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	Measuring the impact of the Web on the world’s people by Tim Berners-Lee World Wide Web Foundation   The World Wide Web Foundation has launched the Web Index – a new country-by-country global study that measures the impact of the Web on the world’s people and nations.   Web inventor and Web Foundation founder Tim Berners-Lee hosted an event in London to mark the launch of the Index. He was joined in conversation by two of the world’s leading Web experts: Wael Ghonim, internet activist and Head of Marketing of Google Middle East & North Africa, and Juliana Rotich, co-founder and Executive Director of Ushahidi, the Kenyan crowd-mapping platform.   Their discussion was moderated by Stephen Fry, one of the UK’s most influential Tweeters and an advocate of internet freedom.   Tim Berners-Lee said: ”The Web Index was created to measure the state of the Web in the world. Each country will see not only where they rank compared to others, but also what the World Wide Web Foundation thinks they need to do to improve.”   The highest ranking country in the Web Index is Sweden. The US ranks second, and the UK third. Yemen is the lowest ranking country in the Index, preceded by Zimbabwe. The complete dataset of the Web Index is published here. http://thewebindex.org/   The idea, according to Berners-Lee, is to combine quantitative measures with social and political indicators to paint a more complete picture of the web''s impact on humanity. "By shining a light on the barriers to web for everyone, the index is a powerful tool that will empower individuals, government and organizations to improve their societies," Berners-Lee said. "The web is a global conversation. Growing suppression of free speech, both online and offline, is possibly the single biggest challenge to the future of the web."   The Web Index compiles country-level data pertaining to three general spheres: web usage, readiness, and human impact. Usage is measured by the percentage of web users within a given country, as well as the content available to them. Web readiness is determined according to a country''s communications infrastructure, regulatory climate, and censorship policies. Human impact, meanwhile, is gauged according to a variety of economic, political, and social indicators, including the penetration of social networks and business web usage.   Indicators are graphically displayed on a global map, where users can easily see where each country ranks in a given area. Sweden tops the organization''s overall rankings, followed, in order, by the US and the UK. The rankings also expose rather stark, if unsurprising discrepancies across developed and developing countries. Six European nations are in the Index''s top ten list, whereas its bottom ten includes seven African countries. For now, the Web Index covers 61 developed and developing nations across Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East, though it will eventually expand to include more than 100. Visit the related web page
	German TV crew attacked while filming at Chinese factory by Tania Branigan Guardian News   17 August 2012   "Angry workers shouted "kill the foreign spies".   A German television crew had to be rescued by Chinese armed police after it was attacked and detained for nine hours while filming near a chemical factory earlier this week.   Broadcaster ARD said angry workers shouted "kill the foreign spies" as the four-person team was held at the Do-Fluoride plant near Jiaozuo in Zhongzhan county, Henan province.   Reporter Christine Adelhardt said security guards detained them as they filmed a story on pollution outside the factory.   Local police tried to protect them as angry workers gathered outside the factory canteen, where they were being held, but were overrun when the crowd stormed the building.   The workers attacked the team, seized the camera and took the tape, but did not let them go. The camera was later handed back.   The German crew escaped only when a team of armed police arrived to escort them off the premises, saying later: "Factory officials appeared to have misinformed workers and agitated against us.   People reached at the factory would not give their names but confirmed to Associated Press that the German crew had been there. Police and local government officials referred queries to a number that rang unanswered.   Last month, Japan''s Asahi Shimbun newspaper lodged a complaint with the Chinese government after one of its reporters was beaten while covering an environmental protest in Nantong, Jiangsu province.   The newspaper said Atsushi Okudera was attacked while taking pictures of demonstrators under attack by police. His camera was seized by police and 15 to 20 officers surrounded him, shoved him to the ground and kicked him, it added. They did not return his camera.
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