Press freedom: India falls to 138 in RSF rankings
New Delhi, April 25: With increasing “physical violence” against journalists reported in India, the country’s ranking in the Press Freedom Index has fallen two places to 138, said a statement from the annual report of Reporters Without Borders (RSF). The killing of Gauri Lankesh has been seen as the key reason behind the fall. The report warned that hate crime is another issue plaguing India.
“Hate speech is also an issue in the continent’s other giant, India, which has fallen another two places to 138th. Ever since Narendra Modi became prime minister in 2014, Hindu fundamentalists have been referring to journalists in extremely violent terms,” the report said.
The report also mentioned that, “Any investigative reporting that annoys the ruling party or any criticism of Hindutva, elicits a torrent of online insults and calls for the death of the reporter or writer responsible, most of it coming from the prime minister’s troll army.”
Citing the case of Gauri Lankesh, the Reporters Without Borders(RSF) report said, “The newspaper editor Gauri Lankesh was gunned down outside her home in September after being the target of hate speech and death threats for criticising Hindu supremacy, the caste system and discrimination against women.”
“The physical violence against journalists is largely responsible for India’s low ranking. At least three journalists were murdered in connection with their work. More were killed in circumstances that were unclear, as is often the case in rural areas, where reporters are poorly paid,” according to the RSF ranking.
While India dropped two points, Norway continues to top the list of having the world’s freest press for two consecutive years, the Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said. The lowest ranking in the list was North Korea followed by Eritrea, Turkmenistan, Syria and then China.
China’s ranking remained unchanged at 175th position for the second year. Underlining that China’s censorship and surveillance has reached unprecedented levels due to the massive use of new technology, the RSF said foreign reporters are finding it harder to work and ordinary citizens can now be jailed just for sharing content on a social network or during a private chat on a messaging service.
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Trump threatens to bomb Iran if no deal by Wednesday amid uncertainty over peace talks
Washington/Islamabad (PTI): US President Donald Trump on Tuesday threatened to bomb Iran if they do not agree to a deal before the end of the two-week ceasefire on Wednesday, even as Pakistan urged the two sides to extend the truce and give diplomacy a chance.
Trump had indicated that his team of negotiators could reach Islamabad by Monday night for talks, while the Iranian delegation was also expected to travel to Islamabad, but so far, there was no sign of any peace maker in Islamabad.
Pakistan's Information Minister Attaullah Tarar on Tuesday evening said his country was still waiting for a formal response from Iran regarding its participation in the second round of talks with the US.
Underlining that the ceasefire ends at 4:50 am PST Wednesday, he said, "Decision from Iran to attend the talks before the end of the two-week ceasefire is critical."
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Trump said that if the ceasefire ends without an agreement, he is prepared to resume attacking Iran. "I expect to be bombing because I think that's a better attitude to go in with,” he told CNBC’s 'Squawk Box'.
When asked if he would extend the ceasefire with Iran to allow time for the peace talks to reach a deal to end the war, Trump said, “Well, I don’t want to do that.”
“They have to negotiate. And, you know, the one thing I’ll say is this: Iran can get themselves on a very good footing. If they make a deal, they can make themselves into a strong nation again, a wonderful nation again,” he added.
The President said he thinks the US is “going to end up with a great deal” with Iran to end the weeks-long war.
"I think they have no choice,” Trump said when asked about his expectations from the second round of negotiations with Iran.
"We’ve taken out their navy, we’ve taken out their air force, we’ve taken out their leaders,” he said.
“We’ve taken out their leaders, frankly, which does complicate things in one way, but these leaders are much more rational,” Trump said. “It is regime change, no matter what you want to call it, which is not something I said I was going to do, but I’ve done it indirectly.”
The first round of the US-Iran talks held on 11 and 12 April failed to produce the desired results for the parties, leading to a flurry of activities by host Pakistan to cool tempers and raise hopes for another round of dialogue.
Amidst uncertainty over the US-Iran talks, Pakistan's Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar on Tuesday urged the two sides to extend the two-week ceasefire and give diplomacy a chance.
Dar, who is also the Foreign Minister, met US Chargé d’Affaires Natalie A Baker in Islamabad and discussed recent regional developments.
Dar underscored Pakistan’s consistent emphasis on dialogue and diplomacy as the only viable means to address challenges and achieve lasting regional peace and stability, the foreign office said in a statement.
“He stressed the need for engagement between the United States and Iran, urged both sides to consider extending the ceasefire, and to give dialogue and diplomacy a chance,” it said.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi also met the envoys of the US and Iran on Tuesday and discussed matters related to the peace talks.
Separately, Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Jiang Zaidong called on Dar and discussed the latest regional developments, the FO said.
Jiang conveyed China’s full support for and appreciation of Pakistan’s continued efforts to facilitate engagement between the US and Iran for sustained peace and stability in the region and beyond.
Dar reaffirmed the Pakistan-China All-Weather Strategic Cooperative Partnership, underscored the strength of bilateral ties, and emphasised the importance of sustained high-level exchanges between the two countries.
He also held a telephonic conversation with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty and Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan to discuss the latest regional developments.
They emphasised the importance of dialogue and engagement for peace and stability, and agreed to remain in close contact, according to FO.
Despite ambiguity, Trump expressed confidence that peace talks with Iran would go ahead, and he wished for an agreement to prevent further oil price rises and stock market shocks, but insisted Iran cannot have the means to develop a nuclear weapon.
Pakistan launched preparations on Sunday by deploying over 10,000 personnel to provide security to the foreign delegates.
Though some reports suggested that security teams from the two countries were already in the Pakistani capital to oversee preparations.
Citing three US sources, American news outlet Axios earlier reported that Vice President J D Vance is expected to depart for Islamabad by Tuesday morning for talks with Iran over a potential deal to end the war. Special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are likely to join Vance.
Tehran hopes to leverage its control of the Strait of Hormuz to strike a deal that averts a restart of the war, eases sanctions, but does not impede its nuclear program.
The situation remains fluid amid heated rhetoric from both sides. Still, there is hope that the second round would be held or at least the ceasefire would be extended, which is ending on Wednesday.
The fragile ceasefire between the US and Iran was tested once again on Sunday when a US guided-missile destroyer fired on and seized an Iranian cargo ship after it tried to get past the US naval blockade in the Gulf of Oman, further angering the Iranians.
