News

February 28, 2026 - General - Several journalists from Los Angeles-area television station KTLA have spoken out after being unexpectedly laid off, highlighting the emotional and professional impact of abrupt job cuts in a media landscape already under strain. The layoffs, announced in late February 2026, affected multiple reporters and anchors, leaving some long-tenured staffers “blindsided” and prompting broader concerns about newsroom stability in local broadcast news. Among those affected was reporter Lauren Petty, a well-liked journalist and single mother who learned of her termination shortly before her birthday and was left scrambling to secure...

February 28, 2026 - Palestine - Two Palestinian journalists — Nidal Al-Wahidi and Haytham Abdel-Wahed — remain unaccounted for more than two years after the outbreak of the Gaza conflict on October 7 2023, raising persistent concerns from press freedom groups about the fate of media workers caught in the fighting and the lack of credible information about their status. The Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has publicly pressed Israeli authorities for clear information on their whereabouts and the circumstances surrounding their disappearances, stressing that families and colleagues continue to suffer distress over the uncertainty. Al-Wahidi...

February 28, 2026 - Kenya -  Kenyan media organisations have strongly condemned the violent assault of a photojournalist by a group of boda-boda (motorcycle taxi) riders in Nairobi County, underscoring rising risks for journalists covering crime and public safety issues. The incident occurred on February 25, 2026, when veteran Nation Media Group (NMG) photojournalist Habil Kweyu was attacked while on assignment in the Mwiki area — a neighbourhood known for rising criminal activity. According to eyewitness accounts and reports from the Kenya Editors’ Guild (KEG), Kweyu was taking photographs of boda-boda riders when a group...

February 27, 2026 - General - A **Belfast court has refused an attempt to stop the ongoing trial of three men accused of murdering journalist Lyra McKee, allowing proceedings to continue amid scrutinised legal challenges and lingering public interest in the case. The judge’s decision, delivered on 27 February 2026, paves the way for the trial to advance toward a determination of guilt or innocence after objections were raised by defence teams regarding key evidence. The application sought to have the charges dismissed before trial because certain material and evidence could not lawfully support a...

February 27, 2026 - Azerbaijan - The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has called on Swiss authorities to take urgent action to ensure the safety of exiled Azerbaijani journalist and press freedom advocate Emin Huseynov, after he reported multiple incidents of being followed and surveilled by armed men while residing in Switzerland. CPJ’s appeal, made on February 27, 2026, reflects deep concerns about the security risks faced by journalists in exile whose work and family ties continue to attract hostility. Huseynov, co-founder of the Institute for Reporters’ Freedom and Safety (IRFS) — a Switzerland-based Azerbaijani...

February 27, 2026 - USA - In response to a deepening crisis in the local news industry, several U.S. states are progressing with public policy measures designed to bolster community newsrooms and preserve local journalism jobs, offering potential models for other regions grappling with newsroom contraction and newsroom closures. Local news outlets across the country have experienced steep declines in staffing and circulation, leading policymakers and media advocates to explore novel ways to sustain coverage at the local level. One of the most prominent efforts is underway in New Mexico, where the state legislature recently...

February 27, 2026 - France/Algeria - Municipalities, regions, and departments across France have launched a nationwide campaign calling for the immediate release of French sports journalist Christophe Gleizes, who has been detained in Algeria since June 29, 2025, on charges that press freedom advocates say are unjust and politically motivated. The mobilization, coordinated with the support of Reporters Without Borders (RSF), reflects growing public and institutional concern over Gleizes’s imprisonment and broader issues of media freedom. Gleizes, a 36-year-old freelance journalist and contributor to French outlets such as So Foot and Society, was arrested in...

February 27, 2026 - Belarus - A Belarusian court has handed lengthy prison terms to two independent journalists in what rights groups say is part of an ongoing crackdown on dissent and media freedom under President Alexander Lukashenko’s regime. Uladzimir Yanukevich, 65, founder and editor of Intex-Press and BAR24, received a 14-year sentence, while his colleague Andrei Pakalenka, 44, was sentenced to 12 years in prison after proceedings held behind closed doors, according to reports from media freedom advocates monitoring the case. The convictions — on charges of high treason — mark the latest escalation...

