Myanmar's junta likely cannot to defeat the rebels fighting its rule and should restore democracy after seizing power last year, a senior U.S. diplomat said.

A court in military-ruled Myanmar will hear the case against an Australian economist and adviser to deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi for violating a state secrets law, a source familiar with the proceedings said on Friday. 

The United Nations condemned on Thursday the fatal shooting of a World Health Organization (WHO) employee in eastern Myanmar, the latest in a string of assassinations underlining the chaos in the country since last year's coup.

A parallel government opposed to military rule in Myanmar announced on Tuesday it was forming its own police force, in its latest effort to hamper the junta's efforts to govern after a coup last year.

Myanmar's ruling junta has condemned what it called "reckless and interfering" foreign statements about a rare execution order against two prominent opposition figures, accusing them of aiding terrorism by demanding their release.

(Reuters) -Myanmar's military government said on Friday that appeals by two prominent democracy activists against their death sentences had been rejected, paving the way for the country's first executions in decades.

(Reuters) -Myanmar's military on Wednesday blamed "terrorists" opposed to its rule for a deadly bombing at a bus stop in its biggest city, an accusation denied by members of an exiled shadow government.

Myanmar's central bank has ordered ministries and local governments not to use foreign currencies for domestic transactions, to help relieve pressure on the kyat currency.

Myanmar's central bank has ordered ministries and local governments not to use foreign currencies for domestic transactions, to help relieve pressure on the kyat currency.

Dozens of ethnic Rohingya refugees were dead or missing after a boat with about 90 people aboard, including children, capsized and sank in bad weather off the coast of Myanmar over the weekend, according to media reports.