Category: <span>Newswire</span>

South Africa’s parliament yesterday approved a controversial bill aimed at protecting state secrets. Dubbed the “secrecy bill” by its critics, the Protection of State Information bill was passed by 189 votes to 74. Campaigners against the bill warned of the “chilling effect” it could create for anyone fighting to bring government corruption to light. The Right2Know campaign has been working against the bill since its introduction in 2010, and has vowed to continue fighting against the bill, which now must be signed by Jacob Zuma, South Africa’s president, in order to go into effect. Although the bill was amended last year to include a clause on public interest, the campaign says that the modified bill still “only has narrow protection for whistleblowers […]

Nick Clegg kills Snooper’s Charter – for now

by Padraig Reidy | 25 Apr 13

Padraig Reidy: Clegg kills Snooper’s Charter – for now

Bahrain’s grand prix problem

by Sara Yasin | 24 Apr 13

Bahrain’s top news during the past 48 hours say a lot about the troubled country: glitzy races are welcome; experts on torture are not. Bahraini officials yesterday claimed that UN special rapporteur on torture, Juan Mendez, had cancelled his upcoming visit “indefinitely”. Funnily enough, the special rapporteur has denied this claim, saying that the government has actually blocked his visit, which was set to take place next month. The Special Rapporteur said in a release today that officials claimed that his trip could potentially endanger the success of the country’s National Dialogue, which began earlier this year. Mendez said that the decision “does not enhance transparency with regard to the situation in the country nor demonstrate a commitment to redress […]

Inside Story: Index on ethnic cleansing in Burma

by Index on Censorship | 23 Apr 13

Index on Censorship’s Mike Harris joins Ghida Fakhry and guests on Al Jazeera’s Inside Story, to discuss whether a giving a peace prize to Burma’s president Thein Sein rewards the killings of Rohingya Muslims.