In The News

Broadcast Media in China Put On Notice

Edward Cody February 27, 2007
Communist Party leaders in China have issued strict guidelines for broadcasters that require praise for the nation's socialist system of governance rather than protection of individual leaders. Still, officials in power often rely on such controls to prevent negative coverage that could be linked to them individually. The controls could also squash complaints of party conservatives who...

South Asians Taking Risky Route to Europe: Via Africa

Caroline Brothers February 26, 2007
The tide of illegal immigrants from West Africa to Spain’s Canary Islands has resumed, yet the ethnicity of recent passengers surprise authorities. South Asians attempting to enter Europe have long taken land passages, but are increasingly becoming customers of the poorly made fishing boats that ferry thousands from Africa to Spain each year. Decreased barriers to travel between South Asia and...

Internet Users Transformed Into News Reporters

February 16, 2007
Cell-phone cameras and digital cameras are ubiquitous tools that provide immediate images of any news happening. Websites like NowPublic and YouWitnessNews now offer a public platform for news reports, videos, photos and commentary supplied by amateurs all over the world. NowPublic.com claims more than 60,000 contributors in more than 140 countries. The new websites work with traditional news...

Help Not Wanted

Moisés Naím February 15, 2007
China is stepping up in delivering foreign aid to impoverished African nations, but that is not good news for all Africans. “It is development assistance that is nondemocratic in origin and nontransparent in practice, and its effect is typically to stifle real progress while hurting ordinary citizens,” charges Moisés Naím, editor of “Foreign Policy” magazine. Some donors distribute billions, with...

China Soon to Be World's Biggest Internet User

Randeep Ramesh January 29, 2007
With one out of ten Chinese using the internet and more signing on every day, China’s users will soon outnumber Americans online. The Chinese government encourages internet use for business or education purposes, reports Randeep Ramesh in The Guardian, and censors any controversial material on politics, history or entertainment. Eager for profits and influence, major internet companies...

Russian Court Backs Closing of Chechen Rights Group

Peter Finn January 25, 2007
Authorities sometimes regard activism as extremism, especially when groups criticize government policy. Russian authorities put a stop to the Russian-Chechen Friendship Society, after the group reprinted statements by Chechen separatists, linked to the mass school killing in 2004. The group is funded by organizations based in the West, and Russia has passed laws prohibiting anyone convicted of...

Asian Games: New Gold Standard in Measuring National Will

Sadanand Dhume January 25, 2007
Sport is an age-old metaphor for politics – and Asian affairs analyst Sadanand Dhume looks at the Asian Games in the light of the region's traditional rivalries. China captured more medals than any other nation, almost three times as many gold medals as runner-up South Korea. China’s geopolitical rival India was ranked eighth, with most of its medals won in more intricate, intellectual games...