Full Coverage: Information & media

24.02.2006 The subject of piracy has gained on prominence with the start, twenty days or so ago, of the first phase of screening of the legislation that regulates the protection of intellectual property and copyrights in Croatia, under the negotiations for Croatian membership into the European Union.

21.02.2006 SAN FRANCISCO, Feb 21 (OneWorld) - Media reform groups are calling for a deeper investigation of Bush administration advertising and propaganda efforts following the release of a report that concludes the White House has spun a web of public relations (PR) contracts larger than previously thought.

21.02.2006 The Government of Croatia published a list of public administration bodies for 2006, officially signed by Damir Polancec, the Vice-President of the Government. There is one striking omission from the list, the Croatian Radio and Television, meaning that the national public broadcaster is not among the 195 institutions that will be obligated to answer inquiries under the Law on Free Access to Information.

17.02.2006 GKP is pleased to announce the 2nd GKP International Forum on Cross-Sector Partnerships on "", to be held in Colombo, Sri Lanka from 8-9 May 2006. More than 200 leaders from Business, Civil Society, Government, International Organisations and Academia will convene at the Forum to both share innovations in ICT for development (ICT4D) and explore new innovative partnership-based initiatives using information and communications technologies (ICT) to create prosperity.

16.02.2006 Lawmakers in the US Congress on Wednesday accused US Internet providers of putting the quest for profits ahead of ethics in cooperating with China's censorship of online information. The stinging criticism came at a hearing in the House of Representatives, where senior officials from Microsoft, Google, Yahoo and Cisco Systems were the star witnesses.

16.02.2006 Nepal's royal government on Thursday lifted remaining restrictions on mobile phones, weeks after shutting down services to try to prevent dissidents from organizing anti-government protests, a telecommunication official said.

14.02.2006 The Network of Information and Computer Technology (NICT), which is an NGO based in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, has taken up the automation of Amlaha Gram Panchayat (local self governance) in district Sehore.

10.02.2006 Sources said community radio, which has been playing an im portant role in transmitting local information, E–learning, entertainment, disasters management and mass awareness on different issues in most of the countries of the world, could be turned into a major means of transmitting information in Bangladesh during natural disasters in the coastal areas

08.02.2006 The Rural Media Network of Pakistan has launched a new publication dedicated to providing rural-based journalists with news and information about freedom of expression issues. Supported by UNESCO and the newspaper "Nawa-i-Ahmedpur Sharqia", the newsletter is called "Sadiq News" and is published in Urdu. Its first issue was printed in January 2006.

08.02.2006 Jo Dongwon, who belongs to a South Korean activist group that broadcasts its own reports about trade meetings or Asian summits, is not trying to compete with international networks like the Cable News Network (CNN) in terms of reach, flash and cash.

05.02.2006 Cracking under pressure from Chinese officials, Yahoo provided private account-holder information to Chinese authorities which resulted in a ten-year prison sentence for Shi Tao, a journalist. Amnesty International is asking supporters to stand up for Tao’s rights and voice concern about Yahoo’s disregard of freedom of expression and international law.

03.02.2006 Jeff Zimbalist wanted to make a film “about communities that succeed, that overcome great diversity.” He’s done it, reports Daniel Nelson.

02.02.2006 The Security and Information Agency (BIA) filed a lawsuit to cancel the decision by the Commissioner for Free Access to Information, which ordered BIA to provide the Youth Initiative for Human Rights the information on the number of persons whose communications were tapped in 2005, reports YIHR.

01.02.2006 La sixième édition du Forum Social Mondial (FSM) a déjà commencé. La lancée s'est donnée à Bamako, au Mali, le 19 janvier. Cette fois-ci, le FSM est polycentrique et décentralisé, et il sera effectué dans trois villes de différents continents : Bamako (Mali/Afrique), Caracas (Vénézuéla/Amériques) et Karachi (Pakistan/Asie).