Malawi’s President Bingu wa Mutharika last week threatened to shut down newspapers that “tarnish” his government’s image. The president, who was speaking at an agriculture show in the capital city of Liongwe, seemed to be referring to a story in the privately-owned Malawi News Daily, reports said. The story quoted a report from the Southern African Development Community (SADC), an economic...
The International Press Institute (IPI) has expressed grave concern for the state of media freedom in Ukraine after a court ruling forced one TV station off the air and limited the licences of another. At a hearing in Kiev on Monday, August 30, the two privately-run TV channels, TVi and 5 Kanal, were told their broadcast frequencies would be cancelled after the court found in favour of allegations...
Twenty-five journalists were held by the Yemeni army as they tried to attend a peace conference in the north of Yemen over the last weekend. According to the Yemen Post, the journalists, from local, national and foreign press had been invited by tribal elders in the region to cover and attend the National Peace Conference. Since 2004, permits have been required for travel to the northern region of...
It was the phrase "with opprobrious underworld connotations" that Viktor Biryukov, chief press spokesman for the Moscow police, used to explain the reasons for a business reputation protection claim lodged against the newspaper Noviye Izvestia (NI). The claim filing followed a January 2010 series of NI articles citing complaints by residents of the (now partially destroyed) village of Rechnik, on...
Vineet Jain, managing director of the Times of India group, has been elected chairman of the board of directors of the Press Trust of India (PTI). MP Veerendrakumar, chairman and managing director of Mathrubhumi Group, was elected vice-chairman following the 62nd Annual General Meeting of the PTI’s shareholders in New Delhi on Monday. Jain, who was vice-chairman of the board, succeeds Vijay Kumar...
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has convicted Turkey in the case of Hrant Dink. The Turkish-Armenian journalist was assassinated on January 19, 2007 in Istanbul. According to news obtained by IPS Communication Foundation (BIANET), the ECHR chamber decided that there had been a violation of the right to life because Turkey did not prevent the murder of the journalist and did not carry out...
The judge for the Specialized Interdistrict Economic Court of Almaty, Gulnar Meyrzhanova, has dismissed the charges in a lawsuit filed against the independent Kazakh newspaper Central Asia Monitor for "protection of honour, dignity and business reputation". The judge on August 23 also ordered the release of the newspaper's seized property, Almaty-based press freedom group Adil Soz has reported. On...
The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) has criticiced a decision by Argentine President Cristina Kirchner to send a bill to Congress that would make the production, distribution and sale of newsprint a matter of "public interest," calling the action "unconstitutional" and an attempt to "control the media." In a nationwide broadcast Tuesday last, Kirchner delivered the contents of a report...
A government accusation that an Ecuadoran journalist "committed terrorism" is being described as retaliation for his harsh criticism of local authorities. On July 19, an unidentified individual tossed a tear gas canister to disperse a crowd during a visit of President Rafael Correa in the northern town of La Concordia, the Guayaquil-based newspaper El Universo reported. Gas reached the stage where...
Uganda's Constitutional Court has declared the country's criminal sedition offence, which has been used to prosecute journalists, unconstitutional. The ruling was based on a 2005 constitutional review petition filed by the East African Media Institute and CPJ International Press Freedom Award winner Andrew Mwenda over political radio commentary critical of the government. Mwenda told New York...
