Thu Sep 27, 9:08 AM ET

BEIJING - China must use its influence with Myanmar's rulers to stop them from cracking down violently on anti-government protesters there, a senior US envoy said here Thursday.

"The use of force will solve nothing, this is about arriving at a political arrangement,"

Christopher Hill, the US assistant secretary of state for East Asian affairs, told reporters.

"All countries need to use all the influence that they have. I think every country has some influence with Burma, and I think China is certainly one of those," he added, referring to Myanmar by its former name.

China, one of the Myanmar junta's closest allies and most important trading partners, has refrained from taking a tough public stand against the generals despite the crackdown on the protesters.

China's UN envoy Wang Guangya said in New York on Wednesday that sanctions against Myanmar's military rulers would not be "helpful."

But China's foreign ministry has urged Myanmar's government to bring about stability, and diplomatic sources in Brussels told AFP that the Chinese have privately advised the junta "not to over-react."

Hill said the United States, China and all countries need to consult closely and do what they could to pressure Myanmar's government not to use violence.

"It's something that all countries need to be very concerned about... to use the influence they have to prevent the Burmese authorities from cracking down on these peaceful protesters.

"We all need to agree on the fact that the Burmese government has to stop thinking that all this can be solved by police and military (action) and start thinking about the need for some genuine reconciliation."

Hill, who is in Beijing for six-nation talks on North Korea's nuclear weapons programme, was due to meet with Chinese deputy foreign minister Wu Dawei later Thursday.

Thu Sep 27, 8:57 AM ET

TOKYO - A Japanese man who Thursday became the first foreigner killed in protests in Myanmar was a video journalist, his agency said.

Kenji Nagai, 50, was working for APF News, a video and photo agency based in Tokyo, a spokesman for the company said.

He said Nagai worked on a contract and was dispatched in the past to trouble spots. He had entered Myanmar two days ago on the eve of the crackdown against the mass protests led by thousands of Buddhist monks, he said.

"The foreign ministry informed us today that the passport bearing the name of our journalist, Kenji Nagai, was found with the body and right now the foreign ministry is trying to make the final assertion it is him," he said.

A foreign ministry official said an embassy official confirmed that the dead man was carrying a Japanese passport with him.

Thu Sep 27, 5:45 AM ET

YANGON - Thousands of protesters emptied the streets of central Yangon on Thursday after Myanmar's soldiers issued an ultimatum threatening "extreme action" unless the crowd dispersed, witnesses said.

Pockets of people remained on balconies and bridges, as soldiers and police worked systematically through the city centre to ensure that no protesters remained.

At least 100 people were arrested and thrown into military trucks after the ultimatum. Security forces had earlier fired warning shots, but the crowd only broke up after soldiers issued their warning.

Thu Sep 27, 4:20 AM ET

NEW DELHI - India expressed concern at the situation in Myanmar as reports from the military-run nation said at least four people had been killed in a crackdown on protesters including three monks.

"We are concerned at the situation in Myanmar and are monitoring it closely," Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee said in a statement from New York, where he is attending the UN General Assembly session.

"It is our hope that all sides will resolve their issues peacefully through dialogue.

"As a close and friendly neighbour, India hopes to see a peaceful, stable and prosperous Myanmar, where all sections of the people will be included in a broad-based process of national reconciliation and political reform," he said.

Mukherjee also said that "Myanmar's process of national reconciliation initiated by the authorities should be expedited."

An earlier statement from Mukherjee's ministry said that process "should be more inclusive and broad-based."

At least four people, including three Buddhist monks, protesting against the military government died Wednesday in clashes with security forces, including two who were beaten to death, officials and hospital sources said.

Political watchdog International Crisis Group on Tuesday urged UN chief Ban Ki-moon to push Myanmar's allies China and India into talks with the junta.

Energy-hungry India and China, along with other Asian countries, have been jockeying for a share of Myanmar's vast energy resources -- weakening US and European economic sanctions.

Indian Oil Minister Murli Deora on Sunday signed accords pledging to invest 150 million dollars for gas exploration in Myanmar during a visit to the country's new administrative capital, Naypyidaw.

