10 Oct 2011 | Index Index, minipost
The head of the press censorship department in Burma has called for greater media freedom in the country. Tint Swe called for the abolition of censorship during a radio show with Radio Free Asia. Recent reforms under the new administration are showing determination to reform in the country, where the media is said to be the most heavily censored in the world. Some previously blocked websites are now available and newspapers have been allowed to publish photographs and reports about the pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, which is previously unheard of.
10 Oct 2011 | Index Index, minipost
A newspaper editor was shot on Friday while driving through the Philippines‘ main island, Luzon. Johnson Pascual, editor-in-chief of local newspaper, Prime News, was shot by two men on a motorcycle in Isabela province, Northern Philippines on Friday morning. Following the shooting, where Pascual was hit in the head and torso, the journalist lost control of his vehicle and drove it into a ravine, where he died. It is currently unclear whether Pascual’s murder was related to his work as a journalist.
10 Oct 2011 | Index Index, minipost
Pro-Chavez Hackers in Venezuela have targeted the emails and social media accounts of journalists. Milagros Socorro, director of the site Código Venezuela, announced that hackers attacked her blog, Twitter and emails after criticising President Chavez’s communications ministry. Her Twitter profile image was changed to a bar of soap with the headline “wash your mouth out.” Socorro criticised Minister Andrés Izarra for accusing a foreign correspondent of being unethical and disrespectful to authorities at a press conference in Caracas. It is believed that the group N33, which have launched cyber attacks on critics of the Chavez administration, are responsible for the attack.
10 Oct 2011 | Index Index, minipost
The body of a journalist working for a London-based online news site has been discovered by police in Pakistan. Faisal Qureshi, 28, who was working as web-editor for internet publication the London Post, was discovered on Friday morning in Lahore, with his throat slit, and stab wounds to his body. Shahid Qureshi, Faisal Qureshi’s brother, told police his brother had been receiving death threats from unidentified people which he believed to be over some news reports in his paper. Qureshi’s laptop and mobile phone were also missing. Police have said the motive for the murder is unclear.
