Censored

New York, December 19, 2008–The only radio station in an Islamist-controlled town in southern Somalia was shuttered by militants in a raid last week, according to the station’s director.

New York, November 19, 2008–The Sudanese government should halt censorship of independent and opposition newspapers, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On Tuesday, 10 newspapers suspended publication for a day to protest government censorship and the detention of journalists a day earlier. 

The release of CBC correspondent Mellissa Fung, who had been abducted by a criminal gang in Afghanistan, is the focus of a few stories today. The Associated Press has coverage of her month-long ordeal, and that piece has been picked up by various papers including The Boston Globe and The Baltimore Sun. 

New York, November 4, 2008–CPJ is deeply concerned by the decisions of the Moroccan, Tunisian, and Algerian‎ governments to ban the new issue of L’Express magazine carrying a series of articles about Islam and Christianity.

New York, November 3, 2008–CPJ is deeply troubled by a top regulator’s announcement on Friday that the Azerbaijani government plans next year to discontinue local radio transmissions of three international broadcasters–the BBC, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, and the Voice of America (VOA).

CPJ’s Europe and Central Asia Program Coordinator Nina Ognianova has a posting on The Guardian’s London-based “Comment is free” blog today about the continued repression of Azerbaijan’s independent press in the run-up to national elections. Read our special report about the dangerous situation for journalists in Azerbaijan, “Finding Elmar’s Killers,” here.Read Ognianova’s post at “Comment is free.”

At the Foreign Ministry’s weekly press conference today, Jiang Yu, the ministry’s spokeswoman, left hanging for now whether or not China will continue allowing foreign journalists to travel around China without asking permission from the government, or whether they will be allowed to interview anyone who agrees to speak with them. The new relaxed rules…

With the Games completed, it’s back to Internet censorship as usual. Remember the issue about Web sites being blocked inside the Main Press Center? The problem was only partially resolved. After complaints, more sites became available to reporters inside the MPC and around the country, though many remained blocked. Research by OpenNet Initiative said that…

The Apple iTunes store Web site and all 8 million or so of its songs, (“Imagine an entertainment superstore that’s open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week” the site urges) are not available in China and haven’t been for more than a week. Not a great loss for iTunes in the very short…