CATEGORY: Newswire

Bahrain’s grand prix problem

Bahrain’s grand prix problem

by | 24 Apr 13

Bahrain’s top news during the past 48 hours say a lot about the troubled country: glitzy races are welcome; experts on torture are not. Bahraini officials yesterday claimed that UN special rapporteur on torture, Juan Mendez, had cancelled his upcoming visit “indefinitely”. Funnily enough, the special rapporteur has denied this claim, saying that the government has actually blocked his visit, which was set to take place next month. The Special Rapporteur said in a release today that officials claimed that his trip could potentially endanger the success of the country’s National Dialogue, which began earlier this year. Mendez said that the decision “does not enhance transparency with regard to the situation in the country nor demonstrate a commitment to redress […]

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China’s two main censorship bodies to merge

by | 19 Apr 13

The Chinese government’s two main bodies of censorship, SARFT (State Administration for Radio, Film, and Television) and GAPP (General Administration for Press and Publications), are to merge and become one super administration. Although some denied the reports, the merge was announced during the 2013 session of China’s parliament, with the motion passed in March. Zhang Jin, deputy editor at  technology publisher Popular Science Press, told state news agency Xinhua:   Over the last 30 years of the opening up and reform period, both GAPP and SARFT have developed tremendously, but with this development of industry and flourishing of culture, many new problems have risen, for example the lockdown of departments, and individual management by each media type of themselves, and approval […]

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Egypt’s Information Minister accused of sexual harassment

Egypt’s Information Minister accused of sexual harassment

by | 18 Apr 13

Egyptian Information Minister Salah Abdel Maqsoud — a member of the Muslim Brotherhood’s ruling Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) — faces mounting pressure to resign, amid allegations that he sexually harassed a young female journalist. Speaking at an awards ceremony honouring journalists for courageous reporting last weekend, Abdel Maqsoud was interrupted by reporter Nada Mohamed, who asked “where is press freedom when journalists are being attacked and killed?” The Minister responded with “come here and I will show you where media freedom is” — provoking an uproar from journalists, activists, bloggers, and TV talk show hosts, who suggested that his comments — made in Arabic — had a “sexual connotation”. In a Facebook post, Mohamed (who works for Arabic news […]

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