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China warned against net censorship during Olympics

With the Beijing Olympics approximately four months away, Chinese organizers are being warned that the internet must be open during the games and that restrictions would paint a bad picture of China.

This latest warning came from Kevin Gosper, the vice chairman of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) coordinating commission.

“Our concern is that the press (should be) able to operate as it has at previous games” Gosper said. “There was some criticism that the Internet closed down during events relating to Tibet in previous weeks.”

A spokeswoman for the Chinese foreign ministry was noncommittal during an interview with the Associated Press; she compared China’s bans to that of other countries and did not promise unfettered access for journalists.

Zimbabwe elections could oust Mugabe

Elections in the African nation of Zimbabwe on Saturday appear to have given control of the parliament to the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), and the 28-year rule of President Robert Mugabe may be in jeopardy.

Mugabe has been the nation’s only leader since it achieved independence from the United Kingdom in 1980. He has faced widespread criticism from the international community, especially for his land redistribution campaign which, since 2000, has crippled the economy and caused white farmers to leave the country. Zimbabwe is also dealing with an inflation rate that has climbed to 100,000%, rendering the currency nearly worthless.

No official results have yet been released, but the MDC has said that its leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, won with 50.3% of the vote compared to Mugabe’s 43.8%. The MDC is calling on Mugabe to concede defeat in the presidential election. Mugabe is rejecting the claim that he has lost and is threatening to punish the MDC for releasing their own voting tallies, calling such behavior an attempt at a coup.