10 Aug 2011 | Index Index, minipost
Two of the few remaining independent newspapers in Belarus have each been fined 14m roubles (1,704 GBP) for minor infractions. Last month a legal bid to have them closed was withdrawn but both papers were warned of possible prosecutions that could lead to fines. Nasha Niva received was fined for failing to show its registration number in one of its latest issues, while Narodnaya Volya received a warning for getting a date wrong in a recent issue. Independent media in Belarus have received a torrent of warnings over their political coverage since the 11 April Minsk metro bombing.
10 Aug 2011 | Africa
President Mutharika is using controversial methods to quash Malawi’s opposition. Santorri Chamley reports
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10 Aug 2011 | Index Index, minipost
On August 8, issues of Al-Ahdath, a Sudanese daily newspaper, were confiscated by security forces. Officials have yet to provide an explanation for the confiscation. Previously, officials pressured the editor of Al-Ahdath to retract articles written about violence in South Sudan.From the time leading up to Sudan’s July 9 split, there has been a crackdown on the press in the North. In June, nine journalists were fined for “defamation” and “publishing fake news”, and Ajras Al-Hurriya newspaper was confiscated after reporting on the violent actions of government forces in South Kordufan and Nuba.
10 Aug 2011 | Digital Freedom, Index Index, minipost
India’s Department of Telecommunications has been asked to monitor Twitter and Facebook, because of fears that the sites are being used to plan terrorist attacks. In April, the Indian Information Technology (IT) Act of 2008 was amended, giving officials the ability to monitor web activity. It also provides officials with access to private information, including passwords, without a court order. However, Facebook and Twitter do not release the information of their users without a court order. This coincides with India’s threat to outlaw the usage of Blackberry devices, because of Research in Motion’s refusal to comply with demands to lower the level of encryption of messages.
