these policemen admitted in court that the men had been entrapped they had been researching the story about the mass killing and burial of tender hinge a man in myanmar is northern rock and state the police offered them a key secret state documents that would corroborate their findings the documents would in fact not secret the situation was a set up and the reporters were arrested and charged under the official secrets act a law that has been on the books since one thousand twenty three when myanmar was called burma and was a colony of great britain these two voices journalists were one of the few journalists that were actually doing investigative work into the situation in rakhine state they were sentenced under a colonial era law at the official secrets act but other repressive laws are extensively used as well. as the asians act the peaceful assembly act the penal code as a whole raft of repressive laws these two generally is really their freedom and their their life to expose the genocide exposed the highest crime that was quite

committed by the various military and this is the biggest threat for them for the military but they will never tolerate this. anymore as government has a unique structure unlike any government anywhere else in two thousand and sixteen entente suchi the political activist who had been kept under house arrest for fifteen years during the military dictatorship took up the post of state councilor akin to a prime ministership it was a momentous event i'm a historic day for the people around the world men must transition from a military to civilian government was heralded as the start of an era of democracy for the country. and the reality was never quite so simple twenty five percent of parliamentary seats are reserved for the burmese military and as mandated by the constitution three key ministries of home affairs defense and border affairs are headed by serving members. the military franson suchi and her emily d.

party being in government has effectively meant working alongside and often in subservience to her former captors of his a. and her government are limited in their powers because the military are still very much in control the military control the police and much of the judiciary so i think that is government cannot stop the police arresting journalists or other human rights activists however they do have the power to stop prosecutions going forward and also under presidential amnesties they can release political prisoners but more importantly they have the power to repel these repressive laws that are being used but we've seen none of those actions by by the government in terms of and they're going into the on the fifty there is a manifesto that is but the problem is about media you know not then yet where we are very disappointed about it so media freedom is not there are these countries

. look orting in local burmese outlets on the violence against to injure people has been poor it isn't just intimidation censorship or lack of access that has affected the coverage many burmese have grown up hearing political and social rhetoric against it. calling them vermin illegals and a threat to the buddhist majority a lot of this language has been reproduced in the country's media over the years. and yet when you just come to the case of one and choice are joining us in myanmar have largely shown solidarity this case has set on wanting precedent and they can see the danger that faces them on if you look at this media the majority of them the tool of the propaganda machine of the military and they have bred so many hatred and misinformation about the range of minorities but this to me generally is . when they were arrested medias to speak out but they're not doing these two

gentlemen expose the crime of the military but actually this media is focusing on the press freedom. whether media in myanmar choose to report on it or not but all of the country's military in the killings and forcing out of revenge of muslims has been documented in international reporting the un team said as too much that the military's scorched earth tactics have led to terms than thousand deaths conservative and most damningly in a recent report published by the united nations human rights council. the report states that the burmese commander in chief klein and his deputies bear quote greatest responsibility for the ethnic cleansing of range of people. the government declined our request for a statement on one case in a press conference however a spokesperson said the sentencing of the journalists was the clearest indication

of an independent and a functioning judiciary. there had been hopes that aung san suu kyi would use one of the few powers she does hold to grant a pardon to that of porters. that didn't happen i mean a media landscape already intimidated and controlled by the state there's now a chill more intense than it has been in the past few years whatever happens now nothing can make up for eight months while on trial have been separated from their families deprived of their freedom and honorable to work as journalists but it is important now. that the injustice of this conviction but the prison sentence be overturned it does send a very chilling message to the media and whether they are released and amnesty later or not and a very strong message given about reporting on issues connected to the military issues relating to a ranger. and the situation in the kind states unfortunately the verdict if

