16 Jul 10 | Index Index, minipost
The editor, managing editor and publisher of an Ivory Coast newspaper have been arrested and charged with theft of official documents. The senior managers of the Nouveau Courrier d’Abidjan were arrested after they printed details of a classified government report into corruption in the cocoa and coffee industries. When the managing editor, well known blogger Théophile Kouamouo, refused to give the details of his sources he was placed in custody and later charged. In a separate incident, the National Press Council (NPC) has imposed a fine of three million CFA francs on the publisher of the newspaper, Le Temps, for publishing the results of election opinion polls.
16 Jul 10 | Index Index, minipost
The Scottish local authority, Dumfries and Galloway Council, has blocked access to the Scottish News of the World website. The council has setup a filter which prevents employees accessing the website. Elaine Murray, a member of the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh, claims that council chiefs are attempting to stop employees using the website as a source to substantiate smear campaigns against political opponents. Critics claim that the decision to block the website was due to the newspaper’s investigation into the council scandal. A spokesman for the council involved stated that access to the website is restricted due to bandwith issues.
15 Jul 10 | Index Index, minipost
Facebook has refused to remove a page dedicated to gunman Raoul Moat following criticism from the Prime Minster. During yesterday’s (July 14) Prime Minister’s Questions Conservative MP Chris Heaton-Harris called on David Cameron to contact the social networking site and request that the page, which contains a “whole host of anti-police statements” be withdrawn. Cameron, indicated that he would apply pressure for a ban, emphasising that Moat was a “callous murderer” who did not deserve support. However Facebook indicated that they would resist any approach, highlighting that “Facebook is a place where people can express their views and discuss things in an open way as they can and do in many other places. We believe that enabling people to have these different opinions and debate about a topic can help bring together lots of different views for a healthy discussion.” The “RIP Raoul Moat You Legend!” group has attracted over 36,000 members so far although not all posts express support for the killer.
08 Jul 10 | Index Index, minipost
CNN sacked their Middle East editor, Octavia Nasr on July 7, after she expressed her admiration for the late Lebanese Cleric Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah on Twittter. On hearing of Ayatollah Fadlallah’s death on Sunday, Nasr tweeted that the senior Shiite cleric, who is said to have inspired Hezbollah, was “one of Hezbollah’s giants I respect a lot”. In a subsequent blog, she apologised claiming that the message was referring to Fadalallah’s progressive views on women’s rights. CNN officials condemned the post as a simplistic error of judgement and stated that Nasr’s position was no longer tenable because her credibility had been “compromised”.
