News

September 30, 2025 - USA -  A U.S. federal judge has ordered an immediate halt to plans by the Trump administration to terminate 532 full-time employees at the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), the parent body overseeing Voice of America (VOA). In a ruling issued September 29, Judge Royce Lamberth criticized the agency’s leadership and acting CEO Kari Lake for showing “concerning disrespect” toward earlier court orders and for failing to present a credible compliance plan. The layoffs had been scheduled to take effect shortly afterward. The court’s intervention is grounded in an April...

September 30, 2025 - Palestine -  The International Press Institute (IPI), together with a coalition of press freedom and human rights organizations, has issued a strong appeal urging European Union member states to support concrete action in response to the killing of journalists in Gaza. The groups argue that the deaths of media workers constitute serious violations of international humanitarian and human rights law, and that the EU must not remain passive in the face of escalating impunity. Central to the joint appeal is a demand that the EU suspend its Association Agreement with Israel...

September 30, 2025 - India -  Indian journalist Rajeev Pratap (36), who ran the YouTube channel Delhi Uttarakhand Live, was found dead on September 28 after being missing since September 18. His body was recovered from the Joshiyara barrage on the Bhagirathi River in Uttarkashi district. Disappearance, Discovery & Official Findings CCTV footage traced his movements on the night he vanished: seen at Uttarkashi bus stand around 11:20 pm, later crossing Gangori Bridge in a friend’s car. The next morning, the same vehicle was located further downstream in a damaged state near Syun village. His...

September 30, 2025 - Palestine -  Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has lodged its fifth formal complaint with the International Criminal Court (ICC), accusing the Israeli military of repeatedly committing war crimes against journalists operating in the Gaza Strip. Since October 2023, RSF has filed a series of complaints to the ICC (on 31 October 2023, 22 December 2023, 27 May 2024, 24 September 2024, and now the latest) to press for accountability over attacks on media professionals. Their newest submission presents fresh evidence indicating that many journalists in Gaza have been deliberately targeted because of...

September 30, 2025 - Pakistan -  Veteran journalist and television anchor Imtiaz Mir has passed away, succumbing to injuries sustained in a shooting in Karachi’s Malir district last week. Mir, who worked with Metro 1 News and hosted the show “Aaj Ki Baat With Imtiaz Mir,” was en route home in a car driven by his brother when assailants on two motorcycles opened fire. The attack, which occurred in the Malir Kala Board area, left him critically wounded along with his brother. Both were taken to Liaquat National Hospital, but Mir’s condition deteriorated, and he died...

september 30, 2025 - China -  Chinese journalist Dong Yuyu, 63, is currently serving a seven-year prison sentence after being convicted of espionage in November 2024. His son, Dong Yifu, insists the case is not about legitimate criminal wrongdoing but rather a politically motivated measure to suppress a dissenting voice. Dong was initially detained in February 2022 during a lunch with a Japanese diplomat in Beijing—an event that triggered the subsequent espionage charges. Over three years later, his appeal remains unresolved, and the delay has raised concerns from his family and press-freedom advocates alike. In...

September 30 - Peru -  On September 29, 2025, tensions erupted in Puno, Peru, after Congressman Héctor Valer of the Somos Perú party physically and verbally attacked reporter Max Lanza. The clash occurred after Lanza challenged Valer over remarks he made classifying protest fatalities in 2022–2023 as “communists.” Footage shared on social media captures the moment Valer reacts violently. Initially leaving the scene, the congressman returns and spits at the journalist before launching insults and pushing him. The aggressive behavior surprised many observers, especially in the setting of a public engagement. Valer’s hostility appeared triggered by...

September 30, 2025 - USA -  A confrontation unfolded at New York’s 26 Federal Plaza, where masked ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) agents shoved credentialed journalists during the course of an operation, resulting in one reporter being hospitalized. Video footage shows agents moving through a public elevator, during which they apparently pulled a reporter out and pushed others standing nearby. One journalist, L. Vural Elibol of Anadolu Agency, struck his head and was later immobilized with a neck brace and taken out on a stretcher. Two more—Olga Fedorova and Dean Moses—were also shoved to the...

