Press Freedom

US-CHINA: Google Puts Ball in Beijing’s Court

By Eli Clifton
Internet users in China are reporting varying degrees of censorship on Google search results after the company moved its Chinese operation out of mainland China.

TUNISIA: Rights Groups Condemn Harassment of Ex-Prisoners

By IPS Correspondents
The Tunisian government should stop the harassment of political prisoners after their release from jail, say rights groups in two new reports.

BELARUS: Crackdown on Dissent Feared Ahead of Elections

By Pavol Stracansky
Civil rights leaders in Belarus are facing a campaign of persecution and harassment as autocratic President Aleksandr Lukashenko looks to crack down on the opposition ahead of local and presidential elections over the next year, rights activists warn.

POLITICS: The Pentagon’s Propaganda Networks – Part 2

By Pratap Chatterjee
Propaganda networks that conduct "psychological warfare" for the Pentagon have been in vogue for a long time. Mike Furlong, a senior Pentagon official who is now being investigated for running a covert network of contractors to supply information for drone strikes and assassinations in Afghanistan and Pakistan, had a long history of working in this field.

RIGHTS: U.S. Concerned Over Curbs on NGOs, Press, Internet

By Jim Lobe
Releasing its annual report on the state of human rights around the world, the U.S. State Department Thursday said it was increasingly concerned about curbs imposed by foreign governments on civil society groups, the press, and Internet use.

EGYPT: U.N. Slams Abuse of Emergency Law

By IPS Correspondents
Despite diplomatic maneuvering designed to block any review of its human rights record, a United Nations special rapporteur has told the U.N. Human Rights Council that proposed changes in Egypt's constitution "would create a permanent legal state of emergency".

POLITICS: U.S. Lifts Restrictions on Web Services

By Eli Clifton
After U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's January address on the role of internet freedom in U.S. foreign policy, the Barack Obama administration appears to be taking the first steps to introduce specific legislation and policies to exploit the role of the internet in opening up those countries ruled by oppressive or authoritarian governments.

U.S.: Obama Urged to Aggressively Pursue Rights Agenda

By Matthew O. Berger
Following a meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama and a summit last week, human rights activists from a range of countries released a plan of action Monday according to which the United States can lead the way in safeguarding human rights.
Mohammad Javad Larijani, secretary-general of Iran's High Council for Human Rights, at the Human Rights Council in Geneva. Credit: Ehsan Norouzi

RIGHTS: Iran Rebuffs U.N. Criticism, Denies Abuses

By Omid Memarian
International human rights groups and Iranian activists say Iran's decision to reject major recommendations made by the 47-member U.N. Human Rights Council on Wednesday is disappointing and signals that Tehran has no intention of easing the crackdown on dissent in the country.

RIGHTS: Mideast and North Africa Cited for Press Abuses

By Mohammed A. Salih and Charles Fromm
A report by the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) on press freedom around the world in 2009 depicts an especially gloomy situation in the Middle East and North Africa, where authorities continue to use repressive measures to muzzle journalists.

MIDEAST: Gaza’s Female Scribes Face Worse Than Discrimination

By Mel Frykberg
Female journalists worldwide complain about discrimination on the grounds of gender. However, their colleagues in Gaza also face death threats, the dangers of working in a war zone and the struggle for daily necessities as the Israeli siege on Gaza drags on.

EGYPT: Press Freer, but Still Fettered

By Cam McGrath
Not long ago an editorial like the one that appeared in the independent Al- Dustour newspaper this week might never have made it into print.

RIGHTS-MEXICO: Reporters, Activists Demand State Protection

By Emilio Godoy
Journalists and human rights activists in Mexico are frantically seeking a mechanism to protect them from attacks related to their work, but the state has been slow to respond. The Colombian model might provide a solution.

US-IRAN: Journalists Call for Release of Jailed Colleagues

By IPS Correspondents
On Thursday, the 31st anniversary of the Islamic Revolution in Iran, a coalition of international journalists, writers and publishers launched a campaign calling for the release of their colleagues imprisoned following disputed presidential elections last year in Iran.
Last cover of Cambio news magazine. Credit: Revista Cambio

COLOMBIA: Magazine Closure Deals Major Blow to Investigative Reporting

By Javier Darío Restrepo
What would have happened in Colombia if the financing of former president Ernesto Samper's (1994-1998) election campaign by the Cali cartel had not been uncovered?

CHILE: Stop Treating Community Broadcasters as Criminals, Say Activists

By Pamela Sepulveda
Criminal law should not be used against freedom of expression, nor to silence community radio stations in Chile, say activists and journalists in response to closures of community radio outlets in this South American country.

MEDIA: Foreign News Channels Drawing U.S. Viewers

By Haider Rizvi
Television viewers in the United States seeking international news are starting to switch over to foreign channels to learn what is happening in the outside world, media watchers here say.

MEDIA: Slovakia Tightens the Gag

By Pavol Stracansky
Fears are growing for media freedom in Slovakia amid warnings that the country's public television station has become a propaganda tool for the government ahead of elections this year.

U.S.: Clinton Criticises China over Internet Censorship

By Eli Clifton
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton delivered a speech Thursday laying out the Barack Obama administration's position on internet freedom, and publicly called on Chinese authorities to investigate the security breaches which preceded last week's decision by Google to end its cooperation with Chinese internet censorship.

RIGHTS: Defenders Under Sustained Attack Worldwide

By Jim Lobe
Abusive governments around the world escalated their attacks against local human rights defenders and other independent monitors during 2009, according to the 2010 edition of Human Rights Watch's annual 'World Report' released here Wednesday.

ZAMBIA: Scarcely Room for Women in Male-dominated Politics

By IPS Correspondents
Charity Mwansa, a former minister and member of parliament, knows just exactly what being one of the very few female politicians in Zambia means. When she left politics it had nothing to with not being able to do the work and instead had everything to do with the mad world of male-dominated politics.
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