February 27, 2026 - Palestine - Israeli occupation forces detained Palestinian journalist Ahmad Jalajel inside the courtyards of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem on the evening of February 26, 2026, in an arrest that local press bodies have condemned as part of a widening campaign against Palestinian media workers. Jalajel was seized by troops while present at the revered holy site and taken to an Israeli detention centre, according to local officials and Palestinian sources. The arrest follows a previous detention on February 25, when photojournalist Ibrahim Al-Sanjlawi was also apprehended inside...

February 27, 2026 - UK - A UK spy tribunal has heard that senior police forces and the security service MI5 unlawfully obtained communications data belonging to veteran journalist Vincent Kearney over several years, in a case that has alarmed press freedom advocates and raised questions about journalists’ rights in the UK. The case unfolded this week before the Investigatory Powers Tribunal (IPT) in London, where evidence was presented showing multiple breaches of legal safeguards designed to protect journalistic communication. According to submissions at the IPT, the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), MI5, and...

February 26, 2026 - Palestine - A new visual tribute to life in the Gaza Strip before the outbreak of full-scale conflict has emerged, offering a poignant reminder of the vibrancy and normalcy that existed in the besieged territory before war. Palestinian filmmaker and journalist Yousef Al Helou compiled footage in the summer of 2023 documenting everyday life in Gaza — scenes of families at the beach, bustling streets, and community interactions — months before the start of Israel’s conflict that later devastated much of the enclave. The short film, titled “Phoenix of Gaza”, has...

February 26, 2026 - Palestine -  An Israeli court has overturned the criminal conviction of a border police officer who physically assaulted a Palestinian photojournalist during reporting in East Jerusalem, drawing criticism from press freedom groups and rights advocates over accountability for violence against media workers. The decision, issued by the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court, came in a case arising from a December 2023 attack on Anadolu Agency photographer Mustafa Alkharouf while he was covering Palestinian gatherings near the Al-Aqsa Mosque amid heightened tensions and restrictions. Video footage from the original incident shows the officer, identified...

February 26, 2026 - General - A new report by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has revealed that 2025 was the deadliest year on record for journalists and media workers globally, with 129 fatalities documented — surpassing any previous year since CPJ began systematic data collection in 1992. The figure marks a second consecutive annual increase in press deaths, raising alarm among press-freedom advocates about escalating dangers faced by reporters worldwide. According to CPJ’s annual findings, about two-thirds of the journalists killed in 2025 were killed by Israeli forces, a proportion that replicates 2024’s...

February 26, 2026 - Bangladesh - The Editors’ Council of Bangladesh has issued a strong call on the newly formed government to immediately withdraw what it described as false and harassing legal cases lodged against journalists since August 5, 2024, warning that such measures are seriously undermining press freedom and professional media work across the country. The appeal, signed by Council President Nurul Kabir and General Secretary Dewan Hanif Mahmud, was released on February 25, 2026, in a formal statement from the organisation. In its communiqué, the Editors’ Council noted that numerous journalists have been...

February 26, 2026 - Israel - Far-right demonstrators in Tel Aviv have again harassed Arab Israeli journalist Lucy Aharish, rallying outside her home for the fourth time in five days as tensions over her public commentary continue to escalate. The protests, led by a group of hard-right activists, saw opponents chanting and shouting menacing slogans at Aharish and others present, in a sequence of actions that journalists and rights observers described as intimidation and intimidation of the press. On February 25, 2026, roughly two dozen activists assembled near Aharish’s residence, shouting messages including “We’re here...

February 25, 2026 - Japan/Iran - Japan’s government, on February 26, 2026, demanded the immediate and unconditional release of a Japanese national held by Iranian authorities, after the individual was detained in Tehran earlier this month under circumstances that Tokyo says have not been fully explained. The case has triggered diplomatic engagement between Tokyo and Tehran, underscoring rising tensions over consular access and the treatment of foreign detainees in Iran. According to official statements from Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the unnamed national was arrested in Iran while travelling for personal reasons and has since...

