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Arab News
15-07-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Letter to the Editor: In response to Dr. Dania Khatib's column (July 10, 2025)
Ukraine stands for freedom of speech and independent media. However, it is with a bitter regret that we noted the recent publication of an op-ed by Dr. Dania Koleilat Khatib, who suggested to the public several observations which we believe are inaccurate and risk misleading readers on fundamental issues. The publication itself and a range of narratives outlined therein require a response from the Ukrainian side. Ukraine profoundly appreciates our rich and consistently growing partnership with Saudi Arabia in line with the Kingdom's unwavering commitment, in particular, to international law, its rules and fundamental principles. In this context, it would be relevant to make several points thus dispelling Dr. Dania Khatib's publication through the prism of our bilateral partnership with undisputable facts to set the record straight. First of all, the Russian military aggression against Ukraine in no way can be considered as a legitimate deterrence. We believe that invading an independent state, partly occupying sovereign territories, killing peaceful civilians and destroying domestic economies represent a blatant and outrageous violation of the UN Charter's provisions and international law, which all the UN member states are obliged to respect. It would be appropriate to recall all the UN resolutions having been adopted since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2014 and in the period 2022-2024. None of the 140 countries that unanimously deplored Russian violations ever talked of this so-called 'deterrence.' Secondly, it is vital for me to firmly reject the notion that Ukraine is 'destroyed' or on the verge of collapse, as well as the allegation that a sovereign state being subject to external pressures as a weaker part of the war leading to a hypothetical surrender. Despite the struggles posed against Ukraine, our state remains steadfast in its pursuit of a prosperous future. To demonstrate our resilience, it is useful to remember the crystal clear figures of our economic partnership with the Kingdom during the time of the full-scale aggression. When bilateral trade turnover grows by 17 percent, this speaks for itself not of a country being destroyed but a determined nation committed to resist. We have a joint ambition to develop partnership into the future, which is codified in the joint statement issued after the official visit of the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky to the Kingdom in March 2025. The reinvigoration of the Ukrainian-Saudi Joint Business Council of chambers of commerce and industry, as well as dynamic high-level exchanges between Ukrainian and Saudi companies, demonstrate the high pace of our cooperation. Moreover, we have retained our responsibility as a key food security guarantor in the world by widely supplying wheat and corn to the countries affected. All these facts do not describe the country in ruin. On the contrary, Ukraine is simultaneously implementing national priority interests and sympathetically meeting the dire needs of struggling countries. Far from the term 'destroyed,' Ukraine refused to fall a victim of Russian aggression but displayed incredible tenacity to defend its people and land. The final point is around criticism of weak and unreliable West. We want to make it clear: Ukraine stands against aggression with consistent support of our strategic partner the United States and the broad international coalition of the West. Their political support, economic and security assistance empowered Ukraine to withstand all brutalities of the war. The unity we have seen — politically, economically and militarily — is unprecedented and cannot be underestimated. Ukraine is confident in the West and grateful to all who extend us a hand of help in time of a challenge. Similarly, the humanitarian assistance of the Kingdom plays a pivotal role in protecting our civilians from the consequences of the Russian invasion. The bottom line is that, with all due respect, a contributing columnist may attempt to offer her fresh look on a complex set of issues; however, one principle must persist to be imperative: rock-solid facts, in my opinion, should not be misinterpreted and distorted in a way that undermines the foundations of international law, sovereign state vital national interests and much valuable partnerships across the globe that Ukraine treasures so much. Anatolii Petrenko Ambassador of Ukraine to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Associated Press
24-06-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Life on the other side: Refugees from 'old media' flock to the promise of working for themselves
NEW YORK (AP) — Six months ago, Jennifer Rubin had no idea whether she'd make it in a new media world. She just knew it was time to leave The Washington Post, where she'd been a political columnist for 15 years. The Contrarian, the democracy-focused website that Rubin founded with partner Norm Eisen in January, now has 10 employees and contributors like humorist Andy Borowitz and White House reporter April Ryan. Its 558,000 subscribers also get recipes and culture dispatches. In the blink of an eye, Rubin became a independent news entrepreneur. 'I think we hit a moment, just after inauguration, when people were looking for something different and it has captured people's imaginations,' she says. 