News Roundup Archive

Thursday, August 15, 2013

USIP's Media, Conflict & Peacebuilding Roundup

 

United States Institute of Peace

 

Center of Innovation: Media, Conflict and Peacebuilding

Weekly News Roundup, August 8 - 14, 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

3 Journalists, Including Sky News Cameraman, Dubai Newspaper Reporter, Killed in Egypt
Three journalists, including a cameraman for British broadcaster Sky News and a Dubai-based newspaper reporter, were killed and several were injured in the violence that erupted in Egypt on Wednesday. Media watchdogs urged Egypt to investigate all attacks on journalists and to hold those responsible to account.
See the full article (AP, 8/14/13)
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Kuwait Pulls Cleric from TV Over Sectarianism
Government officials in Kuwait have pulled a prominent cleric off television over previous comments they say stoked sectarian tensions and promoted an al-Qaeda-linked rebel group in Syria. Shafi al-Ajmi's show, "Following the Path of the Prophet," premiered on Monday on state television in Kuwait.
See the full article (AP, 8/13/13)
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What a Murder Mystery Reveals About Chinese Censorship
Omission and misdirection is hardly uncommon in domestic Chinese reporting, but the digital age has significantly complicated the process of suppressing information. The tactic is telling of the censors’ strategy: it doesn’t much matter if the barrier is linguistic or digital, as long as the vast majority of readers in China remain unable to surmount the divide.
See the full article (New Yorker, Jiayang Fan, 8/12/13)
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Tanzanian Journalists Self-censor for Fear of Attack, Harassment - Report
Conditions for journalists are worsening in Tanzania, with reporters increasingly being harassed, attacked and censoring their work out of fear of reprisal, a study has found. Afraid of offend the authorities and worried about their safety, journalists are failing to report the whole story on topics like corruption and political and civil unrest.
See the full article (Reuters, Kizito Makoye, 8/9/13)
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Journalists in Syria Face Dangers of War and Rising Risk of Abduction
Abductions of journalists inside Syria have increased sharply this year as the ravages of the conflict have worsened and the insurgency has turned more jihadist and chaotic, making the country one of the most hostile conflict zones for news gatherers in recent memory, according to news media advocacy organizations, rights workers and veteran correspondents.
See the full article (New York Times, Rick Gladstone, 8/9/13)*NYT sign-up may be required to view the full article
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Media Myopia and the Image of Africa
There seems to be no limit to the media's unwitting capacity to mischaracterize the African continent. The print and broadcast media have usually constructed an African narrative of endless ethnic warfare, incessant drought, tragic famine, unspeakable epidemics, rampant rape and chilling child abuse.
See the full article (Huffington Post, Paul Stoller, 8/8/13)
Click to read "Radio’s Power for Peace Among South Sudan’s Youth" an Olive Branch Post by Theo Dolan and Christine Mosher.
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Internet and Social Media

Covert Twitter Ops: Israel's Latest (Mis)Adventure in Digital Diplomacy
There's a new front in the social media wars: Israeli university campuses. In cooperation with Israel's national student union, Haaretz reported today, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office is planning to create "covert units" of students who will fight for the country -- on social media, that is.
See the full article (Foreign Policy, Elias Groll, 8/14/13)
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North Korea 'Makes Home-grown' Arirang Smartphone
North Korea says it has produced its first home-grown smartphone, but experts have disputed its origins. The Arirang handset, described as a "hand phone" in state media, was shown to leader Kim Jong-un during a factory tour.
See the full article (BBC, Dave Lee, 8/13/13)
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WikiLeaks’ Teenage Benedict Arnold
When he met Julian Assange for the first time, Sigurdur Thordarson admired the WikiLeaks founder’s attitude and quickly signed up to the cause. But little more than a year later, Thordarson was working as an informant spying on WikiLeaks for the U.S. government—embroiling himself as a teenager in one of the most complicated international events in recent history.
See the full article (Slate, Ryan Gallagher, 8/9/13)
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Colombia’s President Seeks US Clarification on Electronic Spying
President Juan Manuel Santos said Thursday that he is seeking clarification from Washington on whether its intelligence-gathering in Colombia has overstepped the countries’ joint operations against drug traffickers and illegal armed groups. Santos said in an interview with The Associated Press that U.S. Vice President Joe Biden called him about the issue following revelations by former U.S. intelligence contractor Edward Snowden that massive U.S digital snooping has targeted allies as well as foes.
See the full article (AP, 8/8/13)
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What's New from PeaceMedia

