News

Nearly 90 per cent of registered voters in Antigua and Barbuda went to the polls last week to elect a new government, and just about 58 per cent of those voted for the opposition Antigua Labour Party (ALP). Its leader, Gaston Browne, was sworn in last Friday as the country’s new prime minister. In April 2013, the International Press Institute (IPI) and its regional strategic partner, the...

A Russian journalist and a media worker died from injuries they suffered in mortar fire in the eastern Ukrainian city of Lugansk today, according to Russian and international media reports. Igor Kornelyuk, correspondent for the state-owned broadcaster VGTRK, and Anton Voloshin, a sound engineer, were reporting on the deadly clashes between the Ukrainian army and pro-Russia separatists, reports...

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has expressed its dismay at the unjust prison sentence handed down by an Iranian court to the journalist Serajoddin Mirdamadi. According to IFJ affiliate, the Association of Iranian Journalists (AoIJ), Mirdamadi has been sentenced to six years in prison for undermining national security. He had been living in Paris, but visited Iran in September...

The ruling by Zimbabwe constitutional court on criminal defamation is a strong step towards democracy and law reinforcement, the Federation of African Journalists (FAJ) said today. According to FAJ affiliate, the Zimbabwe Union of Journalists (ZUJ), the constitutional court of the country has on 12 June 2014, ruled that the criminal defamation law must be struck of the statutes. The law was...

At least one journalist was killed and another injured Sunday in an attack in northern Diyala province, the Iraqi Journalists Syndicate and Iraqi news outlets reported. The killing comes amid escalating clashes between the Iraqi government and its allies against an insurgency spearheaded by the Al-Qaeda splinter group Islamic State of Iraq and Sham (ISIS). Al-Ahad TV channel reported today that...

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) is concerned for the safely of journalists in Papua New Guinea after an assault on two EMTV journalists. On Sunday June 8, crew members from EMTV were detained for an hour and allegedly physically assaulted near Port Moresby by a cell keeper in front of local police. Police officers from a Highway Patrol Unit allegedly forced the EMTV cameraman to...

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has advised journalists covering events in Iraq to remain vigilant at all times following the murder of journalist Khalid Hamada yesterday, Sunday 15 June. According to IFJ affiliate, the Iraqi Journalists’ Syndicate (IJS), Hamada, a cameraman for Alahd TV, was killed in the Aladhem district, in Iraq’s Dyali province, while covering fighting...

Egyptian authorities should not allow a widely criticised trial against three Al Jazeera journalists to do any more harm and should drop all charges immediately, the International Press Institute (IPI) said Sunday. Peter Greste, an Australian who works for Al Jazeera English, and his colleagues Mohamed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed are due to appear in court Monday morning, where observers fear they...

The International Press Institute (IPI) Friday urged Mexican authorities to conduct a full investigation into the murder of Mexican journalist Jorge Torres Palacios, whose body was found on June 2, four days after he was kidnapped by his home in Acapulco, Guerrero state. The long-time journalist had worked as the spokesman for the Health Office of the Acapulco municipal government but continued...

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has demanded that authorities in Yemen respect press freedom and law in the country following reports that a TV station has been forced to close. According to reports, on Wednesday 11 June presidential guard forces stormed the headquarters of the private satellite channel, Yemen Today TV, which is owned by the Yemen Today Establishment and located...