The meeting came as pro-democracy protests gathered steam, with crowds swelling to 100,000 people on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.

Anti-government protests began after a surprise huge rise in the price of fuel on August 15, a heavy blow for people already battling to make ends meet in the impoverished nation.

Thu Sep 27, 2:56 AM ET

UNITED NATIONS - Southeast Asian foreign ministers were to meet here Thursday under pressure to join the Security Council in urging Myanmar rulers to allow a visit by a UN envoy to defuse world anger over a bloody crackdown on pro-democracy protests.

The 15-member council met in emergency session here Wednesday but failed to condemn the brutal repression in Yangon.

Members merely expressed "strong support" for a visit to Myanmar by UN envoy Ibrahim Gambari "as soon as possible," expressed "concern" about the government crackdown and called for "restraint."

Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) foreign ministers will meet on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session before holding separate talks with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in New York later in the day.

ASEAN, which groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, has adopted a soft stance on Myanmar in line with its general policy of non-interference in domestic affairs.

A Western diplomat said council members were hoping that the grouping would use its influence on Myanmar to persuade it to meet Gambari and free political prisoners, including democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi.

US officials said Rice was also expected to ask Myanmar's ASEAN partners to crank up the pressure for an end to the violent crackdown on pro-democracy protests in Yangon and the start of a dialogue with the opposition.

Rice said Wednesday that Gambari should be issued a visa by the military junta "immediately" and allowed to see Nobel peace prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.

Gambari visited Myanmar twice last year, including last November when he met Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been under house arrest for most of the past 18 years.

At least four people were killed and 100 injured Wednesday as Myanmar's security forces clamped down on protests led by Buddhist monks in Yangon, according to officials and witnesses.

Up to 100,000 people defied heavy security to take to the streets, despite warnings from the ruling generals who are facing the most serious challenge to their rule in nearly two decades.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon said Wednesday he was sending Gambari to the region and urged Myanmar's junta "to cooperate fully" with his good offices mission aimed at assisting "in the process of national reconciliation through dialogue."

Gambari, who briefed the council on the latest developments in Myanmar, told reporters that he was heading for Southeast Asia late Wednesday to await a visa for Myanmar.

Diplomats said the issue of sanctions was not raised during the session.

"We found common ground in support of Gambari's mission," said China's UN envoy Wang Guangya.

Singapore on Thursday urged Myanmar to give full access to the United Nations envoy and said it was "deeply troubled" by reports that violence had been used against demonstrators. Singapore is the current chair of the 10-member Association of ASEAN, which includes Myanmar.

On prospects for tougher action, including sanctions, if things escalate in Myanmar, US Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad told AFP late Wednesday: "I do not exclude that. That is certainly on the table for us and several other members. But the council is not there yet."

The council reaction Wednesday constrasted with expressions of global outrage, with governments vowing to hold Myanmar's military rulers to account.

In a joint statement issued in Brussels, the European Union and the United States said they were "deeply troubled" by reports that security forces had fired on demonstrators and arrested monks spearheading the protests.

The statement called on the Security Council to consider further steps "including sanctions."

Tuesday, US President George W. Bush unveiled new sanctions on Myanmar's military rulers and urged global pressure for democratic reforms to end the junta's decades-old "reign of fear."

French President Nicolas Sarkozy Wednesday urged French businesses including oil giant Total -- accused over labor rights abuses in Myanmar -- to freeze investments in the country and called for the swift adoption of UN sanctions.

But Western diplomats said a push for council sanctions was likely to run into stiff resistance from veto-wielding council members China and Russia.

Wang said sanctions would not be "helpful."

In Moscow, the foreign ministry said the bloody crackdown on mass street protests by Myanmar authorities was an "internal matter."

In January, China and Russia vetoed a draft resolution in the Security Council that would have urged Myanmar's rulers to free all political detainees and end sexual violence by the military.

They then argued that the Myanmar issue did not represent a threat to international peace and security and was best handled by the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council.