Microsoft probes mass suicide threat at China plant January 11, 2012 -- Updated 1836 GMT (0236 HKT) Students protest with model effigies of workers who have committed suicide at Foxconn in China during the companies' AGM in Hong Kong on June 8, 2010. Microsoft takes working conditions at China plants "very seriously," company says CNN has not been able to confirm details of the dispute Foxconn raised worker pay after a spate of suicides in 2010 Foxconn's China factories make electronics for Microsoft, Apple and other brands Beijing (CNN) -- Microsoft is investigating a report that workers at a Chinese plant that makes its Xbox game systems threatened mass suicide in a pay dispute, according to a statement issued Wednesday by the company's Hong Kong office. CNN has not been able to confirm details of the dispute and Microsoft and Foxconn, the plant owner, did respond to inquiries. "Microsoft takes working conditions in the factories that manufacture its products very seriously, and we are currently investigating this issue," the Microsoft statement said. Foxconn -- a Chinese contractor that makes brand-name electronics for companies such as Microsoft and Apple -- would only say that there was a protest at its Wuhan, China factory and it was over. Foxconn's raised workers pay twice at its factory in Shenzhen, China in 2010 after a spate of suicides, Chinese state media reported at the time. "We have a stringent Vendor Code of Conduct that spells out our expectations, and we monitor working conditions closely on an ongoing basis and address issues as they emerge," Microsoft's statement said. Microsoft is committed to the fair treatment and safety of workers employed by our vendors and to ensuring conformance with Microsoft policy. After the 2010 suicides at Foxconn, the company said it was taking measures to improve workers' lives, including organizing recreational activities, calling in Buddhist monks to offer spiritual consolation and setting up a 24-hour help line. Foxconn, one of the world's top electronics manufacturers, also makes products for companies such as Dell, Hewlett Packard and Sony. It employed at estimated 800,000 employees in China in October 2010. January 11, 2012 -- Updated 1526 GMT (2326 HKT) In a CNN exclusive, protesters supporting and denouncing President Bashar al-Assad give very different takes on the situation in Syria. In Nigeria, what many seem by some as a bold decision on fuel subsidies is also uncovering decades of frustration and corruption. January 11, 2012 -- Updated 1331 GMT (2131 HKT) William and Catherine, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, release details of gifts received during recent royal tours. January 11, 2012 -- Updated 1436 GMT (2236 HKT) Moazzam Begg was held in solitary confinement at Guantanamo till 2005 -- but his memories of it haunt him as he sleeps. January 11, 2012 -- Updated 1435 GMT (2235 HKT) In an otherwise smart suburb of Beirut is a small prison housing some of the women Lebanese society would rather forget. January 11, 2012 -- Updated 1643 GMT (0043 HKT) Sylvin Barnett makes a living driving a forklift for a beer company, but his real passion is on the road -- road tennis.