In Burma, tens of thousands of monks and protesters are marching through the city of Rangoon today in defiance of military orders. On Monday, Burma’s military junta warned that it was ready to take action against the anti-government protests that have rapidly spread across the country. The protests are the largest in Burma since 1988 when the military junta crushed a popular uprising and killed some 3,000 people. President Bush is expected to announce new sanctions against Burma today.

State Department spokesperson Tom Casey: “We certainly would call on the regime to exercise restraint in the face of these protests and also to release those that they’ve imprisoned for peacefully expressing their views over the course of the last few days.”

Meanwhile, in Italy Buddhist monks held a rally on Monday to show solidarity for the protesters in Burma.

Buddhist Monk: “We’d just like to give our gesture of solidarity and support for a peaceful resolution to this very difficult situation and for — that the people can be free and can have a democratic process and they can earn a livelihood without being oppressed.”