HK monks call off strike

Buddhist monks in Hong Kong have withdrawn plans to close their monastery temporarily to visitors, after negotiations with the government about its proposals for developing the site for tourism.

The government had hoped to build a complex of shops and restaurants in front of the hill-top monastery of Po Lin, on Lantau island, which houses the world's biggest bronze statue of a seated Buddha.

The monks said the commercial development would destroy the sanctity and tranquillity of the site.

A Hong Kong official said the monks had not objected to plans for a cable car to the monastery and there would be further talks on the use of land around the site.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service