
China Cracks Down on Terrorism Reporting, May Demand Encryption Keys
China is considering tough new restrictions on its state-run media operations, using a new anti-terrorism law that could be in effect by New Year’s Day.

China is considering tough new restrictions on its state-run media operations, using a new anti-terrorism law that could be in effect by New Year’s Day.

The New York-based Human Rights Watch has published a report blasting the Malaysian government for clamping down on free speech in order to silence critics.

A bizarre government assault on Reason Magazine has been in progress for the past two weeks, and in a nice Kafkaesque touch, the magazine was barred from talking about the situation with a gag order.

On Sunday, Egypt’s minister for Religious Endowments, Mohamed Mokhtar Gomaa, called for an “international law to criminalize contempt of religion,” which would make it a crime to publish articles or cartoons showing disdain or ridicule of religions.

Employing its harshest and most candid language to date, the Vatican has condemned the actions of the Islamic State by name, declaring it guilty of “unspeakable crimes” and “repulsive and damnable” atrocities.

“I believe that religious freedom and freedom of speech are both fundamental human rights,” Pope Francis said on his flight to the Philippines Thursday morning. But “freedom of expression has limits,” he added.