By News from Elsewhere... ...media reports from around the world, found by BBC Monitoring

The monks of China's Shaolin Temple have called for 10,000 calligraphers to come and help them copy Buddhist scriptures by hand, it appears.

The monks have asked applicants to send in a sample of their work - the Heart Sutra written in regular script with Chinese brush. Shi Yanzhi, one of the temple's grand masters, says: "The activity will not only preserve classic Buddhist literature, but also help people cultivate themselves in line with Buddhism doctrines."