[One-Minute World News] from [BBC NEWS]
[Asia-Pacific]
Page last updated at 10:39 GMT, Wednesday, 2 September 2009 11:39 UK
China dissident given jail term
A Chinese dissident active in the underground China Democracy Party has been sentenced to 13 years in prison for subversion.
By Michael Bristow
BBC News, Beijing
Xie Changfa was arrested after trying to organise the party's first national congress in the city of Changsha, Hunan Province.
The 57-year-old's lawyer, Ma Gangquan, said his client intended to appeal against the verdict.
The China Democracy Party was set up in 1998, but has never been approved.
"This is one of the most severe sentences of a dissident in several years," said a statement from the group Human Rights in China.
Re-education camp
According to court documents, Chinese prosecutors accused Xie of plotting to overthrow China's socialist system and subvert state power.
The dissident, who denied the charges, was detained in June last year after trying to set up the political party meeting.
He was tried in April at the Changsha Intermediate People's Court and sentenced on Tuesday.
According to Human Rights in China, Xie's brother and six friends were in court during the 30-minute sentencing.
"The charge runs counter to the constitution because that gives citizens the right to establish a political party," Xie's lawyer told the BBC.
Xie previously served two years in a re-education through labour camp for inciting the spread of anti-revolutionary propaganda.
The dissident has been active with the China Democracy Party for more than a decade. He helped set up a branch of the party in Hunan.
Chinese prosecutors said he was dissatisfied with China's socialist system and the communist party, and wanted to bring about a multi-party democracy.
As well as the communist grouping, China has eight other political parties, although these do not seek power for themselves.
They are supposed to advise the Chinese leadership, which uses their existence to claim that China is a democratic country.
Founders of the China Democracy Party attempted to set up a genuinely independent party during a period when the authorities were more relaxed about political debate.
But the government never allowed the party to be registered and some of its founding members were arrested, charged and imprisoned.
[Asia-Pacific]
Page last updated at 05:36 GMT, Wednesday, 2 September 2009 06:36 UK
Australia Serb avoids extradition
A former Serb paramilitary leader wanted in Croatia for war crimes has won an appeal against his extradition.
Australia's federal court said he faced a "substantial or real chance of prejudice" if he was sent to Croatia.
Dragan Vasiljkovic was arrested in Perth in 2006 after Zagreb requested his extradition for atrocities during its 1991-1995 war of independence.
The Croatian government accuses Mr Vasiljkovic of ordering subordinates to kill Croatian civilians.
It claims he was involved in the torture and killing of local people and prisoners of war in the rebel Serb stronghold of Knin in 1991 and the southern village of Bruska in 1993.
He has denied committing war crimes but has admitted in media interviews to training Serbian recruits, killing people in combat and interrogating enemy troops.
He was working as a golf instructor in Perth when he was found eligible for extradition in April 2007, but has since mounted several legal challenges.
'Political'
He successfully argued that Croatia was partly seeking to try him because of his political beliefs about the right to self-determination of Serbs in the Krajina region of the Balkans.
Extradition of a fugitive sought "for or in connection with his race, religion, nationality or political opinions" was not allowed under Australian law, the court said.
The three judges ordered that Mr Vasiljkovic be freed from prison, where he has been held since his 2006 arrest, but they delayed his release until Friday to allow Croatia time to lodge an appeal if it wishes.
In February, a federal court judge dismissed Mr Vasiljkovic's appeal of a lower court ruling backing the Croatian government's extradition request.
Mr Vasiljkovic, 54, is an Australian citizen.
He came to Australia when he was 15, but returned to his homeland to train Croatian Serb rebels in 1991, when Serbs took up arms against Croatia's secession from the former Yugoslav federation.
[Asia-Pacific]
Page last updated at 12:57 GMT, Wednesday, 2 September 2009 13:57 UK
US dinosaur had Chinese cousin
Scientists in China say they have identified the first Asian example of a group of dinosaurs previously found only in the Americas and Europe.
Brachiosaurid sauropods were characterised by forelimbs as long or even longer than their hind limbs.
Examples have been found from the late Jurassic and early Cretaceous periods.
Writing in the Royal Society Journal, Proceedings B, scientists say a fossil from Gansu Province is closely related to American specimens.
The fossil consists of a series of articulated cervical vertebrae and the right pelvic girdle, plus several unidentified bone fragments.
It was dug up in 2007 in Yujinzi Basin in the north west of Gansu province in China.
New species
Hai-Lu You of the Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences in Beijing and Da-Qing Li of Gansu Provincial Bureau of Geo-exploration and Mineral Development have identified it as a new genus and species of this group of dinosaurs.
The researchers say the specimen is closely related to the Sauroposeidon dinosaur fossils of North America and have named it Qiaowanlong kangxii after a Chinese emperor of the Qing dynasty.
