Two women journalists killed in Mexico City (Reuters)

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Mexican authorities are investigating the murder of two women journalists whose bodies were found in a park in the south of Mexico City on Thursday.

Dozens of journalists have been killed in drug-related violence in Mexico in the past five years. However, the attorney general's office in the capital said the motive for the killing of the two friends was unclear.

"This is still being investigated," a spokesman said, adding that initial findings suggested the victims had been strangled. Both women were 48, the spokesman added.

One of the women, Ana Yarce, was the founder of investigative magazine Contralinea, it said in a statement. The other, Rocio Gonzalez, had worked previously for broadcaster Televisa, the magazine added.

Daily newspaper Reforma said Gonzalez had apparently just withdrawn a large sum of money and the two women may have been victims of a violent robbery.

(Reporting by Dave Graham; Editing by Todd Eastham)

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French journalists return home after Afghanistan hostage ordeal [VIDEO] (The Christian Science Monitor)

Paris Herve Ghesquiere and Stephane Taponier – Joy came to France this morning as the last two journalists held hostage under war conditions arrived home after 547 days in Taliban captivity. They said the ordeal raised their awareness of other hostages held “everywhere in the world.”

Herve Ghesquiere and Stephane Taponier of France 3 television started reporting in Afghanistan while embedded with a French military unit and were abducted in 2009 in the Kapisa Valley after visiting a town without the protection of troops, in order to get an authentic take on the area.

Today the two landed at a military air base outside Paris amid throngs of French journalists and hugged each other and family, answering questions in an ebullient moment. "We're doing really, really, really well," said Mr. Taponier, a cameraman who has worked in Gaza and Lebanon. “We stayed optimistic.”

When French Prime Minister Francois Fillon announced yesterday the release of the two at the National Assembly, that body erupted in a standing ovation. France has a famed tradition of patriotic emotion on the return home of captives. The release of a French-Colombian celebrity politician, Ingrid Betancourt, after six years held in the jungle brought a day of celebration two years ago.

The two France 3 journalists today described their ordeal as grueling due to poor conditions, lack of food, and uncertainty, but said they were not treated badly by their Taliban captors. Their translator, an Afghan national named Reza Din, was also released.

Winning hearts and minds in Afghanistan

“We were never threatened, never beaten, never tied up,” Taponier said. “But we were locked up 23 hours and 45 minutes [a day], with very little to eat, and always the same thing, ‘Afghan mountain special.’ It might sound stupid, food, but it's vital."

Mr. Ghesquiere, who worked in the Rwanda, Kosovo, and Balkan wars, said the experience has him thinking more of other unfortunates who are locked away or kidnapped. "There are many hostages in the world, I am really thinking about them,” he told colleagues today. “To be a hostage is complicated and difficult… I feel a deep emotion for them."

The two were released following a December intervention with Afghan President Hamid Karzai by French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe, as well as the announcement of a withdrawal of French troops this month after US President Obama’s decision to draw down US troop levels. The Paris-based Reporters San Frontiers says the two are the final professional journalists held hostage that they are aware of.

Unusually, for four months after their kidnapping the French government did not release the men’s names. The reason was to reduce pressure in negotiations, a tactic similar to that used by the New York Times in securing its reporter David Rhodes. It was the first time France had held back names of captives.

Perils of war reporting Journalists here later criticized French officials for insinuating, once their names were known, that the men were irresponsible and perhaps culpable, since they left their embed. The issue of operating independently in Taliban areas has been a sensitive and highly subjective one among foreign reporters in Afghanistan: The calculation pits the reporter’s experience and skill with a desire to achieve a thrilling or significant story and includes the risk of doing harm to local translators, civilians or troops that may be called to rescue.

In this case, the men had war reporting backgrounds. They worked for a highly regarded series on France 3 television called “Pieces a conviction,” an in-depth report akin to “Frontline” on US public television or “Assignment” on the BBC. Their Afghan report focused on a road reconstruction project in the French military zone to the east of Kabul and was planned for three months.

After it was posited today that French military officials warned the journalists not to go to the town they were captured in, Ghesquiere offered in a slight eruption that: "No one had warned us against going there… We didn't start out climbing the North Face of Everest wearing flip-flops, far from it… We didn't go there blindly… Let me make myself clear: No one told us anything."

GhesquierA? said he looked forward to returning to a normal life and that he did not want to a€?play the role of an ex-hostage.a€

--

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Bahraini journalists to go on trial

NEW: The trial has been postponed until Sunday The three men are charged with fabrication of news to disturb public security Al-Wasat newspaper is accused of "deliberate news fabrication" during Bahrain's unrestThe government has tried to crack down on protests

(CNN) -- The trial of three Bahraini opposition journalists accused of fabricating news to disrupt peace during the civil unrest in the Gulf state adjourned after a few minutes Wednesday.

Civilian High Court judges postponed proceedings until Sunday after the defense presented documents showing detailed communications between editors of Al-Wasat newspaper, King Hamad and other top government officials.

In the correspondence, the editors express their beliefs that they're working for peace and stability. Other communications with senior officials discuss articles from the paper that call for calm and restraint.