'We've been having a ball with it.' YouTube, Substack, TikTok and others are spearheading a full-scale democratization of media and a generation of new voices and influencers. But don't forget the traditionalists. Rubin's experience shows how this world offers a lifeline to many at struggling legacy outlets who wanted — or were forced — to strike out on their own. Tough business realities, changing consumer tastes The realities of business and changing consumer tastes are both driving forces. YouTube claims more than 1 billion monthly podcast views, and a recent list of its top 100 shows featured seven refugees from legacy media and six shows made by current broadcasters. Substack, which launched in 2017 and added live video in January, has more than doubled its number of paid subscribers to participating content creators to 5 million in less than two years. Almost immediately after he was cut loose by ABC News on June 10 for an anti-Trump tweet, Terry Moran headed for Substack. Two former hosts of NBC's 'Today' show — Katie Couric and Hoda Kotb — announced new media ventures on the same day last month. 'I think you've seen, really in the last six months for some reason, this whole space explode with people who are understanding that this is a really important way to convey information,' says Couric, who's been running her own media company with newsletters, interviews and a podcast since 2017 and recently joined Substack. Among the most successful to make transitions are Bari Weiss, the former New York Times writer whose Free Press website celebrates independent thought, the anti-Trump Republicans at Bulwark and ex-MSNBC host Mehdi Hasan, who champions 'adversarial journalism' on Zeteo. Television news essentially left Megyn Kelly for dead after her switch from Fox News to NBC went bust. She launched a podcast in 2020, at first audio only, and SiriusXM picked it up as a daily radio show. She added video for YouTube in 2021, and gets more than 100 million viewers a month for commentary and newsmaker interviews. This year, Kelly launched her own company, MK Media, with shows hosted by Mark Halperin, Maureen Callahan and Link Lauren. While they thrive, the prospect of layoffs, audiences that are aging and becoming smaller and constant worry about disappearing revenue sources are a way of life for legacy media. Moving to independent media is still not an easy decision. Taking a deep breath, and making the leap 'If I'm going to jump off a cliff, is there water or not?' former 'Meet the Press' moderator Chuck Todd says. 'I didn't know until I left NBC. Everybody told me there would be water. But you don't know for sure until you jump.' It takes some adjustment — 'At first I was like, 'do you know who I used to be?'' Couric jokes — but some who have made the jump appreciate the nimbleness and flexibility of new formats and say news subjects often respond to the atmosphere with franker, more expansive interviews. Jim Acosta, who traded a CNN anchor desk for a video podcast he does from his home after deciding not to make a move he considered a demotion, says he's been surprised at the quality of guests he's been able to corral — people like Hakeem Jefferies, Pete Buttigieg and Sean Penn. Many podcasters succeed because they communicate authenticity, former Washington Post editor Marty Baron said in an interview at the George W. Bush Presidential Center. Traditional journalists trade on authority at a time people don't trust institutions anymore, he said. Couric has seen it in some of the feedback she gets from subscribers. 'There's some disenchantment with legacy media,' she says. 'There are certainly some people who are frustrated by the capitulation of some networks to the administration, and I think there's a sense that when you're involved in mainstream media that you may be holding back or there may be executives who are putting pressure on you.' Is there an audience — and money — on the other side? Substack says that more than 50 people are earning more than $1 million annually on its platform. More than 50,000 of its publishers make money, but since the company won't give a total of how many people produce content for the platform, it's impossible to get a sense of the odds of success. Alisyn Camerota isn't making money yet. The former CNN anchor left the broadcaster after she sensed her time there was running out. Blessed with a financial cushion, she's relishing the chance to create something new. She records a video podcast, 'Sanity,' from her basement in Connecticut. A former Fox colleague who lives nearby, Dave Briggs, joins to talk about the news. 'It's harder than you think in terms of having to DIY a lot of this,' Camerota says, 'but it's very freeing.' Different people on the platform have different price points; some publishers put everything they do behind a pay wall, others only some. Acosta offers content for free, but people need to pay to comment or discuss. Zeteo charges $12 a month or $72 a year, with a $500 'founding member' yearly fee that offers access to Mehdi. The danger for independent journalists is a market reaching a saturation point. People already stress over how many streaming services they can afford for entertainment. There's surely a limit to how many journalists they will pay for, too. 'I hope to make a living at this,' Acosta says. 'We'll see how it goes. This is a bit of an experiment. I think it's a valuable one because the stakes are so high right now.' A strong point of view is one route to success To succeed in independent media, people need a strong work work ethic, self-motivation and an ability to pivot quickly to deal with changing markets, says Chris Balfe, founder of Red Seat Ventures. He has created a thriving business ushering conservative media figures into the new world, including Kelly, Bill O'Reilly, Tucker Carlson and Piers Morgan. Balfe's clients all have strong opinions. That's a plus for consumers who want to hear their viewpoints reflected back at them. 