· December, 2009

Stories about Breaking News from December, 2009

Bangladesh: Knighthood For Fazle Hasan Abed

  31 December 2009

Unheard Voice informs that Fazle Hasan Abed, the founder and chairperson of the largest NGO of the world, BRAC, has been awarded with knighthood for his endeavors towards eradicating poverty and empowering the poor in Bangladesh and many countries of the world.

China: Akmal's death sentence, a resolute No to memory of humiliation?

  30 December 2009

Akmal Shaikh, a British citizen convicted of smuggling heroine into China, was executed on Tuesday although his families along with the British government had pleaded for reprieve, claiming that he is mentally ill. The supreme court of China however dismissed the request of a mental assessment because the documents provided...

China: Three prominent bloggers GFWed in the same week

  30 December 2009

Following the blocking of veteran Internet essayist He Caitou's (@hecaitou) two longstanding blogs hecaitou.net and caobian.info on December 25, renowned columnist Lian Yue (@lianyue) had yet another one of his blogs, lianyue.net, blocked on the 29th; late on the evening of December 30, Peking University new media associate professor Hu...

India: Perils Of Making Democracy Accessible

  29 December 2009

Indian Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor was caught up in another controversy as he tweeted to his approx. 542,000 Twitter followers a personal opinion on the recent change in Indian visa rules. Smoke Signals has the details.

Kazakhstan: Journalist murdered, professional motives excluded

  29 December 2009

Sayat Shulembayev, 28, journalist of the news video-portal “Stan” was brutally murdered in Almaty. As “Stan” producer Michael Pak says, Sayat rented a room in the house near bus station. The murderers killed the landlord and the journalist, apparently, to eliminate the possible witness [ru]. The news portal does not...

Pakistan: Bomb Attack On Shia Procession

  28 December 2009

Kalsoom at CHUP! – Changing Up Pakistan reports that today “a suicide bomber attacked a Shia procession commemorating Ashura in Karachi, killing at least 25 people and injuring 50.”

China: Tweeting in support of Iran

  28 December 2009

Twenty-four hours later and #CN4Iran remains in heavy constant use by Chinese Twitter users speaking out in support of protests now underway across Iran. The #CN4Iran hashtag has since been joined by a @CN4Iran Twitter account and a central blog. Related is this post with a similar story from 2007.

Australia pushes internet censorship; Twitter erupts

  21 December 2009

Australia's Communications Minister Stephen Conroy declared his determination last week to push through mandatory internet censorship of a government-defined blacklist of websites, sparking an online frenzy in blogs and on Twitter. News of the proposed internet censorship propelled the issue to a “trending topic” on Twitter for several hours, under...

Belarus: New Plans For Internet Control

RuNet Echo  16 December 2009

“Nasha Niva”online portal in Belarus published [Google Translation – ENG] a draft of the President's decree “On Measures to Improve the National Segment of the Internet.” The decree will  significantly limit the Internet freedom and introduce new measures of online censorship.

Philippines: Bloggers Raise Voices Against Martial Law

  10 December 2009

As the world commemorates International Human Rights Day, Filipino bloggers are eerily reminded of the dark days of the Marcos dictatorship when President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo imposed martial law in the southern Philippine province of Maguindanao.

Indonesia: Coins for justice

  6 December 2009

Netizens have launched a campaign to collect the money in form of coins to show support for Prita Mulyasari, an Indonesian housewife who wrote an online complaint against a bad hospital service, was found guilty in court for "defaming" a private hospital.

Guinea: Attempt on Military Leader Dadis Camara's Life

  4 December 2009

According to several news sources, Captain Dadis Camara, leader of the military junta which seized power in Guinea in December 2008, was shot and wounded by one of his aides yesterday in Conakry. Many RFI readers, holding Camara responsible for the September 28th massacre of opposition protesters, call it justice.