Burma's top general 'will not run in election'

Burma's top leader General Than Shwe will bow out of national elections next month, but his role in the country's political future remains unclear, a south-east Asian diplomat said today.

The diplomat, speaking anonymously on the sidelines of an Asian summit in Vietnam, said Burma's foreign minister Nyan Win told his counterparts that the long-time leader of the military-run country would not be on the ballot during the country's first election in 20 years on November 7.