Hong Kong agrees to increased compensation

The Hong Kong government has agreed to increase compensation for poultry farmers whose chickens were slaughtered on government orders.

One-and-a-quarter million chickens were killed in an effort to stop the spread of a new flu strain, bird flu, which has claimed four human lives.

There have been demonstrations by poultry workers over loss of earnings.

A government official Michael Suen said the government was making improvements to the compensation package announced on Monday, which is worth a total of thirteen million US dollars, but no details of the new figures involved have been given.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service