Film director Jafar Panahi has been released from Tehran's Evin prison on a bail of $200,000 (£140,000) after more than two months in custody. Although it has been rumoured he was imprisoned for shooting a film about last June's disputed...
CATEGORY: Index Index
Facebook to announce new privacy settings today
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg will announce the new “drastically simplified” privacy controls at a conference call this morning at 10:30 PST (18:30 BST). The move comes as a response to growing concerns from users over recent changes in its...
Chavez to start own blog
Following the success of his Twitter account, Hugo Chavez has launched his own blog in order to increase his online presence. Chavez announced that he plans to publish transcripts of his speeches and articles, as well as a guest column by Fidel...
Mordechai Vanunu jailed again in Israel
Mordechai Vanunu, the former Israeli nuclear plant technician who spent 18 years in prison for exposing the country’s nuclear arsenal, was jailed again on 23 May. He was found guilty of “unauthorised meetings with foreigners” which include...
Turkish student convicted for Facebook cartoon
A Turkish student has received an 11-month suspended jail sentence after posting a cartoon of the local mayor on Facebook. Erdem Büyük, 22, of the northwestern city of Eskisehir, was arrested, interrogated after loading a cartoon of Yilmaz...
Anonymous member jailed over Scientology cyber attacks
Brian Mettenbrink of Nebraska was sentenced this week to one year in prison and a $20,000 fine for orchestrating the DDoS attacks against the Church of Scientology’s website in 2008. Mettenbrink admitted to being a member of the group Anonymous,...
No Sex and the City for Abu Dhabi
Sex and the City 2 has been banned from the city in which the film is set, Abu Dhabi. A spokesperson for the National Media Council said on 19 May it had banned the film from the country because the “theme of the film does not fit with our cultural...
News reader quits in protest at Berlusconi
Maria Luisa Busi, presenter of the TG1 evening news programme on Rai 1 has quit her job in protest at prime minister Silvio Berlusconi’s control of the Italian media. Her move comes after Augusto Minzolini, handpicked for the job by Berlusconi...
Koreans condemn Vienna Kim II Sung exhibit
A new exhibition in Vienna displaying North Korean poster art and architecture has been slammed by the Association of Austrian Koreans. The “Flowers for Kim II Sung” exhibition at the MAK museum, has been described as “idolising” and “embellishing...
Newcastle ruled the worst council for surveillance
Newcastle Upon Tyne local authority has been deemed the worst offender in Britain for covert surveillance operations, according to a study this week. Under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act, local authorities have carried out over 8,500...