PARIS, April 2, 2008 (AFP) - Paris city hall will unfurl a giant banner in defence of human rights when the Olympic flame arrives in the French capital Monday ahead of the summer Games in China, Mayor Bertrand Delanoe said.

'There will be a banner saying 'Paris defends human rights everywhere in the world' on city hall,' Delanoe told a press conference on Wednesday.

BEIJING, April 2, 2008 (AFP) - China has accused Muslims in the nation's northwest of trying to start a rebellion, following what an exile group said Wednesday were peaceful protests against injustices under Chinese rule.

BEIJING, April 2, 2008 (AFP) - China has accused Muslims in the nation's northwest of trying to start a rebellion, following what an exile group said Wednesday were peaceful protests against injustices under Chinese rule.

NEW DELHI, April 2, 2008 (AFP) - Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan said Wednesday he would take part in the Olympic torch relay in India, spurning calls for a boycott but carrying 'a prayer' for the Tibetan people.

MEDEU, Kazakhstan, April 2, 2008 (AFP) - Kazakhstan's president took a jog with the Olympic flame Wednesday as a world tour for the torch gathered steam ahead of the Beijing summer games.

President Nursultan Nazarbayev showed off the flame in the Medeu ski resort south of the former Soviet republic's business capital Almaty.

BEIJING, April 2, 2008 (AFP) - China has accused Muslim extremists in the nation's northwest of trying to start a rebellion, an incident that an exile group said Wednesday was mainly a women's protest against Chinese rule.

NEW DELHI, April 2, 2008 (AFP) - Top Bollywood star Aamir Khan said on Wednesday he would take part in the Olympic torch relay in India 'with a prayer' in his heart for the people of Tibet, spurning calls for a boycott.

TOKYO, April 2, 2008 (AFP) - Japan's Emperor Akihito and other members of the royal family are unlikely to attend the Beijing Olympics amid concerns here about China's crackdown in Tibet and other issues, a report said Wednesday.

BEIJING, April 2, 2008 (AFP) - Authorities in southern China have uncovered another illegal blood scheme, state media said Wednesday, days after health officials said almost 5,000 blood banks were shut last year.

TOKYO, April 2, 2008 (AFP) - Japanese newspapers warned Wednesday that freedom of expression was at stake after cinemas pulled a documentary about a Tokyo shrine honouring war dead amid pressure from nationalists.