Whether you're already in-country or preparing for your overseas assignment, keeping up-to-date on important news that affects reporters, correspondents, writers and other information gatherers is vital. In this section, we outline important stories relating to safety and security of reporters, writers and others. We also list important developments in our industry and the passing of key individuals within the community.

Other good places to look for news about missing, detained, imprisoned, tortured or murdered reporters are the Paris-based Reporters Sans Frontiers (Reporters Without Borders) and the New York-based, Committee to Protect Journalists.

Please note that all stories are listed in reverse chronological order within each year as indicated. That is, the most recent stories are listed first within each year and as stories are added, older reports are "pushed down" toward the bottom of this page. If you want to add a story, please contact us using the feedback address on our Terms of Service page. If you wish to remain confidential, we suggest using a Hotmail or Yahoo account to send us your tip.

You can also read news stories from other years by clicking on the applicable link in the menu on the left.

Please note the last 30 messages we've sent out on Twitter are listed below. Third-party links were correct at time of publishing but may have been removed or otherwise modified by their owners after publishing them on Twitter.

Click here to join us on Twitter

May 15, 2009 – Dutch photojournalist, Hugh Van Es, dies in Hong Kong
HONG KONG, PRC – Mr. Hugh Van Es, a Dutch photojournalist who became famous for his work during the Vietnam War, died today, his wife said.

Mr. Van Es shot the now-ubiquitous image of a group of people scrambling up a ladder to board an American helicopter hovering over the rooftop of what was thought to be the US embassy in Saigon. The image was later used – without his permission nor payment – by the producers of the musical Miss Saigon.

After joining the South China Morning Post as chief photographer, Mr. Van Es went to Vietnam as a soundman for NBC News. He joined the AP photo staff based in Saigon from 1969 to 1972, and later moved to UPI for three years after that.

Long before the famous Saigon evacuation photo, Mr. Van Es successfully captured the pain and sacrifice of a wounded soldier with a small cross gleaming against a dark background. The picture became known for symbolizing the struggles made by American troops during the fierce battle of Hamburger Hill.

April 13, 2009 – Fiji military clamps down on local media
SUVA, Fiji – The new military-backed government is strictly censoring how and what the media covers and presents to Fijian citizens.

Under a newly proclaimed 30-day State of Emergency, newspapers, broadcasters and other outlets are not permitted to run stories critical of the Army's seizure of power in the country. Journalists must now submit any potentially inflammatory stories to government officials for prior approval. Outlets failing to do so run the risk of being summarily closed.

The Fiji Times protested the censorship by intentionally printing one blank newspaper page except for a small message blaming the government's new law for the lapse in news coverage. The country's evening TV news show was also cancelled. Instead, the station ran an old fishing show.

March 11, 2009 – Media fixer shot dead
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan – Mr. Javed Yazamy, also known as Javed Ahmad, has been shot dead in Kandahar city. He was 23 years old.

Mr. Yazamy was a well-known fixer and used by various Western journalists as a "go-to" guy for both safe navigation around the always-difficult Kandahar area but also as a security escort who knew the safer districts to visit for news stories.

Details about Mr. Yazamy's murder are sketchy, not surprising given the conditions in the region and the circumstances under which he worked. Local police told journalists they were looking for at least one gunman and one driver. The description of the getaway vehicle is even more unlikely to aid in the apprehension of Yazamy's murderers: a white Toyota Corolla, a very common vehicle in Afghanistan.

March 11, 2009 – CP photojournalist Tom Hanson dies
OTTAWA, Canada – Mr. Tom Hanson, an award-winning Canadian Press photographer died suddenly Tuesday after collapsing while playing hockey. He was 41.

Mr. Hanson lived and worked in Ottawa but filed stories from Afghanistan, Lebanon, Haiti and many other dangerous locales.

Back at home, Mr. Hanson took on Canadian politics and its Parliament Hill denizens with his ever-present camera. Mr. Hanson was often complimented as an artist who could make even humdrum subjects come alive under the watchful and creative eye of his viewfinder. His winning the coveted Photographer of the Year award in 2002 attested to both his photographic skills and the respect he had garnered from his colleagues.

