The Burmese government’s censorship board director, Tint Swe, has announced that the country’s censorship policy will be relaxed in accordance with its new constitution. Journal and magazine publishers will no longer need to submit their articles...
India: Controversial book on Gandhi banned
Great Soul: Mahatma Gandhi and his Struggle with India, a book by the Pulitzer Prize winning author Joseph Lelyveld, has been banned in the Indian state of Gujrat. The book is seen as being controversial as some passages can be interpreted as...
Sudan: “Cyber Jihadists” to crush online opponents
The National Congress Party (NCP), which governs North Sudan, claims that its battalion of “cyber jihadists” are ready to "crush" all online dissidents. The warning came from the party’s vice-president in Khartoum State, Mandur Al-Mahdi, on Tuesday...
China: Activist given 10 years prison sentence
Liu Xianbin, a pro-democracy activist, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison after a trial over charges of subversion of state that lasted only a few hours. Liu was arrested after publishing articles on the internet calling for democratic...
Syria: Protesters shot by security forces
Security forces opened fire on protesters in the southern city of Daraa on Wednesday, killing at least 25 demonstrators. While activists claimed that many more had been killed, hospital sources reported 25 bodies with bullet wounds. Security forces...
New York Times reporters freed, but 13 journalists still missing in Libya
Four New York Times reporters being held by pro-Gaddafi forces have now been released, but a further 13 journalists from various media organisations are still missing or in detention. The New York Times reporters were released to Turkish diplomats...
Zimbabwe: Bail refused in Facebook case
A court has refused bail to Vikas Mavhudzi, who was arrested on charges of subversion for a Facebook remark. He had posted a comment on Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's Facebook page about the Egyptian uprisings. In February 46 people...
China: Google email services disrupted
Google has blamed the Chinese government for disrupting its services after users experienced problems with accessing their emails. Some users have also claimed that their email accounts have been hacked into. Just over two weeks ago some Chinese...
Malaysia: Lady Gaga song censored for gay reference
Radio broadcasters have censored lyrics to Lady Gaga's song "Born This Way" to avoid contravening the country's strict decency laws. Broadcasters have distorted the line "no matter gay, straight or bi, lesbian, transgendered life, I’m on the right...
Libya: New York Times journalists to be freed
Four New York Times journalists who had gone missing in Libya will be released soon, it was reported on Friday. The journalists had entered Libya through Egypt and were reporting from the rebel held city of Ajdabiya, which was then overrun by the...
Bahrain expels CNN reporter
Mohammed Jamjoom, a CNN correspondent, was expelled from Bahrain on Wednesday after reporting on the violent crackdown by security forces on the main protest camp in Manama. The authorities gave no reason for the expulsion, and other CNN...
Demonstrators detained in Damascus
Security forces clashed with demonstrators in Damascus on Tuesday, detaining at least 35 protesters, including a 10 year old boy. The Syrian demonstrators, who demanded the release of political prisoners, ignored a ban on all demonstrations and...