News Roundup Archive

Thursday, April 11, 2013

USIP's Media, Conflict & Peacebuilding Roundup

United States Institute of Peace

 

Center of Innovation: Media, Conflict and Peacebuilding

Weekly News Roundup, April 4 - 10, 2013

Media and Journalism

Internet and Social Media

What's New from PeaceMedia

**Click here to subscribe to USIP's Science, Technology and Peacebuilding News Roundup.**


Media and Journalism

Egypt Media Shocked by Clashes with Copts
Egyptian media prominently cover the unrest around the Coptic Christian cathedral in Cairo, with writers and TV presenters expressing shock over the sectarian conflict and some social media users accusing the government of failing to act. Some see the collapse of the rule of law and a ''rehearsal for civil war'', while others interpret the events as a deliberate distraction from the pain of bread and fuel price hikes.
See the full article (BBC, 4/9/13)
[Return to top]

Journalists on Front Line of Mexico Drug War: 'Fear is Terrible and Well Founded'
Gun battles lasting for hours, seven decapitated bodies theatrically seated on a row of garden chairs, a video communique promising peace and tranquility read out against a backdrop of 70 armed, uniformed and masked men - Mexico's drug wars go on. But four months into the new government of President Enrique Peña Nieto, finding out about them is getting more difficult than ever.
See the full article (Guardian, Jo Tuckman, 4/9/13)
[Return to top]

Journalist in Russia, Badly Beaten in 2008, Dies
The Russian journalist Mikhail Beketov, who became a symbol of Russia's culture of impunity after he was brutally beaten in 2008, died of heart failure on Monday, his lawyer announced. After Mr. Beketov had called for the resignation of the municipal government in the city of Khimki, where he lived, his car was blown up.
See the full article (New York Times, Ellen Barry, 4/8/13)
[Return to top]

Somalia's Child Journalists
In Somalia the relative calm and stability of the last few years has resulted in a burgeoning journalism scene. But the practice is a deadly one, journalists are targeted for offending powerful interests, and most experienced journalists have fled. NPR's East Africa correspondent, Gregory Warner, talks to [On the Media] about who's stepped in to do the incredibly risky reporting in Somalia - children.
See the full article (NPR, 4/5/13)
[Return to top]

Pakistan's Sectarian Violence Creeps into Art Scene
Pakistan's sectarian crisis has grown so acute that it is creeping into the country's contemporary art scene, spurring young artists to question the causes and assumptions behind the violent Sunni-Shi'ite divide. Some artists have taken to expressing their anger at the carnage through their work.
See the full article (Reuters, 4/5/13)
Click to read about USIP's upcoming event "Tribal Societies & Counterterrorism in Pakistan" on April 15 at 11:00am.
[Return to top]

 

Internet and Social Media

U.S. Embassy Learns a Hard Lesson about Twitter
In the world of traditional diplomacy, governments had more control over what was said about them and by whom. As the Egyptian and U.S. governments discovered the hard way, that control is long gone in the world of 21st century diplomacy with its 24/7 social media and powerful nongovernmental voices.
See the full article (CNN, Cynthia Schneider, 4/10/13)
[Return to top] | [Return to section]

The Revolution is Being Televised
The Revolution Is Being Televised follows the work of Trad and five friends, as they capture the horrific realities of life in Syria, edit material together and argue about how they get it out to the rest of the world. This is their personal story - one of loss of family members, of survival and of fighting for a cause - where the risks and losses are made worthwhile by their first intoxicating taste of freedom.
See the full article (Al Jazeera, 4/9/13)
[Return to top] | [Return to section]

Text Messages With Name of Ahmadinejad Aide Blocked/Unblocked in Iran
The Iran News Network website, which is affiliated with the country's government, reported on April 5 that SMS messages containing the last name of President Mahmud Ahmadinejad's top aide, Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei, were blocked in Iran. Earlier this year, some news websites reported that text messages containing the slogan "Viva Spring" had been filtered in Iran. "Viva Spring" or "Long Live Spring" is believed to be a campaign slogan for the controversial Mashaei.
See the full article (RFE/RL, Golnaz Esfandiari, 4/6/13)
[Return to top] | [Return to section]

Russia's Digital Underground
The principle of Internet censorship is not a new one to Russian authorities. For at least five years, regional prosecutors have implemented court decisions requiring Internet providers to block access to banned sites accused of extremism. But this has not been done systematically: sites blocked in one region remained accessible in others.
See the full article (Foreign Policy, 4/5/13)
[Return to top] | [Return to section]

 

What's New from PeaceMedia

"Ken Conca - The Future of Water Conflict" - Environmental Change and Security Program
Ken Conca is an associate professor of Government and Politics at University of Maryland. In this short video, Conca discusses the future of water conflict with ECSP Director Geoff Dabelko. The Environmental Change & Security Program (ECSP) promotes dialogue on the connections among environmental, health, and population dynamics and their links to conflict, human insecurity, and foreign policy.
See the full video
Click to read about USIP's upcoming event "Disaster Risk Reduction and Conflict Prevention" on April 18 at 1:00pm.
[Return to top]

Click here to subscribe to USIP's Science, Technology and Peacebuilding News Roundup.

