Cyprus climbs ranks in Press Freedom index.Byline: Patrick Dewhurst CYPRUS has been ranked 25th in the 2009 Press Freedom index, climbing six places since last year. The occupied north, ranked separately, rose two places to 51st. The top of the charts were dominated by Scandinavian countries and Ireland. The index, compiled by Reporters Without Borders A number of NGOs have adopted the "Without Borders" tag, inspired by Doctors without Borders.
The more notable changes reflect general trends in press freedom. For example, America rose 20 places while France (43rd), Italy (49th) and Slovakia (44th) continued their steady slide down the rankings. In previous years, EU member states have led the field in terms of press freedom. However, changes to legislation have curbed and penalised some reporting. Reporters Without Borders secretary-general Jean-FranE*ois Julliard said yesterday "Europe should be setting an example as regards civil liberties. How can you condemn human rights violations abroad if you do not behave irreproachably ir·re·proach·a·ble adj. Perfect or blameless in every respect; faultless: irreproachable conduct. ir at home? "The Obama effect, which has enabled the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. to recover 20 places in the index, is not enough to reassure us." The 2009 Index report says that "Many laws adopted since September 2008 have compromised the work of journalists. One adopted by Slovakia (44th) has introduced the dangerous concept of an automatic right of response and has given the culture minister considerable influence over publications. Israel lost its title of most media friendly Middle Eastern country, falling 47 places to 93rd position, after its military offensive against the Gaza Strip Gaza Strip (gäz`ə), (2003 est. pop. 1,330,000) rectangular coastal area, c.140 sq mi (370 sq km), SW Asia, on the Mediterranean Sea adjoining Egypt and Israel, in what was formerly SW Palestine. . In Israel, "Reporters Without Borders registered five arrests of journalists, some of them completely illegal, and three cases of imprisonment Imprisonment See also Isolation. Alcatraz Island former federal maximum security penitentiary, near San Francisco; “escapeproof.” [Am. Hist.: Flexner, 218] Altmark, the German prison ship in World War II. [Br. Hist. . The military censorship Noun 1. military censorship - all types of censorship conducted by personnel of the armed forces censoring, censorship, security review - counterintelligence achieved by banning or deleting any information of value to the enemy applied to all the media is also posing a threat to journalists. As regards its extraterritorial ex·tra·ter·ri·to·ri·al adj. 1. Located outside territorial boundaries: fishing in extraterritorial waters. 2. actions, Israel was ranked 150th. "The toll of the war was very heavy. Around 20 journalists in the Gaza Strip were injured by the Israeli military forces and three were killed while covering the offensive Already at the lower end of the rankings in previous years, Iran has reached the gates of the "infernal trio" at the very bottom. In Turkmenistan (173rd), North Korea (174th) and Eritrea (175th), where the media is said to be so repressed re·pressed adj. Being subjected to or characterized by repression. as to be non-existent. Copyright Cyprus Mail 2009 Provided by Syndigate.info an Albawaba.com company |
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