East Asia
China detains rights lawyer ahead of 6-4
Human rights lawyer Pu Zhiqiang was detained on charges of "causing a disturbance" after attending a meeting to urge an investigation into the Tiananmen Square massacre.
Tag: politics of cyberspace
Europe
Cold War time warp in Ukraine coverage
While claiming to withdraw troops from Ukriane's borders, Russia conducted military maneuvers that included nuclear missile tests—as NATO sends a special delegation to Kiev.
Europe
Russia: parliament approves bills restricting Internet
Russia's upper house of parliament approved a set of bills that apply new restrictions on the Internet and blogging, a move widely criticized by pro-democracy activists.
Mexico
Mexico: thousands protest ‘Televisa law’
A proposed telecommunications law in Mexico is supposed to undercut monopolies and provide for free expression; opponents say it will do the opposite, and are mobilizaing.
Watching the Shadows
Net neutrality and the extinction of journalism
The end of "net neutrality," now broached by the FCC, portends an "enclosure" of the Internet—and the marginalization of all perspectives not officially approved.
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.
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."