Algeria said Friday it filed a defamation claim against media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) after it back-pedalled accusations that the North African country had possessed Israeli-made Pegasus spyware. Algeria’s embassy in France said the complaint related to declarations the France-based organisation published on its website on July 19. RSF had initially identified Algeria as […]
media
Fauci: US might ‘still have polio’ if media back then opposed vaccine
Top US scientist Anthony Fauci on Saturday blasted commentators who sound an anti-vaccination theme, saying America might still be battling smallpox and polio if today’s kind of misinformation existed back then. The comments from the country’s leading infectious disease expert reflected mounting frustration over the sharp slowdown in the Covid-19 vaccination rate in the United […]
Spain asks Cuba to ‘immediately’ free arrested reporter
Spain on Tuesday called on Havana to “immediately” release a journalist for Spanish newspaper ABC who was arrested after unprecedented protests against the Cuban government. “Arresting a journalist for a Spanish media outlet, ABC, seems inappropriate to me. We have asked through the foreign ministry for her immediate release,” Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said […]
France fines Google 500 mn euros in news copyright row
France’s competition watchdog on Tuesday slapped Google with a 500-million-euro ($593-million) fine for failing to negotiate “in good faith” with media companies over the use of their content under EU copyright rules. It is “the biggest ever fine” imposed by the Competition Authority for a company’s failure to adhere to one of its rulings, the […]
Georgian MPs seek PM’s resignation over cameraman’s death
Opposition lawmakers in Georgia on Monday disrupted parliament to demand the prime minister’s resignation after a cameraman died, blaming the ruling party for the latest attack on journalists. Alexander Lashkarava, who worked for an independent TV news channel called Pirveli, died on Sunday — days after he was beaten by far-right activists during a protest […]
5-year jail term for Morocco journalist sparks condemnation
The sentencing of a Moroccan journalist to five years in prison for indecent assault sparked condemnation Saturday, with media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) deploring a trial “tainted by irregularities”. A Casablanca court on Friday sentenced Soulaimane Raissouni — on hunger strike for more than 90 days — after convicting him of indecent assault against […]
Moroccan journalist gets 5-year jail term for ‘indecent assault’
Detained Moroccan journalist Soulaimane Raissouni was sentenced on Friday to five years in jail for indecent assault against another man. Raissouni, editor-in-chief of now-defunct newspaper Akhbar Al Yaoum, denies the charge and has been on a hunger strike for 93 days. He was not present in court for the sentencing. His supporters say the case […]
PMDA not meant to ‘control’ media: Farrukh Habib
Addressing concerns of representatives of the Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors (CPNE), Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Farrukh Habib clarified that the proposed Pakistan Media Development Authority (PMDA) was in no way meant to “control the country’s media, which is not possible in the modern age of information.” During a visit to the […]
Wars, bankruptcy, pandemics: Asia’s oldest paper still going strong
It has survived two world wars, the fight against colonialism, global financial slumps and on Thursday, Mumbai Samachar, Asia’s oldest newspaper still in print, entered its 200th year confident of beating the pandemic-driven decline that has hit many rivals. Printed in a British-era building in Mumbai’s financial district, the Gujarati-language daily was founded on July […]
15 killed in suspected revenge attacks in Haiti: police
At least 15 people, including a journalist and an opposition activist, were killed in Haiti in overnight violence suspected to be revenge attacks after the death of a police officer, officials said Wednesday. Photographs of reporter Diego Charles lying dead on the ground and of political activist Antoinette Duclair dead in her car circulated on […]