Lady Gaga has been refused a permit to play her sold-out concert in Indonesia following demonstrations from religious protesters. The permit for the Born This Way Ball, scheduled to take place on 3 June, was refused after Islamic hardliners,...
CATEGORY: Asia and Pacific
Chen Guangcheng’s nephew arrested on attempted murder charges
UPDATE: Chen Guangcheng's relatives have described beatings by local authorities since the activist fled house arrest last month. His brother, Chen Guangfu, father of Chen Kegui was reportedly detained for three days, during which time he was...
Vietnam: Reporters beaten
Two Vietnamese reporters were beaten while covering a local eviction. Nguyen Ngoc Nam and Han Phi Long, from state-run Radio Voice of Vietnam, were kicked and beaten as they attempted to report on the eviction of approximately 1,000 villagers from...
Philippines: Radio reporter murdered
A radio journalist was murdered in the Philippines on Tuesday. Nestor Libaton, a news reporter for Catholic-run radio station dxHM in Mati City, was shot several times by men on a motorbike. The journalist was on the back of a motorbike being...
China: Sina Weibo to introduce “user contract”
Chinese micro-blogging platform Sina Weibo plan to introduce a "user-contract" in an attempt to control sensitive information on the site. The rules, which are set to be introduced later this month, outline do's and don'ts for the site, including...
Thailand: “Uncle SMS” dies during 20-year jail term for insulting monarchy
A Thai man in his 60s who became known as "Uncle SMS" after he was convicted of defaming Thailand's royal family in text messages has died while serving his 20-year prison term. Amphon Tangnoppakul, whose cause of death was unknown, was arrested in...
Al Jazeera correspondent expelled from China
Al Jazeera English's China correspondent, Melissa Chan, has been expelled from the People's Republic after five years in the country. The TV station's English arm today announced it has closed its Beijing bureau after the Chinese authorities...

Playing cat and mouse with China’s censors
The twists and turns in the fate of "barefoot lawyer" Chen Guangcheng have held all in its thrall. Despite the vigilance of web censors, China's netizens --- particularly its social media users --- have found inventive new ways of discussing the...

Chen Guangcheng knows exile isn’t easy, but it may be his best bet
Even before the internet, dissidents in exile were able to create networks that provided a lifeline to those back home, writes Index editor Jo Glanville
Chen Guangcheng asks to leave China with Hillary Clinton
In a day of dramatic developments, the blind Chinese lawyer who left the US embassy in Beijing yesterday has called on Barack Obama to do everything possible to let his family leave China. “I would like to say to (President Obama): Please do...