http://southasia.oneworld.net/article/archive/1864 en_GB http://us.oneworld.net/link/gotolink/addhit/83720 The Uzbek government continues to persecute people believed to have ties to the 2005 Andijan massacre, when state security forces killed hundreds in an attempt to quell anti-government protests, says a new report from a human rights monitor. http://southasia.oneworld.net/article/view/160501/1/1864 Twenty-two Nobel Prize winners have written a letter to Indian prime minister and president for the release of Dr Binayak Sen, a public health and civil rights activist. There will be protests in several cities of India and the world to mark the first anniversary of his detention on May 14. http://us.oneworld.net/link/gotolink/addhit/83698 Exile-run media outlets and their undercover, in-country reporters have managed to keep independent news and information flowing on Myanmar politics, policies and natural disasters such as the May 2-3 cyclone. + Burma Regime Must Be Forced to Allow In Aid http://southasia.oneworld.net/article/view/160360/1/1864 Attacks on freedom of press are akin to attacks on international law, humanity and freedom itself, said UN head Ban Ki-moon on World Press Freedom Day, celebrated on May 3, drawing attention to the increasing targeting of journalists around the world and the failure to prosecute such crimes. http://africa.oneworld.net/article/view/160123/1/1864 Freelance journalist Frank Chikowore was on April 21, 2008 finally charged with public violence, appearing in court almost a week after his arrest together with six other accused persons among them the opposition MDC's director of information and publicity, Luke Tamborinyoka. http://southasia.oneworld.net/article/view/160057/1/1864 Come May 10 and Burmese citizens will vote to endorse a constitution that took a decade and a half to be drafted. The military junta, however, seems to have its own plans to swing the tide in its favour. http://southasia.oneworld.net/article/view/160020/1/1864 Frail but fierce Irom Sharmila has been on hunger strike for the last eight years demanding a repeal of the draconian Armed Forces Special Powers Act in Manipur. The Act empowering armed forces to shoot and kill insurgents continues to be grossly misused in the north-eastern Indian state. http://africa.oneworld.net/article/view/159996/1/1864 Journalist Maxwell Ngambi has been arrested by the Police on suspicion that he wanted to interview a former Speaker of parliament and cabinet minister, Sam Mpasu from a prison without authority. http://africa.oneworld.net/article/view/159965/1/1864 A senior reporter, Kaiko Namusa from the state owned Newspaper, Times of Zambia, was assaulted and detained for over an hour at Chipata Central Police for taking pictures of police officers who were manhandling a cyclist for allegedly breaking traffic rules.Asenior reporter, Kaiko Namusa from the state owned Newspaper, Times of Zambia, was assaulted and detained for over an hour at Chipata Central Police for taking pictures of police officers who were manhandling a cyclist for allegedly breakin http://tv.oneworld.net/article/view/159928/1/1864 http://southasia.oneworld.net/article/view/159761/1/1864 As a first legislative step towards getting rid of the remnants of Emergency, the new Pakistani government has tabled a bill in the national assembly seeking to revoke the draconian gag imposed on the country’s electronic media. A separate bill is also round the corner that will undo the restrictions on print media. http://africa.oneworld.net/article/view/159654/1/1864 As speculation continues to mount on the outcome of the Zimbabwe presidential election, the number of arrests of journalists continues to rise with two more foreign journalists arrested on April 3, 2008. http://southasia.oneworld.net/article/view/159637/1/1864 Prominent citizens of India have written to the Prime Minister urging him to reconsider the Foreign Contributions (Regulation) Bill, 2006. The proposed law gives authorities the arbitrary power to refuse or cancel registration of organisations, which may put NGOs critical of government policies at risk. http://africa.oneworld.net/article/view/159488/1/1864 Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) on March 20, 2008, sought a High court order to bar publication of the private weekly, Zimbabwe Independent, which was about to disclose details relating to the organisation’s director-general Happyton Bonyongwe. http://southasia.oneworld.net/article/view/159366/1/1864 Amnesty International has released details of prison sentences handed out by the Myanmar junta to 40 protestors. Three have been sentenced for giving water to monks on streets. The action is politically motivated and negates people’s peaceful exercise of their human rights, says the international rights body.