Languages
Wednesday, October 7, 2026
News and Views from the Global South
Press Freedom
MIDEAST: Non-Story Sets Off Ripples of Trouble
It's not so much the proverbial making-a-mountain-out-of-a-molehill, but Israel finds itself climbing out of a stinky dung heap and onto a slippery diplomatic minefield.LATIN AMERICA: Investigative Journalists Show Their Mettle
"One way of ensuring the future of journalism is to improve content quality, and this means investigating what is deliberately hidden, like corruption," said Gerardo Reyes, a reporter for the Miami newspaper El Nuevo Herald, on a visit to the Peruvian capital.TRINIDAD: Critics Accuse Govt of Wanting to Curb Press Freedom
The Trinidad and Tobago government is finding itself against the wall amid allegations that it is attempting to curb press freedoms in this oil rich twin island republic.NORTH KOREA: After Clinton’s Trip, More Questions Than Answers Remain
Former U.S. President Bill Clinton’s trip to North Korea to secure the release of two U.S. journalists has called attention to the lack of engagement over the past five-months since Pyongyang quit the six-party talks.RIGHTS-GAMBIA: Hydara Six Convicted on Sedition Charge
A high court judge in Gambia has convicted six Gambian journalists on charges of defamation and sedition.MEDIA: U.S. Rights Groups Condemn Closure of Venezuelan Radio Stations
Several U.S. rights groups condemned the closure of 34 radio stations, as well as the proposal of restrictive media legislation, by Venezuelan authorities Monday.EGYPT: Bloggers Fly Into Security Trap
Cairo's airport has been unusually busy the past month as Egypt's security apparatus steps up its campaign against online political activists.MEDIA: African Journalists Reject EU-sponsored Observatory
A project to create a Pan-African Media Observatory (PAMO), sponsored by the European Union in cooperation with the African union, has been rejected by numerous African journalist organisations.BALKANS: Media Could Be in the Dock Over War Crimes
Journalists are in the dock now for their role in provoking the wars of the 1990s across former Yugoslavia that left more than 100,000 dead.
SIERRA LEONE: Radio Stations Banned
Two Sierra Leonean radio stations have been stripped of their licences. The national regulatory body, the Independent Media Commission (IMC), says the stations failed to comply with the country's media code.
IRAN: Protests Erupt on Student Massacre Anniversary
Tehran's relatively tranquil week ended with large protests commemorating the tenth anniversary of attacks on the dormitories of Tehran University in 1999, making Thursday yet another significant day in the short post-election history of protests since Jun. 12.
IRAN: Censors Fail to Silence Cyber-Activists
To mark the tenth anniversary of Iran's student uprising in 1999 amid the continued rejection by many voters of the results of the disputed Jun. 12 election, student activists issued a national call to protest last week.CHILE: Alternative Media Have Their Network
The recently created People's Media Network of Chile seeks to forge links that will strengthen newspapers, web sites and radio and TV stations that give a voice to those who are basically ignored by the mainstream media.
RIGHTS-GAMBIA: What Has Govt Got To Hide?
Following a court appearance on Jul. 3, six of the seven Gambian journalists who were arrested and charged with sedition last month were again sent to Mile 2 Prison.SRI LANKA: Journalists Laying Aside Pens Once Again
Sri Lankan journalists are laying aside their pens once again and bracing for renewed confrontation with President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s government after the revival of the repressive Press Council and fresh attacks on the media.GUATEMALA: Journalists in Jeopardy
Veteran television reporter Rolando Santiz was on his way to downtown Guatemala City on Apr. 1 when two gunmen on a motorcycle drove up alongside his car and killed him in a rain of gunfire. The photographer driving with him was wounded but miraculously survived.
RIGHTS-GAMBIA: Who Killed Deyda Hydara?
Six of the seven Gambian Press Union (GPU) officials and journalists arrested last week have now been freed on bail. The journalists still face serious charges including "conspiracy to publish with seditious intention".
WOMEN-MEDIA: Who Is the Editor?
For the first time in 15 years, an organisation, the International Women's Media Foundation (IWMF), is attempting to measure the progress, or lack of progress, of women in media organisations globally.RIGHTS: Sri Lankan Journalists Face Severe Persecution
At least 11 Sri Lankan journalists were driven into exile in the past 12 months amid an intensive government crackdown on critical reporters and editors, said a new survey from the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) released Wednesday.RIGHTS: Call to Drop Case Against Journalist
Press freedom groups are calling on the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) to drop its case against a French journalist accused of contempt over a book about the workings of the court.NORTH KOREA: U.S. Urges Release of Jailed Journalists
The harsh prison sentence given to two U.S. journalists found guilty of grave crimes against the North Korean state is eliciting concern from human rights groups and analysts.« Previous Page — Next Page »
Journalism is dangerous work. Dozens of reporters and other media workers are killed in the line of duty each year. Hundreds more face threats, intimidation, and harassment as they risk their lives to let us know what is going on in war zones and as they root out corruption. In the Information Age, the Internet provides us with new ways to disseminate the news even as it poses new threats to press freedoms.
IPS Director General Farhana Haque Rahman was invited by UNESCO as a panelist at the World Press Freedom Day 2017 gathering in Jakarta, in the Plenary Session: Quality journalism: a public good for just, peaceful and inclusive societies.
The Week with IPS
NEXT STOP - SDGs
Tracking global progress towards a sustainable world
Tracking global progress towards a sustainable world
