09 Aug 10 | Index Index, minipost
Police arrested 38 people in Selangor, Penang and Kelantan who were part of a nationwide candlelight vigil which was held to denounce the 50th year of the Internal Security Act (ISA) on 1 August.
The ISA targets any person who “has acted, is about to act, or is likely to act in any way manner prejudicial to the security of Malaysia.” According to the act, the police can detain anyone for up to 60 days without trial without access to a lawyer.
09 Aug 10 | Index Index, Middle East and North Africa, minipost, News and features
The television censorship committee in Egypt has decided to delete scenes deemed inappropriate from television dramas such as Al Aar and Al Haijah Zahra that will be aired during the month of Ramadan. Scenes considered inappropriate include those that have sexual connotations and that talk about drugs and secret marriage.
06 Aug 10 | Index Index, minipost, News and features
The Indonesian government has placed a ban on the screening of the Australian feature film Balibo due to its sensitive issues.
The film tells the story of 5 Australian based journalists who were killed in the town of Balibo in Timor Leste in 1975. The Film Censorship Board in Indonesia argues that it could ‘reopen old wounds’ about East Timor. A screening of Balibo was orginally scheduled at the 11th Jakarta International Film Festival (JIFFest) but was cancelled after the festival committee received notification of the ban on Tuesday.
03 Aug 10 | Index Index, Middle East and North Africa, minipost, News and features
Kuwait has asked BlackBerry’s Canadian maker RIM to block pornographic sites though they will not suspend the messenger services like their Gulf neighbours.
RIM have agreed to block 3,000 porn sites and have promised to do so by the end of this year.
