Burma's ruling military junta has quashed rumors of a coup. Authorities in Rangoon say the country's leader, Senior General Than Shwe, is healthy and in command.
Burma's information minister, Brigadier General Kyaw Hsan, told reporters in the capital Sunday that everything in Burma is normal, and he denied that Than Shwe was seriously ill.
Speculation about the situation in Burma has been swirling for several days, following a foreign broadcast on Tuesday by the British Broadcasting Corporation's Burmese service that said Burma's number-two leader General Maung Aye might have forced Senior General Than Shwe to retire for health reasons.
A number of sources in Rangoon, including members of the opposition National League for Democracy, have dismissed the earlier report by the BBC, and all indications are that conditions are calm in the Burmese capital.
Thailand's prime minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, has said his government is convinced there was no coup in Burma.
Some information for this report provided by AP and AFP.
