News

PRAGUE, July 1, 2006 (RFE/RL) -- Turkmen President Saparmurat Niyazov has been called outlandish, eccentric, insane, ruthless, and described as a tyrannical dictator. But the international media's comic portrayals of Niyazov distract attention from many of the very serious problems the country is facing, observers say. Turkmen citizens have no chance to enjoy ballet, opera, a philharmonic...

(SEAPA/IFEX) - The editor-in-chief of a local bi-weekly newspaper, "Sralanh Khmer" ("Love Khmer"), has received death threats from and is the target of a legal action by a nephew of Prime Minister Hun Sen, reports coming out Phnom Penh say. The editor reportedly is being harassed for a published article which suggests that Sen's nephew, Hun Tho, was involved in a land-grabbing case in Northeast...

(IFJ/IFEX) - The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has denounced further violence against journalists in Pakistan after a recent attack on the Peshawar Press Club by activists of the Pakistan Muslim League, injuring newsmen and staff members of the club. "The recent increasing levels of attacks against journalists in Pakistan is unacceptable and will not be tolerated. Press freedom...

(FNJ/IFEX) - Maoist chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal, alias Prachanda, has expressed Maoists' commitment towards press freedom, multiparty democracy and human rights. Addressing an interaction organized by the Federation of Nepalese Journalists (FNJ) in the capital on Thursday (29th June 2006), the Maoist supreme leader said that the development of the Nepalese media after 1990 has been positive. He...

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) is deeply concerned over recent events in Sri Lanka that indicate the press freedom situation is deteriorating. “The recent closure of some satellite services by the government and a decision to bring back a state media regulatory body, as well as the continued accusations by members of government and the media against Tamil journalists and their...

In an historic move, the Government of Sri Lanka and two of the country’s leading political parties have offered broad support to reforming the country’s media in moves aimed to have all media institutions embrace public service values. Public service values in media are an essential part of the peace-building and reconciliation process and for reconstruction and rehabilitation after the...

New York, June 30, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by a bill before the Russian Parliament that broadens the definition of extremism to include media criticism of public officials. The draft legislation allows for imprisonment of up to three years for journalists, and the suspension or closure of their publication, if convicted of extremism, according to Russian press reports...

ABUJA (Reuters) - A decision to charge two Nigerian journalists with sedition for saying a new presidential jet was second-hand has outraged human rights activists who fear free speech is under threat ahead of next year's elections. Nigerian and foreign rights groups accuse the government of Africa's most populous country of intolerance towards critics and disregard for the law, arguing that...

Reporters Without Borders protested to the Lebanese government today after the authorities tore an article about the Prophet Mohammed out of 280 copies of the paper on arrival in Lebanon on 26 June. “We thought these practices of censorship were a thing of the past in Lebanon, but we were obviously wrong,” the worldwide press freedom organisation said. “We hope the authorities will find an...

NEW DELHI, JUNE 29: India approved a proposal from news and information provider Reuters Group Plc to invest in Times Global Broadcasting Co Ltd's news and current affairs television channel, a government statement said on Thursday. The proposal was among 20 foreign investment plans worth Rs 7.62 billion approved by Finance Minister P Chidambaram. Reuters Group Plc and The Times of India group run...