Internet censorship at the Olympic media center dominated press freedom news today. An official with the International Olympic Committee proclaimed “the issue has been resolved” and that Internet access will be provided “just like in any Olympics,” Reuters reported. Yet details were scant on exactly what level of access would be provided by Beijing organizers–and Chinese…
Ethiopian journalists tell us that police in Addis Ababa have finally released 10,000 copies of Enku magazine that were impounded on May 2 because of a cover story about the jailed pop music icon and government critic Teddy Afro. The May edition is expected to finally go on sale on Saturday. CPJ had protested the…
A personal tragedy unfolded in Zimbabwe this week with the death of photographer Richard Mills. The Times of London photographer was working undercover in Harare when he was found dead on July 14 in his hotel room. Authorities said there was no evidence of foul play. Hundreds attended a funeral service at Roselawn Cemetery in…
Facing massive outcry over Internet restrictions at the Olympic press center, the International Olympic Committee says it met today with Beijing organizers and that “the issues were put on the table.” In a statement issued this afternoon, the IOC says it has not made any deal that allows Internet restrictions to be imposed at the Main…
On July 18, Juan Carlos Herrera Acosta went on a hunger strike to demand better prison conditions. Three days later, he sewed his mouth shut to intensify his protest. This is not the first time that Herrera Acosta has self-mutilated in order to garner attention for his plight.
With the Olympics preparations crowding the headlines, news related to the deadly May earthquake in Sichuan province has faded. There is still plenty to report, including the recovery effort and the bitter resentment of grieving parents who believe that faulty construction played a role in their children’s deaths. But a search of recent Chinese news on the quake…
Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) said he wanted to focus his colleagues’ attention on a tragic story in a small West African nation. Chief Ebrima Manneh is a reporter in the Gambia for the state-controlled Daily Observer newspaper. He was arrested by two plainclothes officers from the country’s National Intelligence Agency at the newspaper’s office building…
The fallout continues from yesterday’s revelation that China will not honor its promise to have unfettered Internet access. Sally Jean Kearney has a blog post about the issue on The Huffington Post this morning and Bloomberg updates their coverage as well with a news item called “Beijing Censorship ‘Betrays’ Olympic Values.” The Toronto Star is…
Chinese President Hu Jintao yesterday stressed the importance of a secure Olympics, calling the responsibility as heavy as Mount Tai. But while Chinese media today reported on the new checkpoints guarding access to Tiananmen Square, no mention was made of a security measure on the minds of many visiting journalists. Olympic officials today admitted that…
China’s recent decision to reverse its pledge for open and uncensored Internet access during the upcoming Olympics is the topic of many stories around the world this morning.Agence France-Presse is running a wire story outlining the concerns surrounding the controversial policy switch. The First Post, a Web-only magazine based in the UK, has a short…