Death of recalled journalist

Just days after being recalled from his post in Washington, Chinese journalist Wei Guoqiang committed suicide in Peking last weekend after a colleague said he had been discovered preparing to defect, the New York Times reported. Mr Wei, 47, was the Washington bureau chief of the New China News Agency Xinhua.

The newspaper quoted one of Mr Wei's colleagues as saying he was recalled to Peking last month after a colleague discovered him preparing documents to support a political asylum application in the United States for himself, his wife and his daughter. Reuters - New York