Index on Censorship editor Jo Glanville and Chief Executive John Kampfner have put their names to a letter in the Times today condemning the BBC's decision to make cutbacks in the BBC Russian service. The BBC claims to have legitimate reasons for...
This week will witness a change of guard at the White House. Regardless of who wins, their first task will be to distance themselves, in the eyes of both domestic and foreign terms, from the Bush administration, which it is now generally accepted,...
There really are no genuine excuses for Random House's withdrawal of The Jewel of Medina, writes Padraig Reidy I was pleasantly surprised yesterday to find the 1977 film Mohammad, Messenger of God in its entirety on YouTube. For those of you...
The legal row between a UK blog and a Muslim activist could be a landmark case, writes Padraig Reidy The news that blog Harry’s Place is facing legal action from Mohammed Sawalha of the British Muslim Initiative was, in some ways, unsurprising....
Visual artists and even pop stars could face prosecution under new British legislation, writes John Ozimek Collectors looking to make a fast buck by investing in erotica had a nervous awakening this morning. And fans of Madonna were left wondering...
Turkey's controversial article 301 has been reworded. Under an amendment passed by the parliament this morning, The term 'Turkishness' is replaced by the 'Turkish nation', and the term 'Republic' with 'State of the Republic of Turkey'. Index on...
Three Ugandan journalists have been arrested after raids on the offices of the Independent magazine. The three, including the magazine’s editor Andrew Mwenda, are accused of being in possession of seditious material and of publishing inflammatory...
The retail giant is displaying a sudden enthusiasm for libel courts, writes Roby Alampay In the space of five months, four libel suits have been filed by Tesco, one of the world's biggest retailers, and its subsidiary in Thailand, Tesco Lotus. The...
The Simpsons has been taken off Venezuelan television. Is this because the regime doesn't like the programme, or because they just don't get it, asks Daniel Duquenal In the latest media silliness from Venezuela, censors have asked TV station...
The increasingly farcical Olympic torch relay made its way to California yesterday. Lucie Morilllon of Reporters Without Borders was there After the London and Paris demonstrations that disrupted the Olympics torch relay and angered Chinese...
Arms trade campaigners are celebrating today, after a London judge decided that the director of the Serious Fraud Office should not have dropped an investigation into a multi-billion dollar arms deal. Padraig Reidy reports A court ruled today that...
A new Indonesian law poses the threat of restrictions on the arts, writes David Jardine The Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR), after very lengthy debate, has passed into law a bill aimed at outlawing online pornography --- this despite the...