AP photographer to finally face “terrorist” charges on December 9

December 2, 2007 | Newswatch Desk | Newswatch

The US military is to finally bring a court hearing against Associated Press (AP) photographer Bilal Hussein on December 9, 606 days after the Iraqi was first taken into custody, the agency has reported. The move would be the first legal step in initiating formal charges against Hussein, who was seized in Ramadi on April 12, 2006. Salt Lake Tribune national security reporter Matthew D LaPlante, centre left, and Iraqi photojournalist Bilal Hussein, centre right, converse with other journalists outside the Ramadi Government Center in Iraq in September, 2005. US military officials have alleged that Hussein, 36, detained in Ramadi on April ... ...

Sections: Deathtrap Iraq, Editor's Picks, Global Monitor, Lead Story, Newswatch Features

Internet will get clogged by 2010, says new study

December 2, 2007 | Newswatch Desk | Newswatch

Sections: Editor's Picks, Internet and Blogs

Consumer and corporate Internet usage could outstrip network capacity both in North America and worldwide in a little more than two years, says a new study. Young boys and girls surf in the internet in Carlsbad in California, October 2007. Nearly 75 percent of U.S. Internet users watched an average of 158 minutes of online video [...]

Europe: Court victory backs journalists who protect their sources’ identity

December 2, 2007 | Newswatch Desk | Newswatch

Sections: Editor's Picks, Ethics and Freedom, Global Monitor, Newswatch Features

A European court has awarded damages to an investigative journalist whose home was raided and computers confiscated after he published articles alleging fraud within the European Union. In its ruling for the German reporter, Hans-Martin Tillack, the European Court of Human Rights said Tuesday that the right to protect the identity of sources is an essential [...]

Sri Lankan air strike on rebel radio station is a “war crime”

December 2, 2007 | Newswatch Desk | Newswatch

Sections: Editor's Picks, Global Monitor, Media and Conflict, Newswatch Features

The Sri Lanka military air strike last week on the Voice of Tigers, the radio station of the Tamil Tiger rebels in the north of the country, is being described as a war crime. Three of the station’s staff, who had not been given any warning, and six other civilians were killed in the bombardment [...]

Media oppressor Kazakhstan to head body that values democratic norms

December 2, 2007 | Newswatch Desk | Newswatch

Sections: Editor's Picks, Global Monitor, Newswatch Features

Kazakhstan will become the first ex-Soviet state to assume the chairmanship of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev passes by the guard of honor during a welcoming ceremony before his meeting with his Hungarian counterpart Laszlo Solyom, not seen, in Budapest, Hungary Friday, November 23, 2007. Nazarbayev arrived [...]

Iraqi journalist fabricated claim that his family was massacred

December 2, 2007 | Newswatch Desk | Newswatch

Sections: Controversies / Gaffes, Deathtrap Iraq, Editor's Picks, Media and Conflict, Newswatch Features

A journalist’s claim that 11 of his close relatives were murdered in Iraq last weekend is false. Amman-based Iraqi journalist Dia al-Kawwaz had claimed on November 26 that 11 members of his immediate family were shot by gunmen the previous day in Baghdad. “We are obviously relieved to learn that the Kawwaz family is safe and [...]

AP photographer to finally face “terrorist” charges on December 9

December 2, 2007 | Newswatch Desk | Newswatch

Sections: Deathtrap Iraq, Editor's Picks, Global Monitor, Lead Story, Newswatch Features

Scribe thrashed by villagers in Andhra: The US military is to finally bring a court hearing against Associated Press (AP) photographer Bilal Hussein on December 9, 606 days after the Iraqi was first taken into custody, the agency has reported. The move would be the first legal step in initiating formal charges against Hussein, who was seized in Ramadi on April [...]...

Scribes roughed up at AICC session venue: The US military is to finally bring a court hearing against Associated Press (AP) photographer Bilal Hussein on December 9, 606 days after the Iraqi was first taken into custody, the agency has reported. The move would be the first legal step in initiating formal charges against Hussein, who was seized in Ramadi on April [...]...

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