Did we miss anything?

 

 


Share this: FacebookDeliciousDiggMySpaceStumbleUponGoogleMicrosoftYahoo! BookmarksLinkedIn| Forward this to a Friend

 

USIP's Science, Technology & Peacebuilding Roundup

United States Institute of Peace

 

Center of Innovation: Science, Technology and Peacebuilding

Weekly News Roundup, April 4 - 10, 2013

Table of Contents

**Click here to subscribe to USIP's Media, Conflict and Peacebuilding News Roundup,
which includes a special section on Internet and social media.**


North Korea Behind Hacking Attack in March, Claims Seoul
North Korea was behind the cyber attack in March that wiped hard drives on more than 30,000 PCs in TV stations and disrupted banks in south Korea, a spokesman for its internet security agency said on Wednesday, ratcheting up the tension between the two sides another notch.
See the full article (Guardian, Charles Arthur, 4/10/13)
[Return to top]

Iran Plans 'Islamic Google Earth'
The Iranian authorities have long accused Google Earth of being a tool for western spy agencies, but now they have taken their attacks on the 3D mapping service one step further - by planning the launch of an "Islamic" competitor. Iran has often looked at Western web services with a great deal of suspicion.
See the full article (Guardian, Saeed Kamali Dehghan, 4/10/13)
Click to read about USIP's upcoming event "Disaster Risk Reduction and Conflict Prevention" on April 18 at 1:00pm.
[Return to top]

How to Detect a Nuclear Test on Your iPhone
The increase in data volume, ever-improving connectivity, and the relentless evolution towards ubiquitous sensors in cell phones and other devices affords new opportunities for concerned citizens to participate in solving some of the thorniest health and security issues of our time. In the very near future, anyone with a cell phone will be able to serve as a weapons inspector.
See the full article (Foreign Policy, Christopher Stubbs and Sidney Drell, 4/9/13)
[Return to top]

Anonymous Hacker Attack on Israeli Websites 'Causes Little Real Damage'
A cyber attack by the activist group Anonymous targeting Israeli government websites failed to cause serious disruption, officials have said. The attacks followed warnings in the name of the group that it was launching a massive hacking assault to protest against Israeli policy toward the Palestinians.
See the full article (Associated Press, 4/8/13)
[Return to top]

A Secret Deal on Drones, Sealed in Blood
The C.I.A. has conducted hundreds of drone strikes in Pakistan that have killed thousands of people, Pakistanis and Arabs, militants and civilians alike. While it was not the first country where the United States used drones, it became the laboratory for the targeted killing operations that have come to define a new American way of fighting.
See the full article (New York Times, Mark Mazzetti, 4/6/13)
[Return to top]

Smart Bracelet Protects Aid Workers
A hi-tech bracelet could soon be helping civil rights and aid workers at risk of being kidnapped or killed. When triggered, the personal alarm uses phone and sat-nav technology to warn that its wearer is in danger. The bracelets have been developed by the Civil Rights Defenders campaign group in a bid to help workers in war zones and other areas of conflict.
See the full article (BBC, 4/5/13)
[Return to top]

North Korea Twitter, Flickr Accounts Hacked by Anonymous
Hacking group Anonymous continued its assault on one of North Korea's propaganda websites by taking over the site's Twitter and Flickr accounts, two days after saying it obtained 15,000 user records from the site. The state-run website, Uriminzokkiri.com, could not be accessed early Thursday.
See the full article (NBC News, Suzanne Choney, 4/4/13)
[Return to top]

Why Sticks and Stones Will Beat Our Drones
Military technological evolution can go in both directions. High-tech measures aren't inevitably countered by more high-tech measures. Sometimes, the opposite is true: The most successful countermeasures are low-tech -- and historically, this has been demonstrated just as often as has the opposite.
See the full article (Foreign Policy, Rosa Brooks, 4/4/13)
[Return to top]

Click here to subscribe to USIP's Media, Conflict and Peacebuilding News Roundup,
which includes a special section on Internet and social media.

Did we miss anything?

 

 


Share this: FacebookDeliciousDiggMySpaceStumbleUponGoogleMicrosoftYahoo! BookmarksLinkedIn| Forward this to a Friend