Sunday, 12 August, 2001, 04:38 GMT 05:38 UK

The Chinese embassy in Moscow has asked the Russian interior ministry to ban a news conference which followers of the Falun Gong spiritual movement plan to hold in the Russian capital.

The Russian news agency Itar-Tass said the Interior Ministry had not yet decided whether to ban the conference which is due to take place on Monday.

The Falun Gong movement has been outlawed in China since 1999 but has a large following.

The movement has held demonstrations in China to draw attention to the government's attempts to suppress it.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/europe/newsid_1486000/1486539.stm