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As the U.S. mutates the rationale for its preemptive invasion of Iraq, the mainstream media continues to pander to xenophobic and partisan denominators vis-à-vis Iran. Despite massive government intelligence failures concerning the September 11th tragedy, the heartbreaking devastation of Hurricane Katrina, and the perversely flawed intelligence on non-existent Iraqi weapons of mass destruction...

The Russe Regional Court confirmed the acquittal of a Romanian journalist sued for illegal possession and use of special surveillance devices (SSD). On September 15 the court acquitted George Buhnici. The Russe Regional Court sued George Buhnici for illegal possession and use of special surveillance devices (SSD) and sentenced him to BGN 1,000 fine. However, a higher district court acquitted the...

KHARTOUM, Dec 31 (Reuters) - Sudanese security forces jailed without charge a journalist accused of slandering President Omar Hassan al-Bashir in a move some parliamentarians called unconstitutional. Zuheir Sirraj, a columnist for the al-Sahafa daily paper, was detained on Friday night. A source in state security said he had violated the law by writing an article saying the president did not care...

MOSCOW, December 30 (RIA Novosti)-The selection of a jury to hear one of the most high-profile court cases of 2006, the trial of three ethnic Chechen accused of murdering Forbes magazine editor Paul Klebnikov, has received a mixed reaction, a leading Russian business daily said Friday. According to Kommersant, the selection of eight women in the 12-member panel, who were picked behind closed doors...

NEW DELHI, DEC 29: The year 2005 will be remembered as one in which India’s Rs 20,000 crore media and entertainment sector saw vibrant activity in regulation and policy implementation. Expansion of private FM radio in 91 cities led the list of major steps taken by the ministry of information and broadcasting. Cabinet’s approval of the downlinking and uplinking guidelines came amidst voices of...

THE Huangpu People's Prosecutors' Office yesterday ratified the arrest of Jiang Sheng, who allegedly defrauded more than 40,000 yuan (US$4,938) in cash and valuables after posing as a journalist. Prosecutors said such cases are rare. Jiang, 23, saw an ad in a newspaper. A man surnamed Liang, who owned a minibus, was seeking work as a driver. Jiang called Liang and claimed he was a journalist at...

The Press Law in Yemen has just returned to the circle of discussion after it was neglected for a long time now. This law has been pushed to the light just after the President has returned from the U.S. where he was demanded to protect rights of opinion expression and freedom of the press. A freedom, which is confined by oppressive laws and operates under bias judicial authorities. The Shura...

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, Dec. 29 (UPI) -- The Arab media have come a long way recently. Only a decade ago the media landscape in the Arab world looked pretty bleak. Only a handful of sharp and courageous writers were then publishing their eye-opening articles in newspapers printed abroad. Today that situation has completely changed. The Arab public now has several independent news channels and many...

A group of Ukrainian journalists, members of the Ukrainian delegation that arrived in Moscow to take part in a roundtable, have been arrested in "Sheremetievo" airport in Moscow. UNIAN was told about it by telephone by member of the Ukrainian delegation Serhiy Taran, director of the International Institute of Democracies. S.Taran said that among the arrested journalist there are camera groups of...

Reporters Without Borders journalists continue to be hounded in Egypt, in remarks to two journalist being sentenced despite official announcements on decriminalizing press offenses, "each year such harassment increases." Two journalists with the independent daily "Al Fajr" (Dawn), Mohamed Abdul-Latif and Manal Lasheen, were sentenced on 14 December 2005 to six and four years in prison...