China 'to investigate land sales'

25 September 2011 Last updated at 16:55 GMT This wall was torn down during the protests The Chinese authorities have agreed to investigate local government land sales that prompted several days of sometimes violent public protests, media say.

Villagers in southern China say they are being pushed off farmland for property development.

Unrest broke out on Wednesday, but the situation now appears to be calmer.

Officials said protesters in Lufeng in Guangdong province injured police officers and damaged government buildings during the protest.

Several hundred people were reported to have attacked a police station and government buildings, and to have used earth-movers to smash down a wall around the seized land.

Chinese reporters who visited the area on Saturday evening said it appeared to be calm.

They said protest banners had been taken down and restaurants were open for business.

Locals, however, said they remain angry and expect the government investigation to expose what they say is an unfair transfer of farmland to build factories.

"We want our land returned to us," said a woman who took part in the protests.

'Mass incidents'

There are tens of thousands of mass incidents, as they are known, in China every year.

Some of the highest-profile recent protests have been in Guangdong province, whose factories turn out about a third of China's exports.

One often-heard complaint is that corrupt officials collude with developers to sell off farmland without giving farmers the proper compensation, correspondents say.

Laws are in place to protect farmers, but are often ignored at local level.

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EU to investigate Royal Mail plan

29 July 2011 Last updated at 10:53 GMT The UK government said it was confident that its plan was in line with EU guidelines The European Commission has begun an investigation into whether the UK government's plan to overhaul the Royal Mail contravenes EU rules on state aid.

The government plans to take on Royal Mail's £8bn pension deficit and restructure its £1.7bn debts.

The Commission said it doubted that the plan did enough to deal with how much it would distort competition.

The UK government said that its plan was in line with EU guidelines for rescuing firms in difficulty.

It wants to privatise some or all of the Royal Mail, but needs to sort out its finances first if a buyer is to be found.

"The Commission acknowledges the importance of the reform of the postal market in the UK," said Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia.

"However, we must ensure that the state measures do not provide undue advantages to Royal Mail as this would distort the conditions of competition among postal operators in the internal market."

Postal Affairs Minister Edward Davey said the investigation had been expected and was the next step in the government's attempts to reform the Royal Mail.

"It is only right that the Commission has opened the State Aid process to properly investigate the case," he said.

"However, we are keen to resolve the case as soon as possible, and are seeking a resolution by March 2012."

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