News

September 01, 2025 – Palestine/Lebanon – Beirut’s Martyrs’ Square became a stage for an international day of media action to honor and stand in solidarity with Palestinian journalists relentlessly targeted by lethal Israeli operations amid the ongoing Gaza crisis. Organized jointly by Lebanese and Palestinian journalists, the demonstration sent a powerful message against the Israeli regime’s campaign of assassinations, bombardments, and sieges aimed at silencing the truth. Protesters carried slogans condemning these acts and demanded the freedom of journalists detained in occupation prisons. The Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network played an active role, amplifying calls...

September 01, 2025 – Belarus/Poland – On the eve of his working visit to the United States, President Karol Nawrocki has been approached by a group of Belarusian and Polish journalists who urged him to raise the urgent issue of political prisoners during his meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump. The appeal reflects deep concern over the ongoing repression of independent media and civil society in Belarus and hopes that Nawrocki will amplify international attention on their plight during his discussions at the White House. President Nawrocki’s visit is scheduled for September 3, 2025, marking...

September 01, 2025 – Turkey – In August 2025, Turkish journalists encountered escalating threats, including physical assaults, legal prosecutions, and media censorship, according to a report from the Stockholm Center for Freedom. The report highlights the deteriorating environment for press freedom in the country. Two journalists were physically assaulted during this period, signaling a dangerous climate for those practicing investigative or critical reporting. One particularly alarming incident involved an armed attack targeting the Izmir bureau of the left-wing newspaper Evrensel, indicating not just intimidation but outright violence against media infrastructure. Censorship also surged in August....

September 01, 2025 – Palestine – A powerful open letter titled “With the deaths of journalists in Gaza, press freedom is also being assassinated” warns that, at the current pace of journalist casualties inflicted by the Israeli army, “there will soon be no one left to inform you.” The letter spotlights the escalating crisis in Gaza, where journalists are dying at an unprecedented rate. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) reports that approximately 197 journalists have been killed since the war began in October 2023. Other organizations estimate even higher figures, such as 246, as...

September 01, 2025 – Iran – Journalists working for Iran International, a London-based Persian‑language news outlet broadcasting globally, are living in fear as the Iranian regime intensifies intimidation campaigns against them—and even their families. Since the 12‑day conflict between Iran and Israel, threats have surged dramatically. About 45 journalists across eight countries and more than 300 of their relatives have reportedly received direct threats—some involving being followed, having trackers planted on their vehicles, and enduring harassing online abuse, including sexual harassment. In Australia, Alireza Mohebbi, Iran International’s Melbourne correspondent, shared that regime agents have called...

September 01, 2025 – Russia – Two Russian neo‑Nazis serving life sentences for high‑profile political murders have reportedly sought early release from prison to participate in the fighting in Ukraine. The individuals in question—Nikita Tikhonov and Ilya Goryachev—are former leaders of the now-defunct Battle Organization of Russian Nationalists (BORN), a neo‑Nazi group. Their request was revealed during a livestream on the Russian social media platform VK, conducted by pro‑war blogger Alexander Kots, who was asked whether inmates serving life terms could be pardoned to serve at the front. He confirmed that Tikhonov and Goryachev had...

September 01, 2025 – Palestine – A coalition of 131 Israeli journalists has issued a powerful petition demanding that their government cease what they describe as the targeting of press members in Gaza. The petition accuses the Israeli authorities of deliberately preventing foreign correspondents from entering the region, effectively blocking independent coverage despite repeated appeals made to the Supreme Court by the Foreign Press Association. This group’s appeal reflects growing concern over the accelerating death toll among journalists covering the Gaza war. According to data from the Committee to Protect Journalists, 168 reporters have already...

September 01, 2025 - General -  In an unprecedented international protest, over 250 media outlets across more than 70 countries simultaneously blacked out their front pages, online homepages, and broadcast programming for one day. Coordinated by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and the global activism group Avaaz, this historic blackout on September 1, 2025, condemned the mounting violence against journalists in Gaza and demanded urgent protection for media workers on the front lines. The blackouts took different forms across platforms—print editions were published entirely in black with stark solidarity messages, television and radio stations paused regular...

August 31, 2025 - Bangladesh -  In a disturbing attack on press freedom, journalist Arif Samrat was violently assaulted on August 31, 2025, in Keraniganj, Dhaka. According to reports, the assault took place at Khola Mora when Samrat was stopped by a group of men while riding his motorcycle. The mob, numbering between eight and ten individuals, allegedly attacked him at the instigation of local Awami League leader Monjur Islam and his associates. During the assault, Samrat was threatened with death, leaving him injured and shaken. The attack is believed to have been retaliation for...

August 31, 2025 - Palestine -  Media organizations worldwide are gearing up for a coordinated blackout on September 1, staging a powerful and unified protest over the growing number of journalists killed in Gaza and the restrictions on press access. The campaign calls on outlets globally to shutter their front pages, websites, and broadcasts in solidarity. This media blackout is being organized by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), Avaaz, and the International Federation of Journalists, with support from a broad coalition of outlets including Al Jazeera, The Independent, +972, Local Call, The Intercept, Mediapart, L’Humanité, Forbidden...

August 31, 2025 - Palestine - The Global Sumud Flotilla, the largest-ever civilian maritime convoy aiming to break Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza, began setting sail in late August and early September 2025. Over 50 vessels carrying humanitarian aid and international activists departed from Mediterranean ports including Barcelona, Genoa, Sicily, and Greece, converging toward Gaza. Later, additional departures were planned from Tunisia. The flotilla—coordinated by a coalition of civil society organizations including the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, Global Movement to Gaza, Maghreb Sumud Flotilla, and Sumud Nusantara—seeks to deliver food, water, and medical supplies while opening...

August 31, 2025 - Nigeria -  The Managing Director of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), Kayode Opeifa, has issued a public apology to the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), FCT Council, following a widely criticised incident involving the harassment of a Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) reporter. The apology comes after mounting pressure and condemnation from journalistic bodies and the public. The incident in question occurred on August 27, 2025, when Ladi Bala, Transport Correspondent for NTA and former President of the Nigerian Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ), was covering the aftermath of the Abuja–Kaduna train derailment....

August 31, 2025 - Nigeria - The Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Council has strongly denounced the alleged harassment and intimidation of Ladi Bala, a transport correspondent for the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) and former president of the Nigerian Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ), by Kayode Opeifa, Managing Director of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC). The incident took place on August 27, 2025, as Bala was covering the aftermath of a train derailment along the Abuja–Kaduna rail line. According to a statement by NUJ FCT Secretary Jide Oyekunle, Opeifa disrupted Bala’s live reporting,...

August 31, 2025 - USA -  Recently, there has been a sweeping restructuring at the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), Voice of America’s (VOA) parent body, under acting CEO Kari Lake, resulting in the elimination of more than 500 full-time positions, primarily affecting VOA staff. Kari Lake announced a reduction-in-force (RIF) that would terminate 532 government positions, and terminate over 500 roles at VOA specifically, citing the need to shrink federal bureaucracy and cut spending. Notices were sent late on a Friday ahead of the Labor Day weekend, with termination effective by September 30....

August 31, 2025 - India -  Deep Saikia, a journalist with Nagaland-based Hornbill TV, was seriously injured on Saturday evening while covering the Zinnia (or Cherry Blossom) Flower Festival in Laii (Lair) village, located in Manipur’s Naga-majority Senapati district. The assailant, armed with an air gun, opened fire, striking Saikia in the right leg and underarm. The gunman was intercepted by villagers and handed over to the police alongside the weapon. Initially treated at the Senapati district hospital, Saikia was later transferred to Dimapur, Nagaland, for further medical care. According to local reports, his condition was...

August 31, 2025 - Palestine -  The conflict in Gaza has reached a crisis point for local journalists and fixers, whose numbers of casualties now far exceed those of foreign correspondents. Often underpaid, undervalued, and ill-equipped, these media professionals are bearing the brunt of the violence as news coverage in the region relies increasingly on them, with deadly consequences. Foreign journalists have largely been barred from entering Gaza, forcing this fraught reporting burden onto Palestinian journalists. While international outlets are the primary sources that broadcast global coverage, they depend on local reporters to gather and...

August 30, 2025 - Venice/Palestine -  The 82nd Venice International Film Festival, held from August 27 to September 6, 2025, has unfolded amid deep political tensions, with growing calls for solidarity with Palestinians dominating the cultural landscape. A major highlight was a mass pro‑Palestine protest, with thousands marching through Venice during the festival to demand that the Biennale take a stand against what they describe as the ongoing genocide in Gaza. Demonstrators carried Palestinian flags and banners reading “Free, Free Palestine,” aiming to use the festival’s global visibility to amplify their message. Earlier in the week, pressure...

