Hondurans went to the polls on Sunday in a presidential election overshadowed by allegations of fraud, political pressure, and a deteriorating environment for independent journalism. Preliminary results point to entrepreneur Nasry “Tito” Asfura as the winner, despite pre-election polls placing him in third position. The vote took an even sharper turn when U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to cut financial aid to Honduras if Asfura did not win, an unprecedented intervention less than 48 hours before the election day. But beyond political tensions or claims of external interference, the most alarming development has been the hostile and dangerous climate faced by the Honduran press in the weeks leading up to the vote. Escalating hostility toward the media In the run-up to the election, the Honduran Armed Forces’ high command issued a series of aggressive and deeply concerning public statements targeting journalists and media outlets. Military leaders accused reporters of conducting“

Ethiopia’s parliament has ratified an amendment to the country’s Mass Media Proclamation that dramatically reshapes how the Ethiopian Media Authority (EMA) is governed. The changes transfer nomination powers for the EMA’s leadership to the executive, strip away transparency and conflict-of-interest safeguards from board appointments, and consolidate licensing and disciplinary powers within the Authority itself, effectively hollowing out institutional checks designed to protect regulatory independence. Taken together with an intensifying pattern of arrests, raids, and threats against reporters, the legal changes mark a decisive shift that risks transforming the regulator from a potential defender of media pluralism into an instrument of state control. The mechanics of capture Before the amendment, the House of Peoples’ Representatives (HoPR) appointed the EMA’s director general through a public nomination process that include reserved seats for civil-society and media representatives, as well as a ban on political-party membership for board members. Under the new framework, the

On October 16, 2017, investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia was killed in a car bomb attack outside her home in Bidnija. Her assassination shocked Europe and exposed the fragility of press freedom in Malta. For many Maltese journalists, Daphne’s death was not only a tragedy but a turning point, one that opened a window to demand protection, accountability, and structural reform to guarantee the safety of the independent press. Eight years later, her name continues to inspire calls to accountability. Now, international press freedom groups are urging Malta to take that next step: to adopt a National Action Plan on Media Freedom and Journalist Safety. This proposal, put forward by 18 organizations, including the International Press Institute (IPI), Reporters Without Borders (RSF), and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), aims to translate years of consultation into concrete policy. Media Landscape Malta’s media environment is small and highly concentrated. The Public