Commonwealth

Member Countries celebrate Commonwealth Day

© Commonwealth Secretariat Today, 9 March, member countries across the globe celebrate Commonwealth Day.  This year's theme is "A Young Commonwealth" and in her message published below, HM The Queen - the Head of the Commonwealth - has described all members of the 'family of nations' as 'guardians of a precious flame' and added : 'it is our duty to not only to keep it burning brightly but to keep it replenished for the decades ahead.' It was also announced that HM The Queen will attend the Heads of Government Meeting in Malta from…Read more

Official launch of Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2015

Official CHOGM 2015 Website On November 21 Malta’s Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma launched the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) 2015 to be held in Malta next November. The theme will be 'The Commonwealth - Adding Global Value'. - See more at: http://thecommonwealth.org/media/news/official-launch-commonwealth-heads-government-meeting-2015#sthash.tt7wCxVW.dpufRead more

Zambian government launches code of ethics for journalists

Media Institute of Southern Africa  At the launch of the Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA) in Lusaka on 3 September 2014, Zambia's Information and Broadcasting Services Minister Joseph Katema also launched a code of ethics for Zambian media. Katema told Zambian media they must be loyal to the public and are responsible for delivering the truth to the public, rather than to individuals and their private agendas. Dr Katema said all media institutions in the country, whether private or public, should maintain high ethical and professional standards in carrying out their noble role of…Read more

Shots fired at home of senior leader of Pakistani journalists’ union

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) reiterates its serious concerns towards safety of journalists in Pakistan after the senior leader of the IFJ affiliate, the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ), had shots fired at his home this week. Unidentified people fired shots at the home of Rana Mohammad Azeem, the Lahore-based president of the PFUJ, on September 16 in a move he believes was intended to intimidate and silence him. The PFUJ said this was the second time in a week that shots have been fired. No one was hurt in either…Read more

In Telangana, India, 70 members of press detained, two channels blocked, media threatened

Scores of journalists and media workers were briefly detained Tuesday and Wednesday [September 10 and 11, 2014] in India's newly carved state of Telangana after protesting the blocking of two local TV news channels, according to news reports. The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the detentions and calls on the state's chief minister to stop using incendiary language against the press. Around 70 journalists, media workers, and employees of news outlets werearrested earlier this week while protesting the blacking out of two local TV channels, according to news reports. The privately owned Telugu-language news channels, TV9 and ABN…Read more
Journalists Marie Colvin and Remi Ochlik die in Homs

Journalists Marie Colvin and Remi Ochlik die in Homs

22/02/2012By: BBC Highly respected American Sunday Times reporter Marie Colvin, and award-winning French photographer Remi Ochlik died when a shell hit the makeshift media centre in the Baba Amr district. Opposition-held areas of Homs have been besieged since 4 February. Activists say at least 25 other people were killed in Syria on Wednesday. Thousands have died in the unrest against President Bashar al-Assad. More than 40 people died on Tuesday alone, including Rami al-Sayed, a man who broadcast a live video stream from Homs used by world media. Mr Sayed was fatally wounded…Read more
CMAG Statement on The Maldives

CMAG Statement on The Maldives

14/02/2012By: Commonwealth Secretariat The Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) have issued the following statement on the situation in The Maldives: Statement by the Chair on behalf of CMAG 1. The Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) held an extraordinary meeting by teleconference to consider the situation in the Republic of Maldives. The meeting was convened by the Commonwealth Secretary-General, Kamalesh Sharma, and chaired by Hon Surujrattan Rambachan, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Communications of Trinidad and Tobago. Other members of the Group who participated in the meeting were: Hon Kevin Rudd, Minister for Foreign…Read more
UK Public wants tougher, independent press regulation

UK Public wants tougher, independent press regulation

 14/02/2012 By: MediaLawyer There is public "consensus" that the Press needs a tougher regulatory system independent of politicians, Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt said. Newspapers must face "credible punishment" for stepping out of line and the Government would look "very, very carefully" at the recommendations of the Leveson Inquiry into Press standards, he added. Speaking to Andrew Marr on the BBC, he said any new regulatory body "must have the confidence of the public". But he said the "elephant in the room" was technological advances which newspapers were struggling to adapt to, with increasing…Read more
Saudi columnist deported from Malaysia

Saudi columnist deported from Malaysia

14/02/2012 By: CPJ Saudi columnist Hamza Kashgari, whose Twitter postings about the Prophet Mohammed have drawn death threats and government reprisals, was deported from Malaysia back to his home country on Sunday, according to news reports. Kashgari, who fled to Malaysia last week after being threatened, was placed on a private plane bound for Saudi Arabia, where he will likely face trial, news reports said. On Monday, the Saudi edition of the pan-Arab paper Al-Hayat reported that a public prosecutor in Jeddah had requested permission from the Bureau of Prosecution and Investigation to bring a case against Kashgari on charges of…Read more
Two Journalists Killed In Bangladesh Capital

Two Journalists Killed In Bangladesh Capital

Two television journalists were found stabbed to death on Saturday, Feb. 11, in their home in the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka. The motive of the killing is unknown and police have yet to determine whether it is related to their work.Police said authorities are investigating the killing of Sagar Sarwar and his wife, Mehrun Runi, which allegedly took place earlier in the morning, according to local news reports.Sarwar was news editor of the private TV station Massranga; Runi worked as a senior reporter at ATN Bangla television.Police said Sarwar was found with his…Read more