Australian author Richard Flanagan has won this year’s Man Booker Prize for his novel The Narrow Road To The Deep North inspired by his father’s experience as a prisoner of war on the Thailand-Burma death railway.

Fighting between ethnic rebels and government troops continued for a third day today as activists warned that the violence which sparked a refugee exodus from Burma could escalate in the aftermath of contentious elections.

An event is due to be held on Dublin's O'Connell Street this afternoon to mark the 20th anniversary of the pro-democracy uprising in Burma.

The death toll from the Burma cyclone has risen above 22,000, the government said today.