'I think you need a point of view and a purpose,' Rubin says. 'Once you have that, it helps you to organize your thinking and your selections. You're not going to be all things to all people.' That's one of the things that concerns Acosta and Todd. They're looser, and they certainly say what they think more than they felt free to do on television; a remark Acosta made on June 17, while appearing on Rubin's podcast, about Trump marrying immigrants was criticized as 'distasteful' by the White House. But at heart, they consider themselves reporters and not commentators. Is there enough room for people like them? Todd has a podcast, a weekly interview show on the new platform Noosphere and is looking to build on an interest in improving the fortunes of local news. He believes that opinion can help someone build an audience quickly but may ultimately limit growth. As Rubin did, they will find out soon enough. 'As it turned out,' she says, 'what was on the other side was much more exciting and successful and absorbing than I could ever have imagined.' ___ David Bauder writes about the intersection of media and entertainment for the AP. Follow him at and
The Guardian
04-06-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
Hungary postpones vote on law to curb foreign-funded organisations
Hungary's ruling party has postponed a planned vote on draft legislation aimed at organisations that receive foreign funding, following weeks of protests and warnings that the law would 'starve and strangle' civil society and independent media. Viktor Orbán's rightwing populist party, Fidesz, put forward legislation last month that would allow the government to monitor, penalise and potentially ban organisations that receive any sort of foreign funding, including donations or EU grants. Any organisation could be targeted if it was deemed to 'threaten the sovereignty of Hungary by using foreign funding to influence public life'. The parliamentary vote had been expected to take place in mid-June. Despite critics likening the legislation to Russia's 'foreign agent' law, it was forecast to be passed by parliament as Fidesz holds a two-thirds majority. But on Wednesday, Fidesz' parliamentary party leader, Mâté Kocsis, told local media that the vote would be postponed until autumn as the government had received several suggestions regarding the law. 'We are united in our intentions, but there is still debate about the means,' he added on social media. Civil rights organisations celebrated the delay, with Amnesty International calling it a 'huge joint success'. 'Of course, we can only rest easy once this unlawful bill has been scrapped for good,' the group said on social media. 'Unfortunately, one thing is certain: the government will not give up its attempts to silence independent voices, as has been its goal since 2010.' Previously, Zoltán Kovács, a spokesperson for the Hungarian government, had said the bill had been introduced amid worries that foreign-funded organisations, primarily from the US and Brussels, were shaping the country's political discourse. The legislation takes a broad view of what constitutes a threat, describing it as acts undermining Hungary's constitutional identity or Christian culture or challenging the primacy of marriage, the family and biological sexes. The proposal was swiftly slammed by opposition politicians, who said it would allow the government to potentially shut down all independent media and NGOs engaged in public affairs, while Transparency International described it as a 'dark turning point' for Hungary. 'It is designed to crush dissent, silence civil society, and dismantle the pillars of democracy,' the organisation noted. The warning was echoed by the Hungarian Helsinki Committee. 'If this bill passes, it will not simply marginalise Hungary's independent voices – it will extinguish them,' co-chair Márta Pardavi said in a statement that described the draft law as 'Operation Starve and Strangle'. Scores of Hungarians took to the streets in protest while more than 90 editors-in-chief and publishers from across Europe, including from the Guardian, Libération in France and Gazeta Wyborcza in Poland, called on the EU to take action. Sign up to Headlines Europe A digest of the morning's main headlines from the Europe edition emailed direct to you every week day after newsletter promotion The bill pushed by Orbán – who is facing an unprecedented challenge from a former member of the Fidesz elite, Péter Magyar, ahead of elections next spring – has been described as one of his government's boldest to date. 'Its aim is to silence all critical voices and eliminate what remains of Hungarian democracy once and for all,' a joint statement, signed by more than 300 civil society and media organisations, recently noted. Magyar was quick to respond to the delayed vote, saying on social media that it would allow the government to 'squeeze even more' out of the proposed bill and 'further divert attention from … the livelihood and housing crisis, Orbán's galloping inflation and the destruction of education'. The introduction of the draft law in Hungary's parliament had marked an 'escalation' in the government's years of democratic backsliding, said Veronika Móra, the director of the Ökotárs-Hungarian Environmental Partnership Foundation. Many in the country's steadily shrinking civic space had been left rattled by the proposed law and reeling from the uncertainty of what comes next. 'And we've already felt the chilling effects, especially smaller, weaker organisations who were really frightened by the draft law and the potential consequences,' she said. 'So even if it's not passed – which would be great – it's already had an impact.'
