2005-2014

The Google vs newspapers issue has surfaced again. The World Association of Newspapers (WAN) has again called on Google to embrace a new publishing standard that allows website terms and conditions to be placed in machine-readable format so that publishers can have a say in how news aggregators and search engine companies use their content. Google European executive Ron Jonas was quoted as saying...

Journalists are being used to an unprecedented degree by the main political factions in the Palestinian Territories. Around 10 have been arrested since the start of the year, acording to Reporters sans Frontières (RSF). The media is at the centre of the dispute between the Islamist party Hamas, controlling the Gaza Strip and President Mahmoud Abbas’ party, Fatah, in the West Bank. “Relations...

Reporters Without Borders deplores A Kuwait City criminal court has withdrawn the licences of two weekly newspapers, Al-Abraj and Al-Shaab. The court in separate cases on March 8 fined Al-Abraj editor Mansur Ahmad Muhareb Al-Hayni and Al-Shaab editor Hamed Turki Abu Yabes 9,000 dinars (21,000 euros) each. Hayni was convicted of besmirching the prime minister’s reputation while Yabes was convicted...

Niger’s official media regulator summarily suspended Wednesday the FM broadcasts of France-based Radio France Internationale (RFI) for three months, according to the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). Authorities accused RFI of discrediting the government in connection with a day-long series of programmes on Monday about the detention of RFI correspondent Moussa Kaka. In a...

Gabon has banned a private newspaper for republishing a report on President Omar Bongo’s private wealth in France. The original story appeared in French daily Le Monde at the end of January. Gabon’s state-run National Communications Council accused Tendance Gabon, a private semimonthly, of spreading “a campaign of denigration” against Bongo after questioning Director Edwige Anyouzoa during a nine...

Press freedom organisation Reporters sans Frontières (RSF) has accused UNESCO of "grovelling" to authoritarian governments by dropping sponsorship of a free speech day on Wednesday. Paris-based RSF organised its second Online Free Expression Day on which it published a list of "Internet Enemies" — governments that imprison Internet users. RSF accused the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural...

An Australian magazine has apologised to readers and troops serving abroad for publishing a story revealing that Prince Harry was fighting with British troops in Afghanistan, the Associated Press (AP) reported. New Idea magazine said when it ran the story in January it was unaware of an agreement between the British Ministry of Defense and major news organizations not to disclose Harry's...

The editor of a Swedish newspaper has received death threats for publishing a picture of Jesus being defecated on by the devil, acording to a report in the Local website. Östgöta Correspondenten editor Ola Sigvardsson has received several death threats since the publication of the picture, which featured on posters for a punk festival. The poster depicted a Satan figure defecating on Jesus...

Google has complied with a request by the Pentagon to remove some online images from its street-level map service because they pose a security threat to US military bases, acording to Reuters. Gen Gene Renuart, head of the military command responsible for homeland defence, said the Pentagon had talked to Google about the risks and expected the company to cooperate in removing selected images from...

Deported US freelance journalist William Nessen left Aceh province for Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday, according to Indonesian news agency Antara. Nessen who was barred from entering the province for having allegedly violated immigration rules left the Sultan Iskandar Muda Airport at Blang Bintang for the Malaysian capital at 02.37 p.m. by a chartered plane, an Antara journalist observed. Nessen arrived...