UN Envoy Lands in Myanmar

Troops faced off with several hundred pro-democracy protesters again today in central  Yangon as a UN envoy arrived in Myanmar to try to persuade military rulers to negotiate peacefully with demonstrators. There were scattered reports of violence, but no gunfire. With soldiers stationed on every corner and shopping malls, grocery stores, and public parks closed, few residents ventured outside, Reuters reports.

The regime restored international Internet access after cutting it yesterday to stem the flow of images to the outside world, but rulers seemed to ignore the international call for non-violence after three days of a police crackdown that left 10 dead, monasteries sacked and sealed off with barbed wire, and hundreds of  monks detained. Many monks were reported to be disguising themselves as laymen to evade arrest. (More Myanmar stories.)