By LAURA MECKLER

WASHINGTON�The White House said Tuesday that the U.S. isn't considering arming the Syrian opposition but is exploring providing humanitarian aid to the Syrian people.

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney also said there are indications that senior Syrian officials may be abandoning Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and suggested this is a result of international pressure exerted to date.

The United States has been seeking a way ahead after Russia and China over the weekend vetoed a United Nations Security Council resolution aimed at pushing Mr. Assad to step aside.

U.S. officials have long looked for ways to aid the Syrian people. But delivering humanitarian assistance is challenging, given the violence on the ground. In the aftermath of the U.N. vote, the administration is looking at the question again "very closely" and actively consulting with international partners, an administration official said.

Officials wouldn't say how the aid might be delivered. U.S. military aircraft generally are used for such missions.

"We are exploring the possibility of providing humanitarian aid to Syrians, and we are working with our partners again to ratchet up the pressure, ratchet up the isolation on Assad and his regime," Mr. Carney told reporters. "We're seeing a lot of indications of a lack of control over the country by the regime, of interest by senior officials within the military and the government in separating themselves from the regime. So we believe that that pressure is having an impact."

Asked if the U.S. was considering arming the opposition, Mr. Carney said no. "We are not considering that step right now."

His comment followed Sen. John McCain's remarks to reporters earlier Tuesday that the U.S. should consider the option of arming opposition to Mr. Assad. Sen. Joe Lieberman suggested the same earlier in the week, saying a range of support could be given to the rebels, including medical supplies, intelligence, reconnaissance surveillance and, ultimately, weapons.

"As the president himself made absolutely clear and as the secretary has continued to say, we don't think more arms into Syria is the answer," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said later Tuesday, adding, "We never take anything off the table."

By PATRICK BARTA

Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi embarked on her latest political tour, with many supporters wondering how far the government will let her go in rallying followers across the country�especially if her campaign snowballs into a groundswell of support for more aggressive reforms.

Ms. Suu Kyi, whose political party boycotted Myanmar's last national election in 2010, is running for a seat in parliamentary by-elections scheduled for April in a poor district near Yangon called Kawhmu.

But rather than campaigning in just that community, Ms. Suu Kyi is taking her entourage all over Myanmar, promoting her message of political freedom and democracy across a country that was ruled by a harsh military regime for decades before its leaders began enacting reforms in the past year. Although her messages appear to be in concert with Myanmar's current leaders, who have embraced more press freedom and wider political debate, some of her supporters worry the rallies could run afoul of Myanmar laws that restrict campaigning and events that threaten public security, which could be used to justify a backlash from the government.

Her political tours have also stoked tensions in the past, including in 2011, when state media warned Ms. Suu Kyi's followers against unrest ahead of a planned trip by Ms. Suu Kyi to the Myanmar countryside. An earlier political tour in 2003 ended in disaster when pro-government mobs attacked Ms. Suu Kyi's entourage, leaving many of her followers dead, though few residents expect such violence this time given the recent changes in Myanmar's government.

On Tuesday, crowds lined roadways south of Yangon as Ms. Suu Kyi took a four-hour drive to Pathein, a regional capital in Myanmar's Irrawaddy Delta region. More than 10,000 people gathered in a sports stadium to hear her speak, as supporters unfurled banners hailing Ms. Suu Kyi as "Mother Democracy," the Associated Press reported.

The trip followed a similar jaunt late last month when Ms. Suu Kyi traveled to the southern coastal district of Dawei, attracting throngs of supporters who climbed trees, cars and houses to get a glimpse of the icon. Ms. Suu Kyi is expected to visit other parts of the country, including the city of Mandalay, before the April 1 vote is held.

The crowds are enormous by Myanmar standards, and could augur more widespread political activism in the weeks ahead. Myanmar's leaders have promised to make sure the coming elections are free and fair, but many analysts assume Myanmar's government could grow more cautious if the crowds get too big.

The government is likely to give Ms. Suu Kyi a very long leash to appease critics in the West, but "there is definitely a limit" to what it will tolerate, said Jan Zalewski, an analyst at IHS Global Insight.

Since taking power last year, Myanmar's new government has released scores of political prisoners and pursued other reforms aimed at making the country more attractive to foreign investors, raising hopes that Western leaders will lift economic sanctions that block most American and many other companies from doing business there.

On Monday, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton signed a waiver that should make it easier for Myanmar to get help from the World Bank and other multilateral institutions, by lifting some U.S. opposition to the groups' work there. The U.S. has kept most of its other sanctions in place, holding out for the results of the April 1 vote.

That vote won't appreciably change Myanmar's political landscape, since it involves only 48 parliamentary seats vacated since 2010, out of a total of 664. Even if opposition leaders sweep the polls, they will remain a small minority in a parliament dominated by current and former soldiers and other allies of the current administration.

It is also unclear whether Ms. Suu Kyi's latest forays are legal. Government rules approved in 2010 demanded that candidates seek permission to campaign a week in advance. The rules also prohibited residents from holding flags and shouting slogans in processions, and forbade candidates from making speeches that harm security or "tarnish the image" of the military.

It is unclear if those rules still apply. A government official contacted by The Wall Street Journal referred questions about campaigning to Myanmar's Election Commission, which didn't respond to requests for clarification.

Nyan Win, a spokesman for Ms. Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party, said her political organization was waiting for the Election Commission to issue its latest campaign rules. Her latest trips, he said, were set up for her to meet with other organizations and party members, not for campaigning, and therefore didn't require permits. But that argument could strain credibility, given her recent appearances.

Speaking to crowds on Tuesday, Ms. Suu Kyi outlined some of her party's political objectives in parliament, including plans to seek an end to ethnic conflicts and improve rule of law.

"Please don't forget to vote for the NLD!" she told the crowd, the Associated Press reported.

By HARSH JOSHI

MOHIUDDIN PUR, India�Starting Wednesday, India's most populous state and political bellwether will go to the polls in a monthlong process to elect a new state assembly.

The state of Uttar Pradesh, which borders New Delhi in the country's north, has become a battleground for four major political parties. It also has become a t