Al Jazeera
10-05-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Reporting from behind shifting front lines in Myanmar's civil war
On a typical day, Mai Rupa travels through his native Shan State, in eastern Myanmar, documenting the impact of war. A video journalist with the online news outlet Shwe Phee Myay, he travels to remote towns and villages, collecting footage and conducting interviews on stories ranging from battle updates to the situation for local civilians living in a war zone. His job is fraught with risks. Roads are strewn with landmines and there are times when he has taken cover from aerial bombing and artillery shelling. 'I have witnessed countless people being injured and civilians dying in front of me,' Mai Rupa said. 'These heartbreaking experiences deeply affected me,' he told Al Jazeera, 'at times, leading to serious emotional distress.' Mai Rupa is one of a small number of brave, independent journalists still reporting on the ground in Myanmar, where a 2021 military coup shattered the country's fragile transition to democracy and obliterated media freedoms. Like his colleagues at Shwe Phee Myay – a name which refers to Shan State's rich history of tea cultivation – Mai Rupa prefers to go by a pen name due to the risks of publicly identifying as a reporter with one of the last remaining independent media outlets still operating inside the country. Most journalists fled Myanmar in the aftermath of the military's takeover and the expanding civil war. Some continue their coverage by making cross-border trips from work bases in neighbouring Thailand and India. But staff at Shwe Phee Myay – a Burmese-language outlet, with roots in Shan State's ethnic Ta'ang community – continue reporting from on the ground, covering a region of Myanmar where several ethnic armed groups have for decades fought against the military and at times clashed with each other. After Myanmar's military launched a coup in February 2021, Shwe Phee Myay's journalists faced new risks. In March that year, two reporters with the outlet narrowly escaped arrest while covering pro-democracy protests. When soldiers and police raided their office in the Shan State capital of Lashio two months later, the entire team had already gone into hiding. That September, the military arrested the organisation's video reporter, Lway M Phuong, for alleged incitement and dissemination of 'false news'. She served nearly two years in prison. The rest of the 10-person Shwe Phee Myay team scattered following her arrest, which came amid the Myanmar military's wider crackdown on the media. Spread out across northern Shan State in the east of the country, the news team initially struggled to continue their work. They chose to avoid urban areas where they might encounter the military. Every day was a struggle to continue reporting. 'We couldn't travel on main roads, only back roads,' recounted Hlar Nyiem, an assistant editor with Shwe Phee Myay. 'Sometimes, we lost four or five work days in a week,' she said. Despite the dangers, Shwe Phee Myay's reporters continued with their clandestine work to keep the public informed. When a magnitude 7.7 earthquake hit central Myanmar on March 28, killing more than 3,800 people, Shwe Phee Myay's journalists were among the few able to document the aftermath from inside the country. The military blocked most international media outlets from accessing earthquake-affected areas, citing difficulties with travel and accommodation, and the few local reporters still working secretly in the country took great risks to get information to the outside world. 'These journalists continue to reveal truths and make people's voices heard that the military regime is desperate to silence,' said Thu Thu Aung, a public policy scholar at the University of Oxford who has conducted research on Myanmar's post-coup media landscape. On top of the civil war and threats posed by Myanmar's military regime, Myanmar's journalists have encountered a new threat. In January, the administration of US President Donald Trump and his billionaire confidante Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) began dismantling the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). USAID had allocated more than $268m towards supporting independent media and the free flow of information in more than 30 countries around the world – from Ukraine to Myanmar, according to journalism advocacy group Reporters Without Borders. In February, The Guardian reported on the freezing of USAID funds, creating an 'existential crisis' for exiled Myanmar journalists operating from the town of Mae Sot, on the country's border with Thailand. The situation worsened further in mid-March, when the White House declared plans for the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM) to reduce operations to the bare minimum. USAGM oversees – among others – the Voice of America and Radio Free Asia, which were both leading providers of news on Myanmar. Last week, RFA announced it was laying off 90 percent of its staff and ceasing to produce news in the Tibetan, Burmese, Uighur and Lao languages. VOA has faced a similar situation. Tin Tin Nyo, managing director of Burma News International, a network of 16 local, independent media organisations based inside and outside Myanmar, said the loss of the Burmese-language services provided by VOA and RFA created a 'troubling information vacuum'. Myanmar's independent media sector also relied heavily on international assistance, which had already been dwindling, Tin Tin Nyo said. Many local Myanmar news outlets were already 'struggling to continue producing reliable information', as a result of the USAID funding cuts brought in by Trump and executed by Musk's DOGE, she said. Some had laid off staff, reduced their programming or suspended operations. 