<p>Global freedom suffered its fifth consecutive year of decline in 2010, according to Freedom in the World 2011, Freedom House&rsquo;s annual assessment of political rights and civil liberties around the world. This represents the longest continuous period of decline in the nearly 40-year history of the survey. The year featured drops in the number of Free countries and the number of electoral democracies, as well as an overall deterioration for freedom in the Middle East and North Africa region.</p>

<p>The Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ) Malaysia is calling for media freedom groups around the world to send a letter of appeal to the management of &ldquo;Utusan Malaysia&rdquo;, a major Malay daily in the country, to abandon its intention to hold a domestic inquiry against one of its journalists.</p>

<p>The Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ) is concerned over the alleged assault of &quot;Bernama&quot; photographer Hairul Nizam Baharin while he was carrying out his duties on 9 January 2011. Reports indicate that Hairul Nizam was questioned by auxiliary police after he had taken photos near the Integrated Transportation Terminal in Bandar Tasik Selatan, Kuala Lumpur, at 11.30 a.m. on that day. He was allegedly punched, assaulted, handcuffed and brought to the police station after refusing their request to stop his motorcycle and provide his identification card.</p>

<p>Small leftist groups such as Social Move often get ignored alongside the bigger political actors, such as the yellow and red-shirt movements, and rarely get media exposure. Their ideological commitment is clear, however. Key Social Move member Saowalux Pongam talks to The Nation's Pravit Rojanaphruk about the left and politics. Excerpts:</p> <p><strong>What is the political standing of Social Move?</strong></p>

<p>Now that tens of thousands of you have re-grouped to continue the struggle against the old order, take a few moments to consider my advice, which I hope will be useful to you and society at large.</p>

<p>The Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA) and FORUM-ASIA, and the undersigned organizations, are deeply troubled by a Cambodia government plan to pass a restrictive law to regulate the activities of local and foreign non-governmental organizations (NGOs) working inside the country.</p>

<p>D&eacute;j&agrave; vu is a French term meaning &ldquo;already seen&rdquo;.&nbsp; Refoulement is also French, with a literal meaning of &ldquo;force back&rdquo;.&nbsp; Upon receiving a report on Christmas day that Thai authorities had just forced back 166 refugees to Myanmar, I knew that I had seen this before&mdash;on Christmas 2009 in fact.&nbsp;&nbsp; </p>

<p>The Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ) views with great concern the death threats against Azwan Ismail, a participant of the video project, &ldquo;It Gets Better in Malaysia&rdquo;. According to the project&rsquo;s coordinators from Seksualiti Merdeka, the videos were made &ldquo;in response to accounts of suicides and attempted suicides by LGBT teenagers and adults&rdquo;. They were intended to give hope to those who may be overwhelmed by feelings of loneliness, fear or hopelessness, telling them that &ldquo;it gets better&rdquo;.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.blackout4hungary.net/"><img alt="" src="http://www.blackout4hungary.net/b4h.png" /></a></p>

<p>Two more cases from the 10 reports purported to be leaked from the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) claim that soldiers were likely behind the deaths of two more bystanders during the April/May rally. </p>

<p><strong>Figures in 2010</strong><br /> 57 journalists killed (25% fewer than in 2009)<br /> 51 journalists kidnapped<br /> 535 journalists arrested<br /> 1374 physically attacked or threatened<br /> 504 media censored<br /> 127 journalists fled their country<br /> 152 bloggers and netizens arrested<br /> 52 physically attacked<br /> 62 countries affected by Internet censorship</p>

<p>Two Indonesian journalists were injured when some 30 members of the Kaili Youth Front attacked the office of the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) and online media outlet Beritapalu.com in Palu City, Central Sulawesi, on 30 December at 10:30 am local time.</p>