China to cut number of executions

China executes more people than any other nation China is to reduce the number of people it executes to "an extremely small number", a top court official says. Zhang Jun, vice-president of the Supreme People's Court (SPC), said the court would in future impose more suspended death sentences. Two years ago China gave the SPC power to review death sentences handed down by lower courts. That has already led to fewer executions. Rights campaigners says China executes more people than any other country. Mr Zhang, quoted in the state-run China Daily, said legislation would be improved to reduce the number of death sentences, and that the SPC would tighten restrictions on the use of capital punishment. He said: "As it is impossible for the country to abolish capital punishment under current realities and social security conditions, it is an important effort to strictly control the application of the penalty by judicial organs." 'Ten-year low' China does not release figures on the number of people it executes. FROM BBC WORLD SERVICE More from BBC World Service But in September 2007, after the SPC was given its power to review cases, Chinese state media reported that executions were at a "10-year low". Amnesty International said China executed 1,718 people in 2008 - 72% of the world's total. The death penalty still applies to 60 offences in China, including non-violent crimes such as tax fraud and embezzlement. Mr Zhang told the China Daily that the SPC had been working to ensure that the death sentence was imposed only on those who had committed extremely serious or heinous crimes that led to grave social consequences

Suu Kyi verdict 'set for Friday'

Timeline: Aung San Suu Kyi trial Profile: Aung San Suu Kyi The court presiding over the trial of Burma's detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi will deliver its verdict on Friday, her lawyer has said. Ms Suu Kyi faces five years in jail if she is convicted of violating the terms of her house arrest by letting a US man stay in her home uninvited. The trial had initially been expected to last a few days, but has now dragged on for more than two months. Despite widespread calls for her release, a guilty verdict is expected. Legal arguments Prosecutors argue that Aung San Suu Kyi must be held responsible for the midnight swim to her home by the American well-wisher John Yettaw in early May. Her lawyers have argued that the law she has been charged under is part of a constitution abolished 25 years ago. In any case, they say, she cannot be responsible for the incident as she was living under tightly-guarded house arrest at the time. Police are closely guarding the prison where the trial is being held Defence lawyers gave their final statements on Tuesday, in response to the prosecution's closing arguments the day before. "The verdict will be given this coming Friday," Aung San Suu Kyi's lawyer Nyan Win told reporters after the session, adding that sentencing was expected on the same day. An unnamed military official also confirmed that a decision would be announced on Friday. Locked away Before the start of Tuesday's session, Nyan Win said he held out hope for a verdict in Ms Suu Kyi's favour. "We are confident that we will win the case if things go according to the law, he told reporters. But analysts say the Burmese junta may use this trial to make sure the popular pro-democracy leader is still in detention during elections planned for early next year. Nyan Win still holds out hope that Aung San Suu Kyi will not be found guilty Ms Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy won the last elections in 1988 but was never allowed to take power. The 64-year-old has spent nearly 14 of the last 20 years in detention, much of it at her Rangoon home. Diplomats from Japan, Singapore, Thailand and the US were allowed to attend the trial in its closing stages, in what analysts say is a sign that the government has belatedly recognised as the level of international anger at trying Ms Suu Kyi on such bizarre charges. Despite the risk of arrest, hundreds of her supporters have been rallying outside the prison where she's being held. On Monday international human rights group Amnesty International named her as an "Ambassador of Conscience" - its highest honour - for her efforts to promote democracy

Indonesia poll result challenged

Mrs Megawati's campaign says it has concerns over the voter registry One of the defeated candidates in Indonesia's presidential election is to challenge the result, a spokesman says. Former president Megawati Sukarnoputri believed that there were "unresolved legal issues" over the vote, said her party spokesman Gayus Lumbuun. Mrs Megawati secured 26.8% of the vote, compared to incumbent President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's 60.8%. A spokesman for the third candidate, Vice-President Jusuf Kalla, has said he will challenge the voter lists. Mr Kalla received 12.4% of the vote in the 8 July poll. Mrs Megawati boycotted the formal announcement of results from the election commission on Saturday. "Because there are still unresolved legal issues, we are rejecting the presidential election results from the KPU (election commission)," Gayus Lumbuun said. He said the campaign would lodge a challenge with the Constitutional Court. Profile: Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono Profiles: Indonesia poll candidates Both defeated candidates had alleged that the voter lists were flawed in the run-up to the elections, amid claims that duplicate names and those of dead people were appearing on the electoral rolls. A spokesman for Mr Kalla, meanwhile, said that he would appeal over the voter list issue, but had not yet decided whether to accept the official results, AFP reported. Indonesia's poll watchdog acknowledged the problems. Election Supervisory Body chief Nur Hidayat Sardini said that "there were many violations", but said the polls were "considered a success". Mr Yudhoyono said the candidates had the right to an appeal. He was elected president in 2004 and Indonesians have, correspondents say, been impressed by his ability to manage the economy and clamp down on corruption. Many see him as someone who has turned the economy around and brought much-needed stability and security to the country