September 29, 2025 - France -  Sixteen French journalism schools have launched an unprecedented joint campaign calling for the immediate release of Christophe Gleizes, a French sports reporter currently serving a prison sentence in Algeria. The initiative, endorsed by RSF (Reporters Without Borders), seeks to intensify public pressure and draw global attention to his case. Gleizes, 36, who contributes to So Foot and Society, was arrested in May 2024 while reporting on Algeria’s JS Kabylie football club and its connections to political figures. In June 2025, a court convicted him on charges of “glorifying terrorism”...

September 29, 2025 - Australia -  A recent press release by the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) reveals that several Australian journalists have been targeted, harassed, and effectively censored by lobby groups after producing work critical of Israel’s war in Gaza. The IFJ, together with its local affiliate MEAA (Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance), has denounced these tactics, urging Australian media outlets and regulatory bodies to uphold freedom of expression and ensure access to information remains protected. One prominent case involves Antoinette Lattouf, a Lebanese-Australian journalist. The Federal Court found on June 25, 2025, that...

September 29, 2025 - Egypt/UK/Palestine -  The Egyptian Journalists’ Syndicate, led by Khaled El-Balshy, has publicly condemned the BBC’s actions against Egyptian journalist Mohad ElSharkawy, calling them “arbitrary and unjust.” According to Ahram Online, ElSharkawy was relieved of prospective duties at the BBC after the network accused him of being “anti-Semitic” following his social media posts about Palestine. ElSharkawy, who had cleared tests and interviews for a senior producer position on the BBC programme Dars, says he had even received a firm start date before the BBC reversed course and withdrew the offer. He claims...

September 29, 2025 - USA -  Two journalists from Cincinnati CityBeat, Madeline Fening (investigative reporter) and Lucas Griffith (photo intern), are soon going to trial in Kenton County, Kentucky, after being arrested in July while covering a protest. The incident occurred on July 17, 2025, when activists marched across the Roebling Suspension Bridge to voice opposition to the detention by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) of Ayman Soliman, an Egyptian cleric and former journalist currently fighting deportation. Fening was filming police dispersal efforts when an officer moved in, handcuffing her despite clearly visible recordings...

September 29, 2025 - Ukraine - Ukrainian journalist and human rights advocate Maksym Butkevych has been honored with the 2025 Václav Havel Human Rights Prize, in recognition of his enduring courage in the face of repression. Butkevych, a co-founder of both Hromadske Radio and the ZMINA Human Rights Center, has long championed civil liberties and inclusive civic action in Ukraine. When Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, he joined the armed forces as a platoon commander—despite his prior commitment to nonviolent principles. In 2022, Russian forces captured Butkevych and, in a highly controversial trial, sentenced him to...

September 29, 2025 - Peru -  Peru’s National Association of Journalists (ANP) has sharply denounced the Peruvian National Police (PNP) for initiating criminal proceedings against Karla Ramírez, head of investigations for the TV program Panorama, and her reporting team. Ramírez and her group had conducted calls to police officers and senior PNP officials as part of an investigative piece—a standard journalistic method to obtain comment and accountability. The police, however, have characterized these efforts as “harassment,” accusing her of slander and defamation. The ANP contends that these charges represent a deliberate attempt to criminalize legitimate...

September 29, 2025 - Palestine -  Journalists aboard the Global Sumud Flotilla, a civilian maritime mission bound for Gaza, face escalating dangers amid ongoing conflict and a tightening blockade. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has sounded a strong warning about the precarious security conditions confronting media workers on this mission. The flotilla, organized by humanitarian, religious, cultural, and civil society groups, departed from multiple Mediterranean ports to break the maritime siege on Gaza, establishing a sea corridor for aid, and drawing attention to the humanitarian crisis. Several journalists, including at least seven from North...

September 29, 2025 - Yemen -  The fate of Yemeni journalist Majed Zayed remains unknown after he was taken by Houthi forces in Sana’a on September 23, 2025. Witnesses report he was seized while returning home from a medical visit, marking yet another alarming case of enforced disappearance in a country where press freedoms are under constant threat. Zayed, a freelancer who wrote for outlets such as Nafzet Al-Yemen, Almawqea Post, and Mda Press, had long been recognized for his commitment to independent reporting. His abduction came just days after he publicly shared a patriotic...

September 28, 2025 - USA -  Illinois authorities have launched a criminal investigation after a federal immigration agent is accused of firing a chemical munition at CBS reporter Asal Rezaei’s pickup truck near an ICE facility in Broadview. Rezaei says she approached the facility to observe possible activity when she was struck by a pepper ball fired from about 50 feet inside the fenced perimeter. She describes feeling intense burning on her face and inside her truck, with white powder lingering on her windshield and interior surfaces. She also says she vomited shortly afterward, though...

