In Kazakhstan, the opening day of a trial of a group of ethnic Russians accused of planning an armed separatist rebellion has ended.

The defendants, who include eleven Russians, a Moldovan and two Kazakhs, were arrested last November in the city of Ust-Kamenogorsk.

If convicted they face jail sentences of up to fifteen years.

Correspondents say the case sparked off a national debate in Kazakhstan about the position of ethnic Russians, who make up more than thirty per cent of the population of Kazakhstan.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service