"One of the authors of a controversial Sunday Times article alleging that Edward Snowden's actions endangered the lives of British spies defended the story in an interview on CNN Sunday.
2 Feb 2015
Peter Greste 'won't give up' until colleagues are free
The family of Peter Greste, who has been released by Egyptian authorities after 400 days in prison, have said the award-winning Al Jazeera journalist's relief at being free is marred by the continued imprisonment of his colleagues. Baher Mohamed, a producer, and the channel's Cairo bureau chief Mohamed Fahmy, who were working on the same stories as Peter, are still in jail and on Monday started their 401st day behind bars.
Greste's brother Andrew said on Monday that Greste was still worried about the fate of his colleagues. "Straight up he's not going to forget his two other colleagues. There's no doubt that his excitement is tempered and and restrained and will be restrained until those guys are free," Andrew said at a news conference in Brisbane. "He won't give up until Baher and Mohamed are out of there," he added: "We are thinking of Baher, Mohamed and their families."
20 Aug 2014
US and UK try to identify Isis militant with British accent who killied James Foley
British and US security services are trying to identify the Islamic State (Isis) militant with a British accent who appeared in a video of the apparent beheading of US journalist James Foley, the UK foreign secretary, Philip Hammond, has said. Hammond said intelligence agencies were trying to unmask the fluent English-speaking militant in the propaganda footage.
Scotland Yard's counter-terrorism command, SO15, also launched an investigation into the video as leading linguistics experts said the man sounded like he was from London or the south-east of England. Hammond said: "All the hallmarks point to [the video] being genuine. We're very concerned by the apparent fact that the murderer in question is British and we are urgently investigating – agencies on both sides of the Atlantic – are first of all looking to authenticate the video, to make sure that it is genuine, and sadly it appears to be, and then to see if we can identify the individual in question."
3 May 2014
Egyptian judge wishes al-Jazeera trio a happy Press Freedom Day then refuses bail
The judge trying three al-Jazeera journalists in Egypt wished them a happy World Press Freedom Day before refusing them bail and adjourning their case until 15 May.
In a brief session on Saturday, one of the trio, al-Jazeera English's Cairo bureau chief, Mohamed Fahmy, was allowed to leave the defendants' cage to explain to the judge the nature of journalism. The judge, Mohamed Nagy, then adjourned proceedings because Fahmy's lawyer had failed to turn up due to a private emergency.
Fahmy, the Australian ex-BBC journalist Peter Greste and a local producer, Baher Mohamed, have been in jail since late December, and stand accused of creating false news, smearing Egypt's reputation, and aiding terrorists. They are charged alongside five students with connections to the banned Muslim Brotherhood, and prosecutors have tried to show that al-Jazeera is part of a pro-Brotherhood conspiracy.
23 Jun 2013
Michael Hastings Sent Email About FBI Probe Hours Before Death
Hours before dying in a fiery car crash, award-winning journalist Michael Hastings sent an email to his colleagues, warning that federal authorities were interviewing his friends and that he needed to go "off the rada[r]" for a bit.
The email was sent around 1 p.m. on Monday, June 17. At 4:20 a.m. the following morning, Hastings died when his Mercedes, traveling at high speeds, smashed into a tree and caught on fire. He was 33.
Hastings sent the email to staff at BuzzFeed, where he was employed, but also blind-copied a friend, Staff Sgt. Joseph Biggs, on the message. Biggs, who Hastings met in 2008 when he was embedded in his unit in Afghanistan, forwarded the email to KTLA, who posted it online on Saturday.
Here's the email, with the recipients' names redacted.
Subject: FBI Investigation, re: NSA
Hey (redacted names) -- the Feds are interviewing my "close friends and associates." Perhaps if the authorities arrive "BuzzFeed GQ," er HQ, may be wise to immediately request legal counsel before any conversations or interviews about our news-gathering practices or related journalism issues.
Also: I'm onto a big story, and need to go off the rada[r] for a bit.
All the best, and hope to see you all soon.
Michael
Rumors that the FBI was investigating Hastings began the day after his death, with a couple of mysterious WikiLeaks tweets. In a rare move, the FBI issued a statement denying that Hastings was under investigation.
