22 MARCH 2014

Ø  Shubhranshu Choudhary, independent journalist and author of the controversial Let’s call him Vasu , has won the 2014 Digital Activism Award from the U.K.-based charity organisation Index on Censorship.

Ø  President Vladimir Putin signed into law Crimea’s absorption into Russia as his defence chief dispelled concerns about Russia’s possible invasion of Eastern Ukraine. Shortly after the Russian Parliament’s upper house on Friday ratified Crimea’s accession treaty, Mr. Putin signed the ratification act and a law creating two new administrative units in Russia: Crimea and separately, the city of Sevastopol, home to the Russian Black Sea Fleet. It took the Kremlin less than a week to complete legal formalities for making Crimea a part of Russia following an overwhelming vote in Crimea last Sunday for breaking with Ukraine and rejoining Russia.