4pm Update
Up to five protesters have been shot dead, according to reports, as Burma's military rulers resort to violence in attempt to put down the unrest that has gripped the country for the last nine days.
Scroll down and refresh for updates, reaction and your chance to comment.
Last night the junta signalled its determination to end the protests with curfews and bans on more than five people gathering. (Yesterday's events can be found here).
8am (BST)
Burmese police in riot gear fired warning shots to disperse Buddhist monks who defied the military government's ban on public assembly today by trying to penetrate a barricade blocking Rangoon's Shwedagon pagoda.
8.45am
Despite the crackdown about 7,000 demonstrators, led by 3,000 monks, have begun marching from Shwedagon to the Sule Pagoda in the centre of Rangoon.
8.50am
Up to 50 monks have been arrested in Rangoon, according to the Irrawaddy.
Overnight police arrested the comedian Zarganar who has publicly backed the protests and is known for his satirical quips against the regime.
9.05am
Up to 200 monks have been arrested outside the Shwedagon Pagoda, according to Reuters.
9.20am
Burmese bloggers continue to defy the censors. Dawn Xanga from Rangoon is getting anxious. "A lot of rumors are flying around Yangon [Rangoon]. I am getting awfully paranoid," she says.
9.25am
A protester has been shot dead, according to a flash on Sky News.
Zinith Zin, a Burmese blogger on Bangkok site, says some people fell to the ground when shots were fired. He/she also posts a picture of an injured monk. "Help Burma, Please email UN and other[s] now" is the plea.
9.30am
Ko htike has a selection of pictures from today events including what looks like a monk masking his face from tear gas and ominous smoke above Rangoon.
9.45am
Zinith Zin says eyewitnesses claim the security forces are burning plastic pipes to fill the area around the Shwedagon pagoda with smoke.
The monks are again chanting for democracy but the number protesting is "well below" yesterday and Monday, Zinith says.
10am
Two witnesses saw the bloodied body of a monk being carried in Rangoon says Reuters.
Mizzima reports actions against bloggers. It reckons the authorities have reduced the speed of internet connections, amid reports that internet cafes have been shut down.
10.10am
The number of arrests has grown to 300, Associated Press reports. But protesters' defiance also appears to be rising - there are now 10,000 demonstrators, AP says.
Mark Farmaner, director of the Burma Campaign UK, told BBC News 24 that the military appear to be trying to prevent monks leaving their monasteries.
10.20am
Human Rights Watch has urged Burma's allies (China, Thailand, India, and Russia) to use their influence to prevent more bloodshed in Burma.
10.30am
The army is sending in reinforcements, eyewitnesses tell Mizzima.
It is difficult for the Burmese authorities to hide repression in this "era of openness", foreign secretary David Miliband told Sky News. "The view of the world matters," he added and claimed that the authorities would be held to account.
Sky News claims protesters have been applauding outside the British embassy in Burma.
10.40am
Two protesters have been shot, says Irrawaddy. One died according to demonstrators.
Zenith Zin has just uploaded pictures of armed troops getting out of truck in Rangoon.
11am
There are lots of messages of support and concern for the Rangoon blogger and protester Dawn Xanga here. She wrote: "I'll let you know when I've been shot. (I'll ask someone before I die to blog about it. If it was an instant death, I'll come to my sister in my dream and tell her to blog about it, or I won't rest in peace)."
She also reports the difficulty of blogging and efforts of the authorities to shut down the internet. Her colleague at work has been deleting his blog posts. She describes herself as "an ordinary girl who wants to be extraordinary."
11.10am
"There will be no impunity for those who trample on the human rights of the people of Burma, Gordon Brown told reporters at the Labour conference in Bournemouth. "With the eyes of the world on Burma any violence will be unacceptable".
He called for European sanctions against Burma and added "I want the whole world to be acting together."
11.15am
Hospital sources report one dead and five wounded, Reuters said. All had gunshot wounds.
11.50am
Ominous "access denied" messages come up when you try to view a number of Burmese bloggers, for example here and here.
11.55am
Civilians are fighting back by snatching back monks arrested by the police according to reports on Mizzima.
12.10pm
The night time curfew has been extended to 12 hours, from 6pm to 6am, according Ei Mon Htwe Yin on Facebook. As Timbloke below points out the Facebook group Support the Monks protest in Burma is a useful source of news and views. It has more than 10,000 members.
12.30pm
Shots and tear gas have been fired in Mandalay, according to our translator Pascal Khoo-Thwe who is currently trawling through the blogs for news.
His translation from Soneseayar says: "At the juncture of 35t Street and 80th Streettear gas and guns were started to be fired. Now protesters are running to Payagyi (Mahamuni pagoda). The soldiers are chasing them. They used tear gas and gunshots, according to a local resident."
12.45pm
Democratic Voice of Burma claimed 30,000 people took to the streets of Mandalay today despite the heavy presence of soldiers. "The soldiers were fully armed and stood blocking the road, but the monks went a different way to avoid direct confrontation," said a bystander.
1.00pm
The British ambassador Mark Canning tells Sky News he travelled 500 miles yesterday to see the military leadership and convey Gordon Brown's "disgust" with its behaviour. The prime minister named Aung San Suy Kyi, the opposition leader, as a "true hero of our time" in his recent book.
1.20pm
More from Pascal's blog translations. HitTaing says that three protesters have been killed in Mandalay.
Another says: "At Tamwe, about 500 monks and public are continuing to march despite news of shooting and soldier's intimidations. They are continuing to march past Yuzana Plazaheading towards Tame Market. The sounds of protesters chanting the slogan, 'The military technology given by Bogyoke Aung San [Burma's national hero] is not for killing the people could be heard as I am reporting now'."
Reuters claims that two monks have been shot dead in Rangoon. Irrawaddy says three have been killed in the city.
Mizzima has more here on gun shot injuries including one to a woman of 45 who as "bleeding profusely."
1.45pm
Tayza on HitTaing said (according to Pascal our translator) "At Shwegondaing, there were serious injuries. The novices, the monks, the nuns were beaten up. There are around 60-70 bloody incidents. They are making the streets smaller with barbed wire barriers and moving closer and closer and squeezing the protesters, and they are beating us people. Even now, the police are patrolling with shields and batons.
In its latest post HitTaing says the protesters have dispersed for the day.
2pm
Ko htike publishes a grim text message from a hospital attendant. It says: "1 patients died on d spot on arriving Hospital... ( shot on Bladder ) 4 r still bad. It also claims they were bystanders. " the patient r not in d line of protest... they ( victims ) are just chatting and watching d protest line and sitting on Cafe Bar near Shawe Dagon Pagoda , some r pedestrians"
3pm
Associated Press says between three and five protesters were killed today, but it points out that none of the reported deaths can be independently verified.
Times of India says four were killed and 100 injured.
3.15pm
The military authorities have conceded that one person has been killed.
3.25pm
The new curfew seems to be being observed, according to the Democratic Voice of Burma. It claims that the protesters dispersed independently of the show of military force.
It said: "As a result of the demonstrations, shops and government offices were shut down at around 2pm, and all government employees sent home. Schools were also ordered to close. Rangoon's state-run radio station, City FM, broadcast regular announcements of an extended curfew in place from 6pm to 6am."
4.05pm
Just hours before a UN meeting on Burma, Russia said that international pressure against the military rulers would be "counterproductive."
But a joint statement from the US and European Union calls for UN sanctions against Burma. "We call on the Security Council to discuss this situation urgently and to consider further steps including sanctions," the statement said.
