News

Four journalists have been sentenced to death in Yemen for the “crime” of being journalists. This draconian sentence was delivered to muzzle the local media at a time when the world focuses on the temporary ceasefire between the Iranian backed rebels- The Ansar Allah group; otherwise known as the Houthis, and the UN recognised official Yemeni government, led by Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi, backed by a Saudi led coalition. The Houthi … Read more →

Turkish authorities have arrested several journalists critical of the government’s policies over the past two weeks – the latest being Fox TV Turkey news anchor Fatih Portakal who has been charged and faces imprisonment for a social media post critical of the government’s Covid-19 response. A total of 410 citizens have also been taken into custody for posting or sharing material about the coronavirus. “Fatih Portakal and all other Turkish … Read more →

With Myanmar’s first reporting deadline to the International Court of Justice already looming, the UN special rapporteur on human rights has warned that Myanmar’s military may once again be committing crimes against humanity. Myanmar already faces charges of genocide over a military crackdown, which saw more than 700,000 Rohingya Muslims forced to flee to Bangladesh in 2017. Today, over 850,000 Rohingya refugees are living stateless, in highly congested conditions in … Read more →

Saudi Arabia has announced it will no longer use the death penalty as punishment for crimes committed by minors. The news follows Amnesty International’s Death Penalty in 2019: Facts and figures report released on 21 April 2020, that found Saudi Arabia to be the world’s third most prolific executioner. Despite an overall decline in the use of the death penalty worldwide, Saudi authorities put 187 people to death in 2019; … Read more →

The European Union’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell is facing questions over allegations that a report about Chinese disinformation over Covid-19 was watered down in response to pressure from Beijing. In a letter to Josep Borrell, the Dutch MEP Bart Groothuis calls for a “formal and full explanation to the European parliament” about the evolution of an EU report on disinformation, amid emerging evidence it was altered under Chinese pressure. … Read more →

Senior staff at Vedomosti, one of Russia’s most highly regarded, independent business newspapers, published an editorial on Thursday 23 April, condemning their own new acting editor-in-chief, Andrey Shmarov. He has been accused of banning criticism of constitutional amendments backed by Vladimir Putin and the use of data from an independent pollster. “With this editorial, we would like to confirm that we cherish the values upon which Vedomosti’s reputation is built … Read more →