Moscow
New propaganda arm: Russian President Vladimir Putin this week dissolved the state-run news agency RIA Novosti and replaced it with a new agency to be run by an ultraconservative television anchor. In one of its last reports, RIA Novosti called its dissolution “the latest in a series of shifts in Russia’s news landscape, which appear to point toward a tightening of state control in the already heavily regulated media sector.” The new agency, Russia Today, will focus more on promotion of Kremlin interests than on straight news coverage. The man named to head it, Dmitry Kiselyov, is known for his anti-American and anti-gay rants on his Sunday TV news show.
Pyongyang, North Korea
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Kim purges uncle: In an extraordinary public humiliation, North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un has fired his uncle and longtime mentor, Jang Song Thaek, calling him “dissolute and depraved.” A shrill announcement in state media said Jang was guilty of drug use, womanizing, and undermining the Workers’ Party of Korea. His image has been excised from official photos, and there were rumors that he had been executed. Jang, who was on the National Defense Commission, was considered Kim’s second in command. “It shows Kim Jong Un is firmly in control and confident enough to remove even the senior-most officials,” said Bruce Klingner of the Heritage Foundation.
Beijing
Reporters banished: China is kicking out reporters from The New York Times and Bloomberg in apparent retaliation for stories about the extravagant wealth of Communist Party leaders. Chinese authorities have refused to renew the visas of some two dozen journalists, meaning that after the visas expire at the end of this year the two news providers will have no reporters in the country. Other foreign correspondents say Chinese authorities have introduced more restrictions this year and denied permission to film or report in sensitive areas. Vice President Joe Biden complained to Chinese leaders about press intimidation on his trip to China last week. “Innovation thrives where people breathe freely, speak freely, are able to challenge orthodoxy,” Biden said, “and where newspapers can report the truth without fear of consequences.”
New Delhi
Crime to be gay: India’s Supreme Court has re-criminalized homosexuality. The court this week overturned the historic 2009 Delhi High Court ruling that had found India’s colonial-era anti-homosexuality law unconstitutional. Changing the law should be up to Parliament, not the courts, the judges said. Conservative Hindus and other religious groups celebrated the decision, while gay rights groups were shocked. “It’s a black day for us,” said activist Anjali Gopalan. “I feel so exhausted right now thinking we are being set back by 100 years.” The law calls gay sex “against the order of nature” and punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
Singapore
Immigrants riot: Singapore experienced its first riot in four decades this week, drawing attention to poverty among immigrants in the authoritarian city-state. The fight broke out after one of the huge buses that ferry migrant workers from their dorms to the nightclub area of Little India ran over an intoxicated Indian worker, killing him. Hundreds of South Asians tussled with police for more than an hour, and some two dozen were arrested. If convicted, they could be caned. Authorities this week banned the sale of alcohol in Little India, but critics said the real problem is the poor treatment of the army of migrants who do construction and domestic work. Their average wage is around $500 a month, compared with $3,500 for Singaporean natives.
Johannesburg
Political handshake: President Obama surprised Cubans and Americans alike this week by shaking the hand of Cuban leader Raúl Castro at the memorial service for Nelson Mandela. The U.S. and Cuba don’t have formal diplomatic relations, and Republican lawmakers were furious at the gesture. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) called it “nauseating and disheartening,” while Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) likened it to Britain’s Neville Chamberlain shaking hands with Hitler. The White House said the handshake was an unplanned courtesy. In any case, Obama’s not the first president to be polite to a Castro: Bill Clinton shook hands with Fidel at the U.N. in 2000.
