News

Contradictory information has been circulating since October 13 about Mohanad Al-Aqidi, an Iraqi journalist thought to be held by the Jihadi group Islamic State in Mosul (in Nineveh province). Many local media reported on the day that Islamic State had killed him. But other sources insisted the following day that he was still alive. The reports of Mohanad Al-Aqidi’s death spread very rapidly in...

Media freedom suffered another blow in Macedonia when the appellate court confirmed that Fokus magazine must pay almost nine thousand euros to a high government official for defamation, according to Metamorphosis, Foundation for Internet and Society. The Skopje Court of Appeals confirmed the sentences from the first degree court: Fokus editor-in-chief Jadranka Kostova must pay The Director of the...

The government of Singapore's regulatory actions against two prominent online news websites is a serious setback for freedom of expression on the Internet, Human Rights Watch said Wednesday. The Media Development Authority (MDA) ordered The Online Citizen in September 2014 and The Mothership in March to obtain licenses under the Broadcasting Act of 2013 to continue their online publishing. The...

As the Occupy Central movement continues its pro-democracy demonstrations, local and foreign media whose coverage angers the government are suffering consequences. Hong Kong newspaper Apple Daily is paying a high price for supporting Occupy Central. Members of a counter-movement have been surrounding the headquarters of the newspaper, which announced its pro-Occupy Central position on October 11...

Efforts to contain the Ebola outbreak in West Africa have been associated with various forms of press freedom restrictions and attacks on journalists, which continue to hamper the provision of timely and accurate information to the public. In a special report highlighting the impact of the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) has noted that the Ebola outbreak...

A counterterrorism bill before the French parliament would provide overly broad and vague powers that would breach rights to free movement and expression, Human Rights Watch has said. The bill, proposed by the French government in July 2014 under an accelerated procedure, was adopted by the National Assembly in September and is now before the senate. The bill would introduce new measures such as...

The World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) has called on governments worldwide for greater protections for media working in conflict areas, in the wake of the widely reported murders of two photojournalists in the Middle East. A resolution issued by the Board of WAN-IFRA, meeting Sunday on the eve of the World Publishing Expo in Amsterdam, also called for a concerted global...

The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) has expressed concern at a new legal offensive unleashed by the Argentine government against the Grupo Clarín newspaper group, which was ordered to break up its news media outlets under the government's criteria. On Wednesday last at a press conference Martín Sabbatella, president of the Audiovisual Communication Services Federal Authority (AFSCA)...

After holding French journalists Valentine Bourrat and Thomas Dandois in the eastern province of Papua for 70 days, the Indonesian authorities announced Tuesday that they will be tried on a charge of misusing an entry visa, which carries a possible five-year jail sentence. The authorities decided to go ahead with a trial in Papua’s capital, Jayapura, on 20 October despite many international...

Activist and radio programme host Atilano Román was shot dead while presenting his weekly programme on Radio Fiesta Mexicana in Mazatlán, in the northwestern state of Sinaloa, on October 11, according to delayed reports received by Reporters Without Borders. Two men burst into the studio and shot Román several times while he was on the air hosting his Saturday morning programme “Así es mi...