21 Aug 2009 | Index Index, minipost
Saudi Arabia has begun blocking the Twitter pages of activists in the country. Human rights lawyer Waleed Abulkhair and businessman Khaled al Nasser said their Twitter pages have been blocked since about Monday by the official government Internet censor. This is apparently the first move against known Twitter users inside the kingdom. The men involved claim this is because the government has been made aware of the sites power after its role in the Iran elections. Read more here
21 Aug 2009 | Index Index, minipost
One of Sri Lanka’s most eminent academics has received an anonymous death threat, officials say. The threat in a letter was sent to the home of Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu, executive director of the Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA). He is the latest in a long line of prominent people, mostly journalists, who have received death threats. Read more here
20 Aug 2009 | Index Index, minipost
A Japanese horror film entitled Grotesque has been refused an 18 certificate by the British Board of Film Classification. BBFC director David Cooke said that he and other colleagues had made the decision as “the chief pleasure of the film seemed to be the spectacle of sadism for its own sake.” The last film that the BBFC turned down for an 18 certificate was 2004’s Murder Set Pieces. Read more here
20 Aug 2009 | Index Index, minipost
In the northern town of Varallo Sesia in Italy, women wearing the “burkini”, a garment made up of a veil, a tunic and loose leggings, face a fine of €500 if they are spotted at swimming pools or rivers. The mayor of the northern Piedmont town said: “The sight of a ‘masked woman’ could disturb small children, not to mention problems of hygiene.” Read more here
