Yangon

Ethnic rebel guerrillas in military-ruled Burma (Myanmar) have killed 27 people in two attacks on passenger buses in the past week, among the heaviest civilian casualties in decades of unrest, state media reported on Monday. ”Terrorist insurgents are trying to undermine national stability,” the official New Light of Myanmar said.

A normally bustling Yangon market was eerily quiet on Friday — a day after a group of protesters held a rare demonstration there against Burma’s military-run government over economic hardships. ”People are cautious after the protest yesterday [Thursday]. That’s why we are seeing few people today,” said a taxi driver.

A tropical cyclone packing winds up to 240kph battered Burma on Saturday, ripping roofs off dozens of buildings near the country’s biggest city, knocking out electricity and forcing tourists to flee coastal flooding, officials said. There were scattered reports of injuries and deaths, but the government refused to provide any details.

Myanmar’s Supreme Court has begun hearing the junta’s case against former premier and military intelligence boss Khin Nyunt, who was sacked in October and accused of corruption, legal sources said this week. ”His legal proceedings in the Supreme Court have started,” one lawyer following the case said on condition of anonymity on Tuesday.

Myanmar’s military government on Monday accused the United States and its allies of ”blind and prejudiced meddling” in the country’s internal affairs.

The International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC) said on Wednesday the junta had refused to allow it to see detained democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi but had agreed to visits with all other opposition members rounded up after violent clashes last month.

European Union delegates here to assess Myanmar’s political reform process were due to meet on Tuesday with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and a top junta member, officials said.