Press freedom has improved in the US in the last year and the country jumped 20 places to No. 20 on this year’s international ranking by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) released on Tuesday.
The media watchdog said US President Barack Obama taking up the presidency in January brought a new approach in Washington after eight years under former US president George W. Bush, while some European countries fell in the group’s Press Freedom Index.
RSF expressed concerns about US attitudes toward the media in Iraq and Afghanistan, where it said journalists had been injured or arrested by the US military.
“President Obama may have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, but his country is still fighting two wars,” the group said. “Despite a slight improvement, the attitude of the United States towards the media in Iraq and Afghanistan is worrying.”
The US came in just behind Britain on the press freedom index of 175 countries, while China was at No. 168. Afghanistan No. 149 and Iraq at No. 145.
As the Taipei Times reported yesterday, Taiwan’s press freedom ranking slipped by 23 spots to 59th this year from 36th last year. RSF attributed the slide to the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) interference in state and privately owned media and violence by “certain activists.”
Reporters Without Borders said that in the US the House of Representatives this year backed legislation to allow journalists to protect their sources — it has not yet been voted on in the Senate — and the Obama administration had promised better access to public information.
The group said civil liberties were violated in the name of national security during the Bush era.
European countries hold the top 13 spots, led by Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Norway and Sweden. France fell eight spots to No. 43, Slovakia dropped 37 places to No. 44 and Italy fell five spots to No. 49.
“Europe should be setting an example as regards civil liberties. How can you condemn human rights violations abroad if you do not behave irreproachably at home?” said Reporters Without Borders secretary-general Jean-Francois Julliard.
Press freedom in France has been worsening for several years, the group said, with the authorities placing growing pressure on journalists to reveal sources and proposing legislation that could reduce their freedom.
In Italy, Reporters Without Borders said press freedom was being stifled by threats from the Mafia and various lawsuits being brought or considered by Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi against news organizations.
The group also drew attention to Israel, which fell 47 places to No. 93, losing its place as the top country for press freedom in the region and falling behind Kuwait at No. 60, Lebanon at No. 61 and the United Arab Emirates at No. 86.
“Israel has begun to use the same methods internally as it does outside its own territory,” said Reporters Without Borders, adding that journalists had been arrested and imprisoned and that military censorship also posed a threat.
But as a result of actions during Israel’s war against Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip in December and January, Reporters Without Borders ranked the country at No. 150 for its “extraterritorial actions.”
“The toll of the war was very heavy. Around 20 journalists in the Gaza Strip were injured by the Israeli military forces and three were killed while covering the offensive,” it said.
At the bottom of the list were Turkmenistan, North Korea and Eritrea, “where media are so suppressed they are nonexistent,” Reporters Without Borders said.
Iran dropped to No. 172 from No. 166, with Reporters Without Borders saying the disputed reelection of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had fostered a paranoia about journalists and bloggers.
“Automatic prior censorship, state surveillance of journalists, mistreatment, journalists forced to flee the country, illegal arrests and imprisonment — such is the state of press freedom this year in Iran,” the group said.
The ranking was compiled from hundreds of questionnaires completed by journalists and media experts around the world and reflecting press freedom violations that took place between Sept. 1 last year and Aug. 31 this year. The exact number of questionnaires completed was not immediately available.
Crowds in Bangladesh are flocking to snap photographs with an unlikely social media star — an albino buffalo with flowing blond hair nicknamed “Donald Trump” that is due to be sacrificed within days. Owner Zia Uddin Mridha, 38, said his brother named the 700kg bull over its flowing helmet of hair resembling the signature look of the US president. “My younger brother picked this name because of the buffalo’s extraordinary hair,” he said at his farm in Narayanganj, just outside the capital, Dhaka. Mridha said that a constant stream of curious visitors — social media fans, onlookers and children — have come throughout
It began as a satirical online project. Now millions of young people in India are flocking to it as an outlet for their frustration. A parody political party called the Cockroach Janta Party, with the insect as its symbol, has exploded across India’s social media by turning absurdist humor into protest. Memes and short videos mocking corruption, joblessness and political dysfunction have flooded social media sites, where millions of users are embracing the cockroach — known for its ability to survive harsh conditions — as a tongue-in-cheek symbol of endurance. The online movement’s rise has been unusually rapid. The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP)
HOTTER: While Indians are accustomed to summer heat, climate change has caused northwestern India to warm faster than other parts of the country, an academic said Roads and markets have emptied during afternoons and some farmers have switched to nighttime work to avoid scorching temperatures as a heat wave grips large parts of India. The India Meteorological Department forecast maximum temperatures for yesterday of about 45°C in the capital, New Delhi, where authorities have opened temporary “cooling zones” to help people cope. The weather department warned that conditions would likely persist across several northern regions in the coming days, with temperatures staying well above seasonal averages. Authorities urged people to stay indoors during the hottest hours and take precautions against heat-related illnesses. India declares a heat wave whenever maximum temperatures
A Hong Kong astronaut is to join a Chinese space mission for the first time as part of a three-person crew launching today, as Beijing edges closer to its goal of landing people on the moon. The Tiangong space station — crewed by teams of three astronauts that are typically rotated every six months — is the crown jewel of China’s space program, boosted by billions in state investment in a bid to catch up with the US and Russia. The Shenzhou-23 mission is to blast off at 11:08pm from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China, carrying three astronauts to
RSS