News

July 22, 2025 – Syria – Several journalists were injured and a media office in Damascus was damaged following a surge of sectarian violence in Sweida and subsequent Israeli airstrikes, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). The incidents occurred as clashes intensified between Druze tribesmen, Bedouin fighters and Syrian government forces, prompting CPJ to demand accountability for attacks on the press. On July 15, Nadim al‑Nabulsi, a reporter for Ahrar Horan, sustained minor shrapnel injuries while covering an Israeli drone strike that hit a Syrian government-security vehicle near Sweida’s entrance. Freelance journalist Muhannad Abu...

July 22, 2025 – Azerbaijan – Sevinj Vagifgizi, editor-in-chief of the independent news outlet Abzas Media, is serving a 9-year prison sentence imposed on June 20 on false charges of foreign currency smuggling. From her cell in Baku, she penned a powerful letter to Reporters Without Borders (RSF) in which she warned that Azerbaijani authorities treat every question from the press as a threat and demand nothing less than total obedience. Vagifgizi highlighted the stark contrast between the government’s boastful statements on National Press Day (July 22) and the grim reality for journalists behind bars. She pleaded for...

July 22, 2025 - USA - Prosecutors have dismissed felony rioting charges against two CityBeat Cincinnati journalists, reporter Madeline Fening and photography intern Lucas Griffith, who were arrested while covering a protest across the Roebling Bridge over the Ohio River. The demonstration, staged in support of Ayman Soliman, an Egyptian chaplain detained by ICE, temporarily closed the bridge between Cincinnati, Ohio and Covington, Kentucky. Fening and Griffith were among at least 13 people arrested after refusing to disperse when confronted by police. While the felony rioting charges were dropped with prejudice by a District Court...

July 22, 2025 – Turkey – Devlet Bahçeli, leader of the far-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and a key ally of President Erdoğan, has confirmed he proposed appointing two vice presidents under the presidential system: one Kurdish and one Alevi. The proposal was made during a closed-door meeting on July 18 as part of what Bahçeli called a “Terror-Free Turkey” initiative aimed at reinforcing national unity and healing longstanding ethnic and sectarian divisions. In a written statement, Bahçeli stated that Kurds and Alevis are "ours" and that providing them with formal representation aligns with the...

July 22, 2025 - Palestine - In a powerful report by SBS, young Gazans, including Khaled Al-Kafarneh and Nadra El-Tibi, have emerged as frontline citizen journalists, using their phones and cameras to document life under Israeli bombardment. Both were living very different lives before the war. Khaled was a wedding photographer, capturing joy and celebration. Nadra shared lighthearted cooking videos on TikTok. Now, their cameras focus on destroyed homes, injured civilians, and daily life in displacement. Since the war began, media access to Gaza has been nearly impossible. With most foreign journalists locked out and...

July 21, 2025 - Palestine - A recent report by Truthout reveals that the Israeli military publicly threatened Al Jazeera journalist Anas al-Sharif after he broadcast an emotional report on growing starvation in Gaza. In the viral footage, al-Sharif is visibly shaken as he documents a woman collapsing from hunger in the street. A voice off-camera urges him to continue, saying, “You are our voice.” The Israeli military’s Arabic-language spokesperson, Avichay Adraee, responded by accusing al-Sharif of spreading “crocodile tears” and implying he was affiliated with Hamas, without offering any evidence. The move was widely...

July 21, 2025 - Palestine -  The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate has condemned an attack by Hamas operatives on three Gaza-based journalists inside Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, calling it an alarming violation of press freedom. The incident involved members of Hamas’s “Sahm” unit, part of its internal security force, who physically assaulted the journalists while they were covering events inside the hospital. The assault not only injured at least one journalist but also obstructed all three from performing their professional duties. The journalists attacked were Khaled Shaat, a reporter for Shaat News Agency and Jordan’s...

July 21, 2025 - Philippines -  A veteran radio broadcaster in southern Philippines was fatally shot on Monday, highlighting the country’s ongoing struggle with journalist safety. Erwin Labitad Segovia, 63, host of a morning program on Radio WOW FM that focused on social issues and local governance, was gunned down by an unidentified attacker as he returned home from work near his base in the southern region. According to local police, two assailants followed Segovia on a motorcycle before opening fire, fatally striking him in the head. The attackers fled the scene and remain at...

