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MINSK, 22 February 2006 (RFE/RL) -- The Belarusian Foreign Ministry has condemned the decision of an independent Minsk publication to reprint controversial cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad. "Zhoda," a weekly, reprinted the cartoons on 17 February to illustrate an article about the deadly protests sparked by the images across the Muslim world. The Foreign Ministry said the publication was "clearly...

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - EU justice ministers have agreed to halt far-reaching plans to establish common EU rules on cross-border disputes, following fears that parts of the law would violate freedom of expression. The proposed law aims to define which national law applies in disputes where individuals or companies from different countries are involved, including non-EU member states. However...

NEW DELHI: The editor of a magazine here was arrested on Wednesday for publishing the caricatures of Prophet Mohammed. Police said the newly launched magazine "Senior India" had carried the caricatures in an edition that hit the stands on January 15. Editor Alok Tomar was initially called to a police station for questioning and later arrested when he admitted to publishing the caricatures. "We...

The trial of a Chinese researcher charged with exposing state secrets while working for the New York Times is expected before the end of March, his lawyer said on Wednesday. Zhao Yan worked for the paper before his arrest in September 2004. He faces 10 years in jail or more after security officials charged him with telling the paper details of rivalry between China’s outgoing Communist Party...

THE online advertising market surged to $620 million last year as advertisers continued to flock to a medium that some analysts predict will be worth $1 billion by the end of the year. Advertisers spent 60 per cent more on banner ads, classifieds and sponsored links online in the year to December 31, 2005, than in 2004, according to the latest revenue figures supplied to the Audit Bureau of...

PUNE: At least seven persons claiming to be activists of Shambaji Brigade forcefully entered the office of 'Lokmat' newspaper on Monday evening and ransacked the place in protest against a poem in the Marathi daily's Sunday supplement on Shivaji Maharaj. The activists threatened the employees for having published the poem by late GD Mudgulkar which referred Sant Ramdas Swam as Shivaji Maharaj's...

21 February 2006 -- U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld says the Pentagon is reviewing the U.S. military's practice of paying to plant stories in the Iraqi news media. In a speech last week, Rumsfeld said the controversial practice had been stopped. But he revised his words in a Pentagon news conference today, saying the practice is under review. The aim of the program, which has been...

BRATISLAVA (Slovakia): No one burned embassies and flags when a newspaper cartoonist poked fun at a Supreme Court judge in Slovakia. But a recent court ruling against one of Bratislava's top dailies exposed the risks of satirising through editorial cartoons. On a day when Muslims around the world were protesting Danish newspaper caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed, a Slovak regional court slapped...

A new report from analyst firm Parks Associates forecasts across-the-board growth in digital media segments. New categories like in-game advertising and mobile will show the highest gains, according to the study, likely because they're starting from a lower base. "Advertising in the Digital Age: Challenges and Opportunities," gives a five-year breakdown of digital advertising spending across...

The European Union is seeking to get candidate country Turkey actively involved as mediator in the Mohammed cartoon conflict, which has sharpened tensions between Europe and the muslim world. The current Austrian EU presidency has invited Turkish foreign minister Abdullah Gul to present ideas on how to soothe relations at an informal so-called "Gymnich" meeting in Salzburg next month. "The Turkish...