Mansoor al-Jamri, former editor-in-chief of the publication, Walid Nouwaihidh, former managing editor and Aqeel Mirza, the former head of the local news department, are on trial after being forced to quit the publication in April. A fourth man, Ali al-Sharifi, is being tried in absentia.

"Al-Wasat newspaper has been charged with fabricating news knowingly and with the aim of spreading some sort of discord and unrest amongst the population, which is not true," al-Jamri told CNN.

After Wednesday's delay, he said he is encouraged that the judges want to hear the evidence in the case.

At the time the men were forced from Al-Wasat in April, the state-run Bahrain News Agency reported that the Information Affairs Authority had "instigated legal proceedings" against the daily newspaper following the firings.

"The flagrant press irregularities committed by Bahrain daily Al-Wasat will be referred to the International Federation of Journalists and the Arab Journalists Union," the news agency reported.

Accusations against Al-Wasat also included "deliberate news fabrication and falsification during the recent unrest which gripped the Kingdom of Bahrain," according to the news agency.

Bahrain is one of several Middle East and North African countries embroiled in anti-government protests. To quell the protests, the Bahraini government called in troops from member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council.

The ruling royal family -- Sunnis in a majority-Shiite nation -- accuses protesters of being motivated by sectarian differences and supported by Iran.

"Every Shia now is a criminal," al-Jamri said. "Every Shia in Bahrain is considered by the state ... an enemy of the state and unfortunately this is not a recipe for calm in the future."

Government officials say 1,300 people were dismissed from their jobs, but up to 900 have been reinstated.

But it's a figure opposition sources dispute, saying they believe more than 2,000 jobs have been lost, nearly all of them held by Shia Muslims.

CNN's Nic Robertson and Mohammed Jamjoom contributed to this report.

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Egypt army questions journalists, blogger (AFP)

CAIRO, Egypt (AFP) – Two Egyptian journalists and a blogger were questioned for three hours on Tuesday by military officials over criticism of the army on a live talk show, they said.

Reem Maged and Nabil Sharafeddine, the two reporters, and prominent blogger and activist Hossam al-Hamalawy were questioned by Adel Morsi, who heads the military justice authority.

Maged told reporters that the questioning did not take place in the framework of an investigation but that the army had sought to "clarify" certain statements on her talk show "Baladna mil Masry."

"They told us we were there to offer clarifications," Hamalawy told AFP by telephone, adding that media pressure and online solidarity calls had contributed in matters not going further.

Shortly after news of their summons hit the Internet on Monday, a Facebook page was created calling for a protest outside the military prosecutor's office during their questioning.

On Tuesday, around 100 people had gathered outside the offices chanting for freedom of expression and against military trials for civilians.

"They asked us to provide all information in our possession on violations committed by the military police," Hamalawy said.

During Maged's programme on the OnTV satellite channel on Thursday, Hamalawy accused military police of rights abuses, saying he had proof of violations committed by named officials.

Sharafeddine was questioned over statements he made on the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces on the same channel on Friday.

During the uprising that toppled president Hosni Mubarak, the army was at first idolised as hero of the revolution for not firing on protesters but has since come under criticism for its handling of the transitional phase and for alleged rights violations.

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Libya frees four sentenced journalists

Nigel Chandler, from left, Manuel Varela, James Foley and Clare Morgana Gillis arrive at Rixos Hotel in Tripoli on Wednesday.Four foreign journalists covering the Libyan conflict are released and finedMeanwhile, Tunisia condemns Libya's firing of rockets at a Tunisian border townUNICEF announces an effort to raise $20 million for Libyan women and children

Tripoli, Libya (CNN) -- Four journalists are free weeks after they were captured by the Libyan military and then sentenced to jail for a year, a Libyan government spokesman said Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the Tunisian government condemned Libya's alleged continuous firing of rockets at the border town of Dhiba, a Tunisian foreign ministry source told the Tunisian News Agency.

Also, fighting resumed Wednesday between rebels and forces loyal to Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi at the Dhehiba/Wazen border crossing with Tunisia, according to the Tunisian state-run news agency.

Significant reinforcements joined the rebels while government troops responded with heavy artillery, the agency said.

At the same time, UNICEF announced a humanitarian campaign to raise $20 million for children and women inside Libya and for nearly 800,000 refugees who have fled to neighboring countries including Tunisia.

The freed journalists include two Americans: Clare Morgana Gillis, a freelancer for the Christian Science Monitor, the Atlantic and USA Today; and James Foley of GlobalPost. The others are Spanish photographer Manuel Varela, who also goes by the name Manu Brabo, and British journalist Nigel Chandler, Libyan government spokesman Musa Ibrahim said.

Ibrahim said a judge released the four journalists after ordering them each to pay a $164 fine for entering the country illegally. Ibrahim didn't know if the journalists had paid the fines yet.

When asked about missing South African photographer Anton Hemmerl, Ibrahim said the government isn't holding him and hasn't been able to locate him.

"We never had him with us at any stage," Ibrahim said.

Ibrahim spoke with the four journalists after they arrived in the lobby of the Rixos Hotel in Tripoli and told them they are welcome to stay and work in Libya under a visa.

