Police break up workers' protest

Police in South Korea have broken up a peaceful sit-in by thousands of workers protesting over the planned merger of two banks since last Friday.

There were minor scuffles but no reports of serious injuries as officers raided a training institute, north of the capital, Seoul, where the protestors had gathered.

The workers fear the merger between South Korea's two major banks, Kookmin and the Housing and Commercial Bank, could lead to mass lay offs.

An umbrella organisation, the Federation of Korean Trade Unions, has threatened to stage a massive protest in support of the workers this Thursday and if it goes ahead, a BBC correspondents says, it could lead to a nationwide strike in the financial sector.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service