Features

The Niger government is taking major repressive steps to stifle news and commentary on the rebellion of nomadic Tuaregs in northern Niger. Live debates and discussions on the issue have been banned along with Radio France Internationale (RFI) and Aïr Info slapped with suspension. Warnings to Liberation, L’Opinion, and L’Evenement have been issued on the same grounds. The bimonthly Aïr Info

Two new pieces of legislation in the United States will help protect reporters' sources and promote Internet freedom. The US House of Representatives approved a legislation on October 16 that would bolster reporters' ability to keep their sources confidential in federal court cases. PEN American Centre said it was elated by the overwhelming (398-21) House vote, calling the Free Flow of Information

Nearly 90 per cent of the journalists killed in the line of duty during President Gloria Arroyo's rule since 2001 were exposing corruption. The rest were killed for reporting on and criticising illegal gambling and the drug trade in their localities. These are among the findings of the annual report on the state of press freedom released by the Centre for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR) on

Reuters and Nokia have joined hands for a project that, they claim, will change the face of journalism worldwide. The two organisations have showcased their first project, a new mobile application, which gives journalists everything they need to file and publish news from the most remote regions of the world. Through an ongoing trial that started this summer, selected Reuters journalists around

The Somalian government’s systematic harassment of journalists, its closures of media outlets, and its failure to investigate the killing of eight journalists have deeply damaged independent reporting in Somalia. On October 19, two unknown gunmen shot at close range Bashir Nur Gedi, the acting manager of Shabelle Media radio, outside a cafe in Mogadishu. He was returning home in the Hamar Jadid

Six women who risked their lives reporting in Iraq, a Mexican reporter who faced death threats for her reporting on paedophiles, and an Ethiopian journalist who was charged with treason have received awards for courage from the International Women's Media Foundation (IWMF). ABC News' Bob Woodruff, who was nearly killed in a January 2006 bombing in Iraq, presented the award to the Iraqi women for

For the second year in a row, the Kurt Schork Memorial Awards have honoured a journalist killed in Iraq because of critical reporting. Sahar al-Haideri, a mother of four and contributor to the Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR) as well as Iraqi media, was gunned down in June in Mosul after receiving death threats for a series of campaigning stories highlighting the influence of religious

Television channels ordered off the air after the airing of footage exposing The Narendra Modi government's involvement in the 2002 Gujarat riots have resumed broadcasting. The Gujarat Government blacked out several TV channels on Thursday night after they beamed a sting operation done by Tehelka that accused Chief Minister Narendra Modi of fomenting the 2002 Gujarat riots. Ahmedabad District

The ongoing violence in Sri Lanka is taking its toll on press freedom and freedom of expression. Journalists are directly in the line of fire; their safety and security have been compromised; some have even been forced to flee for their own safety. At the recent general meeting in Montevideo, Uruguay, the International Freedom of Expression eXchange (IFEX) appealed to the government, the

Egypt continues to imprison journalists and editors who publish stories critical of President Hosni Mubarak and other high officials. Activist advocating minority rights in the country are also detained and fined. Basic right of freedom of religion and fundamental right of free expression are being explicitly violated. Members and partners of the International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX)