For most journalists, the simple act of downloading an article from the Internet is all in a day’s work. But for Sayad Perwiz Kambakhsh, 23, from Afghanistan, it was one such seemingly innocuous action that set in motion a string of events – culminating in his death sentence. It was in October last year that Kambakhsh, a student at Balkh University and a journalist for the newspaper Jahan-e Naw (New World), was ARRESTED AFTER DOWNLOADING AN ARTICLE RELATING TO THE KORAN AND THE ROLE OF WOMEN. Even though he was not the author of the article, he was detained by police and after a trial behind closed doors, during which he was not represented by a lawyer, charged with blasphemy and “disseminating defamatory comments about Islam.” His sentence? The death penalty. For Afghanistan’s journalists, the draconian sentence proved to be yet another step too far by the authorities. Last month, news that his appeal had come to a halt and that no date had been set for the next hearing prompted a wave of protests across the country. Hundreds of journalists and writers defied warnings of arrest to take part in demonstrations in 15 provinces across Afghanistan. “The appeal court should have quashed Kambakhsh’s death sentence when a forensic doctor confirmed he was tortured by the security forces,” says Reporters Without Borders. “But it was not done, and the authorities refuse to release him. A show of support from Afghans is now the key to preventing fundamentalists and certain government sectors from pressing ahead with their persecution of this journalist.”

Afternoon tea, marmite, roast beef, pubs – and celebrity gossip. The latest British export to hit Japanese shores may not be edible but is likely to satisfy a growing global appetite for star-studded news about the rich and famous. AN ONLINE JAPANESE VERSION OF OK!, THE CELEBRATED BRITISH CELEBRITY MAGAZINE, IS TO BE LAUNCHED IN THE AUTUMN. With 120 million copies already sold in 19 different countries, the magazine’s formula of celebrities, celebrities, and more celebrities may not be the most sophisticated but is clearly pulling in readers. The latest in the ever-expanding OK! empire, OK!Japan will be run by 1st Avenue Inc. after obtaining a license from the original publisher, Northern & Shell Network Ltd., which also owns U.K. national newspapers the Daily and Sunday Express. As well as running an OK!Japan Web site – including material from OK! titles around the world as well as fresh content with a Japanese angle – plans are underway to launch an OK!Café, where people can meet up, attend fashion shows and, presumably, sit around swapping celebrity gossip over cups of tea. Those unable to contain their excitement at the imminent arrival of a British-style gossip frenzy may be relieved to hear that they can get a sneak celebrity-fix preview – a prelaunch taster of OK!Japan was unveiled in July at okjapan.jp.

It is celebrated as the homeland of ABBA, pickled herrings, saunas and, until now has had a reputation as one of the world’s most liberal societies. So eyebrows were raised when A CONTROVERSIAL BILL ALLOWING ALL INTERNATIONAL E-MAILS AND PHONE CALLS TO BE MONITORED was recently passed by Sweden’s parliament. Provoking surprise and outrage in equal measure, the “national security measure” was condemned by critics as an infringement of human rights. And the hazardous implications for journalists keen to protect the confidentiality of their sources did not go unnoticed. Aidan White, general secretary of the European and International Federation of Journalists, says: “It is astonishing that one of Europe’s oldest democracies where model standards of press freedom have been taken for granted has dealt such a blow to civil liberties.” For journalists, the new law, which goes into effect next January, will cast into the spotlight not only the issue of confidentiality but also the ever-expanding emergence of Big Brother-style bureaucracy. White adds: “Throughout journalism there will be incredulity and dismay at this decision. No journalist anywhere in Europe can now be certain that their work is not subject to official surveillance, that their telephones are not being tapped and that they can with any confidence protect their sources.”

Imprisonment. Torture. Corruption. The odd late deadline may seem a million miles from the concerns facing the legions of journalists who work in trouble spots across the Middle East and North Africa. And with depressing regularity, working in a climate of conflict goes hand in hand with corruption, the loss of editorial freedom and the use of media as a political tool. Now, JOURNALISTS IN THE ARAB WORLD ARE TAKING A UNITED STAND against such problems with the announcement of a major regional conference to raise the ethical standards of media across the region. The convention will be hosted by the Association of Journalists of the United Arab Emirates in Dubai in November, with the aim of highlighting corruption inside the media and “exposing journalism that incites sectarian conflicts.”

Thanks to Reporters Without Borders, the International and European Federation of Journalists, Women’s Wear Daily, Japan Today