Asia awards announced

The winners of Asia's most prestigious honours, the Ramon Magsaysay awards, have been announced.

The seven winners include the chief election commissioner of India, J M Lyngdoh, the Chinese Aids activist, Gao Yoji, and the chairman of East Timor's Truth and Reconciliation commission, Aniceto Guterres Lopes.

Mr Lyngdoh, who is credited with having organised a largely peaceful and fair election in Indian-administered Kashmir, was given the prize for what the organisers described as his convincing validation of free elections.

Mr Lopes was honoured for his leadership skills. Dr Gao Yoji, a retired Chinese gynaecologist, won the prize for her personal crusade to confront the Aids crisis in China.

Two Japanese nationals - Seiei Toyama, an environmentalist, and Tetsu Nakamura, a doctor - an Indian social worker, Shantha Sinha, and an investigative journalist in the Philippines, Sheila Coronel, were the other winners.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service