7 August 2014
US President Barack Obama has once again called for the release of Al Jazeera English journalists, jailed for seven years in Cairo on 23 June this year.
Speaking on the last day of the US-Africa summit in Washington DC on Wednesday 6th August, Obama addressed the issue in clear terms, stating the US demands the freedom of journalists to report, a basic tenet of a civilised society:
“The specific issue with the Al Jazeera journalists in Egypt we have been clear both publicly and privately that they should be released”, Obama stated. “We have been very consistent in pushing governments not just in Africa but around the world to respect the right of journalists to practice their trade. As a critical part of civil society and a critical part of any democratic norm”.
Managing Director of Al Jazeera English, Al Anstey, welcomed the President’s comments and renewed the call for the immediate release of Al Jazeera English’s detained staff who have now been behind bars for 222 days:
“Peter, Mohamed, and Baher are superb journalists with great integrity. Their continuing detention is outrageous, a challenge to media freedom, and to the freedom of speech. Not a shred of evidence was presented against them in the trail which culminated in the extraordinary sentences, so once again we call for an end to this injustice.”
Unprecedented global support for the release of Al Jazeera journalists
Calls for the release of Al Jazeera staff have previously been made from the White House, the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the European Union, the Australian Government and over 150 rights groups, including The Association for International Broadcasting, Amnesty International, the Committee to Protect Journalists and the International Press Institute.
Over 200,000 people have signed petitions globally, including two petitions signed by 150,000 people presented to the Egyptian Vice Counsel in Sydney by Australia’s leading journalists.
Over 40 of the world’s top journalists have also signed a letter demanding the release of the journalists, and media outlets across the globe have staged their own protests, including BBC, CNN, ITN, Channel 4, Fairfax Australia, Toronto Star, VRT deredactie and Iran’s Shargh Daily.
High profile supporters include leading media personalities Larry King, Christiane Amanpour, Jon Snow, Piers Morgan, Stephen Fry, Ben Wedeman, Brian Stelter, Alex Thompson, as well as Naomi Klein, Reza Aslan, Mia Farrow, Bianca Jagger, Julia Perez and Russell Simmons.
Similarly public calls of support for the release of the journalists has occurred throughout the social media campaign #FreeAJStaff, with over 137,000 people who have shared their support on Twitter, reaching 112 million people, and delivering over 2 billion impressions.
The case has also been lampooned on the US comedy show The Daily Show, as well as numerous political cartoons.
7 August 2014
On Thursday, 7 August Al Jazeera English began special coverage of ‘Gaza Under Fire’, one month since the start of the conflict. From online infographic and in-depth analysis, to news features throughout the day, the coverage will be in comprehensive, culminating in a full special news hour at 1800 GMT (9pm Gaza, 7pm London).
“Our reporters on the ground in Gaza delivered exceptional insights, updates and witness accounts during the heat of the conflict,” commented Managing Director of Al Jazeera English, Al Anstey. “At the one-month mark, with a ceasefire in place, we can now look at the impact and assess the damage to both sides.”
Al Jazeera assesses the scale of destruction of the Gaza strip, after a month of Israeli bombardment. The coverage also look at attempts to rebuild lives and infrastructure after weeks of airstrikes and a ground offensive, which has included heavy tank shelling in civilian areas.
Correspondents Andrew Simmons, Imtiaz Tyab and Charles Stratford will deliver live crosses from Gaza, covering the human impact of the conflict in Gaza; from child trauma to the reality of life under siege.
Diplomatic Editor James Bays will assess how the conflict is playing out politically for all sides, as well as the overall cost to both Hamas and Israel from the month-long conflict. Senior Correspondents Jonah Hull and Patty Culhane in London and Washington, DC will review the international reaction to the crisis.
Also covered are the UN accusations of war crimes committed by Palestinian factions operating in densely populated civilian areas and claims of a disproportionate use of force by Israel. Further, the diplomatic attempts to negotiate a lifting of the Israeli imposed blockade.
AlJazeera.com will feature an infographic detailing the scope of the destruction in Gaza and will also hear from ordinary Gazans, highlight how world leaders responded and photo galleries detailing the month-long conflict.
‘We will provide comprehensive insight into the conflict itself, but also the bigger story on the ongoing siege of Gaza, highlighting the crucial facts the latest escalation of violence has exposed”, stated Salah Negm, Director of News for Al Jazeera English.
