World media censure Indonesian government for draconian internet regulation
Media organisations in the world have written a joint letter to Indonesia’s minister of Communication and Information Technology calling on him to rescind Ministerial Regulation 5/2020 (MR5) that allows media companies and owners to monitor content. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and its affiliate, the Alliance of Independent Journalists...
Every journalist is entitled to protection, Indian Supreme Court rules as it quashes propaganda case
India’s Supreme Court has quashed the First Information Report against senior journalist, Vinod Dua, that accused him of spreading false propaganda. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and its affiliates the Indian Journalists Union (IJU) and the National Union of Journalists – India (NUJ-I) welcomed the SC that was delivered...
Myanmar military junta slaps two journalists with two years in jail
A governing military junta-controlled court in Myanmar has sentenced Aung Kyaw, a reporter with the Democratic Voice of Burma, and Ko Zaw Zaw, a freelance reporter with Mizzima News, under a colonial-era law to two years in prison. Following the sentences, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has condemned the...
Why it’s going to be hard to rein in the Covid variants on the rampage in India
Scientists are working to understand several coronavirus variants now circulating in India, where a ferocious second wave of Covid-19 has devastated the nation and caught authorities unawares. The country recorded nearly 400,000 new infections on May 9, taking its total to more than 22 million. Evidence is growing that one...
‘India’s Covid death may be far above 200,000 as rural cases are unregistered’
India has reached the devastating figure of 200,000 coronavirus deaths, with the pressure on many hospitals showing no sign of abating amid a surging second wave. The real number of fatalities is thought to be far greater, with many not being officially recorded. Oxygen supplies remain critically low across the...
Sex pests: Acquittal of senior journalist Priya Ramani big victory for media women
The acquittal of senior journalist Priya Ramani of criminal charges of defamation brought by former editor and politician MJ Akbar is a landmark in the struggle against sexual harassment at the workplace in India. On February 17, 2021, history was made in a court room on Rouse Avenue in New...
Bali’s extortionist monkeys can spot high-value items, then ‘demand’ ransom
At the Uluwatu temple in Bali, monkeys mean business. The long-tailed macaques who roam the ancient site are infamous for brazenly robbing unsuspecting tourists and clinging on to their possessions until food is offered as ransom payment. Researchers have found they are also skilled at judging which items their victims...
Billions poured into Covid vaccine facilitated multiple tests at the same time
The slowest part of vaccine development isn’t finding candidate treatments, but testing them. This often takes years, with companies running efficacy and safety tests on animals and then in humans. Human testing requires three phases that involve increasing numbers of people and proportionately escalating costs. The Covid-19 vaccines went through...
Fast quest for coronavirus vaccines and what it means for other diseases
When scientists began seeking a vaccine for the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus in early 2020, they were careful not to promise quick success. The fastest any vaccine had previously been developed, from viral sampling to approval, was four years, for mumps in the 1960s. To hope for one even by the summer...
Accor hotel chain adds Turkey, India to its Middle East and Africa business
Accor, a world-leading augmented hospitality group, has added India and Turkey to its Middle East and Africa region.The newly expended region will now comprise of a portfolio of more than 84,000 rooms across 400 hotels.With the industry’s most dynamic portfolio of brands, covering every market segment from economy to luxury...
