• China is the worst violator of Internet freedom, says a report by Reporters Sans Frontieres, which also finds that Internet journalists in South Asia are vulnerable to frequent attacks because they lack the legal protection traditional media enjoys. In South Asia, Bangladesh and Pakistan are two countries where the situation is difficult for Internet users, says 'Internet Under Surveillance 2004'.
• Steve Kurtz, an arts professor in the US, has been arraigned and charged in a court on four counts of mail and wire fraud, each of which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. Kurtz had originally been charged with bio-terrorism, but government officials couldn't prove that charge and then accused him of petty larceny. Kurtz's lawyer says his client is being harassed, as the four charges could subject him to travel restrictions, random and scheduled visits from a probation office, and periodic drug tests.
• Forests of Central Africa, Nature and Man, a book written with the support of the European Union and released in July 2004, warns that biodiversity of the second largest block of rainforest on earth is threatened by the bush meat trade.
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