anything provides support to those. in the security forces who sought to cover up evidence of a real crime those who participated in the mass killing persons the ten year prison terms the two men who exposed the killing were sentenced to seven years as an injustice by any standard and they can't be allowed to stand. for discussing other media stories that are on our radar today with one of our producers that. there's been a lot of concern over a new social media law that's been approved by the egyptian president of the father why the concern barbara this new law gives egypt supremes council for media regulation the power to monitor any social media account website or blog with more than five thousand photos which effectively means a personal choice of page can be regulated in the same way as a media outlet the law states that pages or websites that publish fake news or

inciting material will be friended or blogs and of course that's a clause that can be interpreted very widely indeed a mistake international says it gives the state near total control over print online and broadcast media and i spoke with egyptian jon this about the law. this new media law is nothing short of social political is just and for egyptian citizens it seeks to not only limit and suppress any journalistic. means of expression but it does so for citizen journalists more so than anything else you may not even think of yourself as a citizen journalist but you will be equally a respite if the government deems what you say to be inaccurate fake news or the worst case of all scenarios a threat to national security so tyke this law specifically targets so-called fake

news online and that's a big issue for the egyptian government isn't president thea's blamed fake news for spreading k. off and instability in egypt and july remove from terrorism loss of hope and feelings of frustration or these were in a ground network and one objective only one objective and that if to move people to destroy that country of course accusing jonathan activists of spreading false rumors in egypt is not new but it is ironic because if the government that is often accused by critics of spreading fake news and the information i'm going to need for tony that couple to have on the north in egypt have the effect of shutting down any discourse that isn't government approved most every media law whether it be the recent recent media law just confirm or the cyber crimes law which preceded it or the terrorism law which preceded it by several years seeks to do one thing and that

is maximize and amplify government line and doctrine via of variety of media whether it be television radio newspapers digital or otherwise while at the very same time suffocating discourse that is alter it. and. this new media law is just the latest measure in what has been months of tightening restrictions on media in egypt and of course numerous german activists and academics continue to be arrested and jailed one of al-jazeera this journalist mahmoud saying has been imprisoned in egypt for more than fix hundred twenty days now without trial that's right without trial and without charge and the network does continue to call for his release it's take a look at another story now the new york times took what it called a rare step in the past week by publishing a pretty explosive anonymous opinion op ed piece there it is tell us why it's so explosive when barbara it's highly unusual for

a newspaper to publish an anonymous and in this case the piece was written by a senior white house official who says there are members of the administration working to quote frustrate parts of parts of trying its agenda and his worst inclinations in the time the touched a note to the op ed saying that the rights of identity had to be protected and that publishing the piece anonymously was the only way to deliver an important perspective to that read the entire process was reportedly conducted so secretive the even the tongues news department had no idea that the piece was about to be published and president trump and its supporters have long said that there are two forces in america working to undermine his presidency one of the news media the other is the so-called deep state so you can imagine their reaction to this article trump questions on twitter whether the guts list white house official even exists and if so so that the failing new york times should turn them over to the

government tarik thank you. the royal wedding that took place in london four months ago played like a scene from a fairy tale and the media lapped it up events like these play a part in the british royal family's ongoing effort to rebrand itself like prince william's wedding to kate middleton back in two thousand and eleven the televised nuptials of prince harry and meghan markle of help to buckingham palace repair its public image which was badly damaged following the death of princess diana in one thousand nine hundred seven but what about the role played by the intermediaries journalists in this royal rebrand well the pomp and pageantry might mean little more than ratings and clicks for international media but britain's forces state are supposed to hold the country's elite to account and they don't come much more elite of privilege than the house of windsor funded by the taxpayer but is the royal reporting british audiences usually get long on deference and short on scrutiny the

listening posts that will tory now on the relationship between media and monarchy in the united kingdom. it is. not good. for the ninety five major british royal family to live with the kind of global media spectacle which only it seems capable of. one that featured in news cycles across continents now exciting area whenever anything charming town i don't mind and it's really cheap to have with viewing figures in the hundreds of millions it's little wonder that the world's media were out in force as a journalist covering it you felt that you were covering an iconic moment in history well that that is some dress a.j. and i'm still sort of just absorbing that some of those prime positions that were taken by the b.b.c. a.b.c.

