One hundred villagers in south-west China were removed from their homes by a force of 300 riot police last Friday. Authorities ordered the armed force to evacuate the village so that they could hand over the land to developers who they had recently sold it to. The villagers have received almost nothing from the deal and most of them have ended up homeless as a result. They will inevitably follow in the path of tens of thousands of other Chinese individuals who are pursuing futile legal chases. See the video of the exiled villagers and read the commentary of a Chinese blogger, He Weihua. Read more...

Report by Team Observers

President Pervez Musharraf announced on Thursday that the legislative elections will take place before 15 February. But the state of emergency stays in place and access to non-state television channels is still blocked. However, an online protest movement is gaining speed as increasing numbers of local internet users get involved. The Observers Team has compiled some of the material produced by these citizen journalists.

Material compiled by our regional editor for the Middle-East, Marc Daou

Freedom of expression is kept under close supervision in Syria, and the internet is no exception to the rule. The latest example cites the case of Roukana Hamour, a family woman who ran for the last legislative elections to denounce the corruption and vote-catching of the authorities.

Post your questions to Marc Daou and Roukana Hamour