The rock that yielded this dinosaur was formed in the early Cretaceous period, around 100 million years ago.
The scientists say the dinosaur would have been a relatively small sauropod about 12m long, 3m high, and weighing perhaps 10 tonnes.
As a member of the brachiosaurid family, it had a long neck and relatively long forelimbs. Its neck would have been held aloft, rather like that of a giraffe.
By Judith Burns
Science and environment reporter, BBC News
[Asia Pacific]
Page last updated at 11:03 GMT, Wednesday, 2 September 2009 12:03 UK
Black Eyed Peas gig ban reversed
The Malaysian government has reversed a ban on Muslims attending a concert by the Black Eyed Peas in Kuala Lumpur.
Officials had imposed the ban because the show is being sponsored by Irish beer giant Guinness.
A culture ministry official said the ban was lifted late last week but did not give any further details as to why.
Government regulations forbid alcohol firms from organising public concerts, but the Black Eyed Peas gig had been allowed in order to boost tourism.
The concert is part of worldwide celebrations marking the 250th anniversary of Guinness' flagship brewery in Dublin.
However the company will not be allowed to sell its famous black stout at the Peas event or use its logo in publicity material.
Muslims account for nearly 60% of Malaysia's 27 million people and they are barred from consuming alcohol under Islamic laws.
Performances by other touring pop stars such as Beyonce, Gwen Stefani and Avril Lavigne have faced opposition in Malaysia from conservative Muslims protesting about immodest clothing, forcing the artists to wear clothes that revealed little skin.
[Asia-Pacific > Business]
Page last updated at 06:22 GMT, Wednesday, 2 September 2009 07:22 UK
Australian growth beats forecasts
The Australian economy grew by more than expected in the second quarter of 2009, boosted by increases in household consumption and business investment.
The economy expanded by 0.6% in the three months to June from the previous quarter, the government said.
Analysts had forecast growth of 0.2% after a sharp drop in export prices was announced earlier in the week.
The government has announced stimulus measures of 42bn Australian dollars ($35bn; £21bn) in the past year.
Australia is one of the few developed countries to have avoided falling into a recession.
Adam Carr, chief economist at ICAP, called the results "fantastic".
"It's looking like we will be firing on all cylinders in H2 [the second half of the year] and 2010," he said.
He added that he thought the Reserve Bank would raise interest rates before the end of the the year.
On Tuesday, figures showed Australian export prices in the second quarter had fallen by 15.8% - the largest drop in the 50 years since records began.
[Asia-Pacific]
Page last updated at 10:39 GMT, Wednesday, 2 September 2009 11:39 UK
China dissident given jail term
A Chinese dissident active in the underground China Democracy Party has been sentenced to 13 years in prison for subversion.
By Michael Bristow
BBC News, Beijing
Xie Changfa was arrested after trying to organise the party's first national congress in the city of Changsha, Hunan Province.
The 57-year-old's lawyer, Ma Gangquan, said his client intended to appeal against the verdict.
The China Democracy Party was set up in 1998, but has never been approved.
"This is one of the most severe sentences of a dissident in several years," said a statement from the group Human Rights in China.
Re-education camp
According to court documents, Chinese prosecutors accused Xie of plotting to overthrow China's socialist system and subvert state power.
The dissident, who denied the charges, was detained in June last year after trying to set up the political party meeting.
He was tried in April at the Changsha Intermediate People's Court and sentenced on Tuesday.
According to Human Rights in China, Xie's brother and six friends were in court during the 30-minute sentencing.
"The charge runs counter to the constitution because that gives citizens the right to establish a political party," Xie's lawyer told the BBC.
Xie previously served two years in a re-education through labour camp for inciting the spread of anti-revolutionary propaganda.
The dissident has been active with the China Democracy Party for more than a decade. He helped set up a branch of the party in Hunan.
Chinese prosecutors said he was dissatisfied with China's socialist system and the communist party, and wanted to bring about a multi-party democracy.
As well as the communist grouping, China has eight other political parties, although these do not seek power for themselves.
They are supposed to advise the Chinese leadership, which uses their existence to claim that China is a democratic country.
Founders of the China Democracy Party attempted to set up a genuinely independent party during a period when the authorities were more relaxed about political debate.
But the government never allowed the party to be registered and some of its founding members were arrested, charged and imprisoned.
[Asia-Pacific]
Page last updated at 05:36 GMT, Wednesday, 2 September 2009 06:36 UK
Australia Serb avoids extradition
A former Serb paramilitary leader wanted in Croatia for war crimes has won an appeal against his extradition.
Australia's federal court said he faced a "substantial or real chance of prejudice" if he was sent to Croatia.
Dragan Vasiljkovic was arrested in Perth in 2006 after Zagreb requested his extradition for atrocities during its 1991-1995 war of independence.
The Croatian government accuses Mr Vasiljkovic of ordering subordinates to kill Croatian civilians.
