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Gambia orders three radio stations to cease broadcasting

The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on Gambian authorities to allow three independent radio stations to resume full broadcasting. Taranga FM, Hilltop Radio, and Afri Radio stopped broadcasting on January 1 on the orders of national security agents, who did not give any explanation for the measure, according to news reports. The closures come amid a political crisis in Gambia after President Yahya Jammeh refused to admit defeat in elections last month. Authorities may have targeted at least one of the stations after it announced details of President-elect Adama Barrow's inauguration, planned…Read more

Indian journalist murdered after political scandal reporting

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and its affiliates the the Indian Journalists Union (IJU) and the National Union of Journalists (India) (NUJI) strongly condemn the murder of journalist Kishore Dave in Gujarat, India on Monday, August 22. The IFJ demands swift investigation and action to bring those responsible to justice. Dave, at the bureau of Jai Hind, a local vernacular daily at Junagadh in Gujarat, eastern India, was murdered in his office by unidentified assailants on Monday evening. Dave was attacked as he was filing a report, stabbed multiple times in the…Read more

The Queen inspires new hub for Commonwealth organisations

The atmosphere was full of comradery and optimism today as The Queen shook hands with athletes, young people, High Commissioners and staff at the launch of a new Commonwealth Hub. The ceremony took place at Marlborough House, the Commonwealth’s headquarters in London. The Commonwealth Hub will be located directly across from Marlborough House in a building to be renamed Commonwealth House. It will become the home of a network of Commonwealth accredited organisations. Today, the Commonwealth Games Federation, the Royal Commonwealth Society and the Commonwealth Local Government Forum agreed to move their main offices…Read more

India jails reporter for accusing government of discriminating against Muslims

Indian authorities should immediately release Pushp Sharma, who is being held in pretrial detention for alleged forgery and incitement, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Police in Delhi arrested Sharma, a journalist for The Milli Gazette, a biweekly, English-language publication aimed at Indian Muslims, on May 14, on suspicion that he fabricated a document in a March 11 article claiming the government discriminates against Muslims. The document, which Sharma said was from the Ministry of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, and Homeopathy (AYUSH) purported to show that the ministry denies Muslims jobs as yoga trainers,…Read more

Invitation to visit Korea

The UIA cordially invites you to send representatives to its 4th Associations Round Table on Wednesday 28 and Thursday 29 September in Busan, Korea.    The UIA Round Table is an opportunity to learn through networking and through practice, to meet other international associations and share experience and knowledge to help you run your organization better. Read more here .     The registration fee for association representatives is 60 US dollars. Thanks to the support of our partners at the Korea Tourism Organizationand Busan Tourism Organization we are able to offer a high-level educational programme for a low fee. All other elements…Read more

The Windhoek Declaration, 25 years on: What’s changed?

This statement was originally published on whk25.misa.org  On the occasion of World Press Freedom Day 2016, the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA), salutes all the champions of media freedom and freedom of expression across the world who have assumed the risks associated with such an effort. We wish to pay our deepest respects to all journalists who have lost their lives in the line of duty; our thoughts go out their families, friends and colleagues who will miss them for the rest of their lives. We also extend our prayers and solidarity to…Read more

Well-known activist, editor of LBGTI magazine, murdered

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) joins the Bangladesh Manobadhikar Sangbadik Forum (BMSF) in condemning the murder of the editor of the country's first and only LBGTI magazine in Dhaka on April 25,2016. The IFJ demands immediate action from the Bangladeshi government to end the attacks against freedom of expression in Bangladesh. According to reports, Zulhaz Mannan, the editor of Bangla-language LBGTI magazine Roopbaan, a local staffer of USAID and the cousin of former foreign minister Dr Dipu Moni, was hacked to death along with a friend, Tanay Fahim, at his residence in Dhaka's Kalabagan…Read more

CPU Media Trust Chairman speaks to Commonwealth Journalists Conference

Speech by Lord Black of Brentwood, Chairman of the Commonwealth Press Union Media Trust, at the Commonwealth Journalists’ Association Conference on “The Future of Journalism in the Digital Age”, London, 11th April 2016 "Ladies and Gentlemen, Distinguished Guests. It is a real honour to be here this evening and thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to say a few words. As you said, Rita, I am Chairman of the Commonwealth Press Union Media Trust – an organisation which, for more than a hundred years, has sought to preserve, enhance and…Read more

Commonwealth Press Union Media Trust: Astor Award, 2015/6

The Human Rights Network for Journalists of Uganda (HRNJ-Uganda) has been awarded the Commonwealth Press Union (CPU) Astor Award for its outstanding work in protecting the freedom of journalists in Uganda. The prestigious award is one of the oldest press freedom awards in the world. It was established in honour of longstanding President of the CPU David Astor, and first presented in 1970. This year’s Award was presented by the Chairman of the CPU Media Trust, Lord Black of Brentwood, at a Conference on the future of journalism organised by the Commonwealth Journalists…Read more

Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma steps down

Today is Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma's last day in office after 8 years.  He will be succeeded by Patricia Scotland who takes up office tomorrow. Yesterday, Secretary-General Sharma's portrait was unveiled and it will hang in Marlborough House alongside that of his predecessors.Read more