28 Feb 2013
15 Feb 2013
World Press Photo 2012
Photo by Paul Hansen, Sweden, Dagens Nyheter
Two-year-old Suhaib Hijazi and his older brother Muhammad were killed when their house was destroyed by an Israeli missile strike. Their father Fouad was also killed and their mother was put in intensive care. Fouad’s brothers carry his children to the mosque for the burial ceremony as his body is carried behind on a stretcher.
30 Jan 2013
Press Freedom Index 2013
After the “Arab springs” and other protest movements that prompted many rises and falls in last year’s index, the 2013 Reporters Without Borders World Press Freedom Index marks a return to a more usual configuration. The ranking of most countries is no longer attributable to dramatic political developments. This year’s index is a better reflection of the attitudes and intentions of governments towards media freedom in the medium or long term.
The same three European countries that headed the index last year hold the top three positions again this year. For the third year running, Finland has distinguished itself as the country that most respects media freedom. It is followed by the Netherlands and Norway. Although many criteria are considered, ranging from legislation to violence against journalists, democratic countries occupy the top of the index while dictatorial countries occupy the last three positions. Again it is the same three as last year – Turkmenistan, North Korea and Eritrea.
“The Press Freedom Index published by Reporters Without Borders does not take direct account of the kind of political system but it is clear that democracies provide better protection for the freedom to produce and circulate accurate news and information than countries where human rights are flouted,” Reporters Without Borders secretary-general Christophe Deloire said. “In dictatorships, news providers and their families are exposed to ruthless reprisals, while in democracies news providers have to cope with the media’s economic crises and conflicts of interest. While their situation is not always comparable, we should pay tribute to all those who resist pressure whether it is aggressively focused or diffuse.”
9 Jan 2013
Is Alex Jones the Conspiracy?
"Those familiar with radio host Alex Jones were not surprised by his fiery performance Monday night on Piers Morgan (part 1 – part 2), where Jones called the CNN host a "hatchet man of the New World Order" during an impassioned tirade in support of the second amendment."*
Alex Jones' ridiculous, crazy ramblings are no surprise to the TYT viewer. Well, after his legendary freak out on Piers Morgan's CNN show, Jones has some more conspiracy theories about who's out to get him now.
TYT - Related: Alex Jones Shirtless Rant Against TYT
8 Dec 2012
23 Oct 2012
Turkey's Press Freedom Crisis
The Dark Days of Jailing Journalists and Criminalizing Dissent
Turkish authorities are engaging in widespread criminal prosecution and jailing of journalists, and are applying other forms of severe pressure to promote self-censorship in the press, a CPJ analysis shows. CPJ has found highly repressive laws, particularly in the penal code and anti-terror law; a criminal procedure code that greatly favors the state; and a harsh anti-press tone set at the highest levels of government. Turkey’s press freedom situation has reached a crisis point.
A special report by the Committee to Protect Journalists - Two of Turkey's leading journalists speak from jail
19 Sept 2012
Activists and Journalists beaten and detained in Belarus
Several people were detained and beaten in the Belarusian capital Minsk on Tuesday as they attempted to hold a rally calling for a nationwide boycott of this weekend's parliamentary elections in the former Soviet republic.
"Opposition activists were going to hold another picket near the Frunzensky store in Minsk calling on people not to vote in the elections to the Chamber of Representatives of the National Assembly," the opposition Charter 97 group said on its website. (RIA Novosti)
Agents in plainclothes repeatedly hit several journalists covering an opposition protest organized by activists calling for a boycott of Sunday's parliamentary vote, according to news reports. Sergei Grits, a photographer for The Associated Press, said his face was covered with blood after one of the assailants punched him and broke his glasses, according to AP.
All of the journalists were shoved into a minivan with no license plates and driven to a police station where their equipment and documents were confiscated with no explanation, news reports said. Police held the journalists without charge for two hours and then released them, the AP reported. The officials also deleted the images and video recordings from the journalists' cameras before returning the equipment, Reuters reported.
3 May 2012
Press Freedom Index 2011-2012
“This year’s index sees many changes in the rankings, changes that reflect a year that was incredibly rich in developments, especially in the Arab world,” Reporters Without Borders said today as it released its 10th annual press freedom index. “Many media paid dearly for their coverage of democratic aspirations or opposition movements. Control of news and information continued to tempt governments and to be a question of survival for totalitarian and repressive regimes. The past year also highlighted the leading role played by netizens in producing and disseminating news.