AUSTRALIA
Art gallery raid threatens city’s image as creative enclave, says MP
A Victorian legislator says a rising tide of cultural conservatism in Melbourne is jeopardising artistic freedom
(The Guardian)

BRAZIL
Brazil’s natives step protests over land rights
Indigenous activists occupied the headquarters of a federal agency here Tuesday as part of mounting protests against government policies and the construction of a controversial dam in the Amazon.
(AFP)

BULGARIA
Bulgaria’s GERB to Sue Nationalist Leader For Libel
The Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria party, GERB, vowed to sue nationalist leader Volen Siderov for slander over his statement that notorious businessman Mihail Mihov had been killed to cover up ex- Prime Minister Boiko Borisov’s crimes.
(Novinite.com)

INDIA
VC Shukla, the face of press censorship during emergency, dies
VC Shukla, a close associate of late Sanjay Gandhi, not only cut power supply to printing presses but also used to monitor almost each and every story printed during his stint as I&B minister during the Emergency.
(Moneylife)

IRAN
Even Iran’s conservative media complain of filtering
Iran’s conservative media, including blogs and news websites, have been increasingly targeted by censors. The censorship has increased in the run-up to the June 14 presidential election.
(Turkish Weekly)

MALAYSIA
Free speech and education
The right to free speech is one of those rights that affirm the dignity of human beings as creatures of free will. It is every person’s birthright. There should therefore be no question of anyone having to demand it from some authority, as Malaysians have been doing for decades.
(Free Malaysia Today)

RUSSIA
Russia may deem civil servants’ use of Gmail, Facebook ‘high treason’
After the latest NSA surveillance revelations a Russian MP has suggested to the government to immediately limit civil servants’ access to the popular US internet services and social networks.
(RT)

A ‘dark day’ for freedom of expression in Russia
The space for free expression in Russia shrank further today after the State Duma in Moscow passed two new bills aimed at stamping out minority views, Amnesty International said.
(Amnesty International)

TUNISIA
People Reject Both Religious State and State At War Against Religion
Interim Prime Minister Ali Larayedh said the Tunisian government “is advocating neither for a religious State nor a State at war against religion.”
(AllAfrica.com)

UNITED STATES
European Union to tell US privacy ‘not a luxury’ after intelligence scandal
The European Union said Tuesday it will seek assurances from the United States that it will respect the rights of Europe’s citizens, following revelations about a huge US internet surveillance programme.
(Times of India)

Banning censorship of historical documents in schools to be considered by Michigan Senate committee
A pair of bills pending before the Senate Education Committee would mandate lessons on American history during “Constitution Week” and would prohibit any restrictions on or censorship of America’s “founding documents” by school administrators or teachers.
(MLive.com)

Colorado Booksellers Defeat Censorship Law
A week after Colorado booksellers challenged a law restricting the display of magazines about marijuana, the State of Colorado has agreed not to enforce it.
(Publishers Weekly)

Beware of libel risk when writing a memoir
DEAR MISS MANNERS: I’m writing a memoir and want to write honestly how I experienced incidents involving other persons, while including the caveat that the other persons may have felt very differently about the same incidents. I think these other people would rather I not write about them at all. Where does self-expression and one’s right to tell one’s memories end, and other people’s right not to be included in my written memories begin?
(Kansas City Star)

When anti-gay bullying and free speech collide
As Congress revisits federal education policy, gay rights activists are pressing for the enactment of the Student Non-Discrimination Act of 2013, which would prohibit harassment of students in public schools “on the basis of actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity.” Laws already on the books prohibit discrimination in public schools on the basis of race, color, national origin and gender. The new act would seem a natural extension.
(Los Angeles Times)

Displaying Ten Commandments in schools is part of ‘censorship’ bill in Michigan Legislature
A bill authorizing the display of the Ten Commandments in public schools alongside the U.S. Constitution and the Declaration of Independence was introduced in the Michigan Senate and will be debated by a Senate panel Wednesday.
(MLive.com)

A.C.L.U. Files Lawsuit Seeking to Stop the Collection of Domestic Phone Logs
The American Civil Liberties Union sued the Obama administration on Tuesday over its “dragnet” collection of logs of domestic phone calls, contending that the once-secret program — whose existence was exposed last week by a former National Security Agency contractor — is illegal and asking a judge to stop it and order the records purged.
(The New York Times)

VENEZUELA
Capriles Starts Internet TV Show to Skirt Venezuela ‘Censorship’
Venezuelan opposition leader Henrique Capriles Radonski started a weekly Internet television program today, after alleging that the country’s television stations and newspapers are squeezing him out of their coverage. (Bloomberg)

ZIMBABWE
Challenges in promoting privacy and freedom of expression in Zimbabwe
Report of the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, Frank La Rue and its implications for Zimbabwe. (Nehanda Radio)