Three officials barred from Vietnam poll

Three senior Communist Party officials in Vietnam have been barred from standing as candidates in Sunday's national elections.

The first to be dismissed was the Director-General of the Radio Voice of Vietnam, Tran Mai Hanh.

His name has been linked to a notorious criminal currently in prison for murder.

The other two candidates Le Cong Minh, from Quang Binh province and Tran Trung An, the chairman of the People's Committee in Nam Dinh province were disqualified on grounds of immoral behaviour.

Vietnamese election rules state that candidates should be of high moral standing.

National Assembly officials said the action reflected the Communist Party's determination to tackle corruption - a major concern of voters in this election.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service