"Science & Technology Entrepreneurs Park - India" - World Bank
Business Incubators help to improve the survival and growth of innovative start-up companies by providing facilities, management advice and support services. STEP is a model interface institution, which delivers innovation, science and technology and entrepreneurship through training, development and consultancy initiatives. It has been continually engaged in promoting a new genre of entrepreneurs and many new initiatives for ushering in technology based growth.
See the full video
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USIP's Science, Technology & Peacebuilding Roundup

United States Institute of Peace

 

Center of Innovation: Science, Technology and Peacebuilding

Weekly News Roundup, August 8 - 14, 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.**


Covert Twitter Ops: Israel's Latest (Mis)Adventure in Digital Diplomacy
There's a new front in the social media wars: Israeli university campuses. In cooperation with Israel's national student union, Haaretz reported today, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office is planning to create "covert units" of students who will fight for the country -- on social media, that is.
See the full article (Foreign Policy, Elias Groll, 8/14/13)
[Return to top]

Dalai Lama's Chinese Website Hacked and Infected
The Chinese-language website of the Tibetan government-in-exile, whose spiritual head is the Dalai Lama, has been hacked and infected with viruses. Experts at computer security company Kaspersky Lab warned that the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) site had been compromised. It is believed the malicious software could be used to spy on visitors.
See the full article (BBC, Joe Miller, 8/13/13)
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How Much Data the NSA Really Gets
Fear not, says the NSA, we "touch" only 1.6% of daily internet traffic. If, as they say, the net carries 1,826 petabytes of information per day, then the NSA "touches" about 29 petabytes a day. They don't say what "touch" means. Ingest? Store? Analyze? For context, Google in 2010 said it had indexed only 0.004% of the data on the net.
See the full article (Guardian, Jeff Jarvis, 8/13/13)
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Sinai Drone Strike Reports Downplayed by Israel
Egyptian helicopters fired on a meeting of suspected militants in the country's Sinai Peninsula, officials said Sunday, killing at least 12 people as authorities stepped up their attacks following an Israeli drone strike in the region. The helicopter attack came as Egyptian and Israeli officials tried to downplay the drone strike Friday in the largely lawless Sinai.
See the full article (AP, Ashraf Sweilam, 8/11/13)
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Scientific Feud: Does Global Warming Make Us More Violent?
A group of scientists recently released a paper claiming that global warming makes violent conflict more likely. Others, though, have sharply criticized the study, leading to a widening scientific tiff. In related news, it has been a hot summer.
See the full article (Spiegel, 8/11/13)
Click to read about USIP's upcoming event "Water Security and Conflict Prevention Summit" on September 10 at 8:30am.
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Satellite Images Show Syria Neighborhoods Before and After Scud Missile Strikes
Newly released aerial photos from Syria’s largest city, taken between September 2012 and May 2013, depict widespread destruction of historic and cultural sites, evidence of infrastructure damage and “relentless bombardment” in civilian areas — all signs, according to Amnesty International, that the Syrian regime has shown “utter disregard” for international law.
See the full article (Washington Post, Caitlin Dewey, 8/9/13)
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Snowden’s E-mail Provider is Closing, Cannot Legally Say Why
The e-mail service used by National Security Agency (NSA) leaker Edward Snowden is suspending operations. And they can’t tell us why — although this cryptic post heavily suggests it has something to do with a government request for information.
See the full article (Washington Post, Andrea Peterson, 8/8/13)
[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?

 

 


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