February 19, 2009 – Men acquitted in murder trial of journalist Politkovskaya
MOSCOW, Russia – A jury today acquitted three men in the killing of journalist Ms. Anna Politkovskaya, removing further hope of solving her 2006 murder. A jury acquitted two Chechen brothers and a former Russian police officer in their involvement in the affair but the actual assassin has never been arrested.

Ms. Politkovskaya was shot five times in the elevator of her central Moscow apartment building on Oct. 7, 2006. Coincidentally, it was the birthday of former Russian President (and current Prime Minister) Vladimir Putin, a man about whom Ms. Politkovskaya often wrote in connection with her work.

Journalists at Novaya Gazeta, the newspaper at which Ms. Politkovskaya worked, have been frequent targets of intimidation and murder. Although its circulation is a healthy 270,000, this number is far less than its state-run or pro-Kremlin counterparts that shy away from any uncomfortable stories involving government corruption and the ongoing Chechen situation.

February 16, 2009 – Two Mexican reporters gunned down, one dies
IGUALA, Mexico – Photographer Mr. Jean Paul Ibarra of the local daily El Correo was killed and reporter Ms. Jenny Luliana Marchán of the regional daily Diario 21 seriously injured in a shooting attack this past Friday, February 13. Both worked the crime beat for their respective newspapers.

Mr. Ibarra, 33, and Ms. Marchán, 22, had been sent by their newspapers to the city's medical centre to cover a breaking story. Ms. Marchán was on the back of Mr. Ibarra's motorcycle when five shots were fired at them as another motorcycle drew alongside.

It is not known if the gunman targeted the couple due to their current assignments or as retribution for a previous story that one or both were involved with covering. According to the Paris-based press freedom organization, Reporters Without Borders, Mr. Ibarra's death brings to 46 the number of journalists murdered in Mexico since 2000.

January 31, 2009 – Russian reporter murdered in crossfire
MOSCOW, Russia – Ms. Anastasia Baburova, a 25-year-old reporter for the Novaya Gazeta newspaper as well as a human rights lawyer with whom she was walking were shot in an execution-style hit a few blocks from the Kremlin.

At least 16 journalists have been murdered in Russia since Mr. Vladimir Putin became president in 2000. Hundreds more have been assaulted, roughed up and threatened with further injury or death. Under Mr. Putin's regime, most TV networks and newspapers have been taken over by the Russian government and their daily news coverage made noticeably pro-government. Many other outlets have been shuttered.

Murder is no stranger to Novaya Gazeta. Ms. Anna Politkovskaya, a reporter whose stories angered the Kremlin both for its conduct on Russia's war with Chechen separatists as well as its handling of internal dissent, was assassinated outside her Moscow apartment in 2006. Nobody was been convicted in the case.

January 19, 2009 – Australian writer jailed for insulting Thai monarchy
BANGKOK, Thailand – Mr. Harry Nicolaides, an Australian writer arrested by Thai border police as he was leaving the country last August, has been sentenced to three years for the crime of insulting the Thai monarchy.

Mr. Nicolaides wrote and self-published the novel, Verisimilitude, four years ago. According to court documents, the book sold just seven copies but contained a brief passage referring to an unnamed crown prince.  Thailand's monarchy is sheltered from public debate by some of the world's most stringent "lese-majeste" laws. Criticism of the royal family is dealt with most harshly.

Mr. Nicolaides had earlier admitted the charge of insulting the royal family, but said he was unaware he was committing a crime when he wrote his book. The court initially sentenced him to six years in jail, but cut his sentence in half because of his guilty plea. It will now be up to the Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej if any pardon is granted.

January 4, 2009 – Two foreign journalists released after kidnapping
MOGADISHU, Somalia – Two journalists kidnapped while researching a story into high seas piracy have been released after nearly six weeks in captivity.

Mr. Colin Freeman, a reporter for Britain's Sunday Telegraph and Spanish freelance photographer, Mr. Jose Cendon, were working on a piracy story when they were kidnapped on November 26. Somali officials said the men were kidnapped as they left their hotel for the airport on their way out of the country, likely by local gunmen or other opportunists.

Foreigners, journalists and aid workers are frequently subjects of extortion or are abducted for ransom in this region. Two freelance journalists, an Australian and a Canadian as well as a local photojournalist who doubled as the pair's translator, were kidnapped on August 23 last year near the Somali capital and are still being held.

End of the 2009 News page.