News

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has voiced stupefaction at the two-month suspended prison sentences and fines of 300,000 CFA francs (450 euros) which a court in Ouagadougou on 22 January 2007 passed on Germain Bitiou Nama, the publisher of the privately-owned fortnightly L'"Evénement", and Newton Ahmed Barry, its editor, for linking the president's brother, François Compaoré, to the 1998...

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has condemned a Kigali judge's decision on 19 January 2007 to place Agnès Uwimana Nkusi, the editor of the privately-owned fortnightly "Umurabyo", in custody for 30 days while she awaits trial on charges of "promoting divisions," sectarianism and libel. "Given that the charges are so political and vague, the court issued an unfair decision and rode roughshod...

(RSF/IFEX) - RSF was horrified to learn that freelance photographer Jean-Rémy Badio was murdered in the southern Port-au-Prince district of Martissant on the afternoon of 19 January 2007. He was reportedly shot dead in his home by members of a gang he had photographed a few days before. "Badio's tragic death is a harsh blow for the Haitian media, for whom conditions seemed to have improved during...

(MFWA/IFEX) - The Minister of Information of Guinea, Boubacar Yacine Diallo, on 15 January 2007 ordered all private and community radio stations not to broadcast any material on the ongoing general strike by the country's workers protesting against the high cost of living and other national concerns. The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) correspondent reports that Yacine Diallo issued the...

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has condemned the bombing of the Gaza City offices of the Dubai-based pan-Arab satellite TV station Al-Arabiya on 22 January 2007, a few days after its journalists received telephone threats over a controversial report about Prime Minister Ismael Haniyeh that had led him to say he would bring legal action against the station. "This attack highlights the...

(CJES/IFEX) - On 17 January 2007, the City Court of Abakan ruled that the Khakassian website "Noviy Fokus" ("The New Focus"), belonging to journalist Mikhail Afanasyev, will not be closed down, despite Public Prosecutor Vladimir Dyuzhev's insistence, news agency Khakassia reported. However, the website can continue operating only after it has been registered as a media outlet. Abakan City Court...

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. (NWSa.N: Quote) has joined the Chandler family in its bid for newspaper and television station owner Tribune Co. (TRB.N: Quote), a source familiar with the matter said on Tuesday. The source said News Corp.'s participation is considered small and Murdoch's goal is primarily to cut printing and back-office costs at his media conglomerate's money...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The perjury trial of former White House official Lewis "Scooter" Libby begins on Tuesday, but the investigation has already laid bare the Bush administration's internal workings and damaged the independence of the news media. Vice President Dick Cheney is among the prominent government officials and journalists expected to testify in a case that will examine the White House...

New York, January 22, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the brutal assault on Tamara Golovanova, a reporter for the newspaper Vesti in the far eastern city of Partizansk, who was beaten on Friday while covering a story at a municipal office. The attack occurred in mid-afternoon, when Golovanova was interviewing people at the city employment office who were filing complaints that...

(CMFR/IFEX) - Two television news programmes that were critical of the Arroyo administration have been taken off the air by their home station, rival network ABS-CBN's "TV Patrol" news programme reported on 18 January 2007. "Dokyu" and "Frontlines", two public affairs programs of network ABC 5 known for their critical commentaries on the Arroyo administration, were allegedly cancelled by network...