THAILAND: ‘Reforms’, Emergency Situation Weigh Heavily on Media

Thailand's media are not very happy these days, and it's not only because of an emergency decree that turns three months old next week.

CHINA: Cyberlives Thrive Under the State’s Watchful Eyes

Twenty-four-year-old Li Jun sits where he sits most nights of the week, in front of a computer in his local Internet cafe in the east of the Chinese capital, playing ‘World of Warcraft'.

MALDIVES: Education Reforms Herald Digital Learning, Radical Changes

When students walk into the Majeediya Boys School in this capital of the Maldives every morning, they are invariably drawn to the digital notice board in the courtyard that carries important announcements.

Critical Media Hit by Legal Actions in Venezuela

Guillermo Zuloaga, owner of the Globovisión television channel has fled Venezuela to avoid an arrest warrant issued by a court a week after President Hugo Chávez complained that Zuloaga was not being held in prison pending trials for illegal business practices, and for remarks that were deemed "offensive" to the president.

INDIA: Muslim Women Explore Opportunity in Non-Traditional Fields

In a small, dingy and humid room in Metiabruz, a poor Muslim-dominated locality in Kolkata in eastern India, at least 20 Muslim women are talking with excitement about their aspirations and why they decided to study information technology (IT), a short-term course offered for a minimal fee by a non- government organisation operating in their locality.

MEDIA: Mobile Journalism on the Rise in Asia

What do the protests in Burma, bombings in Jakarta, the recent earthquake in Haiti and the massive devastation left by typhoon Ketsana in the Philippines have in common?

ARGENTINA: Over 40 and Jobless? Click Here

Tired of being sidelined in the job market because he was over 40, an Argentine computer specialist created a labour exchange for people his age and older, which in just a few months grew to nearly 6,000 people.

MEXICO: Playing Political Football

The Mexican government and capital city authorities are making the most of the national football team's participation in the FIFA World Cup beginning Friday in South Africa, by using the sport's power to distract public attention away from the economic crisis and the violent battle against drug trafficking.

Virtual Diversity in Cuban Blogosphere

There are blogs made in Cuba, and many more Cubans living abroad who blog, both in favour of or against the Cuban government. Caught up in the sea of political passions, the hundreds of blogs about this socialist island nation reflect a growing variety of viewpoints and realities.

MEDIA-ISRAEL: Beatings, Abuse, Doctored Evidence Emerge

Although Israel successfully controlled news of its deadly commando raid on the Free Gaza (FG) flotilla during the first crucial 48 hours of media coverage, emerging evidence from witnesses and survivors is challenging the Israeli government's version of events.

THAILAND: In Wake of Crackdown, Anger Peaks against Foreign Media

Resentment here toward the foreign media had been simmering in the wake of the Thai government's crackdown against protesters in May, but it nearly came to a boil when Thai panelists aired their frustrations recently about what they called western bias, misunderstandings of the Thai political culture and reporting that tried to fit events into a bad-versus-evil contest.

No Sidelining Arab-Israelis Over Raid On Aid Flotilla

Normally, in this non-descript sleepy Arab town in Galilee, TV sets are tuned to Al-Jazeera or Al-Arabiyya, the round-the-clock Arabic networks.

PAKISTAN: Furore Over Leaked Tape Cause for Media Soul Searching

The continuing debate on the purported audiotape implicating Pakistani television anchor Hamid Mir, popular and controversial in equal measure, has raised serious concerns about the media amid calls for an impartial investigation to uncover the truth behind the recording.

CHINA: Social Networking Sites Vibrant and Thriving Among Activists

Last June, when thousands of Iranians – many organised through social networking websites such as Twitter – took to the streets to protest the outcome of the country’s presidential election, a Chinese English-language newspaper, ‘Global Times’, published an editorial critical of the Western media’s coverage of the protests.

Young People Blurring Borders

Incorporating young people into the task of fostering understanding between people of various cultural and religious backgrounds is one of the four priority areas of the Alliance of Civilisations.

MEDIA-PAKISTAN: Netizens Argue for the Right to Decide

While there was no question that the visual depictions of the Prophet Mohammad on Facebook hit a raw nerve among devout Muslims all over the world, the debate here in Pakistan has been all about whether the government should be the one making choices for its Internet users.

THAILAND: Social Media Provide Space for Arguments, Catharsis

After months of turmoil, silence – albeit an uneasy one – has finally fallen over the streets of Bangkok. But the shouting continues in cyberspace as Thais and even foreign residents bicker and debate over what this South-east Asian country has just experienced, as well as about the challenges it continues to face.

THAILAND: Media Deaths, Threats Part of the Crisis Story

As big a story as this week's crackdown on anti-government protests in Thailand is the significant number of journalists killed or hurt, and media professionals and organisations threatened during the country's most serious political conflict in years.

MIDEAST: These Virtual Connections Are for Real

"I've learned most of what I know about photo editing and graphic design via the Internet," says Emad, 27-year-old film-maker and editor. In Gaza, this sort of thing has become usual in a different way.

Football Fortunes for Mexican TV

Horacio Ramos is not bothered about paying an extra 50 dollars on his television subscription so that he can watch the entire FIFA World Cup, which kicks off Jun. 11 in South Africa.

THAILAND: Media Grapple with Questions of Credibility, Bias

Two months into Thailand's anti-government protests and as an army-led blockade is underway to end them, the media are struggling with challenges to their credibility and perceptions of bias in the South-east Asian country's gravest political stalemate in years.