World IN BRIEF : FRANCE : Report Cites Dangers Faced by Journalists

Fifty-one journalists were killed and more than 100 were jailed around the world last year, a Paris-based watchdog group said in a report released to coincide with World Press Freedom Day. In countries such as Algeria, Cuba, China, Burma, Iran, Iraq, Russia and other former Soviet republics, “journalism is a high-risk occupation,” Reporters Without Borders said. It cited government pressure, newspaper seizures, and the jailing and kidnapping of journalists. Some countries--including Romania and Egypt--have approved laws that effectively allow the criminal justice system to curtail press freedom, the report said. Algeria, with 22 killings, was the most deadly nation for journalists.