August 30, 2025 - Palestine -  In a poignant display of unity and grief, Israeli and Palestinian activists gathered in Nazareth on August 30, 2025, bearing blue-and-white “Press” insignia stickers. The demonstrators, including those directly impacted by the conflict, marched for peace and justice in Gaza, urging protection for journalists and echoing their demand with banners reading “Don't assassinate the truth.” Empty pots were banged during the protest to symbolize the hunger ravaging Gaza. This dramatic public expression of solidarity was sparked by the death of 33-year-old freelance photojournalist Mariam Dagga, killed along with four...

August 30, 2025 - South Korea - Hundreds of South Koreans and Palestine solidarity supporters gathered on August 30, 2025, in Seoul, staging a protest outside the Israeli Embassy. Demonstrators condemned the recent bombing of a Gaza hospital on August 25, which resulted in the targeted killing of journalists as well as more than a dozen other victims. The gathering decried the attack as emblematic of a broader pattern of violence and genocide. Organizers and activists—advocating for global solidarity with Gaza—branded the hospital strike not as collateral damage but as a deliberate assault on press...

August 30, 2025 - India -  Nearly nine years after the brutal 2016 assassination of veteran journalist Rajdev Ranjan, a Special CBI Court in Muzaffarpur delivered a long-awaited verdict on August 30, 2025. Ranjan—then the Siwan bureau chief for a prominent Hindi daily—was fatally shot on May 13, 2016, in broad daylight while returning from a hospital visit. His killing sparked widespread outrage and prompted demands for a thorough investigation. The CBI took over the probe, navigating a politically charged atmosphere, notably due to suspicions surrounding influential RJD strongman and former Siwan MP Mohammad Shahabuddin, who was...

August 30, 2025 - Palestine -  A photo of Gazan photographer Anas Fteiha at work—capturing civilians waiting for food at a humanitarian distribution site—ignited uproar in Germany. Published by outlets including Bild and Süddeutsche Zeitung in August 2025, the image was accused of being "staged" or used as Hamas propaganda. However, a careful analysis by the fact-checking site Snopes found that the scene was genuine: the subjects were indeed receiving aid from a verified charity, as omitted in the initial reports. Despite this refutation, the initial allegations placed Fteiha in harm’s way, forcing him to...

August 30, 2025 - El Salvador -  Over the past five years, El Salvador has plummeted 61 places in the Reporters Without Borders’ press freedom index, now ranking 112th out of 180 countries. Under President Nayib Bukele’s increasingly authoritarian administration, women journalists report mounting gender-based online abuse, much of it directed by pro‑Bukele accounts, even as independent media outlets are driven into exile. A journalist speaking anonymously to Latin Times detailed relentless digital harassment throughout Bukele’s tenure—“non‑stop” misogynistic and sexually explicit attacks. These often included offensive remarks about their appearance, personal attacks on their families, and...

August 30, 2025 - Mozambique - Ahead of the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances (August 30), the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and MISA Mozambique issued a joint call urging authorities to clarify the fate of two missing journalists—Ibraimo Abú Mbaruco and Arlindo Chissale, whose disappearances remain unresolved and distressing for their families. Arlindo Chissale, editor of the news website Pinnacle News, vanished on January 7, 2025, when a group of eight men—some wearing national security and defense uniforms—ordered him off a public minibus in Silva Macua. Since that day, he has...

August 29, 2025 - Croatia/Palestine -  The Trade Union of Croatian Journalists (SNH) and the Croatian Journalists’ Association (HND) rallied support from fellow labor organizations and the broader public in a powerful protest against the genocide in Gaza and the targeted killings of over 240 Palestinian journalists. The action drew participants to demonstrate their commitment to truth and media freedom amid an escalating humanitarian crisis. In their joint statement, the SNH invoked the vital role of unions in responding to grave injustices, insisting that journalists cannot remain silent while such crimes unfold. Maja Sever, SNH’s...

August 29, 2025 - Palestine -  Palestinian journalists in Gaza are enduring a harrowing reality—where survival feels like a lottery. As Nour Swiriki, a 37-year-old reporter for El Sharq TV, puts it, “today is not your turn... your turn might be tomorrow or after tomorrow.” Her words capture the fear haunting media professionals who continue to document life amidst relentless Israeli bombardment. According to the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate (PJS), Israel has so far killed 240 of their colleagues, making this the deadliest stretch for journalists in Gaza in modern times. Swiriki describes devastating losses among...