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PARAMARIBO, Suriname: In an unprecedented ruling, a judge in Suriname on Tuesday ordered newspaper ‘De West’ to advertise a correction in another daily newspaper, ‘De Ware Tijd’. The ruling came after the Currency Board started a libel suit against the newspaper. Judge John von Niesewand also imposed a fine of US$1,800 for each day the newspaper refuses to comply with the order. Meanwhile ‘De West...

United Kingdom based newspaper ‘The Zimbabwean’ reports that 150 copies of its paper were confiscated and torn to pieces by the Zanu PF Provincial Secretary for youth in Manicaland, Oliver Chiruka. The incident took place in Braamfontein, South Africa last Friday. The bearded Chiruka allegedly grabbed the newspapers from a vendor in full view of other street vendors and passengers boarding buses...

23 December 2005 -- The Belarusian magazine "Solidarity" published its last edition today. The magazine was the publication of independent unions representing workers in a variety of trades in Belarus. In a message to readers in the last issue, "Solidarity" editors say the Minsk government had taken a number of measures, including canceling a contract with the state distribution agency, that made...

The German ministry of defense has admitted that it is carrying out an internal inquiry into the possible extracting of information on suspected terrorists by Bundeswehr operatives posing as journalists in Bosnia. The confirmation of an inquiry on Wednesday, reported in the German media on Thursday, follows allegations that German soldiers attached to the United Nations mission in Bosnia had...

Reporters Without Borders has published a significant report which documents how the freedom to dissent has become the first casualty of the War Against Terror. The report says that the tone of US coverage of the events of September 11 and their aftermath changed as soon as President Bush announced his War on Terrorism. The norm became patriotic and propagandistic. This was confirmed by Richard...

NEW YORK - Suddenly this week, scattered outposts in the media have started mentioning the "I" word, or at least the "IO" phrase: impeach or impeachable offense. The sudden outbreak of anger or candor–or, some might say, foolishness–has been sparked by the uproar over revelations of a White House approved domestic spying program, with some conservatives joining in the shouting. Ron Hutcheson...

WASHINGTON, Dec 22 (Reuters) - The United States has suspended publishing a lifestyle magazine aimed at improving America's image abroad among young Arabs, in a further sign of troubled U.S. public diplomacy efforts. The State Department, which sponsors the $4.5 million annual publication and distribution throughout the Arab world of the Arabic-language magazine "Hi," said on Thursday it stopped...

In September 2005, long-time Bush confidante Karen Hughes started her new job as Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs. Her first official week of work was admittedly ambitious -- a "listening tour" of Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Turkey. At each stop, carefully selected audiences comprised of students on U.S.-funded scholarships, women professionals, and others deemed "safe"...

In December 2005, the country's security agents seized Trevor Ncube's passport and he spent a week virtually under country arrest. He couldn't leave Zimbabwe legally because he had no passport. Earlier this month Trevor Ncube, the publisher of South Africa's Mail & Guardian, Zimbabwe's Independent and the Zimbabwe Standard, spent a week virtually under country arrest when security agents in...

UNITED NATIONS, Dec 21 (Reuters) - Terrorism and conflicts across the Middle East will be major global issues in 2006, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said at a year-end news conference on Wednesday and he also lashed out at the media for its coverage of the oil-for-food program. Annan said he faced getting tough management reform proposals through the U.N. General Assembly and trying to solve...