BEIJING, Aug 15, 2007 (AFP) - Police have broken up a human trafficking kidnap gang in southern China, detaining 16 suspects accused of abducting and selling children, state media reported Wednesday.

Gang members riding motor bikes kidnapped three boys aged three, five and seven from the streets of Shantou city in Guangdong province in mid-July, the Beijing Times reported.

BEIJING, Aug 13, 2007 (AFP) - Hundreds of mentally handicapped people have been rescued from slavery in Chinese brickyards and other workplaces, officials said Monday as they announced the latest findings of a labour abuse crackdown.

At least 1,340 people, including 367 who are mentally handicapped, have been taken from brick kilns, mines and other forced labour situations since a slavery scandal in June, Labour and Social Security vice minister Sun Baoshu said.

NOUAKCHOTT, Aug 9, 2007 (AFP) - Rights groups Thursday hailed Mauritania's decision to make slavery a crime punishable by up to 10 years in prison in a bid to finally wipe out the persistent practice officially abolished in 1981.

A bill, adopted by parliament late Wednesday, had initially been seen as insufficient by human rights organizations, but it was beefed up by lawmakers during debate.

Under the new law, voted unanimously, people convicted of acts of slavery will for the first time risk between five and 10 years in prison.

LONDON, Aug 9, 2007 (AFP) - Anti-slavery campaigners on Thursday welcomed the criminalisation of slavery in Mauritania as a 'historic step forward' but said work remained to be done to see the law implemented.

The northwest African country's parliament late Wednesday adopted a law for the first time criminalising the practice, which still exists as an extensive problem in all the country's communities, according to campaigners.

'This is a very welcome and a historic step forward,' Anti-Slavery International spokeswoman Beth Herzfeld told AFP.

NOUAKCHOTT, Aug 9, 2007 (AFP) - Mauritania's national assembly late Wednesday adopted a law criminalizing slavery for the first time.

The practice has persisted in certain parts of the north African country despite its official abolition in 1981.

Under the new law, voted unanimously, people convicted of acts of slavery will risk between five and 10 years in prison.

The bill, initially seen as insufficient by several human rights organizations, was beefed up by the deputies and the final result was hailed by SOS-Esclaves, an anti-slavery group.

BEIJING, Aug 2, 2007 (AFP) - A policeman and a social security worker were among 31 people jailed for their roles in a Chinese slave scandal, state press reported Thursday, bringing the total number of convictions to 60.

The pair and two other local government employees in northern China's Shanxi province were each sentenced on Wednesday to three years in prison for abuse of power and dereliction of duty, Xinhua news agency said.