Kyrgyzstan shuts down prominent news outlet
Bishkek, Kazakhstan Reuters A court in Kyrgyzstan has ruled to dissolve a non-governmental organisation that ran a popular news website often critical of the government. The court order late on Friday to shut down Kloop.kg follows raids on several other media outlets and arrests of their reporters, which Western governments have criticised as a crackdown […]
Essay: How Erdogan held onto power in Turkey, and what this means for the country’s future
MEHMET OZALP, director of The Centre for Islamic Studies and Civilisation at Charles Sturt University in Australia, looks at what President Recep Tayyib Erdogan’s election win and what it means for the nation…
Sudanese journalists form independent union to defend freedoms
Khartoum, Sudan Reuters Sudanese journalists have formed the country’s first independent professional union for decades, in what campaigners said was an important step towards re-establishing freedoms after a military coup. “The victory is to regain our syndicate after more than 30 years in order to defend the freedom and professionalism of the press,” said one […]
Reporter gunned down in latest attack on Mexican journalists
Mexico City, MexicoReuters A Mexican reporter was killed Wednesday in one of the country’s most violent northern border states, authorities and his employer said, the latest in a series of attacks in one of the world’s most dangerous countries for journalists. Antonio de la Cruz, a journalist for local newspaper Expreso, was shot and killed […]
Pope defends media freedom, pays tribute to killed reporters
Vatican CityReuters Pope Francis on Sunday paid tribute to journalists who have died or been jailed in the line of duty, defending a free press and praising those in the media who courageously report on “humanity’s wounds”. Pope Francis waves during Regina Caeli prayer, in Saint Peter’s Square at the Vatican, on 1st May. PICTURE: […]
Essay: How colonial-era laws are being used to shut down independent journalism in Hong Kong
In an article first published on The Conversation, academics YAN-HO LAI and YUEN CHAN look at how old laws are being employed in the crackdown on media outlets in Hong Kong…
Essay: Increasing numbers of physical attacks on European journalists as they report on COVID and other stories
In an article first published on The Conversation, SARA TORSNER, a post-doctoral research fellow at the University of Sheffield’s Centre for Freedom of the Media, says the rising incidence of attacks on journalists sends a “worrying signal” about media freedom…
Number of jailed journalists reached global high in 2021, at least 24 killed for their coverage -CPJ report
Reuters The number of journalists worldwide who are behind bars reached a global high in 2021, according to a new report from the non-profit Committee to Protect Journalists, which says that 293 reporters were imprisoned as of 1st December this year. At least 24 journalists were killed because of their coverage, and 18 others died […]
Unusual secrecy attends Biden’s first meeting with Pope Francis as President
Washington DC, US/Rome, ItalyRNS When President Ronald Reagan visited St John Paul II in June of 1982 with first lady Nancy Reagan, the press trailed the distinguished group as the pontiff squired the couple and their staffers to the Vatican’s inner sanctums and looked on, according to a New York Times reporter, as “a group […]
Israeli firm’s spyware used to target journalists’ cell phones – reports
Washington DC, USReuters An Israeli company’s spyware was used in attempted and successful hacks of 37 smartphones belonging to journalists, government officials and human rights activists around the world, according to an investigation by 17 media organisations published on Sunday. One of the organisations, The Washington Post, said the Pegasus spyware licensed by Israel-based NSO […]