2005-2014

Reporters Without Borders protested to the Lebanese government today after the authorities tore an article about the Prophet Mohammed out of 280 copies of the paper on arrival in Lebanon on 26 June. “We thought these practices of censorship were a thing of the past in Lebanon, but we were obviously wrong,” the worldwide press freedom organisation said. “We hope the authorities will find an...

NEW DELHI, JUNE 29: India approved a proposal from news and information provider Reuters Group Plc to invest in Times Global Broadcasting Co Ltd's news and current affairs television channel, a government statement said on Thursday. The proposal was among 20 foreign investment plans worth Rs 7.62 billion approved by Finance Minister P Chidambaram. Reuters Group Plc and The Times of India group run...

LONDON - BBC Worldwide has confirmed that it will launch an advertiser-supported international website, BBC.com, as soon as the first quarter of next year, one of the first advertising channels to be affiliated with the BBC brand. The commercial arm of the publicly funded broadcaster will also be looking into how it can maximise revenues from a pay-per-view service that would allow its audiences...

Journalists who have seen the directive say it has no official stamp or signature. But sources claim it was shown to media representatives at the National Security Directorate on 12 June and distributed a week later with a warning against "publishing or copying" its contents. The document contains at least 20 recommendations for the Afghan media - including a ban on reports that "weaken public...

The most surprising thing about a new set of draconian instructions telling Afghanistan’s journalists what they can and cannot say is the reaction - vocal accusations that the government is trying to curb media freedom. The furore began on June 19, when the Afghan intelligence agency, the National Security Directorate, circulated a list of bans and restrictions on journalistic activities to local...

The Bush administration's attempt to demonize the New York Times -- a newspaper that gave the administration plenty of aid and comfort when the White House was spinning lies about WMDs in Iraq -- will be remembered as one of the ugliest chapters in the history of press freedom in the United States. The question that will ultimately be asked is not whether the Times did the right thing in revealing...

BAGHDAD, June 28 (Reuters) - Iraq on Wednesday accused al Qaeda militants of killing a correspondent for the al Arabiya satellite channel in February. Atwar Bahjat disappeared with her cameraman Khaled Al Falahi and soundman Adnan Khairallah near Samarra as she reported on a bombing of a Shi'ite shrine in the town on Feb. 22. Their bodies were found the following morning. Iraq's National Security...

ABUJA, 28 Jun 2006 (IRIN) - Human rights groups say that media harassment is on the rise in Nigeria following the arrest of two journalists charged with sedition after publishing critical news reports about President Olusegun Obasanjo's government. Rotimi Durojaiye of the Daily Independent newspaper and Gbenga Aruleba of Africa Independent Television were in an Abuja federal court on Tuesday...

Google is the first place some 70 percent of Germans go when looking for information on the Internet -- and that's got some media experts worried the company could abuse its position by manipulating search results. Google, along with Yahoo and Microsoft's MSN account for 90 percent of German searches, according to Marcel Machill, a journalism professor at the Leipzig and Dortmund universities. "In...

BEIJING -- A new attempt to clamp down on China's media has provoked an outcry from Chinese journalists and parliament members, sparking a controversy that could kill the proposal. The unusual rebellion by Chinese news media and politicians was triggered by a draft law that would impose fines up to $12,500 (U.S.) on media outlets that publish unauthorized reports on emergencies, including natural...