dateline london. hello and welcome to the programme that brings together international correspondents, some of the uk s leading commentators and those who file their stories for the folks back home under the headline dateline london. this week lobbying in all its forms. lobbying against and for the royalfamily, lobbying to liberate a woman imprisoned in iran, and whether those who lobby on behalf of repressive governments around the world are sufficiently regulated in the uk. joining us for dateline this week. polly toynbee, a long serving columnist for the guardian in the uk, and henry chu, deputy news editor for the la times, which means he s up when la sleeps, making sure that national news in the states is well reported. and then, when the uk is sleeping, he s probably also trying to file stories from back here, too. he never rests! with me in the studio, mark urban, diplomatic editor with the bbc s newsnight programme. welcome. let s start with the royal family. sunday
we start in myanmar, where activists say at least 38 people have been killed on one of the deadliest days of demonstrations against the military coup last month. 21 died in the biggest city yangon after two china owned factories were attacked. beijing has asked the authorities to protect its businesses. a police officer also died in clashes. myanmar s ousted leader, aung san suu kyi, is due to appear in court on monday to face charges, which her supporters say are fabricated. our diplomatic correspondent james landale reports. they have built themselves barricades, they have fashioned makeshift shields. but when the security forces opened fire, there was nothing to do but run. this was the scene in myanmar s biggest city, yangon, where more than 20 people are reported to have died. some here see china as supporting myanmar s military rulers, and several chinese owned factories were set on fire. so, troops were sent in and martial law for two districts was declared on state tv