It wasn’t long ago that wearing a flak jacket bearing the word "press" granted a measure of protection in conflict zones. From the Balkans to Baghdad, from Sierra Leone to Sri Lanka, journalists covering warzones were respected as transmitters of truth. Their freedom to report from the frontline was a reminder of the fourth estate’s indispensability in performing a public service. Yet those guarantees are being shattered around the globe as it marks World Press Freedom Day tomorrow. Journalists are now not only being killed with impunity in the line of duty but are being actively targeted.
In the latest incident, nine journalists reporting from the site of a bomb blast in Kabul were blown up by a suicide bomber disguised as a photographer; another journalist was shot dead by gunmen in Khost Province. Among the dead was the photographer Shah Marai, who chronicled Afghanistan for 20 years and rose to become AFP's chief photographer in Kabul. The father-of-six rejected repeated pleas by his family to migrate to Europe because he believed he was serving his community and country. Marai's courage and selflessness are also what motivated Marie Colvin, the Sunday Times journalist killed in 2012 by the Syrian regime as she covered the siege of Homs and Yaser Murtaja, targeted and killed by Israeli soldiers as he photographed protests at the Gazan border.
An increasingly hostile atmosphere also meets journalists away from conflict zones. Last year, the Maltese investigative reporter Daphne Caruana Galizia, who worked on the Panama Papers expose, was killed in a car bomb. Hundreds of journalists have been hacked to death, intimidated or thrown into jails in Pakistan and India. Turkey remains the worst of all offenders; its jails host a record number of journalists. Myanmar continues to imprison two Reuters journalists for uncovering the government's barbaric treatment of the Rohingya. Even in the US, reporters face growing antagonism from a president unwilling to have its actions scrutinised or questioned. The intimidation of reporters, however, only amplifies the importance of honest journalism in an age where truth and fake news are increasingly hard to disentangle. If journalists are not protected, the loss is not simply to their news outlets but to society as a whole.
Company profile
Name: Infinite8
Based: Dubai
Launch year: 2017
Number of employees: 90
Sector: Online gaming industry
Funding: $1.2m from a UAE angel investor
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Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
The biog:
From: Wimbledon, London, UK
Education: Medical doctor
Hobbies: Travelling, meeting new people and cultures
Favourite animals: All of them
Results
Stage seven
1. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates, in 3:20:24
2. Adam Yates (GBR) Ineos Grenadiers, at 1s
3. Pello Bilbao (ESP) Bahrain-Victorious, at 5s
General Classification
1. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates, in 25:38:16
2. Adam Yates (GBR) Ineos Grenadiers, at 22s
3. Pello Bilbao (ESP) Bahrain-Victorious, at 48s
Indoor cricket World Cup:
Insportz, Dubai, September 16-23
UAE fixtures:
Men
Saturday, September 16 – 1.45pm, v New Zealand
Sunday, September 17 – 10.30am, v Australia; 3.45pm, v South Africa
Monday, September 18 – 2pm, v England; 7.15pm, v India
Tuesday, September 19 – 12.15pm, v Singapore; 5.30pm, v Sri Lanka
Thursday, September 21 – 2pm v Malaysia
Friday, September 22 – 3.30pm, semi-final
Saturday, September 23 – 3pm, grand final
Women
Saturday, September 16 – 5.15pm, v Australia
Sunday, September 17 – 2pm, v South Africa; 7.15pm, v New Zealand
Monday, September 18 – 5.30pm, v England
Tuesday, September 19 – 10.30am, v New Zealand; 3.45pm, v South Africa
Thursday, September 21 – 12.15pm, v Australia
Friday, September 22 – 1.30pm, semi-final
Saturday, September 23 – 1pm, grand final
THE LIGHT
Director: Tom Tykwer
Starring: Tala Al Deen, Nicolette Krebitz, Lars Eidinger
Rating: 3/5
COMPANY PROFILE
● Company: Bidzi
● Started: 2024
● Founders: Akshay Dosaj and Asif Rashid
● Based: Dubai, UAE
● Industry: M&A
● Funding size: Bootstrapped
● No of employees: Nine
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners