49 journalists murdered in 2019: media watchdog

PARIS - Forty-nine journalists were killed across the world in 2019, Reporters Without Borders said Tuesday, the lowest death toll in 16 years.

The "historically low" number mostly died covering conflicts in Yemen, Syria and Afghanistan, the Paris-based watchdog said, which warned that "journalism remains a dangerous profession".

Some 80 journalists a year have lost their lives on average over the last two decades, said the organisation, which is known by its French initials RSF.

But its head Christophe Deloire warned that the number of journalists murdered in countries supposedly at peace was still alarmingly high, with 10 dying in Mexico alone.

"Latin America, with a total of 14 reporters killed across the continent, has become as deadly as the Middle East," he added.

While he said that the fall in the number of fatalities in conflict zones was something to celebrate, "more and more journalists are being assassinated for their work in democratic countries, which is a real challenge to democracy."

While fewer journalists are dying, more are ending up behind bars, according to RSF.

Some 389 were locked up in 2019, up 12 percent on last year.

Nearly half were imprisoned in three countries -- China, Egypt and Saudi Arabia, which was blamed for the gruesome murder of columnist Jamal Khashoggi at its embassy in Istanbul last year.

"China, which has intensified its repression of the (mostly Muslim) Uighur minority, alone holds a third of the journalists locked up in the world," RSF said. 

Meanwhile, 57 journalists are being held hostage across the globe, mostly in Syria, Yemen, Iraq and Ukraine.

"There has been no notable freeing of hostages this year despite major developments in Syria," the RSF said, which has led it to fear for the worst for many of those abducted. 

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Meghan Markle says motherhood a 'struggle' under spotlight

LONDON - Meghan Markle has admitted becoming a mother while living under an intense media spotlight has been a "struggle."

The Duchess of Sussex gave birth to son Archie in May after marrying Prince Harry last year.

Britain's aggressive press at first welcomed Markle, 38, into the royal fold but coverage has become increasingly hostile, with the tabloids luxuriating in stories about Markle's fractured American family and rumors of palace rifts. 

Speaking to ITV during the couple's recent tour of southern Africa, she said: "Not many people have asked if I'm OK".

"Look, any woman - especially when they are pregnant - you're really vulnerable and so that was made really challenging, and then when you have a newborn - you know?" she said, when asked how she was coping.

"And especially as a woman, it's a lot. 

She added: "And also, thank you for asking because not many people have asked if I'm OK. But it's a very real thing to be going through behind the scenes."

Asked if it would be fair to say it had "really been a struggle", Meghan said: "Yes."

Her comments come after the couple launched legal action this month against British tabloid the Mail on Sunday for invasion of privacy, with Harry recalling the hounding of his later mother Diana.

Harry told ITV the memories of what happened to his mother was a "wound that festers".

"I think being part of this family, in this role, in this job... every single time I see a camera, every single time I hear a click, every single time I see a flash, it takes me straight back, so in that respect it's the worst reminder of her life, as opposed to the best," he said.

The Duke of Sussex is also suing two British tabloid newspaper publishers over alleged phone hacking.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

National Geographic journalist injured in shootout in Mexico: authorities

MEXICO CITY - A National Geographic journalist was shot in the leg in Mexico late Friday while interviewing an alleged drug dealer, who was killed when four armed men stormed in on the interview, local prosecutors said.

The journalist was part of a team of four from the international magazine who were recording the interview when the shootout occurred, according to a statement from the Attorney General's office of Chihuahua state.

It said the journalist was taken to a local hospital for treatment and that the rest of the team were being protected by the Attorney General's office.

The statement said the address where the interview took place had previously been searched by authorities in connection with the killing of two members of a criminal group there.

It said Friday's incident was under investigation "to find those responsible." It did not name the journalists or the alleged drug dealer.

Representatives from National Geographic did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

The northern border state of Chihuahua is among Mexico's most violent, ranking sixth among the country's 32 departments and entities for homicides in 2018, according to government data.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Journalist shot dead in Northern Ireland in ‘terrorist incident’

DERRY, United Kingdom  - A journalist was shot dead during riots in Northern Ireland in what police Friday were treating as a terrorist incident following the latest upsurge in violence to shake the troubled region.

"Lyra McKee was murdered during orchestrated violence in Creggan last night," Assistant Chief Constable Mark Hamilton said in a statement.

McKee, 29, had earlier posted an image that appeared to be from the riots in the Creggan housing estate in the city of Londonderry, also known as Derry, accompanied by the words "Derry tonight. Absolute madness."

Images of the unrest posted on social media showed a car and van ablaze and hooded individuals throwing petrol bombs and fireworks at police vehicles.

"A single gunman fired shots in a residential area of the city and as a result wounded Ms McKee," said Hamilton, adding that police believed the gunman was a "violent dissident republican".

"We are treating this as a terrorist incident and we have launched a murder inquiry," he added.

McKee had written for The Atlantic magazine and Buzzfeed News and was named by Forbes Magazine in 2016 as one of their "30 under 30" outstanding figures in media, according to her literary agent Janklow & Nesbit.

Leona O'Neill, a reporter with the Belfast Telegraph, said she saw McKee get hurt.

"I was standing beside this young woman when she fell beside a police Land Rover tonight in Creggan #Derry. I called an ambulance for her but police put her in the back of their vehicle and rushed her to hospital where she died. Just 29 years old. Sick to my stomach tonight," she tweeted.

'TRULY SENSELESS'

Thursday's unrest raised memories of past decades of violence in Northern Ireland.

