Mexico's populist president held court each morning for 6 years. Now he's retiring from public life

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Every day at 7 a.m., President Andrés Manuel López Obrador strolls onto a stage in Mexico's National Palace, clad in a smart suit and tie, and peers out at a room of bleary-eyed reporters and social media personalities. “Buenos días, look alive!” the 70-year-old leader...

Hong Kong court sentences editor to 21 months in jail in a case seen as a barometer of press freedom

HONG KONG (AP) — A Hong Kong court sentenced a former editor of a shuttered news publication to 21 months in prison on Thursday in a sedition case widely seen as an indicator of media freedom in the city, once hailed as a beacon of press freedom in Asia. A second editor was freed after his...

Military juntas in 3 West African nations investigate a French journalist over jihadi analysis

NIAMEY, Niger (AP) — Prosecutors in military junta-ruled Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso launched investigations on Wednesday against the French journalist and researcher Wassim Nasr into what they called his “apology of terrorism” and “complicity” in alleged terrorist acts, in the latest...

Senior Hong Kong journalist is sentenced to prison in sedition case seen as barometer of media freedom; second is freed

Hong Kong editors who face prison in sedition case told court about journalistic ideals

HONG KONG (AP) — Writing to the Hong Kong court that convicted him of sedition, former Stand News editor Patrick Lam said he regretted missing a chance to tell a police officer about independent journalism. Lam and his ex-colleague Chung Pui-kuen, both former top editors of the...

Media freedom group sounds alarm on increased security risks for local journalists in Africa's Sahel

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Local journalists in the Sahel region of Africa are facing increased security risks, a media freedom group said Tuesday, as extremist attacks and military coups have shaken the region in recent years. At least two community radio journalists were killed and...

Dozens of Hong Kong journalists and some of their families have been harassed, media group says

HONG KONG (AP) — Dozens of Hong Kong journalists and some of their family members and associates have been harassed in recent months, a leading media professional group said Friday. Drastic political changes have created an increasingly restricted environment for journalists in the...

More Hong Kongers tune out the news as they adapt to Beijing's tightening grip

HONG KONG (AP) — Hannah Wong cried when the Hong Kong government effectively forced Apple Daily and Stand News out of business three years ago. Among the last news outlets in the city willing to criticize the government openly, many saw their end as a sign that the old Hong Kong was gone for...

A Hong Kong court convicts 2 journalists in a landmark sedition case

HONG KONG (AP) — A Hong Kong court on Thursday convicted two former editors of a shuttered news outlet in a sedition case widely seen as a barometer for the future of media freedoms in a city once hailed as a bastion of free press in Asia. The trial of Stand News former...

Foreign governments criticize Hong Kong's convictions of journalists in sedition case

HONG KONG (AP) — The convictions of two Hong Kong journalists who led a now-shuttered online news outlet have deepened concerns of media groups and foreign governments over the city’s press freedom, though local officials say there are no restrictions when journalists stick to the facts. ...