Dozens missing in China landslide

At least 53 people have been reported missing after a landslide struck a road-building crew in a remote area of south-west China's Sichuan province. Another 97 people were rescued after being trapped by the landslide, which struck at 0300 (1900 GMT Wednesday), China's state Xinhua news agency said. The landslide, triggered by heavy rains, has formed a lake several kilometres long, Xinhua said. Heavy rains and floods have hit several areas of China in recent weeks.

Tourist lucky to survive wilderness

As treacherous in parts as they are beautiful, the Blue Mountains have long posed a challenge to adventurous Brits. Towards the end of the 18th Century, in the decade following white settlement, new arrivals in nearby Sydney were of the belief that lush farmland lay on the other side of this craggy and forested mountain range, but that it lay beyond their reach. It both tantalised and taunted them. The Blue Mountains - or Carmarthen Hills, as they were originally called - were considered impassable and insurmountable. The first official crossing came in 1811, and the intrepid explorers Gregory Blaxland, William Lawson and William Charles Wentworth were rewarded with parcels of land at the time, and thereafter with roads, buildings, statues and even the honour of having parliamentary seats named after them. Jamie Neale is understood to have got lost in the wild after going for a walk Much of the wilderness in this popular tourist spot is pretty much as it was then: dense, rugged, extremely cold in the winter and notoriously difficult to survive in if you have ventured out unprepared. Off-track it is easy to get lost, and easy to get disorientated. It is a vast expanse of land, much of it untamed. These were the challenges facing Jamie Neale, who had left his youth hostel with a small day-sack and not much in the way of warm clothing. He survived by eating seeds and vegetation, a leaf which his father said resembles rocket lettuce. Bushtucker, the locals call it. His shelter, according to his father Richard Cass, was a log, and his attempts to chase down a wild horse, which he looked on as a potential source of food, ended in failure. 'Near miracle' Locals, who know how cold it can get here in the winter - close to freezing overnight - are describing his re-emergence from the bushland as a near miracle. My son is the sort of person who could run to the North Pole and back wearing only his underpants Richard Cass Jamie Neale's father Missing backpacker is found alive When I spoke to police this morning an hour before he was found, they were about to call off the search. His father was about to board a flight back to London. Before leaving, he had created a makeshift memorial for his son, etching his name into a rock and burying a red rose. Perhaps one day they will visit it together. His dad always said that if anyone could survive this, it was Jamie. And so it proved. Speaking to me outside the hospital in Katoomba tonight, he spoke of his resilience and said, rather memorably, that his son was the sort of person who could run to the North Pole and back wearing only his underpants. Watch this space.

China bans Urumqi mosque prayers

At least 156 people are thought to have died in the fightin

China has ordered mosques in its restive western city of Urumqi not to open for Friday prayers.

The order comes after several days of ethnic violence between Uighur Muslims and Han Chinese. At least 156 people have been killed so far.

Thousands of troops remain in Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang province, to try to maintain order.

The Chinese authorities have vowed to administer "severe punishment" to those involved in the riots.

The violence began on Sunday when Uighurs rallied to protest against a deadly brawl between Uighurs and Han several weeks ago in a toy factory in southern Guangdong province.

Officials say 156 people - mostly Han - died in Sunday's violence.

Uighur groups say many more have died, claiming 90% of the dead were Uighurs.

More than 1,400 people are thought to have been detained.

