1 Aug 2011 | Index Index, Middle East and North Africa, minipost
Syrian forces stormed the opposition stronghold of Hama on Sunday, in a bid to crush demonstrations before the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. By this morning (1 August), the death toll had been reported to have reached 84. The head of the political department of the Syrian army, Lieutenant General Riad Haddad, called the attacks on some cities an “indispensable necessity” to defend and protect the country. With Friday prayers having been a major rallying point for protests, more frequent visits to mosques during Ramadan might raise the potential for more regular demonstrations. But the weekend’s crackdown may well spur more protests and widespread violence during the holy period. Meanwhile, foreign journalists remain banned from Syria, leaving much reporting in the hands of activists and citizen journalists, who face considerable risk.
29 Jul 2011 | Index Index, minipost, News and features
Translated screenshots from journalist Lu Chaoguo’s Tencent microblog account reveal his detention and mistreatment by police after reporting on recent riots in Anshun, Guizhou province. The riots were sparked by a “city management” official beating to death a handicapped fruit seller.
29 Jul 2011 | Index Index, minipost, News and features
The potent reaction from both Chinese netizens and mainstream media in response to Sunday’s deadly train crash in Wenzhou has shown how the state’s propaganda machine is being increasingly challenged. The majority of Chinese media (including state-owned organs) this week ignored directives issued by the Central Propaganda Ministry not to report on the causes of the crash. Meanwhile, netizens’ use of social media, both to chronicle the disaster and to express their fury at the government’s handling of the situation, has led outspoken paper Southern Metropolis Daily to claim “no one, not even someone with the lowest IQ, would choose to challenge the public at this particular point in time.”
29 Jul 2011 | Index Index, minipost, News and features
Ahmed Omed Khpulwak, a stringer working for the BBC in Afghanistan, has been killed during a Taliban raid on a TV station in Uruzgan province, southern Afghanistan. It is unclear whether Khpulwak, 25, was killed by Taliban or Nato forces responding to the attack.
Read tributes to Omed Khpulwak here
