POLITICS: Rich Nations More Negative About Global Institutions

Citizens of the world's wealthiest countries are more negative about global institutions such as the United Nations, the International Monetary Fund and transnational corporations than their counterparts in the world's poorer regions, according to a new poll of 32 nations released Tuesday by the BBC World Service.

SPAIN: Credit Card Trail Leads to Child Porn Arrests

The arrests in Spain of 33 people, including a Catholic priest, for allegedly purchasing and distributing child pornography over the Internet has highlighted the need to step up joint international efforts to combat this crime.

SRI LANKA: Media Targeted as Civil War Looms Large

There was nothing unusual about the two police officers leaning languidly against their patrol car and watching a group of protesting journalists in Colombo on a cloudy afternoon last week. To all appearances, it was business as usual.

MEDIA-US: Iraq, Natural Disasters Dominated TV News in 2005

Led by Hurricane Katrina, natural disasters and Iraq dominated the U.S. television news during 2005, accounting for almost half of the content of the three major network news shows over the course of the year, according to the latest annual round-up of the weekday evening news by the New York-based Tyndall Report.

CANADA: Sick of Being Little Brother, Let Alone “Retarded Cousin”

As the federal election date draws near on Jan. 23, Canadian political parties are staking their ground on the government's deteriorating relationship with the United States.

FINANCE-SERBIA: State Takeover Raises Questions

After making much of privatisation, the Serbian government has taken over one of the biggest private firms, the cell phone company Mobtel.

POLITICS-US: Bush Bypasses Senate on Two Crony Appointments

Resorting once more to controversial "recess" appointments, U.S. President George W. Bush has named two political cronies to key administration positions without Senate approval.

MALAYSIA: Nude Squats Story Backfires on Press Freedom

News reports based on secret video grabs of a woman forced to do 'nude squats' in police custody, which put the Malaysian government in a spot over human rights, have backfired on press freedom as it turned out that the victim's nationality had been wrongly identified.

POLITICS: Once Taboo, Islam Turns Hot Topic in Malaysia

Islam tops Malaysia's long list of "sensitive subjects" that are forbidden from being raised in public but, over the last two weeks, it is as if nothing else can be discussed.

MEDIA-US: The Freest Press Money Can Buy?

Amid undenied charges that the Pentagon is paying Iraqi journalists to write "good news" stories about the country's progress, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has announced a new international exchange programme for journalists named for famed broadcaster Edward R. Murrow and emphasising "the democratic principles that guided Mr. Murrow's practice of his craft - integrity and ethics and courage and social responsibility".

RIGHTS-MEXICO: Journalist Hit with Libel Charge after Exposing Paedophile Ring

Journalist and activist Lydia Cacho believes that the influence wielded by a powerful child prostitution and pornography ring is responsible for the death threats she has been receiving for months and her recent arrest on criminal libel charges.

TSUNAMI-IMPACT: For Sex Workers, the Show Must Go On

Clad in skimpy black bikini and knee-length boots, the young Thai woman gyrated around the silver pole and blew kisses at the mainly European patrons of the go-go bar she was performing in.

CHALLENGES 2005-2006: Website Opens Tsunami Aid to Public Scrutiny

As survivors in Asia struggle to rebuild after last December's devastating tsunami, a new window of hope has opened in cyberspace for four affected countries.

SOCIETY-BALKANS: Kosovo Tops the News, but Not a Priority for Serbs

Judging merely from the media or from politicians' statements, one could assume that the Kosovo issue is a priority for a large portion of the Serbian public.

MEDIA-BALKANS: It’s Dangerous to Tackle Taboos in Croatia

The host of a popular talk show on state-run Croatian Television (HRT), Denis Latin, and his aides received some 200 telephone threats over the course of two days, including threats against their lives, after airing a programme dealing with the legacy of 1991-95 independence or "homeland" war.

MEDIA: Ruined Radio Reborn in Kashmir

Mohammad Bilal was producing programmes on youth education and entertainment at the Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation (PBC) in Peshawar when he suddenly found himself pushed into the deep end.

UAE: Arab Media Asks Tough Questions – of Itself

Arabs are no longer blaming external forces for giving the region and its media a bad name. As debates at the 'Arab and World Media Conference' revealed, they are also attempting to identify the deficiencies in their own systems and demanding remedies to overcome them.

DEVELOPMENT: IPS Honours Anti-Poverty Alliance

The Inter Press Service news agency presented its 2005 International Achievement Award to the Global Call to Action Against Poverty (GCAP) at the United Nations Wednesday.

MEDIA-IRAQ/US: The Bad News Is the Good News Is Fake

U.S. Congressional leaders who have been touting Iraq's new "free press" as a sign of progress in the troubled country are upset at the Pentagon's admission last week that it has been paying for "good news" stories written by the military and placed in Iraqi media by a Washington-based public relations firm.

COMMUNICATION: Media Democracy Must Sprout From the Grassroots

Civil society must lead the democratisation of the media, an issue that was barely touched on at the recent World Summit on the Information Society, said participants at an international meeting in the Chilean capital.

RIGHTS: Thai Courts Still Defend Press Freedom

A handful of recent judgements delivered by Thai courts is helping to push the country's judiciary into a new realm of respect, as one of the only remaining institutions prepared to defend media freedom and journalists under siege.