Cities across the world launched a day of protests against Burma’s junta yesterday, as the military regime admitted it had detained hundreds of Buddhist monks when troops turned their guns on pro-democracy demonstrators.

The protests came as Prime Minister Gordon Brown pledged an extra 1m to fund emergency humanitarian aid for the Burmese people and UN Security Council members continued to deliberate their reaction to the clampdown that saw members of Burma’s army - the Tatmadaw - and the hated Lon Htien riot police fire into crowds of demonstrators, killing at least 10 people that the junta admits. Opposition groups claim the real number of dead may run to scores.

Meeting Burmese campaigners yesterday, Brown said: ‘We will not tolerate the abuses that have taken place. And I want all the other leaders of the world to work with us, to achieve the progress that all of you want to achieve in Burma - an end to abuse of human rights.’

International condemnation of Burma’s junta had intensified at the United Nations on Friday, with the US warning it would push for UN sanctions against Burma if it failed to respond to demands for democratic reforms.

Pro-democracy demonstrators have called off street protests amid massive round-ups of monks and night-time raids by soldiers on the homes of suspected activists. Opponents say that with most of Rangoon’s monks now off the streets - detained or sent back to their villages - the regime’s main targets are journalists or anyone with recording or equipment or a mobile phone with a camera.

The junta’s treatment of the Buddhist monks - who are revered in this deeply religious nation - is an issue that could further inflame the people and anger soldiers loyal to the military rulers.

The government said most of the monks it detained had been freed, with only 109 still in custody, according to a statement broadcast on Friday on state TV. The report said the junta was still hunting four monks whom it believed to be ringleaders of the rallies.

In Rangoon activists told a different story. ‘There were many arrested but we cannot say how many … thousands of monks and activists have been detained,’ said one. The activist said many had been taken to the Government Technical Institute, north of the airport in Rangoon, which has been converted into a detention centre. Others have been rounded up at the old racecourse, which is also serving as a makeshift prison.

‘By day and night they are raiding monasteries. They blockaded some monasteries and sent troops to monitor them. Many students have disappeared too. They have put them in detention centres because the prisons are full after so many arrests,’ the activist said.

Demonstrations that began in mid-August over a fuel price increase swelled into Burma’s largest anti-government protests in 19 years, inspired largely by thousands of monks who poured into the streets.

TV images in the past week showed soldiers shooting into crowds of unarmed protesters. The government described the troops’ reaction as ’systematically controlling’ the protesters.

At the United Nations in New York, the UN’s special envoy to Burma, Ibrahim Gambari - who met the detained leader for democratic change, Aung San Suu Kyi - urged the military rulers to start talks with her. Gambari said he was ‘cautiously encouraged’ after the junta chief, Senior General Than Shwe, offered to meet Suu Kyi, with conditions. Those include her giving up calls for confronting the government and imposing sanctions. He stressed, however, that UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called for talks without preconditions to overcome ‘the high level of mistrust’ between Than Shwe and Suu Kyi.

THE family of an Edinburgh soldier killed in a Taliban rocket attack in Afghanistan have paid tribute to his bravery.

Married father-of-two Lance Corporal Ross Nicholls, 27, of the Blues and Royals Regiment, died along with two other British soldiers when their convoy was ambushed by around 50 militants on August 1 last year.

An inquest into the soldiers’ deaths yesterday heard their armoured vehicle was “totally devastated” by a roadside bomb during the assault.

It was reported today that the soldiers may be considered for a Victoria Cross for their actions during the ambush.

L/Cpl Nicholls was in the Army for 11 years, completing tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. He leaves a wife, Angela, young son, Cameron, and daughter, Erin.

Mrs Nicholls said after the inquest that he had decided to leave the Army and was due to finish his tour in February. They had just bought a new home in Milton Keynes.

She said: “We are proud of him and we all miss him.”

Last year, his father Andrew - who now lives in Australia - told the Evening News his son had “died a hero”.

