Farouk Hosny Egypt's culture minister, and candidate to lead Unesco, the UN's cultural arm, has expressed "solemn regret" over a May 2008 pledge to burn Israeli books in Egyptian libraries. Read more here
Lecturers voted overwhelmingly to boycott Israeli universities and colleges. As soon as the vote was carried, the leadership of the University and College Union declared it void to avoid legal action. Read more here
Egyptian blogger Tamer Mabrouk has been fined nearly 6,000 euros as the result of a defamation lawsuit by a private company, Trust Chemical Co., over information about pollution that he posted online. Read more here
Iran has restored access to Facebook after a block on the social networking website last week generated accusations that the government was trying to muzzle one of the main presidential campaign tools of the reformist opposition. Read more here
Iraq's national intelligence service has launched a court action to sue the Guardian, claiming to have been defamed by a story that characterised the regime of prime minister Nouri al-Maliki as autocratic. Read more here
Armed Israeli police attempted to halt the opening night of a prominent Palestinian literary festival in Jerusalem ordering a Palestinian theatre to close. Read more here
Iran has blocked access to Facebook, prompting government critics to condemn the move as an attempt to muzzle the opposition before next month's presidential election. Read more here
The Observatory for the Freedom of Press, Publishing and Creation in Tunisia was set up as a monitoring body with the goal of tracking all forms of media and literary censorship, as well as censorship of other forms of artistic expression. Its aim...
The Maharat Foundation is a team of young journalists who experienced first-hand the difficulties faced by free press in Lebanon and the Arab world. They share a common vision of journalism that is freer and of a society that is more democratic.
International Media Support is committed to freedom of expression and supports local media in countries affected by armed conflict, human insecurity and political transition. IMS activities cover three thematic areas of engagement. In addition to...