Beijing
War on porn: China this week warned Google and several other popular Web portals that they must do more to block pornographic material from reaching Chinese users. Authorities said a Google search in China turned up “a large number of links to porn websites” and that Google had failed to take any effective steps to block the content. “Immediate action is needed to purify the Internet environment,” said government spokesperson Cai Mingzhao. “The government will continue to expose, punish, or even shut down those infamous websites that refuse to correct their wrongdoing.” A spokeswoman for Google China said Google “is neither the owner of those websites nor does it spread that information intentionally.”
Delhi
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Accusing Pakistan: The attackers who killed more than 160 people in Mumbai last November had Pakistani backing, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh charged this week. “There is enough evidence to show that, given the sophistication and military precision of the attack, it must have had the support of some official agencies in Pakistan,” Singh said, after reviewing a dossier on the attacks compiled by Indian security officials. U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher said it was clear the “attacks have links to Pakistan or lead to Pakistani soil,” but the U.S. has stopped short of asserting direct Pakistani government involvement. Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it “emphatically rejects the unfortunate allegations,” and said the dossier, which India shared with Pakistan, contained no proof to back them up.
Dhaka, Bangladesh
Meet the new boss: Bangladesh swore in a familiar face as prime minister this week, ending two years of military-backed emergency rule. Sheikh Hasina Wajed of the Awami League party trounced her rival, Khaleda Zia of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, in last week’s election, winning a clear majority in parliament. Both women, who have dominated Bangladeshi politics for the past two decades, were jailed for a year on corruption charges by the outgoing government, and both campaigned on platforms of remorse for past mistakes. “My first task,” Wajed said, “will be to improve the law and order situation and curb food prices.”
Tehran
Ahmadinejad gets nervous: Hard-liners in Iran are cracking down on reformists ahead of June’s presidential election. Authorities last week closed the reformist daily Kargozaran. They also recently shut down a human-rights center founded by Nobel Peace Prize winner Shirin Ebadi. The crackdown is seen as a sign that authorities are unsure whether President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will be able to win re-election on his own merits. Mohammad Khatami, a former president and a reformist who is considering a presidential run, still commands a strong following. “All the groups which support Khatami in one way or another are faced with increasing pressure now in order to force them to back down,” journalist Farzaneh Roostai told The New York Times.
Baghdad
World’s largest embassy: The U.S. officially opened its embassy in Iraq this week, the largest foreign mission in the world. The $592 million, 104-acre compound in Baghdad’s Green Zone will house at least 1,200 U.S. government employees from 14 federal agencies. If necessary, the compound can be completely self-sufficient, with its own well and power generator, separate from city utilities. Iraqis said the inauguration of the embassy was an important symbol that the U.S. is shifting from occupier to ally. “Now that we have a formal relationship with them, we can deal with the Americans in the embassy,” said Iraqi lawmaker Saleem al-Jabouri.
Mogadishu, Somalia
Power vacuum: Somalia was struggling to stave off anarchy this week after Ethiopian troops who had been protecting the U.N.-backed government began pulling out. Ethiopia said its two-year mission to stabilize its neighbor had come to an end. Somalia’s interim president, Abdullahi Yusuf, resigned last month, saying he had been unable to prevent Islamist insurgents from taking over much of the country. The acting president, Parliament Speaker Sheikh Adan Muhammad Nur, said Somalia would need additional international help. “We call upon the international community and our African brothers to be true to their word and bring in the forces they promised,” he said. Ghana, Nigeria, and South Africa have not yet met their pledges to send troops to join a small African Union peacekeeping force in the country.
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