It claims he was involved in the torture and killing of local people and prisoners of war in the rebel Serb stronghold of Knin in 1991 and the southern village of Bruska in 1993.
He has denied committing war crimes but has admitted in media interviews to training Serbian recruits, killing people in combat and interrogating enemy troops.
He was working as a golf instructor in Perth when he was found eligible for extradition in April 2007, but has since mounted several legal challenges.
'Political'
He successfully argued that Croatia was partly seeking to try him because of his political beliefs about the right to self-determination of Serbs in the Krajina region of the Balkans.
Extradition of a fugitive sought "for or in connection with his race, religion, nationality or political opinions" was not allowed under Australian law, the court said.
The three judges ordered that Mr Vasiljkovic be freed from prison, where he has been held since his 2006 arrest, but they delayed his release until Friday to allow Croatia time to lodge an appeal if it wishes.
In February, a federal court judge dismissed Mr Vasiljkovic's appeal of a lower court ruling backing the Croatian government's extradition request.
Mr Vasiljkovic, 54, is an Australian citizen.
He came to Australia when he was 15, but returned to his homeland to train Croatian Serb rebels in 1991, when Serbs took up arms against Croatia's secession from the former Yugoslav federation.
[Asia-Pacific]
Page last updated at 12:57 GMT, Wednesday, 2 September 2009 13:57 UK
US dinosaur had Chinese cousin
Scientists in China say they have identified the first Asian example of a group of dinosaurs previously found only in the Americas and Europe.
Brachiosaurid sauropods were characterised by forelimbs as long or even longer than their hind limbs.
Examples have been found from the late Jurassic and early Cretaceous periods.
Writing in the Royal Society Journal, Proceedings B, scientists say a fossil from Gansu Province is closely related to American specimens.
The fossil consists of a series of articulated cervical vertebrae and the right pelvic girdle, plus several unidentified bone fragments.
It was dug up in 2007 in Yujinzi Basin in the north west of Gansu province in China.
New species
Hai-Lu You of the Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences in Beijing and Da-Qing Li of Gansu Provincial Bureau of Geo-exploration and Mineral Development have identified it as a new genus and species of this group of dinosaurs.
The researchers say the specimen is closely related to the Sauroposeidon dinosaur fossils of North America and have named it Qiaowanlong kangxii after a Chinese emperor of the Qing dynasty.
The rock that yielded this dinosaur was formed in the early Cretaceous period, around 100 million years ago.
The scientists say the dinosaur would have been a relatively small sauropod about 12m long, 3m high, and weighing perhaps 10 tonnes.
As a member of the brachiosaurid family, it had a long neck and relatively long forelimbs. Its neck would have been held aloft, rather like that of a giraffe.
By Judith Burns
Science and environment reporter, BBC News
[Asia Pacific]
Page last updated at 11:03 GMT, Wednesday, 2 September 2009 12:03 UK
Black Eyed Peas gig ban reversed
The Malaysian government has reversed a ban on Muslims attending a concert by the Black Eyed Peas in Kuala Lumpur.
Officials had imposed the ban because the show is being sponsored by Irish beer giant Guinness.
A culture ministry official said the ban was lifted late last week but did not give any further details as to why.
Government regulations forbid alcohol firms from organising public concerts, but the Black Eyed Peas gig had been allowed in order to boost tourism.
The concert is part of worldwide celebrations marking the 250th anniversary of Guinness' flagship brewery in Dublin.
However the company will not be allowed to sell its famous black stout at the Peas event or use its logo in publicity material.
Muslims account for nearly 60% of Malaysia's 27 million people and they are barred from consuming alcohol under Islamic laws.
Performances by other touring pop stars such as Beyonce, Gwen Stefani and Avril Lavigne have faced opposition in Malaysia from conservative Muslims protesting about immodest clothing, forcing the artists to wear clothes that revealed little skin.
[Asia-Pacific > Business]
Page last updated at 06:22 GMT, Wednesday, 2 September 2009 07:22 UK
Australian growth beats forecasts
The Australian economy grew by more than expected in the second quarter of 2009, boosted by increases in household consumption and business investment.
The economy expanded by 0.6% in the three months to June from the previous quarter, the government said.
Analysts had forecast growth of 0.2% after a sharp drop in export prices was announced earlier in the week.
The government has announced stimulus measures of 42bn Australian dollars ($35bn; £21bn) in the past year.
Australia is one of the few developed countries to have avoided falling into a recession.
Adam Carr, chief economist at ICAP, called the results "fantastic".
"It's looking like we will be firing on all cylinders in H2 [the second half of the year] and 2010," he said.
He added that he thought the Reserve Bank would raise interest rates before the end of the the year.
On Tuesday, figures showed Australian export prices in the second quarter had fallen by 15.8% - the largest drop in the 50 years since records began.
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