Ireland's Prime Minister Leo Varadkar warned that "we cannot allow those who want to propagate violence, fear and hate to drag us back to the past".

His British counterpart Theresa May said the killing was "shocking and truly senseless".

In Brussels, a European Commission spokesman condemned the "terrible incident".

"We condemn such violence, and we are confident that the UK authorities will ascertain the exact circumstances of this tragic event," he said.

Visiting US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi joined in a minute's silence for McKee, saying it was "especially poignant", being held on Good Friday.

The violence came in the run-up to the Easter weekend, when Republicans opposed to the British presence in Northern Ireland mark the anniversary of a 1916 uprising against British rule.

A car-bombing and the hijacking of two vans in Londonderry earlier this year were also blamed on a dissident paramilitary group.

Michelle O'Neill, the deputy leader of Irish republican party Sinn Fein, condemned the killing.

"My heart goes out to the family of the young woman shot dead by so-called dissidents," she wrote on Twitter.

"This was an attack on the community, an attack on the peace process and an attack on the Good Friday Agreement," the peace deal that largely brought an end to violence on the island exactly 21 years ago, she added, calling for calm.

Arlene Foster, leader of the Democratic Union Party, which is in favor of Britain's presence in Northern Ireland, described the death as "heartbreaking news".

"A senseless act. A family has been torn apart. Those who brought guns onto our streets in the 70s, 80s & 90s were wrong. It is equally wrong in 2019. No one wants to go back," she wrote on Twitter.

HISTORY OF TROUBLES

The Good Friday Agreement in 1998 largely brought an end to three decades of sectarian bloodshed in Northern Ireland between republican and unionist paramilitaries, as well as British armed forces, in a period known as "the Troubles".

Some 3,500 people were killed in the conflict -- many at the hands of the Irish Republican Army (IRA).

Police have blamed a group called the New IRA for the flare-up in violence in recent months.

Some have expressed fears that recent attacks could be a sign that paramilitaries are seeking to exploit the current political turbulence over Northern Ireland and its border with the Republic of Ireland caused by Brexit.

Londonderry was the scene of one of the darkest episodes in the Troubles in 1972, known as Bloody Sunday, when British troops opened fire on a civil rights demonstration and killed 13 people. A 14th victim later died of his wounds.

A former British soldier was charged with murder last month over the killings.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Bangladesh shuts down mobile internet to tackle teen protests

DHAKA - Bangladesh authorities have shut down mobile internet across swathes of the country, officials and local media said Sunday, as the authorities try to quell massive student protests that have spiraled into violence.

For the last week students have brought parts of the capital Dhaka to a standstill with a protest against poor road safety after 2 teenagers were killed by a speeding bus.

On Saturday the protests took a violent turn in Dhaka's Jigatala neighborhood with more than 100 people injured. 

Witnesses said police fired rubber bullets and tear gas at demonstrators and that alleged pro-government activists attacked youngsters, including some of those rushing to nearby hospitals for treatment.

The country's highest circulated newspaper Prothom Alo said 3G and 4G internet services have been shut down for 24 hours since late Saturday, shortly after the violence broke out.

Social media has been filled with comments from Bangladeshis unable to access the internet via their phones, although wireless and wired networks appear to be unhindered.

Jahirul Haq, chairman of the Bangladesh Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (BTRC), told AFP they received a "decision" from the government. But he did not clarify what was the government order was. He said he would comment further on the situation later Sunday.

A senior telecoms official who asked for anonymity said: "The BTRC has slowed down the internet at the order of the government."

The move may be an attempt to try and limit the ability of students to mobilize or spread growing online outrage over how the government has handled the protests, hours after police and unidentified men wielding sticks and stones clashed with students. 

Images and photos of the attacks on students allegedly by the ruling party activists have flooded the social media, prompting renewed outrage.

Police denied they fired rubber bullets or tear gas at the protesters. However hospital staff said dozens of people had been injured, some seriously, sporting injuries consistent with rubber bullets.

The ruling Awami League party has also denied allegations its cadres beat students up. 

Bangladesh's transport sector is widely seen as corrupt, unregulated and dangerous, and as news of the teenagers' deaths spread rapidly on social media they became a catalyst for an outpouring of anger against the government.

The government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has ruled Bangladesh since 2009, but in recent months it has been shaken by mass protests demanding an end to a decades-old system of discriminatory civil service recruitment. 

Several powerful ministers have pleaded with students to return to their classes, amid worries the unprecedented teen outrage could turn into widespread anti-government protests ahead of general elections due later this year.

But their pleas have had little effect.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

LOOK: It’s not a bus, it’s not a jeep, it’s...

It’s not a bus, it’s not a jeep, it’s a Skyjeepney.

The 44-seater Skyjeepney, used to ferry members of the press to cover the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Economic Leaders’ Meeting from November 16-20 in Manila, became an instant attraction at the International Media Center.

Just like the legendary Philippine Jeepney, the double-decker bus is a sure hit for foreigners and locals alike given its color and unique design that reflect Filipino culture.

Designed by Mark Cabili Bautista of Design Development Industries, Inc., the Skyjeepney is being promoted as a touring bus that gives passengers both fun and comfort.

The air-conditioned bus is also equipped with a GPS, refrigerator, cellphone-charging station, and a videoke that make a commuter's trip memorable.

The manufacturing cost of a Skyjeepney varies from 3.5 million to 12 million Philippine pesos, depending on one’s specifications.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com