July 21, 2025 – Serbia – Veran Matić, chair of the Association of Independent Electronic Media and a key member of Serbia’s Permanent Working Group for the Safety of Journalists, has condemned President Aleksandar Vučić’s recent remarks as an act of direct intimidation. In a televised appearance on July 20, Vučić suggested that those “convicted because of Veran Matić” should have their legal records erased, be treated leniently, and receive apologies from Matić himself. Vučić also claimed that if such persons had been “on our side”, their actions would have been overlooked, effectively hinting they...

July 21, 2025 – Palestine – Al Jazeera has shared footage showing one of its Gaza-based reporters hearing gunfire while covering an Israeli military operation. The incident occurred as Tareq Abu Azzoum reported from a frontline area facing intense bombardment and ground manoeuvres. During the live update, the team heard bursts of automatic weapons and saw flashes from nearby shelling, forcing them to take cover amid collapsing structures and widespread chaos. The video captures the raw reality of reporting under fire, highlighting extreme dangers journalists face in Gaza’s conflict zones. The video provides a chilling...

July 21, 2025 - Peru - Grecia Infante, an investigative journalist with La República in Peru, is facing serious threats after publishing a report revealing safety concerns about deteriorating trains used on the Lima–Chosica railway line. The trains, acquired under Lima’s mayor, Rafael López Aliaga's administration, were originally decommissioned in the United States over 40 years ago. Infante’s investigation raised questions about the trains' poor condition and the risks they pose to public safety. Following the report, the Municipality of Lima issued a public statement accusing La República and Infante of “sabotaging” the train system....

July 21, 2025 - USA - Carrie Tait, a Calgary-based journalist for The Globe and Mail, has become the target of a disturbing online harassment campaign linked to her reporting on political interference in Alberta’s healthcare system. The anonymous X (formerly Twitter) account “The Brokedown” posted covert photographs of Tait as she met with two former staffers of Premier Danielle Smith. The images were reportedly shared in advance with a political podcaster, suggesting a coordinated attempt to intimidate or discredit her. The harassment escalated beyond online attacks. Someone allegedly spoofed Tait’s phone number to contact...

July 20, 2025 - El Salvador -  A court in El Salvador has sentenced three former high-ranking military officers for their roles in the 1982 killings of four Dutch journalists, bringing long-awaited justice more than four decades after the crime. General José Guillermo García (91), Colonel Francisco Morán (93), and Colonel Mario Adalberto Reyes Mena (85) were each sentenced to 15 years in prison for orchestrating and covering up the premeditated ambush. The victims Jan Kuiper, Koos Koster, Hans ter Laag, and Joop Willemson were working for the Dutch broadcaster IKON and had travelled to...

July 20, 2025 - India - Two suspects have been arrested in connection with the brutal murder of journalist C.H. Naresh in Odisha’s Malkangiri district. Police apprehended Sukumar Ray (25) and Konkan Jordar (21), both residents of Motu village, from Hyderabad, following a multi-state investigation. The arrests mark a significant breakthrough in a case that has sparked concern over the safety of journalists reporting in India’s remote and high-risk regions. Naresh, a local web journalist, was killed on July 12 while travelling with four others in an SUV near Muruliguda village. Armed assailants on motorcycles...

July 20, 2025 - Germany -  Israel’s ambassador to Germany, Ron Prosor, has publicly condemned ARD’s Tel Aviv correspondent, Sophie von der Tann, accusing her of activism over journalism after she reposted a New York Times op‑ed entitled “I’m a Genocide Scholar. I Know It When I See It,” with the phrase “Never Again.” The op‑ed, written by Holocaust historian Omer Bartov, compared Israel’s actions in Gaza to genocide, prompting widespread backlash. Prosor argued that von der Tann’s endorsement of the piece crosses a professional boundary, stating, “If Sophie von der Tann would rather become an activist, she should switch jobs,” and decrying...

July 19, 2025 - Benin - Beninese journalist Cosme Hounsa, editor of the newspaper La Boussole, was arrested earlier this week following an online harassment complaint lodged by Minister-Counsellor Rachidi Gbadamassi. Hounsa was taken into custody by the National Centre for Digital Investigations in Cotonou under charges of harassment via electronic means. On July 18, Hounsa was released from detention, though the investigations and legal processes continue. Judicial sources confirm he may be summoned again as the investigation remains active. This case is part of a wider crackdown on press freedom and digital dissent in...