'The downsizing of independent media has decreased the capacity to monitor [false] narratives, provide early warnings, and counter propaganda, ultimately weakening the pro-democracy movement,' Tin Tin Nyo said. 'When independent media fail to produce news, policymakers around the world will be unaware of the actual situation in Myanmar,' she added. Currently, 35 journalists remain imprisoned in Myanmar, making it the world's third-worst jailer of journalists after China and Israel, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. The country is ranked 169th out of 180 countries on Reporters Without Borders' World Press Freedom Index. 'Journalists on the ground must work under the constant fear of arrest or even death,' Tin Tin Nyo said. 'The military junta treats the media and journalists as criminals, specifically targeting them to silence access to information.' Despite the dangers, Shwe Phee Myay continues to publish news on events inside Myanmar. With a million followers on Facebook – the digital platform where most people in Myanmar get their news – Shwe Phee Myay's coverage has become even more critical since the military coup in 2021 and the widening civil war. Established in 2019 in Lashio, Shwe Phee Myay was one of dozens of independent media outlets which emerged in Myanmar during a decade-long political opening, which began in 2011 with the country's emergence from a half-century of relative international isolation under authoritarian military rule. Pre-publication censorship ended in 2012 amid a wider set of policy reforms as the military agreed to allow greater political freedom. Journalists who had lived and worked in exile for media outlets such as the Democratic Voice of Burma, The Irrawaddy and Mizzima News began cautiously returning home. However, the country's nascent press freedoms came under strain during the term of Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy government, which came to power in 2016 as a result of the military's political reforms. Aung San Suu Kyi's government jailed journalists and blocked independent media access to politically sensitive areas including Rakhine State, where the military committed a brutal campaign of ethnic cleansing against the Rohingya community and for which it now faces international charges of genocide. But the situation for independent journalists dramatically worsened following the 2021 coup. As the military violently cracked down on peaceful protests against the generals seizing power, it restricted the internet, revoked media licences and arrested dozens of journalists. That violence triggered an armed uprising across Myanmar. Shwe Phee Myay briefly considered relocating to Thailand as the situation deteriorated after the coup, but those running the news site decided to remain in the country. 'Our will was to stay on our own land,' said Mai Naw Dang, who until recently served as the editor of Burmese-to-English translations. 'Our perspective was that to gather the news and collect footage, we needed to be here.' Their work then took on new intensity in October 2023, when an alliance of ethnic armed organisations launched a surprise attack on military outposts in Shan State near the border with China. The offensive marked a major escalation in the Myanmar conflict; the military, which lost significant territory as a result, retaliated with air strikes, cluster munitions and shelling. Within two months, more than 500,000 people had been displaced due to the fighting. With few outside journalists able to access northern Shan State, Shwe Phee Myay was uniquely positioned to cover the crisis. Then in January this year, Shwe Phee Myay also received notice that USAID funds approved in November were no longer coming and it has since reduced field reporting, cancelled training and scaled back video news production. 'We're taking risks to report on how people are impacted by the war, yet our efforts seem unrecognised,' editor-in-chief Mai Rukaw said. 'Even though we have a strong human resource base on the ground, we're facing significant challenges in securing funding to continue our work.' During staff meetings, Mai Rukaw has raised the possibility of shutting down Shwe Phee Myay with his colleagues. Their response, he said, was to keep going even if the money dries up. 'We always ask ourselves: if we stop, who will continue addressing these issues?' he said. 'That question keeps us moving forward.'
Reuters
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
Sweden donates $2 mln to Radio Free Europe after Trump freezes funding
STOCKHOLM, May 8 (Reuters) - Sweden will donate 20 million crowns ($2.1 million) to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, the Nordic country said on Thursday, after the administration of President Donald Trump ordered a freeze of federal grants to the media outlet. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty was set up during the Cold War to reach people in communist-run states. The Prague-based outlet broadcasts to countries in Eastern Europe, including Russia and Ukraine. "This decision is part of our continued work to support journalists and independent media," the Swedish government said in a statement. "After the U.S. withdrew its support for Radio Free Europe, people in many countries risk losing access to free media," it said. President Trump in March ordered the termination of the grants as part of sweeping efforts to downsize the U.S. government, in what may devastate a rare source of reliable news in authoritarian countries. A U.S. District Court judge placed a temporary pause on the termination order but a federal appeals court this month blocked the ruling. ($1 = 9.6833 Swedish crowns)
