The year 2020 marked an inflection point for Hong Kong’s book sector, when the Chinese government imposed a sweeping national security law on the city, partly to crush the 2019 protest movement that challenged Chinese President Xi Jinping. Publishing words in Hong Kong has become a risky [...]Read the full article
“Internet shutdowns have a negative impact on democracy in French-speaking Africa, especially during election periods. They constitute a form of censorship that limits freedom of expression and access to information. They prevent citizens from finding out about candidates and election issues, [...]Read the full article
Many African journalists can relate to the feeling of missing important opportunities due to international travel and visa restrictions. These barriers not only limit them from accessing diverse sources and reporting on international issues from their own perspective with depth and accuracy, [...]Read the full article
The announcement that Morocco allegedly bribed prominent figures in the European Parliament to defend its interests in Brussels has led to increased scrutiny of human rights violations in Morocco. The resulting picture is not a flattering [...]Read the full article
In Yerevan, Armenia, a group of LGBTQ+ and feminist activists have opened the FemLibrary, the first feminist library in the city, in an apartment.Read the full article
“Jeremy Corbyn doesn’t exist in history now, and all the purges [of the Labour party], the manipulation of the rules, and the straight aggression has been unbelievable.”Read the full article
“The Egyptian authorities are sending a clear message to Egyptian NGOs that what happens in Egypt must be kept hidden from the rest of the world. NGOs from all over the world can go there but Egyptian NGOs are not welcome.”Read the full article
Macy Leung :The very systems that have made Hong Kong an open society, a remarkable success story and a free place distinctly different from repressed China, have all but disintegrated.Read the full article
Annie Game:We need to value and support the critical work of journalists countering the mis- and disinformation flooding our communications channels, especially during crises, conflicts, and elections. The good news is that when the media and civil society work together, they create a better information [...]Read the full article
Annie Sparrow:“The substandard, get-by-on-the-cheap procedures that the Chinese government and the IOC have instituted for the Beijing Olympics risk lowering global standards for everyone. It is unlikely that only athletes will pay the price.”Read the full article
Jeremy Dear:“We have to change our location daily to hide from the Taliban as they are checking and searching for the people who always talked against them and women who appeared on the radio, television. Living such a life is very hard.”Read the full article
Already beleaguered by the routine violations of their rights by the Israeli military occupation, Palestinian journalists also have to cope with poor working conditions and political pressure from within Palestinian society itself.Read the full article
Amazon employees accuse the world leader in e-commerce of seeking to interfere in a ballot to form a union in the Bessemer warehouse in Alabama.Read the full article
“The enormous political pressure facing teachers today is without precedent in the history of Hong Kong. The chilling effects are sweeping across school campuses, curricula and even exam papers.”Read the full article
Omar Faruk Osman:It is unthinkable that a government led by a former member of civil society would take the extraordinary step of charging a trade unionist with treason simply for exercising his right to freedom of association and to preserve the independence of his [...]Read the full article
The author of ’Insurgent Mexico’ and ’Ten Days that Shook the World’, Reed provides an invaluable example of committed journalism dedicated to social justice while ensuring truthful reporting, respect for sources and the indispensable need for the journalist to be where the news is [...]Read the full article
Across Central and South-Eastern Europe, media workers are facing threats, financial precarity and smear campaigns because of their reporting.Read the full article
“One of the characteristics of this type of music lies in the subject matter is deals with, often linked to the poverty, violence and policy brutality that occur in their neighbourhoods.”Read the full article
In 2019, 35 countries cut off access to the internet, 40 per cent more than in 2018. This figure is all the more alarming as internet shutdowns are becoming increasingly specific, targeted, complex, and above all, lengthy.Read the full article
Behind China’s friendly narrative, in which it presents itself as an example to follow for its successful economic transition from communism and for its speedy recovery from the 2008 financial crisis, often lies veiled criticism of the West and the values of liberal [...]Read the full article
Last November, the Vietnamese National Assembly took a long-awaited decision on a demand that came from both inside and outside the country: the authorisation of worker representative organisations from 2021. While it remains to be seen how this will be implemented, it is still a major [...]Read the full article
Jesús A. Núñez Villaverde:Since 2011, grassroots mobilisation has taken on a decidedly political profile, calling not only for the removal of the ruler of the day, but also for the dismantling of a status quo that, at best, offers no more than the crumbs of paternalism and clientelism. They are young, spontaneous and [...]Read the full article
After a few months of vacillating in response to the Hirak protest movement, Algerian authorities have been steadily retightening their grip on public spaces, the media and civil society organisations, targeting grassroots activists, trade unionists and [...]Read the full article
“HKCTU plays an important role and we are part of the movement, so in supporting the young protesters we are also supporting ourselves,” says Carol Ng, chairperson of the Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions (HKCTU).Read the full article
Cuba has reached a crossroads that will determine its social, economic and political evolution over the coming years. It is not a turning point reached as a result of the reform process but the internet and its unstoppable spread.Read the full article
Anthony Bellanger:The growing contempt towards journalists around the world has prompted the IFJ to draw up a new global charter reinforcing the ethical standards governing the profession.Read the full article
The Egyptian army is using drones, cameras and new technologies to prevent riots and terrorist attacks in the stadiums. But some groups of supporters known for their political chants are also being targeted by exclusionary measures.Read the full article
The two regional enemies, who for decades have imposed the strictest versions of Islam, are beginning to relax their rigid social codes and give their citizens some room to breathe.Read the full article
The Egyptian media is facing a serious crisis. The country’s intelligence services are buying newspapers and talk shows and turning them into mouthpieces for the regime, broadcasting the same official version of events on all of the [...]Read the full article
Votes such as the Brexit referendum or the presidential elections in the US and Brazil have underscored the urgency of stepping up the fight against disinformation. Fact-checking platforms are faced with an arduous task, from which journalists cannot be [...]Read the full article
With small gigs in cafés or on the street, Tehran’s music scene has been expanding in recent years. Pop music has benefited most from this opening, whilst rock is still struggling to make it to the stage.Read the full article
On 29 July 2018, a single party, the CPP, received 100 per cent of the seats in parliament. In Prime Minister Hun Sen’s Cambodia, there is no separation between party, state and government. Those who challenge his power – the media, NGOs, activists, critics, and trade unions – find themselves in [...]Read the full article
Over the years, Zanu-PF has repeatedly undermined any attempts by trade unions to advocate for workers, doing everything from under-resourcing the Ministry of Labour to using state security agents to brutally suppress the work of trade [...]Read the full article