Berlin, Germany | AFP | When Berlin’s despised Wall went up in 1961, the divided city overnight became an imposing landscape of barbed wire and guards with shoot-to-kill orders. But below the earth, desperate Germans began digging dozens of tunnels to try to burrow their way to freedom, or liberate easterners …
Read More »Hebrew opera takes on Israeli-Palestinian conflict at French festival
Aix-en-Provence, France | AFP | It features an Israeli prime minister, Palestinian prisoners on hunger strike, a hit squad and a Shin Beth spy chief. But this is not another story on the intractable Israeli-Palestinian conflict but an opera unusually with a libretto in Hebrew, the official language of Israel. “The …
Read More »Vietnam accuses Facebook of breaching new cyber law
Hanoi, Vietnam | AFP | Vietnam has accused Facebook of violating a new cybersecurity law by refusing to scrub anti-government content from its site, the first reprimand since the controversial bill came into effect days ago. The law, which went live January 1 and has drawn criticism from the US, …
Read More »Africa’s attack on internet freedom
While Washington turns a blind eye, autocrats across the continent are muzzling their citizens online Kampala, Uganda | HILARY MATFESS & JEFFREY SMITH | In August 2017, during a new media roundtable between leaders from China and Tanzania, the Tanzanian deputy communications minister praised the Beijing government for blocking social media …
Read More »COMMENT: How press freedom is won
Recent events show that no media market is immune to erosion of press freedom but resistance is possible COMMENT | LEON WILLEMS | Every year on May 3 – World Press Freedom Day – news producers and consumers pause to reflect on the state of global media. This year, as journalists …
Read More »Press Freedom in Uganda not getting any better – Journalists
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Media practitioners have said media space in Uganda has been reducing despite good laws in support of press freedom. The concern comes as Uganda joins the rest of the world to commemorate World Press freedom under the global theme for this year “Keeping Power …
Read More »Uganda joins #WorldPressFreedomDay
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Uganda has joined the rest of the World to mark World Press freedom day amidst growing concern about restrictions against media practice. The celebrations were held at Kampala Railway Gardens in Kampala where Journalists and media freedom advocates were flagged off for a peaceful procession. Uganda …
Read More »Court to rule on jailed Shiekh Kamoga’s bail appeal
Kampala, Uganda |GODFREY SSALI | Convicted former Tabliq Leader Sheikh Muhammad Yunus Kamoga will on May 18, 2018 know whether he should be temporarily released on bail, to pursue his appeal challenging a life sentence he was given for acts of terrorism and murder of Muslim Clerics Mustafa Bahiga and …
Read More »COMMENT: Hate speech and media freedom
Whereas Amazing Grace FM has a right to protest against closure, it should apologise to those it offended COMMENT | HERBERT LUGABA | I have been following developments surrounding the closure of Amazing Grace Radio for airing a sermon by a one Nicholas Niyibikora, which many considered insulting and derogatory to …
Read More »People as guarantors of peace and stability
People must conceive missions about the nation, not about individuals using the nation for their ends, writes Morris Komakech Post-election time in Africa is difficult to fathom as it often erupts into vexatious disputes and violence. Democracy itself has proven a costly practice everywhere in Africa. The democratic societies seemed …
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