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New York, December 19, 2008–The only radio station in an Islamist-controlled town in southern Somalia was shuttered by militants in a raid last week, according to the station’s director.

Making news today is yesterday’s release of our year-end analysis of the deadliest countries for journalists. The report found that 41 journalists were killed for their work in 2008, with Iraq named the most deadly for the sixth straight year. The Associated Press, Reuters, and Agence France-Presse all ran stories outlining the report’s findings yesterday. Today the story is receiving widespread coverage in both the…

It has been 14 months since my colleague at The Washington Post Salih Saif Aldin was shot and killed. Time flew by fast and the path for journalists in Iraq is yet to be safe. Shootings, kidnappings, and murder in cold blood have not stopped in my war-torn country. 

March 28, 2008 Sean Langan, freelance ABDUCTED A Taliban-linked group kidnapped freelance British television journalist Sean Langan and his translator near the town of Torkham on the border with Pakistan. He was working in Afghanistan on a documentary series for publicly owned U.K. broadcaster Channel 4, according to U.K. news reports.

MwanaHalisi CENSORED OCTOBER 13, 2008 The Ministry of Information, Sports, and Culture banned the private weekly MwanaHalisi for three months starting October 13, for “inciting public hatred against the president.”

November 25, 2008 Tom Van de Weghe, VRT ATTACKED Eight assailants pulled Belgian journalist Van de Weghe, an Australian cameraman, and a Belgian assistant, from their vehicle before beating them and stealing money and equipment during a reporting job in Henan province, central China, according to the Foreign Correspondents Club of China and international news…

The now infamous incident of Iraqi journalist Muntadhar al-Zaidi throwing his shoes at President George Bush became primetime news throughout the world. In the Middle East it has been shown on television almost endlessly. 

NOVEMBER 5, 2008 Shahrvand Emrouz CLOSEDIran’s Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance shut down the moderate weekly magazine Shahrvand Emrouz on November 5, saying that the magazine had breached the terms of its licensing agreement.

New York, December 17, 2008–A journalist who disappeared in Zimbabwe on Saturday may be in police custody, journalists in Harare told CPJ.

In response to the approval yesterday by the Uruguayan Senate of a bill that repeals criminal defamation on issues of public interest involving officials, and eliminates a disrespect provision, we issued the following statement today…