Steps taken towards talks in Burma

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.

At least five people were arrested over the past two days in Rangoon, while a member of Suu Kyi’s besieged political party died under interrogation, said a Burma exile group which tracks political prisoners in the country.