The European Union is threatening Burma with new sanctions over the country's human rights record and its continued detention of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
EU foreign ministers meeting in Brussels Monday said their bloc will expand existing sanctions if the Rangoon government failed to improve its record by the October 8th start of the Asia-Europe Meeting, or ASEM.
They said the new sanctions would expand the current EU visa ban for senior Burmese officials, and ban EU firms from financing Burmese companies.
The EU initially resisted a Burmese presence at the ASEM conference, but agreed to allow a junior-level delegation to attend the event after pressure from Burma's neighbors.
Information for this report is provided by AP, AFP and EU press release.