The Caribbean
Cuba: did USAID KO deal for Gross release?
Some USAID officials and contractors reportedly scuttled a deal the US and Cuba were working on to release imprisoned USAID contractor Alan Gross.
Tag: politics of cyberspace
Iran
Iran: political prisoners denied medical treatment
UN human rights experts voiced concern about lack of medical treatment for two political prisoners in Iran—a blogger and a dissident cleric—who are at risk of dying in detention.
Greater Middle East
Egypt: court upholds sentences of activists
An Egyptian appeals court upheld the jailing of three men who co-founded the "April 6" opposition movement that played a large role in the country's 2011 revolution.
The Caribbean
USAID’s ‘Cuban Twitter’ scheme flops
Under the guise of promoting social media in Cuba, the US government developed a Twitter knockoff to promote "smart mobs" and collect information on Cubans.
Greater Middle East
Turkish ‘false flag’ plot on Ottoman site in Syria?
Does the leaked YouTube video reveal that Turkey's intelligence establishment was planning a "false flag" attack on the revered grave of an medieval sultan in Syria?
Greater Middle East
Egypt court releases blogger on bail
Blogger and activist Alaa Abdel Fattah, imprisoned for violating Egypt's controversial protest law, was ordered released by a Cairo court—but still faces charges.
East Asia
China blames Kunming attack on Uighur ‘terrorists’
Authorities in Kunming, Yunnan province, say a deadly mass knife attack at the city's main rail station was "orchestrated by Xinjiang separatist forces."
Greater Middle East
Turkey: street clashes over cyber freedom
Riot police in Istanbul used water cannons against demonstrators in the latest protest against a bill that would increase government control over the Internet.
East Asia
China sentences activist Xu Zhiyong to four years
A Beijing court sentenced legal scholar and activist Xu Zhiyong to four years in prison on the charge of "gathering a crowd to disturb public order."
Europe
Ukraine, Thailand, Italy: hope and contradiction
In Ukraine, Thailand and Italy, riot police stood down and ceded control of urban space to protesters—yet the demonstrators in all three countries have problematic politics.
Greater Middle East
Egypt: blogger arrested in protest crackdown
Alaa Abdul Fattah, a prominent blogger who opposed Mubarak and Morsi alike, was arrested by Egypt's military authorities on charges of organizing an unsanctioned rally.
Mexico
Citizens challenge media silence on Matamoros war
Local activists and bloggers risk their lives to get out the word on the ongoing urban warfare in Tamaulipas, with Mexico's establishment press terrorized into silence.