Censored

The Jammu and Kashmir government has asked the local press to refrain from publication of advertisements of separatists asking people to boycott the elections in the state or be ready to lose its advertisements, the Press Trust of India (PTI) has reported [ Link]. "You are advised to please refrain from publication of objectionable and seditious material in your newspapers failing which the...

Morocco has banned an issue of French magazine L'Express International, claiming it insults Islam in articles exploring the relationship between that religion and Christianity. Algerian and Tunisian authorities followed suit three days after the October 31 Moroccan decision. Moroccan Information Minister Khalid Naciri said Sunday that he had no choice but to ban the current issue because of the...

Authorities in Azerbaijan have decided to halt local broadcasts by foreign stations by the end of the year. The chairman of Azerbaijan's National Television and Radio Council, Nushiravan Meherremli, told independent news agency Turan that his country is not interested in granting local frequencies to foreign broadcasters. The policy change will affect the the British Broadcasting Corporation, and...

Tanzania has imposed a three-month ban on radical tabloid Mwanahalisi for allegedly publishing seditious articles. "The newspaper is fond of publishing articles that ridicule senior government leaders including president Jakaya Kikwete and the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM)," information minister George Mkuchika told reporters in Dar es Salam on Monday. Mwanahalisi editor has Saed Kubenea denied...

The publishing licenses of two Rangoon-based weekly journals have been suspended by the Press Scrutiny Board (Censor Board) because of violation of its policy and regulations, Mizzima News has reported. The censor board last week suspended publishing of True News for two months and the Action Times for a month respectively for violation of the regulations of the censor board, media circles in...

The Nigerian government should immediately lift its suspension of Channels TV and release four staff members being held by State Security Services, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has said. Security agents closed the Lagos and Abuja offices of Channels TV on Tuesday after the station mistakenly aired a fabricated report that President Umaru Yar’Adua might step down for health reasons...

Reporters sans Frontières (RSF) has deplored the UN's refusal to issue accreditation to the Taiwanese media for the 63rd session of General Assembly that opened in New York on September 16. The press freedom organisation recently wrote to Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon asking him to help find a way for Taiwan's journalists to be able to cover the General Assembly. The United Nations has been...

Reporters sans Frontières (RSF) has called on Indian authorities to put an immediate stop to the censorship and violence against the media in Kashmir that has been prompted by a wave of protests against Indian rule. At least 13 journalists were beaten by police yesterday in Srinagar, local TV stations are being censored and a curfew is making it hard for newspapers to bring out their issues....

Hamas has allowed a Palestinian newspaper to be distributed in Gaza Strip and kept the ban on two others, according to a Xinhua report. Hassan Abu Hashish, director of the Hamas' governmental press office, said the ban on the Jerusalem-based al-Quds daily was lifted "after the newspaper's directors pledged to remain professional and objective in their coverage of the events in Gaza Strip." Abu...

Authorities in Niger summarily suspended a private broadcaster for a month citing unspecified regulatory violations, according to local journalists and news reports. The station has provided sympathetic coverage of the country's former prime minister, now jailed on corruption charges, according to several sources. In a ruling obtained by the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)...