4 May 2010
Nepal’s Prime Minister, Madhav Kumar, tells VOA he is willing to resign if “it’s better” to aid the peace process in his country.
Kumar spoke exclusively to VOA Correspondent Steve Herman aboard a commercial flight taking him to Kathmandu.
Nepal’s government has been under growing pressure from former Maoist rebels, who won national elections in 2008, but quit the government last year over terms of a peace agreement.
Kumar told Correspondent Herman he is willing to leave his post if it will help expedite the peace process in Nepal, including the drafting of a new constitution, which is mandated by May 28th.
Mr. Kumar said: “If someone comes forward and there’s an understanding over any questions then it’s better that there be a national consensus government involving all the people.”
Thousands of Maoist supporters are now in the capital preparing for a May Day protest that the former rebels promise will be peaceful.
The decade-long civil war in Nepal ended in 2006 with a peace agreement that brought the Maoists into the political mainstream, leading to the formation of a democratic republic and the toppling of the country’s 250-year old monarchy.
A full report on Mr. Kumar’s interview is being broadcast on the Voice of America and can be found on the VOA website: www.voanews.com/english/news/asia/Nepals-Prime-Minister-tells-VOA-of-Willingness-to-Resign-92490009.html.
4 May 2010
Chinas official Xinhua news agency will launch a 24-hour, global English TV service that will be broadcast via satellites, cable systems, the Internet and cell phones.
The English TV service will be produced by China Network Corporation (CNC), which is affiliated to Xinhua.
A ceremony was held in Beijing today to mark the start of a trial broadcast scheduled for tomorrow. After a trial operation of two months, the English service will be officially launched on 1 July.
Backed by the local and overseas Xinhua correspondents network, CNC aimed to quickly respond to major news events in China and abroad, and provide objective, comprehensive, in-depth and multi-dimensional news analysis, Xinhua President Li Congjun said.
He said: “CNC will offer an alternative source of information for a global audience and aims to promote peace and development by interpreting the world in a global perspective.”
CNC’s programmes include World News, China Report, Business News, Lifestyles, and news magazine programmes, such as China View and Click On Today, as well as feature programmes such as World Perspective and Global Visitors. (Source: ABU web site)
4 May 2010
Members of the audiovisual archive trade body, FOCAL International have voted AP Archive Footage Library of the Year at its annual awards event in Central London.
The award was presented by the prominent film producer and patron of FOCAL International, Lord Puttnam in front of 500 figures from the audiovisual production sector. Now in their seventh year, the FOCAL International Awards celebrate the best use of archive material across all production sectors with footage users being allowed to vote for who they believe to be the best supplier out of over 50 footage libraries.
APs Director of International Archives, Alwyn Lindsey accepted the award for AP Archive at the event held in the Royal Lancaster Hotel on April 27th. Speaking of APs win, Lindsey commented, This award means a great deal to us and is a great reward for all of the hard work that our team puts in every day. Its a great thrill to get this recognition especially as the award is given by customers theres no better endorsement than that.
AP Archive was also nominated in the category of Best Restoration & Preservation Project for its ongoing work in restoring the 3,500 hours of the lost United Press International Television News (UPITN) archive. That award was given to restoration of Michael Powells 1948 classic film, The Red Shoes, and was accepted by the film director Martin Scorsese.
29 April 2010
WRN is adopting a new brand identity – from 29 April 2010 the company will be knows as WRN Broadcast.
The change of company name reflects last year’s acquisition of TSI Broadcast and the integration of the two companies is now complete. WRN Broadcast’s technical facilities have been rebuilt and the new Media Centre represents one of the finest state-of-the-art ingest and playout centres in Europe. Not only has this resulted in an increased range of broadcast services but technical staffing levels have doubled as the company continues to invest in service delivery for clients.
28 April 2010
Support services company VT Group, which transmits the BBC World Service, has been presented with the Professional Services Award at this year’s BBC Global News Reith Awards for its exceptional effort in protecting the BBC Asia relay station in Thailand from severe flooding and maintaining transmission.
The site, located in the Nakhon Sawan province in Northern Thailand, is owned by the BBC and operated by 29 VT Group staff.
The building faced major damage and the staff were also in danger after extreme rainfall in the region caused authorities to divert flood waters from dams to protect the population of Bangkok and other urban areas.
However, as a result, the transmitting station was in the direct path of the diverted flood waters and desperate action was needed to protect the site and staff. Hundreds of tons of sand were packed into bags to protect site buildings and inside doors were sealed and additional barriers erected.
Once the flood waters began to rise there was nothing more staff could do as the site was breached and eventually the safety of the equipment was compromised. There was no alternative but to cease all broadcasts and to find alternative ways to transmit in appropriate quality.
