surrounded the vast headquarters of the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party in the nation's capital, Naypyitaw.