HONDURAS: UNESCO HEAD CONDEMNS DEADLY ATTACKS AGAINST JOURNALISTS
The head of the United Nations agency with the task of upholding press freedom spoke out against a recent shooting two journalists in Honduras, resulting in one of their deaths, calling it an attack against all people of the nation, the UN News reported (5/3/10).
The head of the United Nations agency with the task of upholding press freedom spoke out against a recent shooting two journalists in Honduras, resulting in one of their deaths, calling it an attack against all people of the nation, the UN News reported (5/3/10).
Joseph Hernandez Ochoa and Karol Cabrera were shot down on March 1 on the way to Ms Cabrera’s home in the capital, Tegucigalpa, according to the non-governmental organisation International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX).
Mr Ochoa, the host of the ‘Encuentros’ program broadcast on Canal 51 television, was killed, while Ms Cabrera, who was involved in youth education programs for the state-owned Canal 8 television station, was seriously injured.
Police and the Honduran Security Secretariat said that Ms Cabrera, who also worked for Radio Cadena Voces, was the target of the attack. Having received death threats, she had been under police protection.
The police officer guarding Ms Cabrera was at her home, where she had asked for protective services to be provided. Her daughter was killed in the same street in December that her mother was attacked on this week.
“The attack that took Mr Ochoa’s life and left Ms Cabrera seriously injured is an attack against all of the people of Honduras that must not go unpunished,” said Irina Bokova, Director-General of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). “It is an attack against their basic right of freedom of expression, an attempt to silence the open debate that underpins democratic society,” she said, calling Honduran authorities to bring the perpetrators to justice.
NEW APPROACH COULD STIMULATE NETWORK GROWTH
New approaches in regulating information and communication technology (ICT) could help to stimulate investment and growth in rolling out new networks and upgrading technology, despite the current global recession, according to a new UN report (9/3/10).
Demand for services such as mobile telephones and broadband Internet have remained buoyant despite the economic crisis, with mobile subscriptions set to reach 5 billion this year and mobile broadband subscriptions having topped 600 million. But the ICT industry has also witnessed reduced sales in equipment and manufacturing, as well as lower demand.
The new publication by the UN International Telecommunications Union (ITU), entitled ‘Trends in Telecommunication Reform,’ says the industry is currently undergoing a generational shift from fixed telephone networks to mobile connections of all types, next generation networking and broadband wireless networks.
Previously clear borders among telephones, broadcasting and online services are being eroded, with people able to watch movies on their computers and programing being downloaded on mobile phones.
As a result, “ICT regulators play a key role in fostering ongoing innovation and competition, enabling operators to adopt the latest, most power technologies, and ensuring consumers enjoy the very best range of services at the lowest possible prices,” said the agency’s Secretary-General, Hamadoun Touré.
The economic crisis has sounded the alarm on the need for effective regulation and has kick-started a dialogue on the role of the government, which is now considering the need for state intervention to ensure, among other elements, the development of a ‘broadband economy.’
AFGHAN MEDIA AND SECURITY AGENCIES AGREE COVERAGE PROTOCOLS
Afghanistan’s media community and state security agencies have agreed protocols for media coverage of insurgent and terrorist actions, according to the Afghan Independent Journalists’ Association (AIJA), the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) reported (11/3/10).The IFJ welcomes the Afghan Ministry of Information’s effort to ensure the views of the Afghan journalists’ community are heard in developing the protocols, rather than seeking to enforce state-directed restrictions on media content. The AIJA said a three-day meeting convened by the Minister for Information and Culture, Sayed Makhdom Raheen, had agreed on mutual obligations and responsibilities of the media and the state agencies. The Afghan media community agreed to avoid broadcasting of disturbing pictures of terrorist attacks and victims, images of security forces in operation against terrorism where there was a possiblity of compromising operations effectiveness and that the utmost professional accuracy would be applied in covering news and events related to terrorist activities.DETAILS: IFJ Asia-Pacific on +612 9333 0919.