and we do have approached you and sponsors of the of the american. networks were costing in the region all six figures every day that tells you that the networks clearly thought they were going to get a return for their money you know this is bigger than any reality t.v. show you the machine and this is real money. and you know official republican but they can't help the coverage because they instantly worry that they will be the only paper without any coverage that's a huge lead media attention on there and sometimes you don't get it in journalism you don't get people query and exactly how much the wedding cost and why we're still funding it i think the problem if lots of people don't like to talk about it now. if questioning the cost of oil events can feel a touch with the british journalist that's not the case for their audiences according to a u.k. opinion poll taken days before the wedding the majority of britons opposed any public money being spent on it. the royal family says it paid for the privatized

specs of the ceremony but they won't specify whether that money came from their private wealth estimated at more than a billion dollars or from the annual sovereign grant they received from the government one hundred five million dollars this year. however we do know that the bill for security reports to be as much as forty million dollars was picked up by taxpayers britain's media covering the role of austerity but usually quick to query public spending but when it involves royalty they can seem cheeriest the court should more questions have been asked about the costs of security maybe but there is a tendency to avoid what we call the sour grapes once it became clear that parliament did not vote in an extra five million pounds to pay for the wedding i think the broadcasters accept it as the funding wealth and if the royal family isn't from that it's much more attention so what we've seen in britain in recent years is add

very stark contrast of inequality so we've seen. huge rise in the number of people using food banks public services education is emotive courts. in the same period is finances increasing booking and palast and be awarded and it was over three hundred million man invasions so it's about making those connections to the politics that are going on in wa and britain. over the centuries the british monarchy has lost many of its formal powers but the sovereign and the heir to the throne do still inherit such a unique privileges tax on the profits from they were states is voluntary and doesn't have to be disclosed then there were the queen's weekly confidential meetings with the prime minister which allowed her to air her views on government policy. the queen and prince charles also receive all memoranda from the cabinet and have the right to veto new laws that affect them and as a guardian freedom of information request revealed prince charles lobbies ministers

in private meetings and letters but still writing to ministers that's like. any other inviting prostitution the violence was exactly like that however a jury in the guardian's investigation the government passed a law granting the queen and prince charles an absolute exemption from the freedom of information act making it's even harder for journalists to scrutinize the monarchy instead britain's royal correspondents tend to cover the fluffiest side of royalty i think probably we can get a little preoccupied with a flippant for example if you want a royal engagement you know you're job is to relay what's going on it may well be a visit to the teenage cancer trust or an aids related charity for prince harry's work and you know you often finding that your top line in the story is wound like a stepped out of us but again there is an issue here about taking members of the royal family holding them directly to account as you might with a politician. or

a business person or whatever should i be shouting a question of course as a journalist the answer is yes i should tradition protocol d.n.a. with the royal family determines the by and large we don't we're timid feeble lot no doubt about that we all want to be. if the commercial value of oil news explains how it gets reported by britain's privately owned outlets that still leaves the public broadcaster the british broadcasting corporation the b.b.c.'s constitution the royal charter says its primary mission is to provide impartial news but when it comes to royalty critics say the b.b.c.'s coverage for seriously short the b.b.c. constantly talk about balance when it comes to everything else that politics economics climate change when it comes to family simply isn't there a thoughtful leader the sensible girl and the mischievous redhead doing things with

that unaffected style which has become the whole feel safe in many ways the b.b.c. . for the royals every single time there's a royal birth they will be outside the hospital waiting in time. this news coming into us that there could be an announcement. public have to it's covered without any place and i mean this is batman's motorbike which was altogether too much for william the key biker himself to resist the b.b.c. completely accepted that the state. run so. we put this criticism to the b.b.c. the press office replied that the b.b.c. applies to impartiality to all of our output including our coverage of the u.k. monarchy there's a saying about the british press that they're either at your throat or at your feet and in the nineteen eighties and nineties the relationship between media and

