(Guardian) - Cities across the world launched a day of protests against Burma's junta yesterday, as the military regime admitted it had detained hundreds of Buddhist monks when troops turned their guns on pro-democracy demonstrators.
The protests came as Prime Minister Gordon Brown pledged an extra ?1m to fund emergency humanitarian aid for the Burmese people and UN Security Council members continued to deliberate their reaction to the clampdown that saw members of Burma's army - the Tatmadaw - and the hated Lon Htien riot police fire into crowds of demonstrators, killing at least 10 people that the junta admits. Opposition groups claim the real number of dead may run to scores.