Nepal: journalist murdered

The executive editor of a regional daily newspaper in Nepal has been brutally murdered. Yadav Poudel, from Mechi Times, and who has also worked for Kathmandu-based Avenues Television station and the “Rajdhani” national daily newspaer was found murdered in the early hours of Wednesday morning (4 April). Preliminary investigations suggest the journalist was stabbed to death at around 12.30am on Wednesday morning.

Iraq: Car bomb kills TV presenter

A TV presenter has been killed by a car bomb in Iraq. Kamiran Salaheddin was killed at around 9pm on Monday (2 April) night, after a bomb placed under his car exploded. Salaheddin presented Al-Iraq w-al Hadath (Iraq and Events), a news and current affairs programme on Salahaddin TV, where he had been employed since 2005.  The journalist was also the head of the local journalists’ union in Tikrit. Salaheddin is the first journalist to be killed in Iraq this year.

Bahrain: Journalist Ahmed Ismael Hassan al-Samadi dies as violence continues

A citizen journalist who was shot during a peaceful protest in Bahrain has died in hospital. Ahmed Ismael Hassan al-Samadi was shot in the thigh whilst filming tear-gas being fired on protesters near Bahrain’s capital. It is believed al-Samadi was targeted for having a video camera, by armed men who were accompanying security forces. Violence has intensified in Bahrain in the run up to the Grand Prix, which will take place later this month.

Brazil: Two journalists murdered

Two Brazilian journalists were murdered near the Paraguayan border over the weekend. Onei de Moura, owner of weekly newspaper Costa Oeste was shot and killed in Santa Helena by a man he had allegedly argued with earlier in the day. The suspected gunman turned himself him in, but was later released. Reporter Divino Aparecido Calvalho from Radio Cultura AM was ambushed as he left his car at the radio station. Calvalho was shot three times, but managed to escape in his car. Whilst attempting to drive to a hospital, he crashed into a parked ambulance, and died some time later.