Briefs, December 3, 2012

A Beijing court has asked for an apology from a newspaper that said it jailed 10 "interceptors" who illegally held petitioners attempting to lodge complaints with the central government. The state-run Beijing Youth Daily reported that the 10 were imprisoned after detaining people from Henan complaining about local government abuses. A Chaoyang District Court spokeswoman branded the report "fake news", the China Daily reported. She said "a case involving city officials from Henan had been heard" but denied "judges had handed down any verdict". AFP

Rights lawyer Chen Guangcheng appealed for Vice-President Xi Jinping to avoid social unrest with political reforms. In a statement from New York, Chen said Xi needs to promote change to assuage anger against political oppression. Last week, Chen's nephew was sentenced to three years' jail for assault, widely seen as retaliation for Chen's escape from house arrest in April. AP