<p> Government blocks YouTube, file-sharing sites to stop viewing of anti-Islam film</p>

<p>The International AIDS Society (IAS) today &nbsp;expressed grave concern over the sentencing of Hu Jia - a prominent Chinese human rights activist - on charges of subversion, and called for Mr Jia&rsquo;s immediate and unconditional release. </p>

<p>Higher percentage of population displaced than in Sudan, Iraq, Uganda, Colombia or the Democratic Republic of Cong</p>

<p><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Tahoma">Six months after the authorities violently suppressed demonstrations in Myanmar, at least 40 protesters, including seven monks, have been given prison sentences, according to new research by Amnesty International. </span></p>

<p><font face="tahoma,arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="2"><font face="Verdana" size="2"><font face="tahoma,arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><strong><font size="2">The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has been informed by the Working<br />Group on Justice for Peace (WGJP) that a man was shot dead and another<br />was reportedly tortured after being arbitrarily arrested on 18 March<br />2008 by military task force in Southern Thailand. The relatives of the<br />arrestee witnessed several bruises and remarks on his body.</font></strong></font></font></font></p>

<p>The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has been informed of the death of a man in a military camp in southern Thailand on 21 March 2008. Five other arrestees were transferred to another camp after this incident. The AHRC calls for a thorough police investigation and prosecution of those responsible.</p>

<p><font size="2">&quot;The situation also demands attention by the Human Rights Council at its current session.&quot; and</font> <span style="font-size: 16pt"><font face="tahoma,arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="2">Free Tibet Network organizes demonstration to Support TIBETANS in front of Chinese Embassy, 19th Morning.</font></span></p>

<p>The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma) (AAPPB) and the Forum For Democracy in&nbsp; Burma (FDB) will launch the &quot;Free Burma&#39;s Political Prisoners Now!&quot; campaign today in Thailand to mark International Human Rights Day. The campaign demands the release of the 1,873 political prisoners detained in jails throughout Burma and condemns the use of systematic torture, the failed judicial system and targeted harassment of political prisoners&#39; families. </p>

<p><span>The </span><span>Information and Communications Technology Ministry is to &lsquo;hack and crack' foreign websites deemed offensive to Thailand's revered institutions. </span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span>A March 15 report in </span><span>Krungthep Turakij newspaper (</span><u><a href="http://www.bangkokbiznews.com/"><span>www.bangkokbiznews.com</span></a></u><span>) quoted a source at the ICT that the ministry could pursue legal proceedings only with websites registered in Thailand, and is now planning a &lsquo;hack and crack' programme to hack offensive websites hosted abroad and delete their contents, because the legal process would take too long.</span></p>

<p>Civil society has started to campaign for the Samak government to take heed of the public say in drafting an organic law within this year to govern negotiating procedure of future trade deals.</p>

<p>The stunning setback to Malaysia&#39;s ruling coalition in the country&#39;s recent national elections underscores the people&#39;s demand for political and democratic reforms, and the need for greater openness in the Southeast Asian country.</p>

<p>Eight non-governmental organisations presented their joint statement in the interactive dialogue with Hina Jilani, the UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General on the situation of human rights defenders (HRDs), at the 7th session of the UN Human Right Council in Geneva. The organisations expressed their concerns over the risks human rights defenders in Asia face today.</p>