Download promo: http://goo.gl/1wofvc
1 August 2014
Euronews’ Isabelle Kumar spoke to Ellen MacArthur in The Global Conversation first aired 31 July 2014. After battling towering waves alone at sea, she broke the world record for the fastest circumnavigation of the globe in 2005, Ellen MacArthur returns with a new challenge: accelerate the transition to an eco-friendly circular economy.
During the interview, Ellen MacArthur also engages with Euronews’ online audience by answering questions submitted via #AskMacArthur.
On the circular economy:
“I think one of the most interesting elements of the European Commission’s work around the circular economy, is that they are looking at taking, for example, the eco-design directive, which is very much focused on the energy consumption of products, and saying how do we take that further to look at what sits within products, the recyclability of products of course, but actually that lies within the fact that the products are designed to be recycled, they’re designed to be regenerated, they are designed to be remanufactured, so its opening up much more to look at the whole system, rather than just the energy element.”
About the adrenalin:
“There’s a lot of adrenalin in both worlds. How does that adrenalin compare? When you sail around the world there is massive adrenalin, you fear for your life, but ultimately, it does not matter. If it all goes wrong, it’s just you, it’s your family, the implications on your family and friends, but ultimately it’s just you, it doesn’t really matter, and you do it for you because that’s your goal. This isn’t for me, this is something much larger, this is a massive challenge for all of us moving forwards. If there is a reason for adrenalin to be higher in this, well its because actually, this matters, our global economy really matters.”
1 August 2014
The Stalwarts share their journey to excellence
It’s rare enough to see Naseeruddin Shah or Om Puri bare their hearts. But the first episode in August of The Anupam Kher Show – Kucch Bhi Ho Sakta Hai will bring together both these stalwarts as they recount their journey from being simpletons to the superstars that they are today.
For Naseeruddin Shah, it was always about literature and art. His interest in being on the stage peaked when in Std. 9 he got an opportunity to be a part of Shakespeare’s famous play, The Merchant of Venice. This first stint on stage made Naseeruddin Shah fall in love with acting while creating a sense of self-worth and belonging. As he ventured deeper into the world of theatre and entertainment, Naseeruddin Shah joined the National School of Drama – a phase which he claims was the happiest in his life. Along with a stipend of Rs.200, his experience at NSD earned him the friendship of Om Puri, a classmate whom he has known since 1970.
Om Puri’s tryst with entertainment began when he was offered Rs.150 to act in a play. Om says, “If Naseeruddin didn’t push me at NSD, I wouldn’t be sitting here on the couch today.” The two, collectively, as seniors to Anupam Kher at NSD, are also responsible for taking Bollywood to international waters.
In fact, when Om Puri received a National Award for his role in Arth Satya, Naseeruddin openly commented that he was envious of Om because he would never have been able to pull off the role. Elaborating further, Naseeruddin said, “Om was born with a wooden spoon. I’m proud to see him here today.”
If this intrigues you about the relationship between Bollywood’s most legendary actors and their life and times, all we can say the episode will surely blow you away!
The show airs every Sunday at 8 PM on AIB member COLORS.
23 June 2014
The Association for International Broadcasting (AIB) today [23 June 2014] protested the sentencing of three journalists working for Al Jazeera English in Egypt.
The guilty verdicts were announced on Monday 23 June in a court in Cairo. The journalists – Peter Greste, Mohamed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed – had been charged with aiding the Muslim Brotherhood and reporting false news. Greste and Fahmy were sentenced to seven years in prison. Baher Mohamed was sentenced to a total of ten years in prison.
The prosecution alleged that Greste, Al Jazeera’s East Africa correspondent, and his two colleagues from the Network’s Egypt bureau, aided the Brotherhood and produced false news reports about events in Egypt. All three journalists vehemently denied the charges. The prosecution produced a range of items as evidence that were completely unrelated to the charges, including a BBC podcast, a news report produced when none of the three accused was in Egypt and a pop video by Gotye, an Australian singer.
“AIB and its members have been shocked by both the verdicts and the sentencing in this case. The case against the journalists was repeatedly demonstrated to be flawed. This Association joins the international call for the case to be reviewed immediately and the journalists released,” said Simon Spanswick, AIB Chief Executive. “Not a single piece of evidence was found to support the charges against them in a court case that at times bordered on the farcical. AIB calls on the Egyptian authorities to release the three Al Jazeera journalists and start an immediate, thorough and transparent review of the case to restore some level of international trust in Egypt’s justice system.”
