News

19 February 2011
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Journalists targeted in Bahrain, Yemen, and Libya

Journalists targeted in Bahrain, Yemen, and Libya

Authorities in Bahrain, Yemen, Libya continue to prevent media from reporting on anti-government demonstrations. Bahraini authorities used live ammunition—including fire from a helicopter—against peaceful protesters and journalists on Friday. Pro-government thugs attacked two journalists in Yemen, and the Libyan government appeared to be shutting down Facebook, Twitter, and Al-Jazeera's website as...

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18 February 2011
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Attacks on media continue in Bahrain, Yemen, and Iraq

Attacks on media continue in Bahrain, Yemen, and Iraq

Authorities in Bahrain and Yemen have escalated their physical attack on the press in order to censor coverage of spreading anti-government protests, the Committee to protect Journalists said Thursday. Also, in Iraq, at least two journalists were attacked by guards for the Kurdistan Democratic Party's building, local journalists told CPJ. "Governments throughout the Middle East and North Africa...

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17 February 2011

Some doctors may use Twitter for 'unprofessional' messages

Some doctors post unethical and unprofessional content on Twitter, a finding that suggests the need for more oversight of physicians' use of social media, according to a recent study. Of 5,156 "tweets" sent by 260 US physicians, each with 500 or more followers, last May, researchers found that 3 per cent were unprofessional. This means the tweets included profanity, potential patient privacy...

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15 February 2011
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No arrests after shooting attack on TV crew covering Sindh flooding

No arrests after shooting attack on TV crew covering Sindh flooding

There has been no significant police response to an incident in which snipers allegedly in the pay of an influential landowner fired on reporter Talat Hussain cameraman Haider Ali of the DawnNews TV channel when they were doing a story about the social impact of recent flooding in Thatta, in the southern province of Sindh, on February 4. No one was fortunately injured. Paris-based press freedom...

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15 February 2011
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Iran: Regime steps up censorship and online disruption to block protests

Iran: Regime steps up censorship and online disruption to block protests

The authorities in Iran have increased censorship in a bid to prevent Monday’s anti-government protests, blocking independent or pro-opposition websites and other electronic media. Broadband speed has greatly slowed in major cities as in the run-up to previous anti-regime demonstrations or opposition events. Mobile phone and text-message traffic has been badly disrupted and the Persian calendar...

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15 February 2011

Australian publisher detained in Burma

Authorities have detained Ross Dunkley, editor-in-chief and chief executive officer of the Myanmar Times newspaper, on immigration-related charges in Burma, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). Dunkley, an Australian citizen, was arrested on February 10 on returning to Burma from a business trip in Japan, according to a statement released by his publishing group. He is being...

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15 February 2011
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Journalists attacked while covering anti-government protests in Sana'a

Journalists attacked while covering anti-government protests in Sana'a

Security agents, police officers and plainclothes men have carrying out attacks against journalists covering street protests in Sana'a during the past three days. The attacks took place during demonstrations hailing the fall of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and calling for Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s departure, according to Paris-based press freedom group Reporters sans Frontières...

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15 February 2011

Washington Post announces personalized news aggregation site

The Washington Post announced Friday it will launch Trove, a site that aggregates news and enables users to personalize their news stream based on their interests. The site, which is currently in private beta, is expected to launch in March, according to Mashable.com The details: [ Link] The announcement highlights a trend among news publishers looking to personalize news consumption based on...

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15 February 2011
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Photographer injured in Afghanistan after stepping on makeshift bomb

Photographer injured in Afghanistan after stepping on makeshift bomb

A British photojournalist was severely injured after stepping on a makeshift bomb in southern Afghanistan. Giles Duley, a freelance photographer associated with the Camera Press Agency in London, was on a foot patrol with Afghan and American soldiers on February 7 near the village of Sangsar, in rural Kandahar Province, when he stepped on a pressure-plate that detonated a hidden explosive charge...

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15 February 2011

Malaysian complicity in cyber-dissident’s arrest by Vietnam

Vietnamese cyber-dissident Vu Quang Thuan’s deportation by Malaysia and his arrest by the Vietnamese authorities on arrival at Ho Chi Minh City airport on February 2 has been condemned by Paris-based press freedom group Reporters sans Frontières (RSF). He is now facing a possible 20-year jail sentence of a charge of anti-state propaganda. No date has been set for his trial. Aged 44 and a leader of...

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