News Roundup Archive

Thursday, May 30, 2013

USIP's Science, Technology & Peacebuilding Roundup

 

United States Institute of Peace

 

Center of Innovation: Science, Technology and Peacebuilding

Weekly News Roundup, May 23 - 29, 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.**


China Continues to Deny Carrying Out Cyberattacks Against U.S.
China on Wednesday again denied that it has used cyberattacks to steal American military and business secrets, following new accusations leveled this week. "China opposes all forms of cyberattacks. China is also a victim of hacking," said Assistant Foreign Minister Zheng Zeguang during a press briefing previewing Chinese President Xi Jinping's meeting with President Obama next week.
See the full article (Washington Post, William Wan, 5/29/13)
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'Killer Robots' Pose Threat to Peace and Should be Banned, UN Warned
"Killer robots" that could attack targets autonomously without a human pulling the trigger pose a threat to international stability and should be banned before they come into existence, the United Nations will be told by its human rights investigator this week. Experts in warfare technologies warn that the world's leading military powers are moving so rapidly in this direction that a pre-emptive ban is essential.
See the full article (Guardian, Ed Pilkington, 5/29/13)
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Gaza Sky Geeks Backs Tech Startups in the Gaza Strip
The conflict-torn Gaza Strip produces more than 2,000 young graduates with technical degrees each year. Gaza Sky Geeks helps them launch their own high-tech businesses. The laboratory will support standout technology entrepreneurs in Gaza, providing a wide range of free services designed to help them turn their ideas into viable investments.
See the full article (Christian Science Monitor, Laura Mortara, 5/29/13)
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China Doesn't Care if Its 'Digitalized' Military Cyberwar Drill Scares You
In the face of fears from President Obama to the Pentagon and across the globe about the increasing military might behind Chinese hacking, China's state news agency announced Wednesday that the nation's People's Liberation Army "will conduct an exercise next month to test new types of combat forces including units using digital technology amid efforts to adjust to informationalized war."
See the full article (Atlantic, Alexander Abad-Santos, 5/29/13)
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Obama to Confront Chinese President over Spate of Cyber-attacks on US
Barack Obama will confront Chinese president Xi Jinping next week over a spate of cyber-attacks on the US, including the latest allegation that Chinese hackers gained access to more than two dozen of America's most advanced weapons systems. The alleged cyber-attacks are the most serious of a series of issues creating friction between the US and China ahead of next week's summit in California.
See the full article (Guardian, Ewan MacAskill, 5/28/13)
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New Computer Attacks Traced to Iran, Officials Say
American officials and corporate security experts examining a new wave of potentially destructive computer attacks striking American corporations, especially energy firms, say they have tracked the attacks back to Iran. Government officials describe the attacks as probes looking for ways to seize control of critical processing systems.
See the full article (New York Times, Nicole Perlroth and David E. Sanger, 5/24/13) *NYT sign-up may be required to view the full article
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Video Game Shows People Why Drug War Can't be Stopped
A game app about Mexico's drug war launched this week. It's called NarcoGuerra, and it challenges you to "end the never-ending war." Narco Guerra developers argue that the whole point of this game, which is designed for mobile phones and tablets and costs .99 cents, is to make you think about how hard it is to stop the drug trade.
See the full article (ABC News, Manuel Rueda, 5/24/13)
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Fear Factor
The impact of armed drones during the decade-plus of this intense global counterterrorism campaign is hard to overestimate: Without operational commanders and visionary leaders, terror groups decay into locally focused threats, or disappear altogether. But the London subway attacks in July 2005 illustrated the remaining potency of al Qaeda's core in the tribal areas of Pakistan.
See the full article (Foreign Policy, Philip Mudd, 5/24/13) *Foreign Policy sign-up may be required to view the full article
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USIP's Media, Conflict & Peacebuilding Roundup

 

United States Institute of Peace

 

Center of Innovation: Media, Conflict and Peacebuilding

Weekly News Roundup, May 23 - 29, 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

Pakistani Journalist Murdered
A Pakistani newspaper reporter was shot dead on Friday apparently for helping police in an investigation, reports the Karachi-based Express Tribune. Police said Ahmed Ali Joiya - who freelanced for several local papers and magazines - had been assisting officers while working on a crime story.
See the full article (Guardian, Roy Greenslade, 5/29/13)
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Dios Mío! Pentagon's Latest Weapon in Colombian Drug War? Soap Operas
The U.S. Army is introducing a new weapon in its fight to get Colombia's guerrillas to put down their guns: the soap opera. That's the gist of a recent Army request for proposals. According to the request, the Army wants a potential contractor to write and produce a total of 20 radio novela episodes, with eight episodes that "convey messages that promote demobilization," or encouraging armed groups to put down their weapons.
See the full article (Wired, Robert Beckhusen, 5/29/13)
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Journalists in Uganda Hit with Tear Gas While Protesting Media Crackdown
Ugandan police fired tear gas at journalists in the capital Kampala on Tuesday who were protesting against a media crackdown after press reports sparked a rare public debate on who will succeed aging President Yoweri Museveni. Authorities in the east African country halted operations at two newspapers and two radio stations on May 20.
See the full article (Reuters, Elias Biryabarema, 5/28/13)
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Syrian TV Reporter Killed Covering Conflict
A Syrian TV correspondent working for a pro-government channel has been killed while covering clashes near the border with Lebanon, the country's Information Ministry says, in the latest death of a journalist in Syria's more than two-year-old conflict. Yara Abbas, a prominent female war reporter for state-owned Al-Ikhbariyah TV, was attacked by rebels near the town of Qusayr in Homs province.
See the full article (Al Jazeera, 5/27/13)
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Violence Against Journalists in Afghanistan Increasing
The rise of independent media in Afghanistan has been one of the country's biggest achievements - but there are troubling signs for its future. A growing number of attacks on journalists, and the international community's continued silence on the issue, are drawing concern.
See the full article (Voice of America, Bethany Matta, 5/27/13)
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Print Media Thrives in Myanmar Where Internet is Limited
Although print media is often seen as past its prime in the U.S. and Europe, in many Asian countries such as China and India newspapers are thriving and expanding. One example is Myanmar, also known as Burma, where only 1 percent of the people have access to the Internet, and private daily newspapers are rushing into print after decades of being banned.
See the full article (NPR, Anthony Kuhn, 5/24/13)
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Internet and Social Media

U.S. Company Allegedly Aids Syria and Iran Censorship Efforts
The French investigative publication Reflets discovered that American company Blue Coat is currently providing the government of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad and that of the Islamic Republic of Iran with software to filter and spy on their countries' Internet activities in contravention of U.S. law.
See the full article (Mashable, Curt Hopkins, 5/29/13)
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Singapore to Require News Websites to be Licensed; Seen as Some as Bid to Control the Internet
Singapore's government says a new policy will require online news websites to be licensed, a move that is being criticized as a form of censorship in a country where media outlets are already strictly controlled. The policy will require websites that report regularly on Singapore news and have at least 50,000 visitors a month to obtain annual licenses.
See the full article (AP, 5/29/13)
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Iran's Approaching Vote Brings Receding Web Access
From a computer keyboard in London, an Iranian emigre plays the role of counselor, social media guru and all-around adviser for Internet users back home seeking ways around the cyber-blocks set up by authorities in Tehran. These have been busy days. The goal is to defeat Iran's Internet clampdowns, which have intensified in the approach to presidential elections on June 14.
See the full article (AP, Nasser Karimi, 5/27/13)
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Pakistan Teenager Rescued After Kidnap by Fake Facebook Friend
A 13-year-old boy who was kidnapped in the Pakistani city of Karachi after being lured into a meeting via Facebook has been rescued, police say. Police said that a criminal gang masqueraded as an online gaming friend and abducted him after arranging to meet him last week. Kidnapping is a tactic frequently used by militants and criminals in Pakistan.
See the full article (BBC, 5/27/13)
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What's New from PeaceMedia

"A Peace Bus to Address Gang Violence in Guatemala" - American Friends Service Committee
AFSC's Peace Bus in Guatemala travels around the city to provide urban youth with a "safe space" to receive counseling and learn conflict resolution skills. After having gained the confidence of the gang members, the Peace Truck achieved a peace agreement between gangs and the community mediated by a former gang member.
See the full video
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Click here to subscribe to USIP's Science, Technology and Peacebuilding News Roundup.

Did we miss anything?

 

 


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