Burma raises fuel prices by a third

The price of a gallon of petrol rose from 2,500 kyat ($3.15, £2.03) to 3,350 kyat, reports from Burma said.

The move will drive up transport costs for residents already hit by a steep rise in electricity prices.

In 2007 it was an unannounced fuel price rise that provided the initial trigger for anti-government protests that spread across the country.

The protests ended in September of that year with a violent crackdown.

Since then, however, Burma has held elections and replaced military rule with a military-backed nominally civilian government that has begun a process of reform.

The new government has entered into dialogue with freed pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and released some political prisoners.