Al Anstey, Al Jazeera English managing director, said the verdicts defied “logic, sense, and any semblance of justice”.
“Today three colleagues and friends were sentenced, and will continue to be kept behind bars for doing a brilliant job of being great journalists. ‘Guilty’ of covering stories with great skill and integrity. ‘Guilty’ of defending people’s right to know what is going on in their world,” Anstey said in a statement.
Context about the journalists [source: BBC Monitoring]
Peter Greste
Australian journalist Peter Greste, 48, worked for a number of news organizations including Reuters and the BBC before joining Al Jazeera’s team.
An experienced correspondent, Greste started out reporting on Bosnia and South Africa and then moved on to cover Afghanistan, Mexico, and the Middle East. He was the BBC’s Kabul correspondent in 1995, where he watched the Taleban emerge, and he returned after the Taleban lost control of the capital in 2001.He has lived in Nairobi, Kenya since 2009 where he has covered Horn of Africa countries with a particular focus on Somalia. His documentary Somalia: Land of Anarchy won a Peabody award in 2011.
His story on the relationship between a baby hippo and a giant tortoise inspired a best-selling children’s book, Owen & Mzee [pictured right].
Greste has written open letters from Tora Prison expressing his frustration at being locked up on charges of falsifying news and damaging Egypt’s reputation. “After more than 20 years as a foreign correspondent, I know what is safe ground. And we didn’t stray anywhere near that edge,” he wrote a month into his incarceration.
He says that the “new normal” in Egypt has shifted so far from the middle ground that routine journalists’ work suddenly appears threatening. “How do you accurately and fairly report on Egypt’s ongoing political struggle without talking to everyone involved?” he asked.
Mohamed Fahmy
Al-Jazeera English’s bureau chief in Cairo, Mohamed Fahmy, 40, was born in Egypt but moved to Canada with his family in the early 1990s.
He is known for his keen professional interest in the Middle East and North Africa and has extensively reported on events there for other major news outlets such as CNN and the New York Times. Mr Fahmy is also the author of “Egyptian Freedom Story”, an account of the 2011 revolution that led to the fall of the regime of the then President Hosni Mubarak. In May 2014, the Canadian Committee for World Press Freedom honoured the journalist with its annual award.
In a letter smuggled out of his prison cell, Mohamed Fahmy said that “A key part of our defence has been to convince the judge of our professional integrity; to prove to him that we are journalists striving for the truth; and not agents of terror. This award will go a long way toward making our case.”
Some prominent figures in Egypt have voiced their support for the journalist. Among them is former Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa, who wrote to the court saying that Mohamed Fahmy was “known as competent, has integrity and is objective”.
Baher Mohamed
Al-Jazeera producer Baher Mohamed, 30, has worked for various international media in Egypt since he graduated from Cairo University in 2005.
He was with Japan’s Asahi Shimbun newspaper from 2008 to 2013, and did freelance reporting for CNN and Iran’s English-language Press TV. Baher Mohamed joined Al Jazeera English in May 2013 and covered the protests in Cairo that started on 30 June and led to the ousting of the country’s Islamist President Mohammed Morsi.
According to transcripts from Baher Mohamed’s interrogations by the prosecution, published in Egypt’s al-Ahram daily, the journalist said that his father was a member of the Muslim Brotherhood and made him go to religious classes organised by the Islamists.
Baher Mohamed is quoted as saying that he refused to attend them as they were “boring”.
4 June 2014
On June 6th, to mark the 70th anniversary of D-DAY and the battle of Normandy, France 24 will offer a special broadcast on its three channels – in English, in French and in Arabic – dedicated to the ceremonies that will take place throughout the day in Normandy.
On FRANCE24.COM, in addition to the livestreaming of the ceremonies, a liveblog will allow users to get a behind-the-scenes insight in real time. Web users and TV viewers are invited to comment and share their reactions on social networks via the #France24DDay hashtag.
Starting at 9:00am*, France 24 will propose a special edition dedicated to the national ceremony for civilian victims, presided by French President Hollande at the Caen Memorial.
A second special live edition will start at 2:00pm* with the international ceremony in Ouistreham in the presence of several Heads of State and Government.
In addition to the 10 journalists who will report all day long from the beaches of Normandy, France 24 will also propose various reports dedicated to the most emblematic characters and places of D-Day: the 82nd Airborne Division, several portraits of North American veterans, the legendary Kieffer commando and the Operation Dingson in Morbihan.
