Burmese security forces blocked off a sprawling section of Rangoon today for a government-orchestrated mass rally in support of the military regime, amid growing pressure on the junta to negotiate with the pro-democracy opposition.

Burma’s military authorities arrested dissidents in raids today even as they responded to international pressure with apparent moves toward talks with their archenemy, democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, an exile group said.

Bird flu in Burma is more serious than originally thought, with 100 outbreaks detected in the country since the deadly avian virus was first confirmed last month, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Agency said today.