Russia

Vladimir Putin: Russian president sworn in while police attack protesters

Vladimir Putin assumed the presidency once again promising to expand civil rights and freedoms and extend participation in government. But the inaugural was punctuated with police sweeps, hundred of detentions and attacks on citizens wearing white ribbons showing opposition to Putin.-db From The New York Times, May 7, 2012, by Ellen Barry and Sophia Kishkovsky with reporting contributed by Michael Schwirtz and Andrew Kramer. Full story  

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Surprise among countries jailing the most journalists per capita

The Committee to Protect Journalists of the CJR is most concerned with the murder of journalists in Russia and Syria and the long-term incarceration of reporters. The number of nations hostile to free speech and press includes the usual suspects: China, Ethiopia, Iran, Vietnam, and Sudan. But it is surprising that Israel ranks second in the number of journalists in prison although aspiring to be a modern democracy. -db From an analysis for the Columbia

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