The decision to close the site triggered the VT planned emergency response. Within 30 minutes, all on-air transmissions had been placed at alternative VT transmitting stations.
Site staff even enlisted the help of the Thai army who worked with volunteer staff to reinforce the sand-bag wall, operate the pumps and control water ingress. The building stood secure and essential power was maintained until the waters subsided and a clean-up plan was put in place, using local staff to ensure a cost-effective and efficient solution.
Subsequent work upgraded flood defences, including the re-design and re-laying of drains around the station to control any ingress of water better, strengthening the perimeter wall and raising the height of equipment in the antenna field.
VT Group General Manager Communications John Prior explained: Inspirational leadership and great teamwork avoided a potential disaster. Although there was a threat to the homes of many staff, they remained on site to lead the efforts there. If the water had entered the building, it would have affected the equipment. BBC transmissions from the site would have been off air for months and the financial costs of repair would have been enormous. The response of the staff was really beyond the call of duty.
Nigel Fry, Head of Transmission and Distribution in the BBC World Service said the tremendous effort of the VT Group staff has been recognised with this award. The response is a great reflection on the relationship that we have with the VT Group team.
In recognition of the help offered by local teams, VT and the BBC made financial and other aid donations to the local flood aid centre for distribution to the neighbouring population.
28 April 2010
The worldwide journalist death toll has soared to shocking new levels on the eve of World Press Freedom Day 2010.
Seventeen news media staff have died violently this April — one every 1.5 days, according to incidents recorded by the International News Safety Institute. Nine have been killed in the past 13 days.
It was the bloodiest April recorded for the news media in the past five years and the worst month in a year that has suffered 42 deaths in 22 countries so far, surpassing the 37 counted over the first four months of last year. And 2009 eventually turned out to be one of the worst years on record with 133 deaths.
At least 27 deaths were confirmed connected with the victims’ work as journalists. Fifteen more fatalities appeared to be linked but that was unconfirmed. All but a handful of the victims were murdered.
“As World Press Freedom Day approaches, this is a stark reminder of the terrible price we pay for our news around the globe,” said INSI Director Rodney Pinder.
INSI backs a call for one minute’s silence in newsrooms around the world to honour more than 1,500 journalists and other news media who have died trying to cover the story over the past 14 years. UNESCO has urged the gesture of respect to take place this and every year on World Press Freedom Day, 3 May, to denounce the murder of journalists and to demand an end to impunity for their killers.
INSI and other journalist support groups have found than in more than eight out of 10 cases of journalist murder no one is brought to justice. In some countries the prosecution rate is virtually zero.
“The shocking death toll in April brings this issue into even sharper focus,” Pinder said. “Each and every case demonstrates a crying need for action both in the countries concerned and on the world stage. Freedom shrieks whenever a journalist is killed for doing their job.”
The toll of this bloody April includes:
Patient Chibeya, a Congolese journalist shot dead in front of his home by men in military fatigues.
Radio presenter Luis Antonio Chevez Hernandez and journalist Georgino Orellana, gunned down in Honduras. Seven journalists have been slain in Honduras this year.
Edwin Segues, a radio reporter shot in the Philippines – the second reporter murdered there since January.
Latvian publisher Grigorijs Nemcovs, the victim of an apparent contract killing
Malik Arif and Azmatr Ali Bangash, killed by a suicide bomber as they reported on a refugee camp in Pakistan
Nathan Dabat and Sunday Bwade, stabbed by rioters as they covered unrest in Nigeria
Reuters cameraman Hiro Muramoto, shot in the chest during a clash between troops and demonstrators in Thailand
Metin Alatas, a journalist working for a Kurdish-language newspaper in Turkey, found hanged in a tree
Enrique Villacana Palomares, a kidnapped Mexican columnist, found with his throat cut
Colombia: Mauricio Moreno Medina, a community radio journalist, stabbed to death and Arsenio Zambvrano Ocampo, found in his home, gagged and bound and stabbed 10 times
Most killings this year have taken place in Honduras. Mexico, with six dead, Pakistan with four, and Colombia and Nigeria with three each are the next most murderous nations.
Other countries in INSI’s casualty listings are Nepal and Venezuela with two each and, with one each, Cyprus, Russia, Ecuador, Turkey, Afghanistan, Angola, Yemen, India, Congo, South Africa, Philippines, Latvia, Cameroon, Iraq and Thailand.
“INSI calls on all of the States concerned — and especially Honduras, Mexico, Pakistan, Colombia and Nigeria — to conduct full inquiries into these deaths and bring the perpetrators to justice,” Pinder said.
“We also urge all UN member states, in the spirit of UNESCO’s call for a minute’s silence, to join in a global effort staunch the bloodshed and end impunity for the killers of journalists.”
Full details of all of the deadly incidents are available on the INSI website http://tinyurl.com/yj8hzhn