monarchy was more hostile. headlines like these were common as britain's tabloids ruthlessly exploited while private lives. by the death of princess diana in one thousand nine hundred seventy the turning point newspaper accused of hounding diana to. promise to keep a more respectful distance as for the royal household its response to the crisis was seen as cold hearted faced with a dramatic drop in popularity buckingham palace began its rebranding with a little help from the professionals we can see in the royal household and is a set of individuals particularly in their world communications office who have previously worked very small to corporations who have particular particular knowledge about how to package royal news in particular ways that will work for the news cycle to remake the british monarchy more much and as more cosmopolitan as more multicultural and using the tools that those young girls offer them i think

the younger generation really understand if they show themselves more down to earth by working in the army or by going to win if they play the game the media will play along with them. the success of the monarchy is modernization is undeniable it's those covering them who seem stuck in the park in eight hundred sixty seven want to budget editor of the economist wrote above all things are royalty is to be reverenced and if you begin to poke about it you cannot reference it we must not let in daylight upon magic poking about is the job of journalism. but for some british journalists the magic of royalty may be still cost spell if you've got a little way that there is no question we got away. and finally russia as a state owned c a one t.v.

channel launched a new show this past week called moscow. kremlin putin in the first episode an hour long affair at the shows that famously pro kremlin hosts the vladimir sully of aired footage of president putin trekking up a hillside cruising on a boat and speaking with schoolkids he even had the president's press secretary to meet three of peskov on set for an interview about putin's love for children and the secrets to his quote beautiful physique rossiya one hasn't explained the rationale for this show it probably isn't a coincidence that it comes at a time of protests over the raising of age limits for pensioners recent polls in russia have also shown putin's numbers slipping and in need of a well leaving you with some clips from the premier of moscow kremlin putin and we'll see you next time here at the listening post. british if you would you. need to do.

it is a. very acute so but i was there is a school. near the school exclusive program i. put into who didn't produce any of the kids he just before. but i'm responsible known as compared. to most on mean she. would have a pretty skinny and the cut they used was more than it's going to be and yet they turned it coming jorak probably words for using in the q i mean to. quote the bitch from which i could go and get there because they didn't. know there was no what if they're living in my it's a. lol

. this is al jazeera. from studio fourteen headquarters in doha. welcome to the new street bombs in syria russian syrian forces are. targeted attacks on rebel held areas around. the bombing intensifies we're focusing on the people rather than the politics just want

a whites millions of civilians in a house to prepare. japan's. first tennis grand slam but you wouldn't know it the. final was overshadowed by a running battle between her opponent serena williams and the kinds of sexism cheating and stepped. around the corner and after ten years of austerity just how do you move a country like greece for what prime minister. says many people. will explore how greece can reduce unemployment and bring the economy back to life. and i'm leon sweden is known as one of the happiest countries in the world but today's parliamentary elections are showing a different side to the country but is the rise in support for the far right being played out too much by global media with aging it's been. live. streaming

online through you tube facebook live and at al-jazeera dot com and if you were with us yesterday saturday you will remember the dramatic images of syrian and russian forces targeting rebel held areas in problems filmed by an al jazeera crew in the area today. a another round of bombings unfortunately as more barrel bombs dropped in rebel held territory activists and rescue workers say there were more than sixty attacks targeting both it live and northern hama which is a little further to the south and despite the obvious humanitarian concern concerns i'm sorry that you get out of that. there as a full attack and perhaps a ground offensive still expected neighboring turkey of those fears an increase in violence could spark a mass exodus of refugees as well now there has been a lot of talk about the lights of turkey the politics in the past few days so we came today to focus more on the people of it how they are bracing themselves for

what might be ahead first to get a quick look at the map just to explain some of the thinking in the just six behind what's going on at the moment the bombing we've seen in the last couple days is happening in southern areas around here which i'm highlighting why there because of the road if you look at this road which heads from aleppo.