Burma summons top US diplomat

The top US diplomat in Burma was summoned today for rare talks with the hardline government a day after its leader announced a conditional offer to meet detained democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi.

Shari Villarosa, the highest American official in Burma, received word yesterday that she had been invited to meet the military-led government that orchestrated a brutal crackdown on pro-democracy protesters last week, the US State Department said in Washington.