2005-2014

4 July 2007

Radio commentator dies after being shot in Mandaue City

(CMFR/IFEX) - A radio broadcaster died while undergoing treatment after he was shot by unidentified gunmen in Mandaue City, Cebu, a province in central Philippines. Radio station DYRB commentator/technician Geruncio "Oscar" Mondejar, 34, was waiting for a ride to the radio station along Jagobiao Highway in Mandaue City at around 3:00 a.m. (local time) on 30 June 2007 when a motorcycle with two men...

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4 July 2007

Police say Hrant Dink’s killers were just a group of friends acting on their own initiative

Reporters Without Borders learned today that the General Directorate for Security sent a report to the court trying newspaper editor Hrant Dink’s alleged murderers which says they were not members of a terrorist organisation but were just a group of friends acting on their own initiative under the leadership of Yasin Hayal, one of the defendants. When Hayal was released from prison after serving...

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4 July 2007

Gabon bans satirical tabloid for criticising President Bongo

An editorial critical of Gabon President Omar Bongo, Africa's longest-serving head of state, has led authorities in capital Libreville to arrest a publisher and suspend his newspaper. Africa Union Commission Chairman Alpha Oumar Konare (left) talks with Gabon's President Omar Bongo at the 9th African Union Summit in Accra July 1, 2007. (Reuters/Luc Gnago) Guy-Christian Mavioga, director of the

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4 July 2007

Timeline of BBC reporter's 114 days in captivity

BBC Gaza correspondent Alan Johnston was freed on Wednesday after 114 days held hostage by Palestinian extremists. Here is a timeline of his captivity. BBC's Gaza correspondent Alan Johnston (left) has breakfast with deposed Palestinian prime minister Ismail Haniya following his release. Johnston was freed after being hostage for 16 weeks by Palestinian extremists in Gaza, looked pale and drawn...

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4 July 2007

Hamas looks to build credibility with journalist's release

JERUSALEM - The leadership of Hamas in the Gaza Strip literally dined out Wednesday on the release of British Broadasting Corp. reporter Alan Johnston, sharing breakfast with him in front of television cameras shortly after he was freed following nearly four months as a hostage. Ismail Haniyeh, the deposed Palestinian prime minister from Hamas, draped Johnston with a sash bearing the Palestinian...

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4 July 2007

BBC correspondent freed in Gaza as Hamas forces kidnappers into late-night deal

Alan Johnston, the BBC journalist held hostage in Gaza, was freed and handed over to Hamas officials early on Wednesday after a late-night deal with the al Qaeda-inspired group that abducted him in March. The 45-year-old Briton was embraced by BBC colleagues after he arrived by car at the home of Hamas's local leader in Gaza, Ismail Haniyeh. Johnston was smiling and looked well despite four months...

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4 July 2007

WSJ execs give cautious support to editorial deal

Senior executives at the Wall Street Journal have given cautious backing to a deal between parent company Dow Jones and Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation over preserving editorial independence, according to reports. But in a statement that paves the way for a potential $5bn (£2.5bn) takeover of Dow Jones by News Corp, the executives issued a veiled warning to Mr Murdoch not to meddle with the...

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4 July 2007

Online journalist, BBC's Johnston win Amnesty human rights award

Amnesty International has presented its special award for Human Rights Journalism Under Threat to Dina Meza - an investigative journalist who works for monthly e-magazine Revistazo.com in Honduras. At its annual awards ceremony earlier tonight, Dina Mesa was given the award for continuing to work in danger as a result of her human rights journalism. Ms Meza and her team of journalists have been...

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4 July 2007

Venezuelan journalist reports mysterious car fire, threats

CARACAS, Venezuela: A Venezuelan journalist said his car mysteriously burst into flames after repeated threats led him to resign as editor of a Web site critical of President Hugo Chavez. Roger Santodomingo told reporters that his car was parked on a street in Caracas early Wednesday when he heard a small blast and found the vehicle burning. "We heard the ruckus outside and the explosion,"...

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4 July 2007

Pakistan: Journalists hold protest rally

ISLAMABAD, July 4: Journalists on Wednesday held a demonstration in front of the Press Information Department (PID) to protest the government’s inability to provide protection to mediapersons during the coverage of the Lal Masjid stand-off in which two journalists have been killed and another critically injured. The journalists started the protests after observing Fateha Khwani for the souls of...

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