China says its has arrested nine Buddhist monks, for bombing a government building in the Tibetan town of Gyanbe. Chinese State television released pictures of the building which they said had been blown up by homemade devices three weeks ago.

There were numerous reports of riots last month but this is the only bombing mentioned. Nine monks from a Tibetan monastery in the same town apparently admitted to the crime.

Across the region, in India, the latest pro-Tibet protests are in their second day. About two thousand monks demonstrated in New Delhi. They brought the centre of the city to a standstill, accusing China of covering up human rights abuses in Tibet.

The Indian government is believed to have rejected a request from China to ban the protests. The Olympic torch is due in New Delhi later this week.