Burmese police crack down
Thousands of Buddhist monks and other protesters are marching in the Burmese capital Rangoon despite a crackdown that has reportedly killed at least one monk, reports said.
Crowds of monks and civilians filled the streets of Rangoon, defying warning shots, tear gas and baton charges meant to quell the biggest anti-junta protests in the country in 20 years.
Protests were triggered last month by the government's decision to increase the price of fuel.
Analysts fear a repeat of the violence in 1988, when troops killed thousands of protesters.
The UN Security Council has called a meeting for 1900 GMT on Wednesday to discuss the clashes, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said.
On Monday production sharing contracts for three deep-water exploration blocks were signed between India's ONGC Videsh Limited and Burma's Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise.
Pressure from non-governmaental organisations and shareholders over Burma's human rights record has previously led some Western oil companies to withdraw while others say the pariah nation remains off their exploration and production radar screen.
However, there has been a resurgence in upstream activity in recent years with giant offshore gas discoveries being made by South Korea's Daewoo International and PTTEP of Thailand.
A long list of oil companies hold important hydrocarbon assets in the ASian nation.