HUNDREDS IN FUJIAN PROTEST DEATH IN POLICE CUSTODY (RFA)

Hundreds of villagers in the southeastern Chinese province of Fujian have protested outside local government offices at the death in police custody of a 27-year-old man from their county, RFA's Cantonese service reports.

9:22:43 AM    

RELIGION SPREADS IN NORTH KOREA DESPITE SUPPRESSION (RFA)

A North Korean defector has revealed that there is a small but growing amount of religious activity in the isolated Stalinist state, which decries any form of religious belief as superstition and still monitors all cultural activity by its citizens, RFA's Korean service reports.

9:19:58 AM    

NORTH KOREA CRACKS DOWN ON BORDER AREA WITH CHINA (RFA)

North Koreans considering escaping across the border to China are being warned by a human rights group not to make any moves for the time being, as North Korean security forces stage a major crackdown in the area, RFA's Korean service reports

9:16:52 AM    

Webmaster Huang Qi put in solitary confinement after visit from Reporters Without Borders

Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières) has expressed its concern after jailed webmaster Huang Qi was transferred to a harsh prison regime, including a spell in solitary confinement, after its representatives tried to visit him at his top security prison. The international press freedom organisation also called for an early release for the prisoner of opinion, who has already spent more than three years in prison in tough conditions.

9:10:19 AM