Beijing allows first probe on torture

A top UN official will be allowed to visit detention centres as part of an investigation into torture allegations, the UN Human Rights Agency has announced. Manfred Nowak, the organisation's special investigator on torture, will visit China from November 21 to December 2 to carry out an inspection and meet with government officials. China outlawed torture in 1996 but activists and lawyers claim that it is still widely practiced in the country, prompting widespread criticism from the international community.