News

A British journalist abducted in the southern Iraqi city of Basra two months ago has been rescued by Iraqi troops. Richard Butler, who worked for CBS News, was found with a sack over his head and his hands tied inside a house in Basra, Lt Gen Mohan al-Fireji told the Associated Press (AP). He said Butler was in "good" condition. In a statement, CBS said: "We are incredibly grateful that our...

Kyrgyzstan authorities have closed the investigation into the October murder of Alisher Saipov, editor of the independent Uzbek-language weekly Siyosat (Politics), according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). This is the second time authorities have officially closed the investigation in as many months. The Saipov family told New York-based CPJ that the local bureau of the Kyrgyz...

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has expressed concern at the detention and deportation from Havana of Camagüey-based independent journalist Ernesto Corría Cabrera this week. Corría Cabrera, a reporter for the Miami-based press agency Nueva Prensa Cubana, told New york-based CPJ that he travelled from his home in the eastern city of Camagüey to Havana on Saturday to print the news...

Unidentified gunmen shot dead a local journalist in Pakistan's southwestern Balochistan province on Monday. Khadim Hussain Sheikh was on his way to the office with his brother Ishaq on a motor-bike when unidentified gunmen intercepted them and shot them at close range. Khadim died instantly. Ishaq was seriously injured and has been admitted to hospital. The Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists...

The new Pakistani government’s move to lift restrictions on media imposed by President Pervez Musharraf last year has been welcomed by press freedom organisations. Information Minister Sherry Rehman Friday last introduced a parliamentary bill to repeal amendments made to media laws when Musharraf suspended the constitution in November 2007, . In comments made to journalists, Rehman also promised a...

Two indigenous women radio presenters have been shot dead in Mexico. On April 7, Teresa Bautista Flores and Felicitas Martínez, working for La Voz que Rompe el Silencio (“The Voice that Breaks the Silence”), a community radio station serving the Trique indigenous community, were shot in Putla de Guerrero, in the southern state of Oaxaca. The two young women were returning from doing a report in...

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has condemned the killing of a Panamanian television cameraman and photographer who was stabbed while covering a gang fight in Panama City. Eliécer Santamaría died in the early morning hours on Tuesday after he was stabbed while on assignment covering a story about gangs exchanging gunfire in the capital, according to reports. "This killing...

Two Haitian reporters were injured by rubber bullets while covering clashes between protesters and Haitian and UN forces in Port-au-Prince Tuesday, according to news reports and interviews. A third journalist was wounded by pellets that were fired by protesters, a press advocate said. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) Wednesday called on Haitian and UN authorities to provide the necessary...

Two South African technicians were back in a Harare court on Wednesday to face charges of contravening Zimbabwe's media laws, the South African Press Associaiton (SAPA) has reported. Abdulla Gaibee and Sipho Maseko were granted bail of 200-million Zim dollars on Monday but were only released from police custody on Tuesday as they were unable to immediately pay the amount, said Ebrahim Gaibee...

A Mexican reporter who has been a target of death threats, sabotage and police harassment because of her work uncovering prostitution and child pornography networks was Wednesday designated the laureate of a press freedom prize by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The Director-General of UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura, will award the Guillermo Cano World...