South Africa's ambassador to Libya was also at the hotel trying to get any information on Hemmerl.

The four freed journalists were to spend the night at the hotel Wednesday, with their rooms paid for by the Libyan government, and then be driven to the Tunisian border, Ibrahim said.

Gillis, Varela and Foley were detained by pro-government forces in early April, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.

Once taken to the border with Tunisia, Varela will head home to Spain, the Spanish foreign ministry said in a statement.

The foreign ministry declined to give any details earlier this month about Varela's situation, due to the "discretion and prudence" that his case demands, but Spanish media reported April 24 that he talked by phone to his parents in northern Spain and told them he was safe and being treated well.

Spain still has an embassy in Tripoli, although it evacuated its personnel from the city, like many other nations, as fighting between the regime of Moammar Gadhafi and rebels intensified in late March.

When asked about journalists being mistreated while in Libyan custody since violence erupted in February, Ibrahim said all journalists were treated "fairly" and "as good as possible," but he pointed out that the country is in armed conflict, and the military didn't know for sure whether persons captured were indeed journalists.

Ibrahim added that many former military personnel from Europe are now working with the rebels.

Since February, the Committee to Protect Journalists has tallied more than 80 attacks on members of the news media in Libya, including four deaths and 49 detentions.

Human Rights Watch and CPJ have called upon the Libyan government to account for missing journalists covering the conflict there.

Meanwhile, in Tunis, the government charged that Libya's rocket-firing at Tunisia is a violation of its sovereignty and puts citizens and infrastructure at risk, even though Tripoli pledged several times not to fire in the direction of Tunisia, the foreign ministry source told the Tunisian News Agency.

The Tunisian government warned of "immediate and disastrous consequences" to bilateral relations and said the "serious" attacks are likely to force Tunis to take "severe" measures such as reporting the violations to the U.N. secretary general in order "to defend its territorial integrity," the source told the news agency.

In a related matter to Libya, UNICEF issued its appeal to raise $20 million for the Libyan crisis and said more than 1 million people may have been affected by the conflict, especially as almost 800,000 Libyans have fled to Egypt, Algeria, Niger, Chad, Sudan and Tunisia, the group said in a statement Wednesday.

"Children have been deeply affected by this conflict. Their rights to learn, to play and to express themselves have been compromised. UNICEF and partners are working to support the community in their solidarity to create safe spaces for all Libyan children," Shahida Azfar, UNICEF regional director for the Middle East and north Africa, said in a statement.

CNN's Michael Martinez and Al Goodman contributed to this report.

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Gadhafi forces capture USA TODAY writer, 3 other journalists

Moammar Gadhafi's forces have captured four journalists in Libya. Two are U.S. citizens, one of whom has reported on the civil war for USA TODAY.

Here's what the paper's world and military affairs editor, William Dermody, reports:

Clare Morgana Gillis has reported for USA TODAY, The Atlantic and the Christian Science Monitor. The other U.S. citizen arrested is James Foley, a journalist for GlobalPost.

Human Rights Watch stated Thursday that witnesses said that the four reporters were in a car Tuesday a few miles outside of Brega, the scene of intense fighting recently, when they were stopped by pro-government forces and taken away. The driver was released and the car destroyed with a rocket-propelled grenade.

Rebels who witnessed the arrest reported what they saw to The New York Times, which alerted Human Rights Watch. The other two journalists taken are Manu Brabo, a Spanish photographer, and Anton Hammerl, a South African photographer.

Last month, four journalists for the Times were captured and released after six days. Gillis, of New Haven, Conn., is a graduate of Harvard University. The location of the journalists is not known.

The State Department, Human Rights Watch and the Libyan foreign media office have been informed of the situation and asked to intervene on behalf of the journalists.

"Clare Morgana Gillis has provided excellent coverage of the conflict in Libya as a journalist working for numerous American publications including USA TODAY," said Editor John Hillkirk. "We ask Libyan authorities to ensure her safety and release her immediately, along with the three journalists who are with her."

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Freed New York Times journalists reflect on captivity, risking lives

Journalists reflect on captors' crueltySTORY HIGHLIGHTSThe journalists believe their Libyan driver may have been killed by pro-Gadhafi forcesThey feel 'a huge responsibility' for the missing driverThe journalists have been reassessing how much risk is worth taking to get a storyThey say they realize how dehumanization of prisoners can lead to violence (CNN) -- The four New York Times staffers recently held captive for about a week by pro-Moammar Gadhafi troops made it out of Libya alive.

However, they're unsure if their driver, Mohammed, did. And the experience is forcing the seasoned war journalists to reconsider how they look at the world.

"We probably should have died those first 12 hours, given, you know, the intensity of the firefight and the positions we were in," Anthony Shadid told Anderson Cooper on CNN's "AC360."

But when Shadid and his colleagues Lynsey Addario, Stephen Farrell and Tyler Hicks emerged unscathed from the firefight, they fled right into the arms of their soon-to-be captors, who were manning a government checkpoint.

Mohammed got out of their vehicle at the checkpoint.

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