censorship

By Leila Lemghalef UNITED NATIONS (IPS) – A leading advocacy group warns of a “worldwide deterioration in freedom of information” last year. Out of the 180 countries being surveyed, two-thirds have slipped in standards compared to last year, according to the Reporters Without Borders’ World Press Freedom Index 2015. Source: Reporters Without Borders The best […]

censorship

Amal Clooney Seeks talks with Egypt’s Sisi over Client jailed for Committing Journalism

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) – Update: Egypt has announced that Mohamed Fahmy will be retried in Cairo. Human Rights attorney Amal Clooney, wife of the actor George Clooney, wrote to Egyptian President Abdel Fattal al-Sisi on Saturday, requesting a meeting with him with regard to the fate of her client, Mohamed Fahmy, the […]

censorship

Journalist Greste Freed by Egyptian Junta, but Press Freedom still Hostage

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) – Peter Greste, an Australian journalist working for Aljazeera English, has been released from an Egyptian prison after a 400-day ordeal in which he was jailed merely for reporting the news. Greste was preemptively released by a presidential pardon from Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the military dictator. Nothing is more […]

censorship

As Americans are shot At: Saudi Death Sentence on Shiite Cleric inflames Sectarian Tensions

contributors

By Giorgio Cafiero | (Foreign Policy in Focus) – The fate of one Shi’ite cleric hangs over the Gulf like a sword of Damocles. [Updated: Two Americans were fired on in the Shiite Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia on Friday, and one injured; this incident is likely related to the radicalization of Shiites via oppressive […]

Apartheid

Gaza: Bringing War-Disabled Palestinian Youth back into Society

contributors

By Khaled Alashqar | (IPS) — Samah Shaheen (right), one of Gaza’s many disabled young people, joined the Irada programme to acquire expertise, learn computerised wood carving and escape social marginalisation. Credit: Khaled Alashqar/IPS GAZA CITY, Jan 17 2015 (IPS) – The Israeli attacks that the Gaza Strip has suffered in recent years have left […]

Apartheid

Settlers, Olives, and Occupation: Voices from the West Bank

contributors

Vice News | — “In response to last year’s Gaza conflict, the Israeli government announced the construction of further settlements in the West Bank — a move condemned by the international community for escalating tensions that were already highly fraught. The expansion of the settlements has consumed privately owned Palestinian land, causing the destruction of […]

censorship

Paris Rally: Charlie Hebdo Team regret not Parading Caricatures of Hypocritical World Leaders

Juan Cole

Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) Le Monde reported on the Charlie Hebdo team at the Paris rally on Sunday, the largest demonstrations in France since the end of World War II. They were emotionally exhausted, having lived through a nightmarish week that saw 10 of their colleagues murdered in cold blood. (One of the staffers […]

Books

Fearing NSA, Writers in USA and Worldwide Avoiding controversy, keyword Searches

contributors

PEN America | “Global Chilling” PEN America writes: “Global Chilling: The Impact of Mass Surveillance on International Writers is a new report demonstrating the damaging impact of surveillance by the United States and other governments on free expression and creative freedom around the world. The report’s revelations, based on a survey of nearly 800 writers […]

censorship

NCIS Egypt-Style: 820 Civilians referred to Military Courts since October

contributors

Human Rights Watch | — (New York) – Egyptian authorities have referred hundreds of civilians to military courts based on an October 2014 decree by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. At least 820 civilians have been referred to military prosecutors in the past six weeks based on the unprecedented extension of military court authority, according to […]