The Peruvian Public Defender filed a constitutional complaint against one of the articles in Legislative Decree 1129 on Feb. 15, which it claims violates the constitutional right to "access public information," reported the newspaper La República. Article 12 of the decree declares that all information related to national security and defense is classified, added the newspaper.
The president of El Salvador, Mauricio Funes, vetoed reforms to the Access to Public Information Law that would have weakened the institution overseeing the law's implementation, according to the website El Faro, on Friday, Feb. 15.
The website “Bananaleaks.com” accused the Ecuadorian government via Twitter of attempting to sabotage its operations, reported Fundamedios. According to journalist Santiago Villa, spokesperson for the website, the website suffered an attack from hackers early in the morning of Jan. 28, shortly after the organization published information about two Swiss bank accounts supposedly owned by President Rafael Correa, added Fundamedios.
Despite the first signs of activity from a massive fiber optic cable connecting Cuba and Venezuela three weeks ago, there appears to be little improvement in Internet access on the island, according to a report from Cuban blogger Yoani Sánchez on the Committee to Protect Journalists' website.
The Salvadoran Congress approved reforms to the Access to Public Information Law that strip the autonomous access to public information institute of the power to declassify secret documents and order public institutions to respond to requests for information, according to El Faro.
Following the release of a video showing the shooting deaths of two young people in Honduras and the publication of several violent events in the country, the president and security minister of Honduras are blaming the media for harming the country's image and causing social damage.
The Mexican Supreme Court declared laws that restrict information presented as part of a preliminary investigation are unconstitutional and restrict the public's right to access information, reported the newspaper Reforma.
On Feb. 5, security officers at the Venezuelan National Assembly prevented reporters from privately-owned newspapers from covering an event at the country's legislature in the capital, Caracas, reported the website La Patilla.
Media organizations and journalists top the list of the most influential Twitter users in Peru, according to a report done by the analysis firm Quantico Trends and published Feb. 4. Among the Top 20 most influential Tweeters are 14 users who are considered media organizations or journalists.
During the last five years, Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa has interrupted 1,365 broadcasts to give official announcements, adding up to 11,793 minutes, equivalent to eight days time, on the air, according to the organization Fundamedios in an interview with the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).
Pro-democracy organization Freedom House recently accused Venezuela’s chief national telecommunications company, CANTV, of denying access to the online newspaper Diario de Cuba after the publication ran a number of stories on the health of President Hugo Chávez in January.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The 7.0-magnitude earthquake that struck Port-au-Prince on Jan. 12, 2010 nearly killed then-Associated Press correspondent Jonathan Katz. He was on the second floor of his home and bureau when the walls and floors buckled, collapsing under him.