2005-2014

BEIJING (AP) – China's government is trying to boost public interest in its figurehead parliament and its companion advisory body by setting up Web logs for members as they meet this week. Called "bo ke" in Chinese, blogs are popular with young people despite strict censorship rules. In one posting, National People's Congress delegate Zhou Hongyu wrote that serving in the legislature is a way to...

Security experts have long warned computer users to beware of links that come via instant messenger or e-mail, the most common ways for adware, spyware and other bad stuff to get into your PC. But few people think twice about the unfamiliar links that turn up after a Google, MSN or Yahoo search and how those sites might also expose users to a security risk. For the past few weeks I've been surfing...

IN A nation where corruption is often just another day at the office, it was a gratifying victory for freedom of the press in Indonesia when its supreme court ruled that a magazine had not libeled a businessman. Corruption is probably the greatest impediment to economic growth and development in Indonesia, the southeast Asian nation that's home to more Muslims than anywhere in the world. Nor does...

Kingston – A woman who made disparaging comments about her landlord on her Internet blog has become the latest person to discover what can happen when cyberspace and legal realities collide. Sarah Dawe is facing eviction for her postings related to an ongoing dispute with Homestead Land Holdings Inc. Ms. Dawe says she was stunned to find herself on the receiving end of such an action. "When I got...

The Ministry of Defence has formally stated for the first time that the British military will never deliberately target journalists in conflict zones, but admits that mistakes do happen. After mounting pressure as the media death toll in Iraq climbs, the MoD has officially recognised the issue of safety for journalists. The MoD's "green book", which outlines arrangements with the media, now...

A Canadian journalist is facing deportation from Uganda over his coverage of political events in the country. Mr Blake Lambert, a correspondent for The Economist and Christian Science Monitor is caught up in a battle between the Media Council, the official regulator of the media in Uganda and the newly created government Media Centre. In January, the Media Centre, run by Mr Robert Kabushenga...

Doha: Journalists in Qatar face a number of challenges in dealing freely with local issues, says a former editor-in-chief of Al Sharq. One of the major obstacles faced by reporters and editors-in-chief of local newspapers is that they are called in by the police if there is a problem with some local coverage and that prevents free reporting, says Abdul Aziz Al Mahmoud. Currently editor-in-chief of...

An unmarked police Land Rover left the Nairobi Police headquarters under the cover of darkness on Thursday night to transport seized Standard Group equipment to an unknown destination. The green Land Rover, Registration Number KAL 029G, which was followed by an unmarked white Hyundai, left the former Criminal Investigations Department (CID) headquarters on Milimani Road at 8.45 pm and was driven...

NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenya has defended this week's unprecedented police raid on a major media group which brought a torrent of accusations from at home and abroad that President Mwai Kibaki's government was behaving like a dictatorship. "We have actually committed no crime," Internal Security Minister John Michuki told a news conference late on Friday. "The police are within the law." In the most...

The Standard Group yesterday wrote to the Commissioner of Police expressing fears that attempts could be made to manipulate the contents of the files in computers confiscated from its premises on Wednesday night. But no sooner had the letter been dispatched than Internal Security Minister John Michuki alleged that the Group was involved in subversive activities. He told a news conference late in...