September 28, 2025 - Haiti/France -  France 24’s documentary “Haiti: The Iron Grip of the Gangs”, directed by Catherine Norris-Trent and Roméo Langlois, has been honored with the 2025 DIG Award for Long Reportage. The 52-minute film presents a stark portrait of how criminal organizations have consolidated control over Haiti’s economy, infrastructure, and the movement of essential goods. It argues that many Haitians have been stripped of agency as gangs dominate ports, borders, and commerce—using violence and coercion to entrench their power. The DIG Award, presented by the investigative journalism festival in Modena, Italy, celebrates...

September 27, 2025 - Palestine -  Palestinian journalist Mohammed al-Dayah was killed in an Israeli strike in central Gaza, becoming the latest member of the press to lose his life in the ongoing war. According to reports from Wafa news agency and regional outlets, al-Dayah was working inside a media tent when the area came under heavy shelling. His death adds to the growing toll of journalists who have been killed since the beginning of Israel’s assault on Gaza, a number that now exceeds 250. Witnesses stated that al-Dayah was clearly identifiable as a journalist,...

September 28, 2025 - Palestine -  A recent investigative effort by Reuters, echoed by Al Jazeera’s coverage, dismantles Israel’s official narrative concerning the August 25 strike on Nasser Hospital in Gaza, which claimed 22 lives, including five journalists. Israel asserted that its forces targeted a Hamas-operated surveillance camera mounted at the hospital, presenting drone footage as justification. But Reuters’ in-depth review of visual evidence and eyewitness testimonies uncovered a starkly different picture: the camera actually belonged to Reuters journalist Hussam al-Masri. For months, al-Masri had placed his camera on the hospital stairwell and routinely shielded...

September 28, 2025 - Philippines -  The Photojournalists’ Center of the Philippines (PCP) strongly denounced what it described as disturbing police hostility against members of the press who covered the Sept. 21 anti-corruption rallies. Marking the anniversary of martial law’s declaration, the protests were meant to spotlight government accountability and alleged misuse of funds, but for photojournalists on the ground, the day became a reminder of the fragile state of press freedom. PCP reported that numerous journalists were obstructed while attempting to document the demonstrations. Officers reportedly blocked their access to public spaces, mishandled their...

September 26, 2025 - Turkey -  Journalist Celalettin Yalçın, who has been held in pretrial detention for nearly two years on charges of “being a member of an illegal organization,” was released during his retrial hearing under judicial supervision and subject to reporting conditions. The decision came from the 37th Heavy Penal Court in Istanbul at the first hearing of Yalçın’s retrial. The court ordered that he must regularly report to authorities as a condition of release. Although the original sentence—six years and three months—was affirmed, the court took into account the time Yalçın already...

September 26, 2025 - Palestine -  Since the outbreak of the Israel–Gaza war on 7 October 2023, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has documented at least 152 cases of journalists being injured, and two cases of journalists going missing during the conflict. CPJ warns that the actual numbers—especially of injuries—are likely significantly higher, given limited access, security barriers, and unreported incidents. Many of these reported injuries have occurred in scenarios where journalists are working under bombardment or during attacks on civilian infrastructure. For example, CPJ records that during a targeted Israeli strike in Gaza City,...

September 26, 2025 - Palestine -  The Palestinian Journalists Protection Center (PJPC) condemned the arrest of 27-year-old journalist Yasser Jaradat, who works as a reporter and photographer for Palestine Post and other local media outlets. Jaradat was seized in a dawn raid on his home in Sa’ir, north of al-Khalil (Hebron), and taken by Israeli occupation forces to an undisclosed location. The PJPC characterized the arrest as part of “a systematic Israeli policy aimed at intimidating journalists and silencing the truth” in the occupied territories. It said that violations against Palestinian media professionals have surged this...

September 26, 2025 - Germany -  The European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF), together with the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) network, has publicly condemned recent actions by German police that hindered journalists covering pro-Palestinian protests—and urged stronger protections for press freedom. According to the joint statement, since early September 2025, MapMF (Mapping Media Freedom) has registered at least two incidents in Berlin in which journalists were obstructed while reporting on the demonstrations slated under the “All Together for Gaza” banner. In one case, on September 3, Italian photojournalist Zaira Biagini was stopped...