Febryary 25, 2026 - Palestine - Israeli authorities have issued a sweeping ban on five Palestinian media platforms, designating them as “terrorist organisations” and ordering their operations blocked over their reporting on events in occupied East Jerusalem and at the Al-Aqsa Mosque during a period of heightened tensions, according to multiple news reports. The move, announced on 23 February 2026, has drawn criticism from press freedom advocates and raised fresh concerns about restrictions on Palestinian media. The Israeli Ministry of Defense, under Defense Minister Israel Katz, signed an order outlawing Al-Asima News, M3raj Network, Al-Quds...

February 25, 2026 - Mexico - Organised crime retaliation after the killing of Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) leader Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, known as “El Mencho,” has spilled into the media sphere, with criminal groups targeting journalists amid a broader surge of violence across Mexico. The federal operation that resulted in El Mencho’s death sparked unrest in at least 20 states, leading to roadblocks, shootings, and widespread chaos — and at least eight attacks on members of the press covering the unfolding events, according to documentation by press freedom monitors. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said...

February 25, 2026 - Colombia - A journalist covering a political event in Villavicencio, Colombia, was surrounded, shoved, and knocked to the ground by members of the Indigenous Guard while recording the gathering with his mobile phone, raising concerns about press freedom and the safety of media workers in the country. The incident occurred on February 24, 2026, in Plaza de Los Libertadores when journalist Carlos Ayala Orozco was documenting campaign activities. According to eyewitness accounts and local media reports, several members of the Indigenous Guard approached Ayala Orozco as he was filming the event,...

February 25, 2026 - USA - A federal magistrate judge in Virginia has ruled that the **U.S. government cannot conduct an independent search of electronic devices seized from Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson as part of a classified information leak investigation, marking a rare legal rebuke to the Justice Department and raising fresh concerns about press freedom and source protection. The case stems from a January 14 FBI raid on Natanson’s home, executed in connection with a probe into alleged leaks of national defense information by a Pentagon contractor. During that operation, authorities confiscated the...

February 25, 2026 - USA - Independent journalist Georgia Fort has spoken openly about the emotional toll her federal arrest in Minnesota has taken on her young family, sparking broader debate about press freedom and the personal costs of covering contentious public events. Fort was taken into custody on January 30, 2026, after reporting on a protest at Cities Church in St. Paul, where demonstrators challenged the role of a pastor also serving as an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) official. The arrest, which Fort livestreamed from her home as federal agents arrived, drew national...

February 25, 2026 - General - A high-profile legal challenge has opened before the Investigatory Powers Tribunal (IPT) in London, where veteran RTÉ journalist Vincent Kearney alleges that UK authorities subjected him to decades-long unlawful surveillance while he was a correspondent for the BBC. The tribunal heard detailed claims that intelligence services and police forces, including MI5, the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), and the Metropolitan Police, repeatedly accessed Kearney’s communications data in an effort to identify his confidential sources and monitor his reporting activities. Kearney, who now serves as Northern Editor for RTÉ...

February 25, 2026 - Nigeria - In a bid to widen affordable healthcare access in the nation’s capital, the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has extended free health insurance coverage to 150 journalists based in Abuja. The programme was announced by Adedolapo Fasawe, the Mandate Secretary of the Health Services and Environment Secretariat (HSES), during a meeting with a delegation from the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) FCT chapter led by its chairperson, Grace Ike. Fasawe described the media as a strategic partner in public health advocacy and noted that equipping journalists with health insurance...

February 25, 2026 - Bangladesh - Widespread protests broke out in Dhaka, Bangladesh, after police assaulted journalists and Dhaka University (DU) students during an anti-drug operation at Suhrawardy Udyan on 23 February 2026, drawing public criticism of law-enforcement conduct and concerns about press freedom and civil liberties. Demonstrators are demanding accountability, justice for the victims, and reforms to police procedures. The confrontation occurred when officers from the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) executed an anti-narcotics drive involving roughly 70 uniformed personnel. Journalists covering the event — including Tofayel Ahmed of Banglanews24.com and Kawsar Ahmed Ripon of...

February 24, 2026 - India - The Government of India has taken steps to restrict access to the news website Middle East Eye within the country following controversial social media posts by one of the outlet’s journalists about the Israel–Palestine conflict, according to official and media reports. The move — framed by authorities as addressing content that “threatens public order” — has sparked debate over digital censorship and press freedom, particularly in contexts involving international commentary on sensitive geopolitical issues. In formal orders issued in late February 2026, Indian internet service providers were instructed to...