WORLD PRESS FREEDOM DAY: UN Chief Asks Media to Shun “Terrorists”

The United Nations is willing to convene an international conference to formulate ethical guidelines for journalists covering one of the most politically sensitive issues in the world body: terrorism.

WORLD PRESS FREEDOM DAY: Cause for Hope and Concern in Southern Africa

As countries around the world commemorate World Press Freedom Day on Wednesday, a mixed picture has emerged of the state of media freedom in Southern Africa.

WORLD PRESS FREEDOM DAY-MEXICO: Stalked By Death

Since Mexican President Vicente Fox took office in December 2000, 15 journalists have been killed in the line of duty, five were murdered for reasons unrelated to their work and two are missing.

WORLD PRESS FREEDOM DAY-US: A Chill in the Air

As the world reflects on the best and worst places to practice journalism on Press Freedom Day Wednesday, independent writers' groups and civil liberties advocates warn that Washington's "war on terror" is putting a growing chill on the basic democratic right of free expression.

WORLD PRESS FREEDOM DAY: Of Information Bills, and Schools on Bars

As preparations to mark World Press Freedom Day (May 3) in Kenya move into high gear, calls for government to pass a freedom of information bill are intensifying.

WORLD PRESS FREEDOM DAY-US: A Chill in the Air

As the world reflects on the best and worst places to practice journalism on Press Freedom Day Wednesday, independent writers' groups and civil liberties advocates warn that Washington's "war on terror" is putting a growing chill on the basic democratic right of free expression.

WORLD PRESS FREEDOM DAY-IRAQ: What Can You Believe?

There is so much more media around now; the problem is that Iraqis do not know what to believe anymore.

WORLD PRESS FREEDOM DAY: Little Said or Heard of Jailed Eritrean Reporters

Good news about media freedom in Eritrea is rare - so it's understandable that delight and relief greeted the announcement last November that Isaac Dawit, an Eritrean journalist with Swedish nationality, had been released after four years in prison.

WORLD PRESS FREEDOM DAY: Sierra Leone’s Libel Laws Under Fire

On the occasion of World Press Freedom Day (May 3), Sierra Leonean journalists aren't so much celebrating media freedom as girding themselves for a legal battle over press rights.

WORLD PRESS FREEDOM DAY: Murdered Tamil Journalist, a Symbol of Courage

For Sri Lanka's reporters, World Press Freedom Day on Tuesday took on added poignancy this year due to one name, Dharmeratnam Sivaram - the South Asian island nation's best journalist on Tamil affairs.

WORLD PRESS FREEDOM DAY: Nepali Journalists Live Dangerously

Press freedom in Nepal is in peril. And on Tuesday to mark World Press Freedom Day, about 1,500 journalists braved arrest to march through the capital in a bid to remind the international community that many of their colleagues are still languishing in detention centers since King Gyanendra seized power in February.

WORLD PRESS FREEDOM DAY: Murder Capitals for Journalists Named

The Philippines, Iraq, Colombia, Bangladesh, and Russia are the world's ''most murderous'' countries in which to be a journalist, New York-based media watchdog the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said Monday.

WORLD PRESS FREEDOM DAY: Murder Capitals for Journalists Named

The Philippines, Iraq, Colombia, Bangladesh, and Russia are the world's ''most murderous'' countries in which to be a journalist, New York-based media watchdog the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said Monday.

WORLD PRESS FREEDOM DAY: Secrecy, Propaganda Seen Sweeping U.S.

Freedom of the press is in decline in the United States amid increased government secrecy and propaganda, say media veterans, analysts, and advocates.

WORLD PRESS FREEDOM DAY-ZIMBABWE: Less Press, Little Freedom

Last year, Zimbabwe earned itself a place on a list of the ‘World’s Worst Places to Be a Journalist’, published by the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists. Twelve months on, little has changed.

WORLD PRESS FREEDOM DAY: Thai On-Line Crusader Fights Silent Battle

'Prachatai', an on-line news website in Thai, is a name that barely registers on the radar of Thailand's mainstream media world. Yet, it is making waves in its own way and on World Press Freedom Day that falls on May 3, the on-line news portal shows the importance of a free press in a free society.

WORLD PRESS FREEDOM DAY: Thai On-Line Crusader Fights Silent Battle

Every May 3 is dedicated to world press freedom, a day to remember and stress the importance of a free press in a free society. Yet, Somkiat Juntursima is a name that barely registers on the radar of Thailand's media world. Nor the publication he edits, 'Prachatai', an on-line news website in Thai.

This column is related to World Press Freedom Day, which is 3 May: NEPAL: JOURNALISM IN A TIME OF EMERGENCY

On February 1 Nepal\'s King Gyanendra sacked the prime minister he had appointed, took power himself, and declared a state of national emergency, and Nepal\'s vibrant and free press was suddenly muzzled, writes Kunda Dixit, editor and co-publisher of the Katmandu-based weekly newspaper, Nepali Times. In this article, the author writes that constitutionally the emergency will lapse next week unless reimposed by parliament. But there is no parliament and no elected prime minister. There are strong calls from political leaders, activists, the media and the international community to have the emergency lifted and the press freed. King Gyanendra said his army needed the emergency to concentrate on defeating the Maoists. But muzzling the media has actually helped the Maoists because the censored press has lost credibility and few believe it even when the government is telling the truth. In addition, the media\'s reporting of Maoist atrocities are also not getting reported, and in the absence of facts wild rumours are rife. Prolonging the emergency will just bolster the argument of those who believe that it was not really designed to curb Maoism, but to put down pluralism. Lifting the state of emergency is in the interest of this country, its people, and its monarch.

MEDIA: Caribbean Ponders Mixed Record on World Press Freedom Day

Caribbean countries observed World Press Freedom Day without much fanfare on Friday, choosing to reflect on their mixed record of achievement in pursuit of the ideal of a free press.