Asia
Chinese newspaper journalists in rare strike
Journalists at a major Chinese paper, the Southern Weekly, have gone on strike in a rare protest against censorship. The row was sparked last week when the paper’s New Year message calling for reform was changed by propaganda officials. Staff wrote two letters calling for the provincial propaganda chief to step down. Another row then erupted over control of the paper’s microblog. Supporters of the paper have gathered outside its office, reports say, with some carrying banners reading: “we want press freedom, constitutionalism and democracy”. Southern Weekly is arguably China’s most-respected paper, known for impactful investigations and for pushing against the limits of freedom of speech in China. Chinese media are supervised by ‘propaganda departments’, which often change content to align it with party thinking.
Delhi gang rape suspects appear in Indian court as police suspended over new rape/murder case
Five men accused of the abduction, gang rape and murder of 23-year-old woman in Delhi have been remanded in custody after a preliminary hearing in a case that has shocked India. After chaotic scenes in open court, the judge ordered a closed hearing. The case is expected to be transferred to a new fast-track court for trial. It comes as four policemen have been suspended over the handling of another suspected rape and murder case in Delhi over the weekend: the father of a 21-year-old woman, whose body was found on Saturday, told journalists from the BBC that she was gang-raped. He said police initially failed to react when he reported her disappearance, suggesting instead she had gone away with someone. Two men have been arrested and a third suspect has reportedly fled.
Middle East
Bahrain rejects jailed opposition activists’ appeal
Bahrain’s highest appeal court has upheld the sentences of 13 activists for their part in anti-government protests in 2011, lawyers say. This was their last possible chance of getting their convictions overturned, according to their defence lawyers. Some of the activists received life sentences after being convicted of plotting to overthrow the state. Bahrain has been wracked by unrest since pro-democracy demonstrations began in February 2011.
US condemns Assad’s ‘Western puppets’ speech
The United States has condemned a speech by Syria’s President Assad that denounced his opponents as “puppets of the West”. The US state department said a peace plan outlined by President Assad was “detached from reality”, calling it “another attempt by the regime to cling to power”. The European Union reacted by restating that President Assad had to “step aside and allow for a political transition”. Sunday’s televised speech was Bashar al-Assad’s first public address since June. He denounced opponents as “enemies of God and puppets of the West” and said Syria wanted to negotiate with the “master not the servants”.
Europe
Basel liquidity agreement boosts bank shares
European bank shares have risen following the weekend agreement on the minimum quantities of cash and easy-to-sell assets that banks must hold. A previous draft two years ago said they would have to meet new requirements by 2015, but that has now been extended to 2019. The reserves are designed to make banks less vulnerable to lots of customers trying to withdraw their money. It is the first time there have been liquidity rules covering global banks. The agreement was made by the group of banking regulators that oversees the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision – the same group is trying to set minimum capital requirements, which would enable banks to better absorb losses.
North America
Obama to nominate John Brennan as CIA head
US President Barack Obama is to nominate his current counter-terrorism adviser John Brennan, who has worked for the CIA for 25 years, as director of the Central Intelligence Agency, say White House officials. Mr Brennan was considered for the role in 2008, but withdrew his name amid questions of his connection to ‘enhanced interrogation’ techniques used under George W Bush’s administration. He wrote to Mr Obama at the time saying he had strongly opposed some such policies, which included waterboarding. Mr Brennan will be formally nominated later today. Chuck Hagel will be put forward as the president’s next defence secretary. Both appointments must be confirmed by the Senate. Mr Brennan was heavily involved in planning the 2011 raid that killed al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden. Mr Hagel is a 66-year-old former Republican senator. He has faced criticism from his former party in Congress, who say he is anti-Israel and soft on Iran.
Latin America
Nine dead in Mexico bar shootings
Heavily armed gunmen in northern Mexico have killed at least nine people in attacks on two bars, which happened within minutes of each other in the city of Torreon in Coahuila state. Police believe they were carried out by gangs vying for control of drug trafficking activities in Coahuila. No arrests have yet been made. Three other bars in Torreon have been targeted in similar attacks in the past few days. Most of the victims were in the Tornado bar and nightclub; witnesses say armed men burst into the bar in the early hours of Sunday and began shooting randomly. Minutes earlier, a similar shooting had taken place in Futuro bar elsewhere in the city, with two people dead there. New Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, inaugurated last month, said reducing violence in Mexico would be a top priority for his administration. His predecessor, Felipe Calderon, deployed the army to fight Mexico’s powerful drug cartels in December 2006. Critics say this has caused an escalation in violence, and though several drug lords have been arrested or killed, an estimated 60,000 people have died in drug-related fighting in the past six years.
Bolivia accuses USA of plotting against its president
Bolivia has “irrefutable evidence” that the United States has been working to destabilise the government of President Evo Morales, says Minister of the Presidency Juan Ramon Quintana. Mr Quintana said proof of improper activities involving the US embassy would be given to President Obama. Mr Morales expelled the US ambassador in 2008 after accusing him of plotting against his government. He has had an uneasy relationship with the USA ever since he came to power in 2006, due to tensions over drug enforcement and the nationalisation of many foreign companies. An Aymara Indian, Mr Morales is Bolivia’s first president of indigenous descent. He was also a leader of the coca-growers’ union, and is a close ally of Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez and Rafael Correa of Ecuador, both of whom have been critical of US policies in the region.
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