Asia

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has called for vigilance to protect journalists' safety in Pakistan after the latest alarming spike in abductions of journalists which has ended with the release of Wiqar Kiyani, a journalist working for the Guardian newspaper of the United Kingdom, after his mysterious disappearance on July 6 from his home in Islamabad. Kiyani's case represents...

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has expressed concern over the reported disappearance of Wiqar Kiyani, a journalist working for the Guardian newspaper of the United Kingdom, shortly after he returned to Islamabad from a reporting assignment in Karachi. According to reports received from the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ), an IFJ affiliate, Kiyani's home was raided...

In what could be a setback to the campaign for legal protection of journalists under threat, the Manila Court of Appeals denied on June 27 a petition for a writ of amparo filed by an Oriental Mindoro-based journalist, according to the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR). Oriental Mindoro is a province approximately 140 km south of Manila. In a 21-page decision penned by Associate...

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has welcomed the July 5 release of two Pakistan journalists who were abducted from Mohmand Agency by an alleged Taliban group in the notorious Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) in the country's north west on July 3. According to the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ), an IFJ affiliate, freelance reporter Pir Zubair Shah and...

Taliban militants released two Pakistani journalists on Saturday more than 36-hours after they were abducted in a tribal region near the Afghan border, says a Reuters report. "When it was proven that they're journalists and not spies, we freed them," Taliban spokesman Asad said. A group of tribal elders had gone to negotiate for the release of the journalists, freelance reporter Pir Zubair Shah...

Two journalists and their companion were Friday abducted by the local Taliban in Pakistan's Mohmand tribal region even as scribes expressed concern at the deteriorating law and order situation in the tribal belt bordering Afghanistan, says a Press Trust of India (PTI) report. Reporter Pir Zubair Shah, photo-journalist Akhtar Soomro and Abdul Hassan, a leader of the local unit of the ruling...

Two freelance journalists - reporter Pir Zubair Shah and photographer Akhtar Soomoro - were abducted thursday by a Taliban group in the Mohmand region of the Tribal Areas while doing a story on marble production, which the authorities plan to develop. "The abudction of these two respected journalists is incomprehensible and we hope the Taliban leaders will quickly heed the calls for their release...

A reporter for Hong Kong's Apple Daily newspaper was denied entry into Beijing this week, the paper's chief editor said on Thursday, according to a Reuters report. With just over a month to go before the start of the Beijing Olympics, the newspaper, known for its pro-democracy stance and critical Chinese reportage, said one of its senior reporters had been turned away at Beijing on July 1 and had...

Reporters sans Frontières (RSF) has called on Mongolian authorities and political parties to protect journalists and guarantee media freedom after a series of incidents involving the press during violent demonstrations following the June 29 legislative elections. "We condemn the violence by demonstrators, who seriously injured three reporters," RSF said. "It is also very regrettable that the...

Reporters sans Frontières (RSF) and the Burma Media Association (BMA) have called for the immediate release from prison of celebrated journalist U Win Tin, whose health has deteriorated badly in the past few days. The 78-year-old is suffering from lung problems with severe asthmatic attacks which prevent him from sleeping and eating properly. A relative who visited him on June 28 found him thin...