Turkey’s Erdogan clamps down further on media amid coronavirus crisis

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his wife Emine lay a wreath at a memorial for the victims of the July 15th, 2016 failed coup against him. That night, a rogue faction in the military tried to take over the country, using warplanes and tanks to attack government buildings. Some 250 people, in addition to at least 24 plotters, died and more than 2,000 were injured in the ensuing chaos as Erdogan rallied his supporters out on the street.

NSO Group's Pegasus malware was abused by its government clients to spy on journalists, opposition politicians and rights activists, an investigation revealed. The targets also include presidents and prime ministers.

State Department spokesperson Ned Price said the US is worried about the harassment and intimidation of foreign correspondents reporting on the floods in China.

The Taliban pledged press freedom and "no threats" against journalists in Afghanistan. But intimidation and violence at the hands of their fighters illustrate the group's haste in breaking its promises.

A vibrant media landscape had developed in Afghanistan over the past 20 years. Since the Taliban takeover, media professionals face immediate danger and even death. Activists are urgently calling for help.

Critics say a plan to consolidate media regulatory agencies will further shrink press freedom in the country. Journalists and opposition parties have decried the law as "draconian" and unconstitutional.

Afghan journalists who spoke with DW say the already-difficult situation for the nation's reporters and other media personnel has become much more precarious under the Taliban.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urges a global effort to protect a free press as he congratulates embattled journalists Maria Ressa and Dmitry Muratov on winning the Nobel Peace Prize.

Turkey's president has adopted a more moderate tone in his recent diplomatic spat with Western ambassadors. The expulsion of 10 envoys now no longer seems likely.

In more than 80% of cases involving murdered journalists, the killers are never brought to justice. A tribunal set up by press freedom NGOs wants to stop this impunity and call governments to account, as well.

Journalists are under fire from all factions in the Yemen conflict. Rasha Abdullah al-Harazi, nine months pregnant, recently died in a bomb attack, her husband barely survived. Without legal protection, many simply flee.

On June 15, RSF Germany's Christian Mihr tweeted: "A heavy blow against press freedom in the Philippines! Maria Ressa, who has only done her job as a journalist, was sentenced to prison this morning in Kafkaesque proceedings for Internet crime. The court has shown that it is not independent of the Duterte government."