An official at China's Ministry of Public Security, which oversees Net control, declined to comment on the change or China's policy towards blocking Web sites. New crackdown on Syrian press Syria has announced new restrictions on the press, following a recent wave of arrests of dissidents calling for a multi-party system of government and freedom of speech. Although the new decree by President Bashar al-Assad allows the publication of private newspapers in Syria for the first time in more than 50 years, it sets down stringent conditions. Among items banned is news deemed to harm national security, the unity of society or Syria's international ties. Also prohibited is information about the strength of the army or its weapons, and any publication which calls for a change in the Syrian constitution or for civil disobedience will be closed down.
Violators faces three years' imprisonment.
The new restrictions on the press follow the arrest of several people active in calls for free speech and greater democracy following the death last year of the president's father, Hafez al-Assad, who had ruled Syria for 30 years. Critics praise Sun's 'sensible' coverage While most tabloid front pages this week screamed for the head of Osama bin Laden, the prime suspect in the US terrorist attacks, one stood out for its contrariness. The Sun, Britain's biggest-selling newspaper, owned by Rupert Murdoch, surprised even its staunchest critics with its ''sensible'' coverage. The red-top's early leader, ''Islam is not an evil religion'', prompted unlikely praise from The Guardian's Roy Greenslade who called it ''very sensible indeed''. Nothing sells newspapers like news,'' said The Observer's Peter Preston.