UN leader meets Burma junta head

Ban Ki-moon hopes to meet Aung San Suu Kyi UN chief Ban Ki-moon has met Burma's junta leader to lobby for the release of political prisoners, including opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Mr Ban is holding talks with Gen Than Shwe in the remote administrative capital Naypyidaw. Ms Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace laureate, has spent much of the past two decades in prison or under house arrest. Her trial on charges of breaking the terms of her house arrest, has been adjourned for another week. 'Ruse' The UN secretary general said in his opening statement to the junta leader: "I appreciate your commitment to move your country forward... I would like to contribute, to work together, for peace and prosperity," reported AFP news agency. A LIFE IN DETENTION 1988: Junta comes to power after crushing pro-democracy uprising 1989: Martial law declared; opposition NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi put under house arrest 1990: NLD wins elections; result rejected by the ruling junta 1995: Suu Kyi freed from house arrest; movements restricted Sept 2000: Under house arrest for trying to defy travel curbs May 2002: Released unconditionally May 2003: Detained after clash between NLD and junta forces Sep 2003: Home after surgery, under effective house arrest Ms Suu Kyi's lawyers have been appealing against the judge's ban on testimony from three defence witnesses. One additional defence witness will be allowed to testify. "The Supreme Court did not send the case files to the lower court, so the case has been adjourned until July 10," said her lawyer Nyan Win. He added Ms Suu Kyi had expressed surprise at the further delay. The trial of 64-year-old Ms Suu Kyi has caused outrage around the world. Critics of Burma's military government have dismissed it as a ruse to keep the opposition leader locked up until after next year's election. The BBC's Laura Trevelyan, in Naypyidaw, says the secretary general is also likely to urge that next year's elections in Burma have some legitimacy. Our correspondent also says Mr Ban is said to believe he has a rapport with Gen Than Shwe. The government called national polls in May 1990 which Ms Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) won convincingly, but the junta refused to hand over control, and has remained in power ever since. The BBC's Jonathan Head says the failure of many previous UN missions to Burma has at least lowered expectations of this one. But Mr Ban needs to come away with something more than a few token prisoner releases if he is to avoid charges that his visit is merely being used by Burma's military rulers to boost their legitimacy, our correspondent says. 'Fear and dislike' Mr Ban has called for the immediate release of all Burma's political prisoners, thought to number about 2,100. Time and again, the UN has politely requested Aung San Suu Kyi's release Kenneth Roth Human Rights Watch Why is junta afraid of Suu Kyi? "Through my meetings... I will convey exactly what the international community expects and wishes [regarding] the way they want to see changes in Myanmar [Burma]," he told reporters in Singapore before his departure. It is not clear if Mr Ban will be allowed to meet Ms Suu Kyi - he would be the first UN secretary general to do so if that happens. This is Mr Ban's first visit to Burma since he persuaded the junta in May 2008 to accept international aid in the wake of Cyclone Nargis, which killed nearly 140,000 people. Critics say that despite a number of visits to the isolated country by UN special envoy Ibrahim Gambari and UN humanitarian co-ordinator John Holmes, there is little sign that the UN has wrung any other concessions from the regime. But some analysts speculate that Mr Ban may have been given an indication by the generals - perhaps via Mr Gambari, who last week paved the way for this trip - that the visit could harbour some kind of positive result. Mr Ban is due to meet members of her NLD and other opposition activists. "I will try to meet with representatives of all registered political parties including Aung San Suu Kyi, that's my hope," he said, adding that he would ask for the meeting at his talks with Gen Than Shwe. Our correspondent adds Mr Ban will also try to persuade the reclusive general to re-start a dialogue with Ms Suu Kyi, a woman the leader is said to fear and dislike. Aung San Suu Kyi's NLD party was brutally suppressed by the army UN special envoy Ibrahim Gambari "clearly conveyed" his wish to meet her when he visited Burma last week, he said. Ms Suu Kyi was transferred from house arrest to prison in May after an American man swam to her lake-side house. She faces up to five years in jail if convicted. The NLD leader led a revolt against Burmese dictator Gen Ne Win in 1988, calling for peaceful democratic reform and free elections. But her movement was brutally suppressed by the army, which seized power in a coup on 18 September 1988. Human Rights Watch said Mr Ban should not accept the return of Ms Suu Kyi to house arrest as a sign of a successful visit. "Time and again, the UN has politely requested Aung San Suu Kyi's release, but her 'release' back to house arrest would be a huge failure," said executive director Kenneth Roth.