From the BBC:

A Chinese journalist working for the New York Times has been freed after almost three years in jail in China.

Zhao Yan was arrested in 2004 and later charged with leaking state secrets, prompting condemnation from human rights groups and Western governments.

That charge was dropped but he was then convicted of defrauding an official of $2,500 - a charge he has always denied.

From the BBC:

A German archbishop has sparked controversy by calling some modern art "degenerate" - a term used by the Nazi regime in its persecution of artists.

From the BBC:

The purported head of al-Qaeda in Iraq has offered a reward for the murder of a Swedish cartoonist over his drawing depicting the Prophet Muhammad.

The $100,000 (£49,310) reward would be raised by 50% if Lars Vilks was "slaughtered like a lamb" said the audio message aired on the internet.

The speaker, said to be Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, threatened a new offensive during the holy month of Ramadan.

Last month's cartoon showed Prophet Muhammad's head on a dog's body.