July 19, 2025 - Bahrain -  Bahraini journalist Fatima Al‑Yaqoub, speaking at an international panel organised by the World Forum for Proximity of Islamic Schools of Thought, emphasised that women in media must serve as genuine symbols of resistance rather than ornamental figures. Addressing the panel titled “Media: An Effective Tool for Unity and Resistance,” she underscored the importance of media as a “fourth power” in societal discourse and warned against letting adversaries dominate this sphere. Al‑Yaqoub referred to historical examples such as the U.S. Creel Committee of 1916 to illustrate how the media has been used...

July 19, 2025 - Pakistan -  A harrowing moment during live TV coverage in Pakistan has gone viral, capturing a reporter being swept away by powerful floodwaters near Chahan Dam in Rawalpindi’s Koh Sulaiman region. Footage shows Ali Musa Raza, reporting for Rohi-TV, wading into neck-deep water to convey the severity of the disaster when the increasing current overwhelmed him, dragging him under the surface while the broadcast continued. The incident occurred amid relentless monsoon rains that have battered Pakistan since late June. The downpour has claimed at least 116 lives, 54 in Punjab province alone...

July 19, 2025 - Italy -  In a recent interview with Habilian, Italian journalist and Marx21 editor Marco Pondrelli argued that Israel employs terrorism as a deliberate strategic tool in its regional agenda. He claimed that Israeli military actions in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, and Iran are not isolated incidents but part of a broader policy aimed at weakening resistance movements and asserting dominance in the Middle East. Pondrelli stated that Israel targets civilian infrastructure such as hospitals and media outlets to destabilise societies and erode morale. He dismissed Israeli justifications that these operations are focused...

July 19, 2025 - USA  -  On July 17, 2025, a protest over U.S. immigration enforcement led to the arrest of at least 13 individuals, including two journalists, in Cincinnati, Ohio. The demonstration centered around the controversial detention of Ayman Soliman, an Egyptian immigrant and former hospital chaplain at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. Soliman, a torture survivor and former journalist during Egypt’s Arab Spring, was arrested by ICE during a routine check-in on July 9, sparking widespread criticism. Protesters gathered on the John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge, which connects Cincinnati, Ohio, to Covington, Kentucky, to demand...

July 19, 2025 - Pakistan - In a surreal and alarming development in Pakistan, several parrot sellers have had their bank accounts frozen simply for selling birds to Asad Ali Toor, a prominent independent journalist known for his criticism of state institutions. The bizarre incident underscores the growing use of financial repression against dissenting voices and their associates. Toor, a well-known journalist and vlogger, discovered in April 2025 that both his own and his mother’s bank accounts had been frozen. The Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) Cyber Crime Wing reportedly carried out the order without warning...

July 18, 2025 - India -  Veteran journalist and YouTuber Ajit Anjum is facing serious legal trouble after an FIR was filed against him on July 13, 2025, by a booth-level officer in Sahebpur Kamal, Begusarai district, Bihar. The FIR accuses him of criminal trespass, obstruction of public duty, inciting communal disharmony, and spreading misinformation. These charges were filed under the new Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Representation of the People Act. Anjum had visited a Special Summary Revision (SSR) camp and filmed a video highlighting alleged irregularities in the voter list process. He questioned...

July 18, 2025 - USA -  Michael Tanner, the former Chief Operating Officer of the Park City School District, has initiated a defamation lawsuit against freelance journalist Michelle Deininger. Filed on July 17, in Summit County’s Third District Court, the suit accuses Deininger of publishing false and damaging statements in her reporting for The Park Record and other media outlets. Tanner served as COO from 2019 until March 31, 2025, overseeing the district’s construction projects and security measures. His role was eliminated as part of a reduction in workforce, a move that his lawsuit contests,...

July 18, 2025 - Bangladesh -  Khandaker Shah Alam, a local journalist from Bangladesh, has died after succumbing to injuries sustained in a brutal targeted attack in June 2025. His death has drawn strong condemnation from Reporters Without Borders (RSF), which is urging Bangladeshi authorities to investigate the case swiftly and ensure that those responsible are held accountable. Alam, known for his community-based reporting, was attacked under circumstances that suggest he was deliberately targeted. Although the precise motive remains under investigation, the nature of the assault and his journalistic work point to a pattern of...

July 18, 2025 - USA -  Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem came under fire following a heated exchange with a reporter during a press event in Nashville. When the reporter raised concerns from the Latino community about Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) allegedly targeting individuals based on skin colour, Noem forcefully interrupted, calling the claim “absolutely false” and warning, “Don’t you dare ever say that again.” Noem insisted that ICE operations are based on reasonable suspicion following investigations and are conducted across the country, not limited to Latino neighbourhoods. However, the visual backdrop of the...