He said L/Cpl Nicholls, who grew up in Murrays Brae, had wanted to join the Army from the age of 12.

The other men killed in the incident were Captain Alex Eida, 29, from Coulsdon, Surrey, of 7 Parachute Regiment Royal Horse Artillery, and South African-born Second Lieutenant Ralph Johnson, 24, from Windsor, Berkshire, of the Household Cavalry Regiment.

The hearing at Oxford Coroner’s Court heard all three soldiers died from blast injuries caused by the explosion.

Their Spartan vehicle was targeted by insurgents who fired rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns as the convoy passed through a built-up area near Musa Qal’eh in Helmand province.

Lieutenant Thomas Long, from the Household Cavalry Regiment, who was travelling in the vehicle behind, told the inquest:

“As we approached, there was a huge explosion and I immediately saw a fireball as it rose above the compound and the rear door of the Spartan vehicle flew through the air about 50 metres.

“At that point my vehicle moved around the corner to see what was happening.

“It was obvious straight away that Captain Eida’s vehicle was the one struck.

“The vehicle was on fire and almost completely destroyed and unrecognisable at that stage.”

The inquest heard that for the next five to ten minutes there was a fierce firefight between the British soldiers and the Taliban insurgents before back-up arrived.

Two soldiers were later awarded medals for gallantry, one after braving enemy fire to help a wounded trooper from the vehicle that was hit.

Andrew Walker, Deputy Assistant Coroner for Oxfordshire, recorded verdicts of unlawful killing on all three soldiers.

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As Chinese Communists gathered for the 17th party congress this week, they could boast of something that would have been unthinkable in the days of Mao: China now leads the world in the number of publicly traded companies with a market value of more than $200 billion.

China has passed the United States this year, with 8 companies among the 20 most highly valued ones in world stock markets. The United States has 7, Western Europe has 4 and Russia has 1.

Such an extraordinary capitalist accomplishment is not necessarily good news for the investors whose purchases propelled the companies to such heights of value. As can be seen from the accompanying tables, which show the worlds most valuable companies at the end of the 1980s and the 1990s, dominant markets may be vulnerable to a fall.

Japan stood atop the table in 1989, with 14 of the top 20 companies by market capitalization. Those who said Japanese valuations were ridiculous had lost lots of money, and in the U.S. Congress there was plenty of talk about protectionist legislation to shield American companies from unfair Japanese competition. A decade later, technology and communications companies dominated the world markets.

Both of those lists now provide painful memories for some. The 1989 list was dominated by Japanese banks, whose profits were enhanced by their stakes in many other Japanese companies whose shares were also soaring. After Japans bubble burst, those chart-topping banks were brought down by bad loans, leading to mergers and bailouts.

Some of the 1999 winners, like Intel, Microsoft and Cisco, remain successful, but with greatly reduced market values. Others, like Lucent, now part of Alcatel Lucent, and AOL, now part of Time Warner, are worth a small fraction of what they were then.

The Chinese stock market boom has parallels in both previous lists. Now it is Chinas trade surplus that angers American politicians, and Chinese companies profiting from owning stakes in other companies whose stocks are soaring.

Chinas stock prices have also been pushed up because there is a limited number of shares available for investors to buy, with most shares controlled by the Chinese government. In 1999, only a small portion of shares in many technology companies had been sold to the public, limiting supply as investors crowded in.

There are just three names that appear on all three lists. General Electric has endured, and so has Exxon, although it had to merge with Mobil to maintain its high position.

The other name is ATT, but that is a bit deceptive. The 2007 ATT is the result of the takeover of the old ATT, which had fallen on hard times, by SBC, a company that was spun off by the old ATT.

Even if the Chinese market is now a bubble, there is no guarantee that it will not continue to expand. The valuations of Japanese companies in the late 1980s, and technology stocks in the late 1990s, seemed unreasonably high for years before they collapsed.